I run a preschools account--normally processing a cash donation is a multistep process in QB--is there a way to do in one step?

A warm welcome to the Community, srch173769.

Yes, you can just create a sales receipt when you receive the cash donation. Here's how:

1. Click + New in the left panel and select Sales receipt.
   
2. Select the customer from the Customer drop-down.
3. Make sure to select the donor and donation item you set up.
4. From the Payment method ▼ drop-down, then choose how you receive the donation.
   
5. Hit Save and close.

For other ways to manage donations in QuickBooks Online, you can scan through the following resources below:

Track funds you receive from donors in QuickBooks Online.

How to record donations or charitable contributions.

I want to make sure I've got you covered, so please let me know if there's anything else you need. I'll be around to keep helping. Have a great rest of your day!

Hi, srch173769.

Hope you're doing great. I wanted to see how everything is going about processing donations. Was it resolved? Do you need any additional help or clarification? If you do, just let me know. I'd be happy to help you at anytime.

Looking forward to your reply. Have a pleasant day ahead!

Thanks! This creates the sales receipt, but will it also help balance the books with ins and outs? or just show up as an extra in?  I think the prior treasurer made it seem like I should also create a matching invoice for each donation--does that make sense or is this sufficient?

Hi there, srch173769.

Thank you for coming back to the thread to add further clarification about how sales receipts affect QuickBooks. With this, I'll ensure to share information on how the said entry works in the system and to see what account is posted by this situation.

Once you run a preschool organization, it’s easy to keep tabs on the money you receive from your donors. Depending on how you receive the donation, you can record and track it as a sales receipt, bank deposit, or pledge in QuickBooks Online. That said, creating a sales receipt is already sufficient for recording cash donation and matching invoices for donation is not necessary to avoid double reporting.

Then, creating a sales receipt will generate an income in your QBO account, which will be reflected in your sales for the current period. To confirm and check what account is affected by this entry, you can run the Journal transaction. 

Here's how:

1. Click the Sales menu on the left panel.
2. Choose the All Sales section.
3. Find the sales receipt and click it to expand the page.
4. Click More at the bottom.
5. Select Transaction Journal.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to see steps on how you can generate a report to view the breakdown of your sales or contributions: Customer sales and member contributions report. 

Don’t hesitate to post again if you have other concerns about recording sales entries. I’m always here to help you out. Have a great day ahead!