Fundraising event fees & pledges

Hello there, @BlueAardvark. I'm here to provide a step-by-step guide in recording your fundraising event transactions (i.e. fees and pledges) in QuickBooks Online (QBO) to keep your account updated.

Based on your example, you can first create a pledge of $300 for the product that Jane Doe sells. Then, record a receipt for the full amount that she pays to the non-profit. Here's how:

1. Go to the + New button.
2. Select Pledge.
3. Fill in all the necessary details.
4. Click Save and close or Save and send.

Once done, here's how to record a receipt:

1. Go back to the + New button.
2. Choose Receive payment.
3. Fill in all the necessary details.
4. Choose where the amount is going to through the Deposit to field (Undeposited Funds is the default account).
5. Select the checkbox for the pledge.
6. Click Save and close.

After that, you need to deposit the amount ($300) you received from Jane Doe. From there, you'll have to deduct the amount (-$200) that the non-profit pays to the fundraising company. This way you're able to record the accurate amount of $100 that Jane raised for the organization. Here's how:

1. Go back to the + New button.
2. Select Bank deposit.
3. Choose the appropriate account from the Account drop-down field.
4. Under the Select the payments included in this deposit section, select Jane Doe's payment.
5. In the Add funds to this deposit section, enter the details of the payment made to the fundraising company with a negative amount (-200).
6. Click Save and close.

I've attached a screenshot below that shows the last four steps.

When you run a non-profit organization, you can record and track your transactions as a sales receipt, bank deposit, or pledge depending on how you receive them. You can learn more about this through this article: Track funds you receive from donors in QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, you'll have to reconcile your accounts every month to make sure they match with your real-life transactions. For the detailed steps, you can check out this article: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

Please let me know if you need anything else or other concerns about managing pledges in QBO. I'll gladly help. Keep safe always.

Rea_M, thank you for your reply. I see how that works the same as a credit card or bank processing fee. I do believe I oversimplified my question, though, because my deposits and expenses won't match with the bank feed this way. 

Let's say I received three deposits of $300, $150, and $75 for the fundraising events. The actual money earned for the non-profit is $100, $80, and $40 and these are the amounts that I would like to credit toward the individual fundraisers. A week later, the non-profit sends a check for $220 (100+80+40) to the fundraising company as a fundraising expense. How do I get my three deposits and check to match with my bank feed? Thanks again.

Thanks for getting back to us here in the Community, @BlueAardvark.

When your account is connected to the online banking feature, QuickBooks Online (QBO) will only consider a match if a downloaded transaction has a similar account and/or amount to an existing one in your bank register. With this, you just need to create your transactions based on what actually happened (real-life transactions).

Based on your scenario above, you have two different transactions (deposit and check). When you deposit the three payments ($300, $150, and $75), you can include the check ($200) to the Add funds to this deposit section from your deposit to match them with your bank feed. Let me guide you how.

1. Go to the + New button.
2. Select Bank deposit.
3. Enter the affected bank in the Account field and the Date.
4. Under the Select the payment included in this deposit section, mark the $300, $150, $75 payments.
5. Go to the Add funds to this deposit section.
6. Enter all the necessary check information and make sure to input the amount as negative (-220) since it's an expense.
7. Click Save and close.

After that, you're now able to match the downloaded bank transaction to the existing entry in QuickBooks. To do this, go back to the Banking page, then perform the steps provided in this article's Match with an existing transaction section: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online. It also includes details about excluding personal or duplicate transactions.

Additionally, I'd still recommend reconciling your account every month. This is to effectively monitor your income, expenses, and the growth of the organization. For the step-by-step guide, you can check out this article: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online. It also contains instructions on how to review past reconciliations.

You can update me on how it goes by leaving a comment below. In case you have other banking concerns in QBO, I'm just around to help. Take care always.

Thank you. That would work if all my deposits came in together. However, my deposits are spread out over a month-long period. I have twenty separate deposits on five dates, then one check that was written on a sixth date, and five additional deposits that arrived after the check was written.

You have an option to gather all deposits in the Undeposited Funds, BlueAardvark. I'll share how it works.

It's an account where you can hold payments or deposits. From there, once you're ready, you can add the payment or check. You can check this article for more information: What’s the Undeposited Funds account?.

Once done, you can match the transactions from your bank.

Also, I suggest conferring with your accountant on the best way to handle this situation.

If you have more questions, please feel free to get back to this thread. We'll respond as soon as we can.