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SBurca
Level 2

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

I am a new treasurer (new to QB) trying to set up QB Non-Profit to work with our church. We have 3 separate accounts (which could be considered different funds - operating, building, special mission), with the operating account having a special poor fund under it.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to set up QB for this. I see there are Classes, and there's an Item List. To me they look about the same, and I can't figure out what the difference is between them. I suppose I'm looking more for the concept - trying to see what the best way is to set up what I think would be called "Fund Accounting"?

 

No, I'm not an accountant or anything close, but a volunteer currently trying to decipher how to set this up. So when you answer, I would really appreciate an entry level explanation.

Solved
Best answer March 31, 2019

Best Answers
QBsguru
Level 7

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

You set up classes for each fund.  All transactions (income and expense) need to be allocated to one of your funds.  You then run a P&L by fund for current years' income and expense against each fund.  Setting up the beginning balance is another animal that requires additional discussion.

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6 Comments 6
QBsguru
Level 7

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

You set up classes for each fund.  All transactions (income and expense) need to be allocated to one of your funds.  You then run a P&L by fund for current years' income and expense against each fund.  Setting up the beginning balance is another animal that requires additional discussion.

SBurca
Level 2

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

Thank you for your help. Almost there I think.

 

Ok, so I create a class for each account/ fund, and subclasses as appropriate. Got it.

 

Now how does the "Item List" fit into this? When I record a donation, I assign it to the proper account (class), and then I have to give it an Item. These look like they can be assigned a separate account, so then I could register a donation to the "Operating" class, and assign it an "Missions" item which points to the "Missions" account. Which account would this donation register under? Wouldn't there be a conflict then?

Joyce_P
QuickBooks Team

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

Hi there, SBurca.

 

You can categorize the donation to the appropriate class. Then, you can categorize your item list (mission) which is under the mission account to the operating class as well. Also, the donation will be registered in the mission account. There wouldn't be any conflict with these.

 

The Community is always here if you have more questions.

 

SBurca
Level 2

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

Thank you for all the help - unfortunately I didn't realize how little I knew to even understand the answers fully. So for those still looking for the solution, I figured I should update with what finally worked:

 

After trying to decipher this from forums and such, I ended up splurging for a book which helped me set this up. It was tricky even with the book (we have a somewhat custom setup), but it would've been near impossible without it as it also went into the complete process.

 

The book: QuickBooks for Churches (and Other Religious Organizations) by Lisa London. It was written for a previous version of QuickBooks, but it worked well enough.

Fiat Lux - ASIA
Level 15

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

As additional option, consider to purchase a church management app and integrate it with QuickBooks.

oldgreygrammy
Level 2

Proper setup for Non Profit - church

What version of Quickbooks are you using? I've assumed the bookkeeper position for a small church which is using QB Pro Desktop. Since it was set up before me, I don't understand many of the accounts that are setup and used. The church also had two different checking accounts, but consolidated to one on March 1, 2020. I'm still trying to figure how to merge these 2 bank accounts, as it's not simply close one and add it to the other. There are several sub-accounts in the 2nd "special checking acct", which have been assigned "Bank" type. I'm not sure why these sub accounts were created, but I transferred them to the 1st checking "general" acct with the $$ in each acct. I read elsewhere in community that all these sub accounts should add up to the actual balance of the parent "special checking acct". However, the total of those sub accounts and the actual transferred balance of the parent acct is $697 more! 

I'm floundering with this problem, as the church cannot afford to pay an accountant to even "look over" things. Can anyone help with my problem? 

 

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