Refundable Deposits

[sojorner]

I tried to search for this but nothing came up.
What I have is a situation where we obtain a deposit for keys from board and committee members. We also receive a deposit from those who are renting the building for a day or less.
When the keys are returned, or when the building rental is completed and there is no damage, we refund the deposit. The building deposits will generally be refunded within 1-4 months after the deposit, although it may span over 2 fiscal years. The key deposits will span 1-3 fiscal years+, depending on the time an individual spends in a position and needs keys to the buildings. If it gets lost, then they do not get the refund. SAme applies if there is damage to the building by a renter.

I'm looking for a recommendation on the best method to handle this:
Should this be manged via a Temp. Restricted Fund, a Liability account, or just general Income/Expense accts?
We are currently doing it via Income / Expense accts.

Thanks
Sojorner
Using PowerChurch V12 On-line

[NeilZ]

I tried to search for this but nothing came up.
What I have is a situation where we obtain a deposit for keys from board and committee members. We also receive a deposit from those who are renting the building for a day or less.
When the keys are returned, or when the building rental is completed and there is no damage, we refund the deposit. The building deposits will generally be refunded within 1-4 months after the deposit, although it may span over 2 fiscal years. The key deposits will span 1-3 fiscal years+, depending on the time an individual spends in a position and needs keys to the buildings. If it gets lost, then they do not get the refund. SAme applies if there is damage to the building by a renter.

I'm looking for a recommendation on the best method to handle this:
Should this be manged via a Temp. Restricted Fund, a Liability account, or just general Income/Expense accts?
We are currently doing it via Income / Expense accts.

Thanks
Sojorner
Using PowerChurch V12 On-line

This is a liability, as it is something that the church has a 'liability' to refund the money. It is not income of any kind. The nice thing about liabilities, is that it can span fiscal years.

If you refund the deposit, you would cut a check and CREDIT checking, and DEBIT the liability account.

If you keep the deposit if the key is lost, or the room needs cleaning or repair: you would create a transaction in Funds Accounting to move the funds from the liability to Income. DEBIT liability and CREDIT Misc Income.

Does this help?

[sojorner]

Neil,
Thanks .It does help. We're in the process of re-organizing our COA and I saw this under miscellaneous income and hence the question / request for recommendation.

Thanks
Doug