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Unsure how to enter items for an in-kind fundraiser.

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
January 7, 2019
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Hi there. I own a jigsaw puzzle company and host an annual puzzle drive. I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm not entering these things correctly and could use another set of opinions. Here's how the puzzle drive works: (first, it's a Toys for Tots donation, just to get that out of the way)

1. our customer/donor goes to the website (bluedotrobot.com) and visits a donation page, which is separate from the regular product page.

2. rather than buying a single product they sponsor, or buy, a case of 6.

3. rather than the retail price, the case is sold at cost.

4. the customer never handles the case(s) - I transport the items to T4T when their donation distribution centers open. This year our donation amount was so great I arranged for T4T to pick up the order at the warehouse.

Now this is why I'm confused.. the puzzle costs, when manufactured, are in a COGS account. When the customer makes their donation, it's being entered as a regular sale which, I guess, is technically correct? I'm recovering the cost but making no profit. It appears as income which, again, is technically true. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot here. I'd love to know if I'm totally off-base with how I'm entering these or if I'm missing any sort of advantageous way of entering it.

A small 2nd question: I've also matched this year's donations. I think it's pretty straightforward in that this is simply inventory given as an in-kind donation. This is the advice I plan to follow, but if you, oh helpful one, have other advice or I'm off base, I'm all ears. https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/Inventory-and-projects/How-to-track-donated-inventory/m-p/185978#M20

Thank you in advance!!!

Non-Product Specific

Best answer by AlcaeusF

Hello there, mische7.

I appreciate you for getting back to us and providing more insights. It would be my pleasure to answer any questions you may have about tracking donations.

Yes, you're right. In addition to that, recording the donation as a Sales Receipt will also allow you to print a receipt if you need one.

However, there are some extra steps you can do to record the donations correctly. You need to create a separate income and clearing account and the product items you need to enter as a donation.

After creating the accounts, items and creating a Sales Receipt, we'll need to create a bill to zero out the balance and for the donation to reflect.

I'm linking an article that includes the step by step instructions on how to perform the process: How to record in-kind donations.

Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions or concerns. The Community is always here for you.

A

Anonymous

Good day, @mische7.

It's nice to have you in the Community. I'm glad you're doing great with your donation amount this year. :)

I can see you're on the right track in entering your donation items. In QuickBooks, the steps provided in the article is the best way to track items for an in-kind fundraiser. However, I'd still suggest consulting your accountant to verify if this is the best practice for your business.

I'll be here to help if you have further questions. Have a good one.

M

mische7Author

Hi Lily. Thanks so much for the reply. And it's nice to be in the community. :)

I had to part ways with my accountant after an expensive mistake a few years ago. I lost faith.. But most everything has been very straightforward so I've carried on as usual. This one is just slightly outside my comfort zone.

1. If I understand correctly (and, of course, I know this is just general guidance and not hard answers) entering the donations from customers as a sale is correct, since it's still a sale but at cost value.

2. Then with my own donations I'll just follow the instructions on the other page.

Sound about right?

AlcaeusFAnswer