Using QuickBooks for Nonprofit Organizations, Associations & Clubs (for Desktop QuickBooks)

Using QuickBooks for Nonprofit Organizations, Associations & Clubs (for Desktop QuickBooks)

Regular price $24.95

Need to make the desktop version of QuickBooks
work for your nonprofit organization?

PLEASE NOTE: This book has been updated and is now available as QuickBooks for Nonprofits & Churches-A Step-By-Step Guide for the Pro, Premier, and Nonprofit Versions

Lisa London, The Accountant Beside You, will take you step by step with hundreds of illustrations. Complex concepts are explained in a friendly, easy-to-understand manner. Learn to design your accounting system and procedures to guard against fraud and error, handle donations and acknowledgments, budget, and so much more.

Included in the appendix are London's suggestions for:
  • Association chart of accounts
  • PTA chart of accounts
  • Boy Scout chart of accounts
  • Girl Scout chart of accounts
  • Civic club chart of accounts
  • Private school chart of accounts
  • and a getting started checklist.

Additional resources for nonprofits can be found at the AccountantBesideYou.com website.

ISNI 0000 0004 5059 7909 Lisa London, Author

 Table of Contents


I. What is Fund Accounting & How Is It Handled?
A. Will QuickBooks Work for My Organization? Which Version Should I Use? 
B. Fund Accounting
C. Reporting Differences 
D. Differences in Terminology
E. The Case for Internal Accounting Controls
F. Advice for the Governing Body
G. Tips, Hints, and When to Let Someone Else Do It 

II. Acquainting Yourself with QuickBooks
A. Layout of the Program
B. Backing Up-- Most Crucial Part of this Process!
C. Restoring the Data 

III. Setting up Your Organization File 
A. Required Information 
B. Express Start
C. Preferences

IV. What is the Chart of Accounts & Why is it Important?
A. Designing the Chart of Accounts
B. Numbering Structure
C. Naming the Accounts 
D. Chart of Accounts Menus 
E. Adding New Accounts
F. Tracking Restricted Cash
G. Enter Chart of Accounts
H. Editing, Deleting, and Hiding Accounts 
I. Beginning Balances
V. How do I Track My Grants & Programs?
A. Classes vs. Jobs 
1. Naming of Classes 
2. Entering Class Lists 
3. Editing or Deleting Classes 
B. Recording the Beginning Balance Entry 

VI. How About Donors & People I Owe Money To? 
A. Setting up Members and Other Donors 
B. Custom Fields
C. Job Entry-Specific Grants or Contracts 
D. Other Donor Information 
E. Attaching Files to Your Donor’s Account 
F. Setting Up Vendors (The People You Pay)

VII. Inputting Donors & Vendors from Files 
A. Getting Donors from Email Contacts
B. Spreadsheet Method-Importing w/ Multiple List Entries 

VIII. Items—Tracking the Transactions 
A. Types of Services 
B. Setting Up New Items 
C. Using Items to Allocate Expenses 
D. Tracking Volunteer Hours through Items
E. Fixed Asset Item List

IX. Money In—Recording Donations & Revenues
A. Accounting Controls for Receipts 
1. Remote Imaging Scanner 
2. Money Received During Meetings or Fundraisers
3. Money Received Through the Mail
4. Payments Received Through the Website 
B. Entering Donations
1. Simple Donations
2. Entering Checks Received 
3. Acknowledging the Donation
C. Entering Cash Receipts
D. Entering Donations from a Separate Donor Base
E. Dues Made and Paid 
1. Recording Dues as Receivables 
2. Recording Monthly or Recurring Dues 
3. Entering Beginning Receivable Balances 
4. Receiving Payments on Dues 
F. Receipt of Restricted Funds 
G. Miscellaneous Receipts
H. Pass-Through Collections 
I. Undeposited Funds 
J. Recurring Donations from Credit Cards
K. Other Revenue Issues

 

X. Money Out—How Do I Pay the Bills?

A. Cash vs. Accrual Methods 
B. Internal Accounting Controls for Paying Bills 
C. Controls for Electronic Payments 
D. Entering Bills
E. Beginning Accounts Payable Balance 
F. Recurring Bills 
G. Editing and Deleting Invoices 
H. Bills Entry Main Menu 
I. Paying Bills
J. Online Banking Payments
K. Write Checks
L. Handwritten Checks
M. Bank Drafts
N. Entering Credit Card Receipts
O. Credits Received from Vendors
P. Payroll Entries
Q. Automatic Allocation of Expenses

XI. Bank & Other Reconciliations
A. Internal Controls and Bank Reconciliations
B. Cash Transfers
C. Returned Checks
D. Voiding a Check
E. Reconciling the Bank Account
F. Reconciling Petty Cash
G. Other Reconciliations

XII. Where Do We Stand? - Designing & Running Reports
A. Types of Reports
B. Navigating the Reports Center
C. Defining the Parameters
D. Most Useful Reports
E. Exporting Reports to a Spreadsheet
F. Other Miscellaneous Reports
1. Dues, Donor, & Vendor Information
2. Deposit Detail
3. Accountant Reports

XIII. Am I Meeting My Targets? Budgeting
A. The Budget Process
B. Entering Your Budget
C. Forecasts
D. Cash Flow Projector

XIV. It’s Month End -What do I do?
A. Month & Year-End Checklist
B. Reviewing Your Transactions
C. Allocate Fund Balances
D. Restricted versus Unrestricted Cash
E. Year-End Adjusting Entries
F. Board Reports
G. Year-End Closing
H. Year-End Donor Acknowledgments
I. Other Year-End Requirements
1. 1099 Filings
2. File W-2s for Employees

XV. What About…???
A. How Do I Account For …?
1. Fundraisers
2. Money Raised for Use by Members
3. Record the Sale of Merchandise
4. In-Kind Donations
5. Volunteer Hours
6. A Reserve Account on the Income Statement
B. How Do I …???
1. Set Up Multiple Users and Passwords
2. Send an Accountant Copy
3. Send a Thank You from the Receipts Screen
C. What About …..?
1. Reports I Need for an Audit
2. Tax Stuff

XVI. What’s New for 2014?
A. New Income Tracker
B. Record Bounced Checks
C. Report Scaling
D. Copy/Paste Line Items

XVII. Appendix
A. Before You Start Checklist
B. Proposed Chart of Accounts
1. For Nonprofits wanting a Simplified UCOA
2. For Associations
3. For a PTA
4. For a Civic Club
5. For a Boy Scout Troop
6. For a Girl Scout Troop
7. For a Private School
C. How to Upload a Chart of Accounts File

 

Index

A

account list 44

accountantbesideyou.com 1, 7, 38, 228, 271, 274, 297

accountant’s changes 254, 255

accountant’s copy 251, 254

accounting controls 1, 5, 99, 128

bank reconciliation 155

for paying bills 128

for receipts 99

procedures 6

accounting year 4, 18, 50, 174

accounts

account list 44

account numbers 23, 33, 34, 47, 51

account type 40, 41, 46

add new account 41

beginning balances 42, 49

delete account 47

design a chart of accounts 32

download 38

edit accounts 44

make inactive 48

naming 22, 38

parent 40, 41

subaccount 23, 40, 43

accounts payable reports 190

accounts payable (see also:bills) 34, 46, 50, 133, 190, 210

accounts receivables (see also: donations, dues)34, 46, 50

accrual method of accounting 133

accrual basis 132, 173

accrual option 173, 206

cash vs accrual methods 127

accumulated depreciation 57

accumulated profit 2

administrator’s password 216, 248

allocation of expenses 96, 152, 154, 169, 193

American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) 36

ask my accountant 37

assigning names 22

audit

adjusting entries 213

annual 6, 228

audit committee 6, 167

audit trail 160, 264

reports 263

automatic allocation 152

automatic backups 14

automatic drafts 163

B

backup 10, 12, 14

bank

accounting controls 155

charges 159

drafts 143, 205

deposits 30, 110, 119, 123, 162

online banking 10, 26, 140, 155, 271

reconciliation discrepancies 167

remote imaging device (RID) 99

returned checks 158

transfer funds 156

undeposited funds 30, 34, 122, 125, 158, 162, 164, 207, 208

batch invoices 229

beginning balances

accounts payable 133

balance equity 33

balance journal entry 49

receivable balances 115

benefits 35, 36, 50, 208

bills

accounting controls 128

allocate expenses 152

billpmt 161

bills entry 137

copy 137

credit card account 138

credits 24, 146, 148

edit 136

memorize 154

online payments 130

pay bills 137, 140, 145

preferences 24

recurring bills 133

void 137, 159

bookkeeper 5, 99, 100, 101, 128, 130, 155, 216

budget

by account 193

by grant 191

by month 197

by program 194

process 191

proposal 192

reports 196, 200

vs forecast 200

C

calculator 133

camps 274, 291

capital campaign 2, 35

cash

restricted 43

unrestricted 43, 44, 211

cash basis option 173

cash method 127

cash receipts 108

cash-flow 190, 202

chart of accounts (see:accounts)

check register 161, 163

check signer 100, 128, 129, 130, 139

checking account (see:bank)

checking preferences 25

checklist 204, 205, 272, 273

civic club accounts 272, 286, 288

classes

add new 55

list 53, 54

names 53

edit/delete 55

parent class 55, 187

subclasses 52, 55, 184

  1. account 51
  2. items 98
  3. jobs 51

close company 8

closing date 23, 208, 214, 216, 255

cloud-based storage 15

COGS (cost of goods sold) 235, 237

collapse button 183, 206

column by column copying 91

column width 183

contact sync 80, 82

contributed tab 172, 179

copy/paste 269

credit card

account 138, 146

charges 126, 144

processors 101

receipts 125, 144

reconcile 146

recurring donations 125

CSV (comma separated values) 79, 89

current asset 35, 47

current liability 35

custom fields 67, 78, 95

custom reports 43, 212

customers

add new customer 77

attach files 119

customer type 62, 66, 89

grant 70, 118, 119, 132

importing 87

naming protocol 61, 79

other information 79

D

deposit (see:bank)

dividing date 253

donations 43, 100, 144, 146, 162, 168, 208

accounting controls for receipts 99

acknowledge receipt 106

by members 63

  1. foundation grants 62

entering cash receipts 108

entering checks received 104

entering dues 112

in-kind 237, 238

miscellaneous receipts 119

pass-through 120, 121

recurring dues 115

restricted donation 118

donor acknowledgments 216

donor thank-you (see also:video) 255

donors (see:customers)

donors/grants reports 181

download

a QuickBooks file 7

credit card charges 146

IRS publication 598 265

reports 172

transactions 10

dues

invoice template 113

receivable 110, 111

received 112

E

email a donor 255

entering donations 102, 109

Enterprise version of QuickBooks 6

expand button 180

expense-reporting 36

exporting reports 184

Express Start 18, 31

F

financial statements (see also: reports) 5, 95, 204, 228, 273

fiscal year 115, 174, 216

fixed asset items 59, 96

forecasts 200, 201

fraud 5, 128

fund accounting 2, 41, 43

fund balances 204, 205, 210

fund class 52, 57, 105

fundraisers 100, 228, 274, 291

G

general fund 58, 236

general journal entries (see also: journal entries) 23, 55, 150, 161, 169, 231

general preferences 27, 30

general support 3

gift cards 168

Girl Scout Troop 272, 292, 293

grants (see also:jobs) 3, 35, 51, 69, 93, 194

group allocation 154

H

handbook 7

handwritten checks 143

header/footer tab 175, 213, 217

hide

detail accounts on reports 183

header 179

inactive accounts 48

transactions 164

historical data 69, 191, 192, 193, 194, 196

home screen 9, 10, 102, 111, 143, 161, 162

hovering your mouse 183

 

I

iif files 297

import

contacts from email 79

contacts through spreadsheet 89

dues template 112

in-kind donations 237, 238

income tracker 266

income (see: donations)

independent contractors 35

inflation 193

inputting donors using a spreadsheet 87

instructions on uploading the file 38

insufficient funds 155, 159

internal accounting controls (see: accounting controls)

internet-based donor record systems 109

inventory 35, 93, 126, 234, 235, 236

invoices (see also: pledges, dues) 111, 115, 116, 120, 189, 202, 229

IRS forms and publications 35, 106, 216, 219, 222, 223, 225, 226, 227, 265

items

add new 94

on a bill 269

on an invoice 93

pass-through donations 121

service items 94, 242

to allocate expenses 96

to save time 154

track volunteer 96

types 93

J

jobs (see also:grants) 4, 51, 52, 70

journal entries (see also:general journal entries) 55, 148, 150, 158, 169, 213

autofill 23

beginning balance entry 57

to record credit card charges 126

to record payroll 148

to record postage 169, 205

year-end adjusting entries 213

L

labels 64, 129, 190

layout designer 258, 260

liabilities (see: accounts payable(see also bills)

limitations of QuickBooks 3

limits on names 61

logo 256

long-term assets and liabilities 34, 35

M

make deposits 119, 120, 123, 162, 207, 245

manual checks (see: handwritten checks)

mapping data fields 84

mapping to a tax line 44

members 61, 115, 126, 229

account 229, 230

dues 112

payments 231

memorize 115, 134, 143, 144, 151, 154, 179, 265

memorized transaction list 154

merchandise sales 234

miscellaneous preferences 27

Montessori 294

month & year-end checklist 205

multiple list entries 87

multiple users 7, 246

N

names 22, 53, 61, 75

naming protocol 22, 38, 64, 90

non-operating income and expenses 37, 184, 191

non-restricted money 123

Nonprofit version of QuickBooks 2, 7, 32, 36, 111, 180, 190

notes 70, 73, 74

numbering structure 33, 36, 38, 47, 167

O

offsite location 13, 15

online accounts (see:bank - online banking)

online backups 12

online version of QuickBooks 2

opening balances 42, 64, 75

ordinary income 184

other names 61, 67, 240, 241

overpayments 24

P

pass-through collections 120

passwords 19, 130, 214, 215, 246, 254

payee 26, 128, 157

paying bills online 130

paying sales taxes 265

payment preferences 138

payment screen 30, 116

PayPal 101, 223

payroll

entering through the write checks screen 151

liabilities 46

service 149, 227

withholdings 151

recording using a journal entry 148

petty cash 128, 168, 207

pledges (see:donations)

preferences

accounting 23

bills 24

calendar 24

checking 25

company 22

desktop 26

general 27

miscellaneous 27

my preferences 22

payments 29

Premier version of QuickBooks 2, 7, 111, 112, 190, 200

prepaid assets

credit cards 168

insurance 47

postage 169

preview 20, 219, 226, 262

print

1099s 224

checks 138, 140

filing and mailing labels 129, 190

report scaling 268

Pro version of QuickBooks 2, 197, 200, 229

Proadvisor 2

programs (see: classes)

PTA 272, 285

Q

Quicken 2, 18, 31

Quicken conversion 31

R

receipts (see:donations)

reconciliation discrepancies 164, 165, 167

reconciliations 155, 169, 207

reimbursable expenses 132

reimbursements 143, 219

reissued 26

report center 189, 264

reports

accountant 190

auditor 264

designing & running 170

expand or collapse 179

most useful 180, 200

scaling 268

statement of activities 170

statement of financial position 170, 181, 205, 206, 214

statement of functional expenses 35, 181

types of 170, 180

required information 18

reserve account 243

restore 15, 31

restricted fund 2, 57, 105, 117, 118, 210, 255

restricted versus unrestricted cash 43, 211

returned checks 158, 159, 267, 268

reversing entry 161

RID (see:scanner)

S

sales receipts (see:donations)

sales representatives 67, 79, 91

sales taxes 27, 93, 265

scaling 174, 268

scanner(RID) 28, 99, 100, 101, 121, 123, 124, 162, 259

scouting 36, 291

selective access 250

self-duplicating receipt book 100

set date/password 215

show lowest subaccount only 44

spreadsheets

column by column 91

converting data 89

exporting reports to 184

potential errors 90

synchronization 79, 85, 86, 126

T

tax return 18, 32, 35, 42, 44, 51, 181

Techsoup.org 2

templates 3, 112, 113, 114, 115, 256, 257, 263

temporarily restricted class 117

temporarily restricted funds 53

thank you 255, 257, 262, 263

timesheet 239, 241, 242

to-dos 72, 74

transfers 101, 155, 156

trips 126, 229, 231, 274, 291

U

UCOA (Unified Chart of Accounts) 32, 36, 272, 275

undeposited funds 30, 122, 125, 158

unrelated business income 265

unrestricted cash 41

unrestricted funds 52, 53, 57, 105, 210, 255

uploading a file into QuickBooks 38

V

vehicle donations 238

vendor center 144

vendors

adding 74

credits received 146

custom fields 78

importing 74

video 255

void

bill payment 161

checks 161

volunteer hours 93, 96, 239

W

W-2 wage-and-tax-statement 227

wrap text 186

write checks 140, 143, 148, 151, 157, 159

Y

year end

adjustments 5

checklist 205, 214

closing date 205

donor acknowledgments 216

journal entries 213

requirements 219