How do I record membership dues?

@kvanacoro  Depends on whether you're receiving or paying, and to some extent, the nature of your industry.

If you're paying, there's probably already a Dues and Subscriptions expense in your Chart of Accounts. This suffices for most companies. If it doesn't exist yet, create it.

If you are some manner of club and are receiving membership dues, create an income item for it if none exists already.

Anything else, you'd have to explain what your business is. Everybody's chart of accounts is personalized to some extent, so as long as you use a category name that lets you know what it is well enough to explain it to your income tax preparer, you should be fine.

Your participation in the Community is appreciated, kvanacoro. I can help you record membership dues in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

To get started, you can create a service item for dues and link it to the appropriate income account. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Gear icon in the upper right corner and click Product and services.
2. Select New and choose a Service type.
   
   
3. Fill in the necessary information.
4. Link it to the appropriate Income Account to track these payments effectively.
5. Once done, click Save and close.
   
   

Once you have created the service item, you can use it on an invoice or sales receipt to record the membership dues. Follow these steps:

1. Click on the + New button.
2. Choose either Invoice or Sales Receipt.
3. Select the member from your customer list.
4. Add the membership dues service item you created earlier.
5. Enter the amount due and any other relevant details.
6. Tap Save and close.

Additionally, you can set up a recurring transaction if you have members who pay dues regularly.

Should you have any further questions about recording membership dues or require assistance with any other aspect of QBO, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to help you manage your financial records efficiently.

I am the treasurer of a quilting guild.  We basically take payments in for membership dues and workshops.  We hold one show a year and get vendor payments and sell raffle tickets.  We are a NFP.  I was just getting the hang of Desktop, but we are "trying" to convert to QBO, but I just don't know if we can afford the expense of over $100/month.  But in the meantime, where I once recording everything under donation, there is no longer that option....and I don't have invoices for my members.   So I just record all payments under sales receipts???

Thanks for all your help

I appreciate your follow-up regarding your concern, @kvanacoro.

Transitioning from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online (QBO) can bring about some changes, but you can efficiently record membership dues and other payments for your quilting guild using sales receipts, especially since you don't issue invoices to your members.

You can create service items for each type of payment you receive, such as "Membership Dues," "Workshop Fees," "Vendor Payments," and "Raffle Ticket Sales." Then, link these items to the appropriate income accounts to ensure accurate financial tracking and reporting. You can follow the steps provided by my peer above.

Additionally, for regular transactions like annual membership dues, setting up recurring sales receipts can save time and automate the process.

Stay in touch if you have any other questions or concerns entering sales transactions or while working with QuickBooks, @kvanacoro. Just leave a reply below and I'd be happy to provide further help.

I belong to a NFP Quilting Guild with 200 members.  We collect dues for membership as well as workshop fees.  Thanks for your response, going back to Desktop....so much easier to use.

I have another membership system which tracks dues, etc. so can I just do a deposit and list the members paying dues?

Thanks for taking the time to follow along with the thread and sharing your concerns, @AASRJerry.

I recommend using the steps my colleague (RheaMaeH) has shared above. Linking the dues to members will ensure accurate financial tracking and reporting. 

I also encourage speaking your accounting professional. Your accountant can review your books and advise the best way to handle the member dues based on your business needs. If you don't have an accountant, don't sweat it. You can find one here in our Resource Center. 

Alternatively, you can check into a third-party app to import the transactions from the membership system you're already tracking dues with. If this is something you're interested in, you can use the link I'm including below to explore our third-party apps:

• QuickBooks App Store

Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with. Have a good one! 

I am a non profit organization funded mostly by dues paying members. At the present time I use sales receipts to post. Is that the preferred manner or can I just post to the ledger? 

Thanks for joining this thread, AASRJerry.

To properly identify the best way for your business to record membership dues and if they should be posted to the ledger, I'd recommend working with an accounting professional.

If you're in need of one, there's an awesome tool on our website called Find a ProAdvisor. All ProAdvisors listed there are QuickBooks-certified and able to provide helpful insights for driving your business's success.

I'll be here to help if there's any additional questions. Have a great Thursday!