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I hope you are staying warm with this very chilly weather roaring through the US. But being stuck indoors is sometimes motivation to organize our files (or thoughts). One of those files may be your QuickBooks company file. Why do you care where your company file is? Perhaps you are setting up a new company file and early in the process you realize you've made some errors and you just want to start from scratch. You will want to delete the old company file so you don't get it confused with the new company file you are creating. If you don't delete...

Does your organization receive donations through a website or via credit cards? Recording the discount charged by the card processor can sometimes be frustrating. If you are using QuickBooks, I recommend the following: Enter the donation through Sales Receipts or Receive Payments just like you would for cash, giving the donor the full credit for the gift. Go to the Make Deposits screen, select the donation or donations that make up the funds received in the bank. Next, leave the RECEIVED FOR column blank, choose the expense account for merchant fees, and enter the CLASS. The AMOUNT will be entered...

With the start of a new year, many nonprofit organizations and churches are considering new accounting systems. If you are working with a nonprofit organization you feel passionate about, it is natural to focus on the mission and the programs. But equally important is the need to accurately track the financial tasks. Here are the five crucial elements necessary to maintain a strong financial system to fund your nonprofit’s mission. Internal accounting controls Donors to an organization want to know systems are in place to keep the money and other assets safe and that they are being used as intended....

As the end of January approaches, there is still so much to do with the accounting records. It is time to get the IRS required 1099s to the vendors whom we paid throughout the year. For each non-incorporated vendor whom your organization paid over $600/year, Forms 1099 Misc. are required to be submitted to the IRS. Copies of these forms must be sent to the vendors by the end of January. The IRS must receive a transmittal (Form 1096) and the 1099s by the end of February. The most difficult part of the 1099s is determining who should receive them....

You've cleaned up the old pledges or tithes that we discussed last week and now it is time for year-end contribution statements. I know I promised to talk about independent contractors this week, but I've been getting a number of questions regarding the year-end contribution statements, so 1099s will wait until next time. If you are using QuickBooks, you can design an annual contribution statement letter to print out for all donors and then attach the list of donations from the Sales by Customer Detail report. It isn't as smooth as using a designated donor database-type system, but it does...