In our one checking acct. I have monies from "groups" such as the chancel choir, the UM Men, etc. These entities are not in the budget but they either raise their own funds or receive donations. Formerly they were kept in a separate savings account (in one lump sum) so that their funds wouldn't be used to pay bills however, my current program wouldn't allow the transfers I wanted to make so I ended up, at the suggestion of the software designer, putting all the money in the checking acct.
My question: how do I set up these things in my COA? I know one answer may be to have its own fund but I don't know that I need that if it isn't the only way to set it up. For instance, choir gets interest money twice a year and when there is enough the choir director buys music. It doesn't happen often so a strict accting isn't really needed.
They aren't expenses yet money goes out. They aren't incomes but money comes in? I am really confused how to add them. Please help!!
There are many different ways to handle this depending on your needs and what kind of reporting you want to show. You might want to take a look at the accounting for contributions document on the version 9 cd. From the cd menu, select "Support and Other Resources" then select accounting for contributions. This document explains how to account for money donors have given for specific things (Donor Restrictions) The same can be said for money raised by different groups within you church as well.
You mentioned funds, creating separate accounting funds for each of these areas, is one approach you may take in addition to the net assets method explained in the accounting for contributions document. Keep in mind you don't have to use the same approach for all areas, you might find it easier to use the net assets method for some areas while creating separate accounting funds for other areas gives you better reporting.
They aren't expenses yet money goes out. They aren't incomes but money comes in?
I'm not really sure what you mean by this. You can have income and expenses for non-budgeted accounts, but they are still income & expense.
Thanks for the information -- I will check that out on the CD. Didn't realize there were files on the CD so will definitely look at it.
I just meant that the "accounts" (Chancel Choir, UM Men, etc.) weren't themselves expense accounts or income accounts. They really are funds that end up with expenses and income -- I just didn't think it was enough to require a separate fund set up for them.
i will check out the documentation and get back with you if I have more questions!!
