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QUestion on Non-Profit Entries

Sorry this is so long!

I volunteer for a small non-profit and I need a little guidance on setting up their books properly. My extent of non-profit accounting up to this point was the classes I took about 20 years ago, so I've been doing a lot of reading lately.

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provides a pretty handy " Unified Chart Of Accounts cross referenced to selected not for profit reporting requirements" That's what I started using.

I'm trying to figure out the entries I would need make to segregate the Restricted vs the Unrestricted Assets.

Assuming that it wasn't previously pledged...just an "out of the blue" donation to our special needs fund.

Money comes in, one set of entries will be against the bank and the revenue accounts.

One entry will stick it in "temporarily restricted" but where would the offsetting entry go?

Thanks, Angela

Reply to
Angrie.woman
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"Angrie.woman" wrote

It's a balance sheet entry, probably to a "net fund balance" account. You're segregating the total funds balance (equity for lack of a better description) into categories is all you're doing.

Reply to
Paul Thomas, CPA

I read "total funds balance" as "all the money" which is right for our purposes.

I'm glad you're still around, Paul!

Except for the revenue, they're all balance sheet accounts. The bank is an asset, and the equity accounts are all net asset accounts. Basically in 3 categories: Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted, and Permanantly Restricted . Ours will always fall into one of two "Temporarily Restricted" sub accounts.

I just could track it, using something like the Quickbooks equivalent of classes, but that won't show it on the balance sheet properly. It looks to me like these monies have to be differentiated when we do the 990, so I'm really trying to make it all tie back cleanly.

Sorry if I'm being dense. Usually when I have this much trouble grasping a concept it ends it being blatantly obvious.

But all I see is when Mrs Smith sends us $500 for the Special Needs Fund, I record a deposit to the bank, and $500 revenue from a direct contribution.

Would it help if I posted the whole chart of accounts?

I really appreciate your help.

Reply to
Angrie.woman

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