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Friends of the Library - Perki
May 8, 2024
Solved

Non profit trying to record donations to a campaign

  • May 8, 2024
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

Hello everyone. I need some help. I am the treasurer for a non-profit. I'm not new to QB's, but I am new to QB's online and the non-profit accounting world.

 

Is there a way to set up a Fundraising Campaign (all I can find are "projects") that will allow us to track the expenses and donations associated with the campaign? In theory, the "projects" tab works, but it doesn't allow for "payments i.e. donations" to come from multiple donors. It is only giving me the option to receive payments from 1 person that I need to create an invoice for. This isn't going to work very well for hundreds of donors. Is there an easier way to accomplish a campaign that will track expenses and income so we know if the campaign is worth it or not?

 

I have doubled checked that I have "non profit" selected, but there's not really an option to create a campaign, so I'm hoping there is something "out of the box" that you guys are doing to track these things easily.

 

Thank you!

Stacy

Best answer by Rainflurry

@Friends of the Library - Perki 

 

The responses you received from @RhoiceW & @Tori B are embarrassing.  It's as though they never even read your question.  More and more, I think these responses are AI-generated.

 

To answer your question, try using Tags.  Create a Tag (Settings > Tags) called 'Campaign X' and then assign that tag to all transactions for that campaign.  You can then run a P&L by Tag Group to see how it's going.     

2 replies

R
RhoiceW
May 8, 2024

Hi there, Stacy. I can help you how to record nonprofit donations in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

 

Whenever you donate an item, you can record it by creating an account first on your Chart of accounts for charitable contributions. This way, it allows you to record and track your donations without creating projects.

 

Here's how: 

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon. Then, select Chart of accounts.
  2. Click New.
  3. Enter the name of the account. For example, Fundraising or Campaign.
  4. Under Account type, choose Expenses from the dropdown list.
  5. On the Detail type field, select Charitable Contributions from the dropdown list.
  6. Tick Save.

 

After creating a charitable account on COA, create a product/service for your charitable contribution.

 

Here's how: 

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon. Select Products/services
  2. Click New.
  3. On the Product/service information field, choose what type of product or service.
  4. You can enter any name for the product.
  5. Under Income account, select Charitable contributions account from the dropdown list.
  6. Select Save and close.

 

Once done, proceed to create an invoice for the items you donated and for you to record it.

 

After you've created an invoice, you can apply a credit memo for you to record the value of the products or services you're donating.

 

Lastly, you can verify the credit memo you've created if it's applied to the invoice.

 

In addition, you can visit this article for you to learn how to run a report and how to customize your reports in QBO:

 

If you have further concerns about recording your donations in QBO, feel free to leave a comment or Reply to this post. I'm always here to lend a hand.

F
Friends of the Library - PerkiAuthor
May 9, 2024

Apparently I didn't explain my issue very well. So I'll try again.

 

WE are the non profit. We are RECEIVING donations from our patrons. I'm trying to create a fundraising campaign within the software that will record both the expenses from the mailing of the campaign and the money received in donations. The "projects" tab doesn't allow me to record the donations correctly to the project so we can get a true P&L for the campaign. Does that make sense?

Tori B
Tori B
May 9, 2024

Hi there, @Friends of the Library - Perki.

 

Thanks for checking back with us and clarifying that you are the non-profit organization. 

 

Depending on how you receive the donation, you can record and track it as a sales receipt, bank deposit, or pledge.

 

The first thing you'll need to do is create a revenue account for donations. Here's how: 

 

  1. Follow these steps to create a revenue account.
  2. Make sure to select Non-Profit Income as the detail type.
  3. You can call this account “Fund donations.”

 

Then, you'll need to fund donation item (non-inventory item). This is so you can select a product or service when creating a sales receipt. 

 

  1. Follow these steps to create a non-inventory item.
  2. You can call this item “Fund donations.”
  3. Don’t forget to use the revenue account you set up in “Step 1.”

 

Once you have the account and item set up, you can add your donors as customers. For more information about adding customers in QuickBooks Online, check out: Add and manage customers in QBO.

 

You can create a sales receipt if you receive the donation right away. Then, if you need to, you can also send the sales receipt to the donor as a statement of their donation.

 

Here's how: 

 

  1. Create a sales receipt for the donation.
  2. Click on Customize, then choose your donation template.
  3. Make sure to select the donor and donation item you set up.
  4. Choose the Payment method dropdown, then choose how you receive the donation.
  5. Hit Save and close or Save and send if you want to email your donor a receipt of their donation.

 

Fun tip: Show your appreciation to your donors when you send a receipt of their donation or pledge. You can customize the thank you letters you email.

 

If you have a donor who promises to pay at a later time or pays via bank deposit, please check out Track funds you receive by donors in QuickBooks Online for more information. 

 

As for the expense side of it, you can record a regular expense directly in the account register.

 

Please remember it's always best to consult with your accounting professional before making any changes to your account. If you don't have an accountant, don't sweat it. You can find one here in our Resource Center. 

 

Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. I'm happy to help out. Take care! 

    Rainflurry
    RainflurryAnswer
    May 9, 2024

    @Friends of the Library - Perki 

     

    The responses you received from @RhoiceW & @Tori B are embarrassing.  It's as though they never even read your question.  More and more, I think these responses are AI-generated.

     

    To answer your question, try using Tags.  Create a Tag (Settings > Tags) called 'Campaign X' and then assign that tag to all transactions for that campaign.  You can then run a P&L by Tag Group to see how it's going.     

      F
      Friends of the Library - PerkiAuthor
      May 14, 2024

      This is exactly what I needed! It worked like a charm. And helped me figure out a few other things I needed to be able to distinguish costs on.

       

      I appreciate you taking the time to respond. This will make my life so much easier moving forward and will give us a very clear picture of where our non profit revenue is coming from.

       

      Thank you for not being an AI bot! 😉

      Stacy

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