Cash Disbursements

[fkfinancials33]

While it is not ideal, sometimes cash disbursements are made from the contributions/offerings. How should this be accounted for in PowerChurch?

Thank you

[JohnDMeyers]

You could use a Manual Check. This would allow you to track to the person or organization paid (as a vendor).

Instead of a check number in the "check number" field, use something like CASH110711 (the date, for example).

[NeilZ]

John,

but from the way the question is phrased, the cash never makes it to the bank, so how would a manual check work in this instance ??

[Jeff]

You will have to modify the transaction for the deposit. Say $100 was received for contributions and $15 was used to pay an expense.

Code: Select all

Account  Debit  Credit

Bank        85
Income             100
Expense     15

An audit may frown on this as the deposit into the bank will not match amount collected for the contributions.

[JohnDMeyers]

Neil: good point.

Not sure what to do there.

You could use a contribution fund that doesn't put the money into the checking account, and then use a manual check that takes it out, like this:


Money comes in:
Contribution Fund 301: Cash to be spent
DB 01-1112-000 cash not bank account
CR 01-4112-000 income that will be spent immediately

Money goes out (manual check)
CR 01-1112-000 cash not bank account
DB 01-5112-000 expenses

[fkfinancials33]

Thank you for the responses.

Jeff: Yes, that's what I'm trying to avoid. Convincing this congregation that they've "always" done it wrong, is proving to be challenging. Looking for ways to mitigate the risk in the short term until I can influence them otherwise...

[tborgal]

I posted this in the other thread of the same name.

I do a similar thing quite a bit when I need to replenish our petty cash box. What I do is write a check to cash debiting the proper accounts and deposit it with the offering deposit. Sounds strange and I often wonder what the bank thinks, but it works.

This way the deposit is the same amount as the offering.

[SGBC1874]

John,

This sounds like it would work except that if I do it this way I would not be able to track the contributions correctly. For example, if public offering is $300 and we disburse $25 in cash that Sunday I would only be recording the $250 for offering when it was actually $300.

Thanks,
Valerie

Neil: good point.

Not sure what to do there.

You could use a contribution fund that doesn't put the money into the checking account, and then use a manual check that takes it out, like this:


Money comes in:
Contribution Fund 301: Cash to be spent
DB 01-1112-000 cash not bank account
CR 01-4112-000 income that will be spent immediately

Money goes out (manual check)
CR 01-1112-000 cash not bank account
DB 01-5112-000 expenses

[SGBC1874]

Jeff,

The deposit amount is from Contributions correct?

Valerie

You will have to modify the transaction for the deposit. Say $100 was received for contributions and $15 was used to pay an expense.

Code: Select all

Account  Debit  Credit

Bank        85
Income             100
Expense     15

An audit may frown on this as the deposit into the bank will not match amount collected for the contributions.

[NeilZ]

Valerie,

this is a 4 year old thread, and is NOT the one you created back in January.

This is the thread you created:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11788&p=37533#p37533

That said, what Jeff was referring to back in 2011 was the Contributions Transaction that would be posted in Funds Accounting. You would have to Post Contributions, then go into Funds Accounting, find the created Contributions Deposit Transaction, then modify it to reflect the money disbursed.

Again, as Jeff pointed out, it is NOT a good idea to do this as it does not provide any transparency as to whom is receiving the disbursement, nor for what it is being used for, nor will the amount showing in tithes & offerings income be the same as that showing in Contributions.

Again, just because "its always been done that way" doesn't make it right.

[SGBC1874]

Are the accounts in the modified transaction not recorded anywhere in Funds Accounting so that if reports are run they show up?

For example, the expense account would be charged to a certain account along with a description of what it was disbursed for. Would that not show up any reports?

Account

Valerie,

this is a 4 year old thread, and is NOT the one you created back in January.

This is the thread you created:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11788&p=37533#p37533

That said, what Jeff was referring to back in 2011 was the Contributions Transaction that would be posted in Funds Accounting. You would have to Post Contributions, then go into Funds Accounting, find the created Contributions Deposit Transaction, then modify it to reflect the money disbursed.

Again, as Jeff pointed out, it is NOT a good idea to do this as it does not provide any transparency as to whom is receiving the disbursement, nor for what it is being used for, nor will the amount showing in tithes & offerings income be the same as that showing in Contributions.

Again, just because "its always been done that way" doesn't make it right.

[NeilZ]

Valerie,

this is a 4 year old thread, and is NOT the one you created back in January.

This is the thread you created:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11788&p=37533#p37533

That said, what Jeff was referring to back in 2011 was the Contributions Transaction that would be posted in Funds Accounting. You would have to Post Contributions, then go into Funds Accounting, find the created Contributions Deposit Transaction, then modify it to reflect the money disbursed.

Again, as Jeff pointed out, it is NOT a good idea to do this as it does not provide any transparency as to whom is receiving the disbursement, nor for what it is being used for, nor will the amount showing in tithes & offerings income be the same as that showing in Contributions.

Again, just because "its always been done that way" doesn't make it right.

Are the accounts in the modified transaction not recorded anywhere in Funds Accounting so that if reports are run they show up?

For example, the expense account would be charged to a certain account along with a description of what it was disbursed for. Would that not show up any reports?

Account

OK .. have you read the reply to the thread you started in January. If you want an audit trail of what the money was disbursed, use the process outlined there.

As far as what was suggested back in 2011, you'll know what expense account was used, and if you add a note on the transaction line for the expense, you'll have some sort of trail, but you won't see that in normal reports, you'd have to use the selected transactions report which would display the transaction. However, that report is not one that most people would user or understand.