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diana-madrid
Level 1

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

I am using QB Online for a nonprofit.  I am trying to setup the chart of accounts and have several questions about the best approach to establish a subaccount, class and subclass.  Since the Account Type or Detail Type cannot be changed, I would like to utilize these tools to enter as much detail as possible.  Are there any fund accounting examples to see each of these in use?  How many subaccounts can you have per account?  Can you have a subaccount of a subaccount?  What are the exact limits on name lengths and other restrictions?  Can a subaccount, class and subclass be assigned a number?

Also what is the best way to differentiate between unrestricted, temporarily restricted and permently restricted funds.     

We have two bank accounts - one for operational and one for capital.  A challenge with this is that expenses have crossed between accounts.  i.e. Operational expenses have been paid from capital account, so I will need to properly classify them by fund within each bank account.  This being said, do I have to establish the Operational account as unrestricted and the Capital account as restricted?  If so, then I cannot enter the past activity by account...

Many thanks for anyone that can help!!!




12 Comments 12
qbteachmt
Level 15

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

"Since the Account Type or Detail Type cannot be changed, I would like to utilize these tools to enter as much detail as possible"

 

Income and Expense are no different for you, but you name them, such as Donation Income, Grant Income and Donation-in-kind income; income from sales and services such as event tickets, Christmas Wreaths, whatever. This is your Statement of Financial Activities.

"what is the best way to differentiate between unrestricted, temporarily restricted and permently restricted funds."


Fund Accounting is more often managed by Balance Sheet activities. To handle restricted, unrestricted, etc, this is often done in Equity. Equity, for instance, is where you would create and manage your Net Assets. This includes the new topics for other assets and other liabilities for Deferred Inflows and Outflows. This is your Financial Position.

 

"How many subaccounts can you have per account? Can you have a subaccount of a subaccount? What are the exact limits on name lengths and other restrictions?"

 

I haven't explored all the limits yet, and I haven't found a website showing it. But the program always shows what you can do. Add one account, then teset it by adding a subaccount and a subsubaccount. You will get a warning if you are exceeding the limits.

 

"Can a subaccount, class and subclass be assigned a number?"

 

Even if there is no separate numeric field, you can always put the digits in the name as part of this text.

"We have two bank accounts - one for operational and one for capital. A challenge with this is that expenses have crossed between accounts. i.e. Operational expenses have been paid from capital account, so I will need to properly classify them by fund within each bank account. "

 

You always class track the details of all the data: from what bank on behalf of what account and with which other crossreferenced data is always needed. But, since these are errors, you also need to "repay" from the one bank to the other, when these errors occur. I explain this like roommates: if one roommate (bank) did not pay their own share of an expense, they need to repay the other roommate (bank account).

 

A city gets two Phone bills: one for Sewer Department and one for Water Department

 

Sewer Bank is used to pay the Whole bill, but the data is split on that check, and each phone expense is separately classed. Meanwhile, Water bank owes the Sewer Bank money.

 

"do I have to establish the Operational account as unrestricted and the Capital account as restricted?"

 

If those bank accounts hold only funds that meet that restriction, then it is good to indicate this.

 

I actually have a parent level of "Investment account" (bank parent level marked Not To Be Used). Then subaccounts:

 

Unrestricted Operations Surplus

Restricted Surplus

 

"If so, then I cannot enter the past activity by account."

 

I don't understand this comment. If you "can't" do this, then you have something set up incorrectly. We all need to be able to enter whatever happens in reality, into the bookkeeping. All past activity is always entered with all the same details as current activity, if you expect to be able to report it to the same degree.

FinSupport
Level 1

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Wouldn't the simplest approach be to use Classes for the programs (G&A, Fundraising, Program 1, Program 2, etc.  For the fund accounting (restricted, temp, unrestricted) use an equity account and JE changes between the equity accounts.
qbteachmt
Level 15

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Yes, you use Class for "programs/purposes" and you also would rebalance equity, as you get and use Restricted income/expense, so that Equity (net asset fund balance) is always on track. I put all of that in my earlier response, here.
EGJ92054
Level 1

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Please note the following released August 2016 by FASB:

ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities


• Replaces the three existing classes of net assets (unrestricted, temporarily restricted and
permanently restricted) with two new classifications, shown on the face of the statement of financial
position:
o Net assets with donor restrictions, and
o Net assets without donor restrictions.
• The change in the amount of each of the two new net asset classifications will be shown on the face
of the statement of activities, as well as the currently required amount of total net assets.
• Continues to permit either direct or indirect method of presenting operating cash flows on the face
of the statement of cash flows; but, if direct method is used, no requirement to also present
indirect method (i.e., reconciliation of changes in net assets to cash provided/used in operating
activities) too.
• Requires expenses to be classified by both nature and function, adding to the current requirement
of presenting expenses by function. This could be on the face of the statement of activities, a
separate statement, or notes to financial statements.
• Requires classification of “underwater” net asset amounts of donor-restricted endowment funds are
part of net assets with donor restrictions.
• Removes the over-time approach for the expiration of restrictions on capital gifts and requires the
placed-in-service approach when there are no donor specific stipulations.
• Additional disclosures, including:
o Composition of net assets with donor restrictions at the end of period, and how the
restrictions affect the NFP’s resources.
o Descriptions and amount of underwater endowment funds.
o Information, in the notes to the financial statements, about NFP manages its liquid resources
available to meet the cash needs for general expenditures within one year of the balance
sheet date
• Eliminates the requirement to disclose netted expenses for investments (e.g., mutual funds, hedge
funds) that are presented net of related external and direct internal investment expenses.

RhondaL
Level 4

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

@qbtechmt Thank you for your more complete answers in this forum. I too had a question about operational and restricted funds. We JUST converted to Enterprise from a different accounting program. When looking to run reports (to verify all of our information is as it should be), I noticed a HUGE difference in how the funds are noted on our reports. In our old system, we were able to see Operational Funds, the Restricted Funds in our Balance Sheet, for example, in our Current Assets. Based on your answer, is it possible in Cart of Accounts to make an account "Operational Funds" in the Bank category and then but those bank accounts as a Sub-Account? And the same with the "Restricted Funds"? We have a very complicated organization. The goal would be for me to "clean up" these accounts, not make a mess of things LOL. Thanks for your help. Rhonda PS I've looked on YouTube for videos as well, but they seem to all be geared towards churches, or small non-profits, who keep all of their funds in a general fund; this "only" requires using Class Tracking for allocated funds. We have already determined that this way does not work for our organization
HoneyLynn_G
QuickBooks Team

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Thanks for joining this thread and providing details, @RhondaL.

 

Yes, you can. Creating an account and assigning their sub-accounts in QuickBooks Desktop is easy. I'll show you how:

  1. At the top menu, select Lists and Chart of Accounts.
    1.PNG
  2. Right-click on your mouse and hit New.
    2.PNG
  3. Choose an account type, then Continue.
    3.PNG
  4. Enter the account details.
  5. If you're setting up a subaccount, tab its box and select the parent account.
  6. Select Save and close.
    4.PNG

For future help about editing or deleting accounts, you can refer to the link. It'll give you the overview and the steps. Moreover, you can check this article to learn more about types and common task about accounts: Understand QuickBooks Chart of Accounts.

 

I'd also suggest consulting an accountant to help and guide about setting up and choosing the account type. He/She can provide more expert advice in dealing with this concern.

 

Keep me posted if you have follow-up questions about Chart of Accounts. I'm always here to help you further.

RhondaL
Level 4

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

@HoneyLynn_G Yes, thank you. Creating sub-accounts IS easy... I wasn't 100% sure if creating the main account, "Operating Expense" under account type "Bank" would be an acceptable use. After doing so, I would be about 6 bank accounts as a sub account; however, I would need these details in reports. Thanks for clarifying
Rasa-LilaM
QuickBooks Team

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Thank you for your reply, @RhondaL.


When creating an account in QuickBooks, it uses a specific account and detail type. This is to ensure it’s placed according to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.


Since you’re considering using the bank as the sub-account to track your Operating Expense account, I recommend consulting an accountant first to ensure it won’t throw off your record.


If there’s anything else I can help you with, click on the Reply button and leave a comment. I’m always here to assist further. Wishing you the best.

 

RhondaL
Level 4

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

@Rasa-LilaM Thanks for your additional input.

A pro-advisor said that sub accounts with banks, would create a huge mess... and he works closely with our CPA. How to I create the classes with the bank accounts to make it easy to differentiate what is in those funds and if they are operating or restricted? Thanks for your help... it's an area I need to move forward quickly on.
KhimG
QuickBooks Team

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Hi there, @RhondaL.


I appreciate you checking with an accountant about setting up the banks as sub-accounts. Decisions like these are important since it will affect the recording of finances.  


If creating classes and assigning it to the bank accounts is your other option, this is currently unavailable. You can only use Class Tracking on individual transactions to help make sorting expenses easier.


Check out this article for the list of reports available by Class in QuickBooks Desktop: Filter, sort or total reports by Class.


In the meantime, I’m passing the idea to the right department for consideration in future updates. To see what’s new in QBDT, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to the Help menu.
  2. Click New Features.
  3. Choose either New Feature Tour or What's New.

Reach out to me if you need further assistance. I’m always here to keep helping. Have a good one!

AME SRA
Level 1

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Thank you for this information. Is there a similar process for QBO? Thanks in advance!

Angelyn_T
QuickBooks Team

QB Online Chart of Accounts for Nonprofit - establishing funds, subaccounts, class and subclass

Thank you for joining the thread, @AME SRA.

 

As mentioned previously, creating accounts in QuickBooks needs to use specific account and detail type matching to your business or organization needs. That said, it would be best to work or asks suggestions from a professional account to help you with setting up your accounts accordingly and share best practices with recording your finances.

 

On the other hand, I'll be sharing with your some articles that will guide you on how to manage am account for a nonprofit organization. Feel free to read the topics from here:

 

Also, check out the details from these links to learn more about creating accounts from the Chart of Accounts:

 

Post again if you have any other QuickBooks questions, @AME SRA. I'm always here to help you out. Keep safe always!

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