After all, overseeing the budget, keeping track of donations, and preparing for fundraising can be difficult for an organization. That's where a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) comes in. A CFO is responsible for the overall financial management of your organization, including budgeting, bookkeeping, financial reporting, and financial planning.

So how do you know when it's time to bring in a Chief Financial Officer (CFO)? Let's look at a few signs that indicate it might be time to hire help.

1. Your Organization is Growing Quickly

If you are struggling to keep up with the financial demands of your organization and experiencing difficulty interpreting your financial statements, it might be time to hire a CFO. A CFO can help you manage growth by developing strategic plans and implementing systems and processes that will scale with your organization. Without a CFO, you might constantly play catch-up instead of proactively managing your organization's finances.

2. You're Having Difficulty Raising Funds and Providing Peace of Mind Assurances to Donors

If you're having difficulty raising funds, it might be time to hire a CFO. A CFO can help you develop a fundraising strategy and track your progress against your goals. Additionally, a CFO can help you identify potential donors and grant opportunities. A CFO will often advocate for your nonprofit funders to ensure you receive the desired funding, and donors gain peace of mind and assurance that your organization will be a good steward of the finances they entrust to you.

3. You Don't Have Enough Time to Focus on Finances

If you spend more time on other tasks because you don't have enough time to focus on finance-related tasks, it might be time to bring in a CFO. A CFO can take on many of the day-to-day tasks associated with running the financial side of your nonprofit so that you can focus on other areas of the organization. A CFO will help your organization develop a long-term financial strategy for sustainability and help you and your board implement institutional knowledge.

4. You’re Not an Expert in Finance and Can’t Keep up with Changing Nonprofit Regulations

Even if you're good with numbers, that doesn't mean you should be in charge of your nonprofit's finances. Remember, a CFO is more than just a bookkeeper; they're also responsible for developing financial strategies, forecasting future needs, keeping up with federal and state laws and regulations, and providing advice on the best use of your resources. If you're not a finance expert, it might be time to bring someone on board who is.

Deciding to hire a CFO is not one to be made lightly. You don't have to wait until you're ready to expand to bring in a CFO. You can bring one in at any time. If you're concerned about the financial health of your nonprofit, or if you want someone to help you with the day-to-day financial management of your organization, then it might be time to bring in a CFO.

Do you think it might be time to hire a CFO for your nonprofit? If so, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, make sure that you find someone who is qualified and experienced. Second, be clear about what their responsibilities will be. And third, ensure they're compatible with your organization's culture.

Bringing in a CFO is a big decision, but it can be a great way to ensure the financial health of your nonprofit for years to come. A CFO can provide valuable assistance as you navigate the challenges of growing your nonprofit.

Goshen Accounting Services is here to support and help your nonprofit organization thrive. If you think we might be a good fit for your nonprofit, review our services to get started.

You can also create and use custom fields to enter other information, such as the grant number, service performance, etc. Watch the video to learn how to create and use custom fields to track your grant and contract details.

Learn how to create and use custom fields to track grant spending periods in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

Goshen Accounting Services is here to support and help your nonprofit organization thrive. If you think we might be a good fit for your nonprofit, review our services to get started.

Recording the accrued unused paid time off balances allows you to capture the expenses at the end of your organization’s fiscal year or calendar year. It helps answer your auditor’s questions.

To get started, you will need a copy of your organization’s employee handbook, access to your payroll system, and your QuickBooks Online file.

Video on how to record accrued paid time off in QuickBooks Online by Goshen Accounting Services

#1 Read your employee handbook

Read the employee handbook to understand what types of paid time off policies your organization has and to know which ones roll forward into the new fiscal year or calendar. You also need to know what type of payroll schedule your organization uses so you know how complex your calculations will be.

#2 Verify the paid time off policy is set up in your payroll system

Once you have confirmed the type of paid time off policy and payroll schedule your organization has, verify that both policies are set up correctly in the payroll software. In Gusto payroll, you will find your policies under the time tools menu. And, in QuickBooks Online Payroll, you will find the vacation and sick report in the report center under the payroll details section.

#3 Run the paid time off a report from your payroll system

To record the accrued expenses, you will need the paid time off balances report from your payroll system with the hours converted to dollars. We recommend saving this report as a PDF in your external cloud storage system.

#4 Create the accrued expenses liability accounts

If your QuickBooks Online file doesn't already have the accrued expenses liabilities accounts, create new ones in your chart of accounts.

1. Create a parent current liabilities account called “Accrued Expenses.”

2. Create multiple sub-current liabilities accounts under the parent account.

   • Accrued Wages, FYE

   • Accrued Taxes, FYE

   • Accrued Benefits, FYE

   • Accrued PTO, FYE

3. Verify that you have all of the necessary payroll expenses accounts already set up in your chart of accounts.

#5 Record the paid time off balances using an expense form or a journal entry

You can use an expense form to record the accrued PTO expenses or use a journal entry. In this process, you are only recording the unused ending balance as of your organization’s fiscal year-end or calendar year-end.

To record an expense, do the following:

1. Click the +New menu and select expense under the vendor column.

2. Enter the name of the employee in the payee field and select the payroll clearing account or JOURNAL account in the payment account field.

3. Select “1. Without Donor Restrictions” in the location tracking field.

4. Enter a unique naming convention in the reference no field.

5. In the category field, select payroll expense salaries and wages account.

6. Enter the PTO amount as a positive number in the amount field, add a memo, and select a name, class, and location tracking from the dropdown options. You can split the amount across multiple classes if needed.

7. In the category field second line, select the accrued PTO account.

8. Enter the PTO amount as a negative number in the amount field, add a memo, and select a name, class, and location tracking from the dropdown options.

9. Verify that your total expense balance is zero.

10. Add the payroll PTO report in the attachment field and repeat the same description from above in the memo field.

11. Then, click save and close.

To record a journal entry, do the following:

1. Click the +New menu and select journal entry under the other column.

2. Enter the journal entry date as the last date of your fiscal year or calendar year ending.

3. Leave the numbering sequence for the journal number field.

4. Enter the payroll clearing account or JOURNAL account in the first line of the journal entry, add a memo, and select a name, class, and location tracking from the dropdown options.

5. Enter the payroll expense salaries and wages account with an amount in the debit column, add a memo, and select a name, class, and location tracking from the dropdown options. You can split the amount across multiple classes if needed.

6. Enter the accrued PTO account with an amount in the credit column, add a memo, and select a name, class, and location tracking from the dropdown options.

7. Verify that your debit total matches your credit total.

8. Add the payroll PTO report in the attachment field and repeat the same description from above in the memo field.

9. Then, click save and close.

#6 Reverse the recorded paid time off entries

To reverse the expense transaction on day one of the new fiscal year or the calendar year, do the following:

1. Find the original expense transaction and select copy from the more menu.

2. Enter the name of the employee in the payee field and select the payroll clearing account or JOURNAL account in the payment account field.

3. Select “1. Without Donor Restrictions” in the location tracking field.

4. Repeat the same unique naming convention in the reference no field you did in step #5 and add an “R” to the end.

5. Update the salaries and wages account PTO amount to a negative number in the amount field

6. Update the accrued PTO account amount to a positive number in the amount field.

7. Verify that your total expense balance is zero.

8. Then, click save and close.

To reverse the journal entry on day one of the new fiscal year or calendar year, do the following:

1. Open the original journal entry you recorded from step #5.

2. Click the reverse button to allow QuickBooks Online to reverse the journal entry for you.

3. You will notice an “R” in the journal number field, the date changed to one day in the new fiscal year or calendar year, and the debit and credit column amounts are in reversed order.

4. Verify that your debit total matches your credit total.

5. Then, click save and close.

Your balance sheet showing the accrued PTO will now show a zero balance.

Goshen Accounting Services is here to support and help your nonprofit organization thrive. If you think we might be a good fit for your nonprofit, review our services to get started.

Storing your account statements in QuickBooks Online provides three benefits:

• Creates a central place for multiple team members to access documents linked to the account reconciliation process in QuickBooks Online.

• Allows you to point your organization’s external accounting professionals, such as your tax preparers and auditors, access to your balance sheet documents.

• Serves as a redundancy backup procedure as part of your organization’s document and retention process in the event of data loss to resume operations.

To get started, log in to QuickBooks Online and complete the below three simple steps.

#1 Create a generic vendor name called “Account Statements.”

• Click expenses and then select vendors to open the vendor center.

• Click the new vendor green button to open the vendor popup window.

• Add ACCOUNT STATEMENTS in all caps in the company name field. You will see that the name automatically shows in the display name field and in the name to print on the checks field.

• Scroll down to where it says notes and attachments. Add a note in the notes field that says, “this vendor is used to house various balance sheet account statements.”

• Click save to exit the vendor screen.

#2 Create a bank-type clearing account called “JOURNAL” in your chart of accounts.

The journal account is meant for you to house various movements of funds between balance sheet accounts and make it easier to find a list of your journal entries throughout the year.

• Click accounting and select chart of accounts.

• Click on the New button to create a new account.

• Select bank as the account type and checking account as the detail type. Then, enter the name of the account as “JOURNAL” in the name field. Add an account number and click save and close.

#3 Create a zero-sum expense transaction using the expense form.

There is no monetary value assigned to the zero-sum expense transaction. Therefore, it has zero effect on your finances in QuickBooks Online.

• Click on the +New menu, under the vendors’ column, and select the expense form.

• Find the “Account Statements” vendor we created earlier in the payee field.

• For the payment account field, select the JOURNAL account.

• The payment date should be the statement ending date. Keep the payment method blank.

• The reference no field should be the short, abbreviated account name plus the acronym for the statement and the statement ending date. for example, "BOASTMT012722.

• The category should be the actual account that you are reconciling. For my example, this is the bank of America credit card statement.

• The description field should say the month and year of the statement with a small note that says see the attachment field.

• The amount is zero, and the class tracking is just management and general.

• make sure 1. Without Donor Restriction is selected as the location tracking.

• Copy the description from the top, and put it in the memo box.

• Drag and drop your account statement into the attachment field.

• Review all your work before hitting the save and close button.

When you reconcile the account at the end of the statement closing period, you will select the zero-sum transaction in the reconciliation window.

Goshen Accounting Services is here to support and help your nonprofit organization thrive. If you think we might be a good fit for your nonprofit, review our services to get started.

On top of the basic qualifications you need to look for in any accounting professional, there are several unique qualities you’ll want to consider to make the relationship between your nonprofit and your chosen accounting professional a success.

At Goshen Accounting Services, we find prospects and clients come to us because they are not satisfied with the level and type of service they have received from an accounting professional in the past. Or, they are dealing with communication, compliance, and rapid growth issues that are beyond what their internal staff can handle.

Therefore, we are sharing the top six qualities you should consider when looking to hire an accounting professional for your nonprofit.

1. Find an accounting partner with nonprofit experience

First, it might sound obvious, but extensive prior experience in nonprofit accounting services is a must-have. To an outsider, it might seem like accounting for nonprofit organizations is similar to that of a for-profit business. But the truth is, there are many nuances when it comes to managing the finances of a nonprofit organization that is only learned through experience and understanding tax regulations.

Criteria to look for and ask about:

• Does the accounting professional know how to use your accounting system inside and out?

• Does the accounting professional understand donor management best practices?

• Does the accounting professional keep up with continuing education to stay on top of ever-changing regulations that impact nonprofits specifically?

• Can the accounting professional demonstrate a history of success, not only with nonprofits in general, but also with organizations that share your organization’s mission and values?

If you can honestly answer each of these questions with “yes,” then you’re well on your way to selecting the right nonprofit accounting professional for your organization. But that’s not the entire picture.

2. Look for synergy between your organization and the accounting professional

Next, find someone who is compatible with your organization on a few specific levels. Synergy with your mission and values are the foundation of that compatibility, but definitely not the entire story.

• Does the accounting professional understand the relationship aspect of how your organization serves the community?

• Will the accounting professional be able to work closely with the board of directors, management, and your staff as a trusted partner and advisor, with clear, two-way communication and transparency?

• Does the accounting professional you’re considering understand modern technology and bring solutions to the table that will help your organization stay in compliance, diversify revenue streams, and reduce expenses?

All of these considerations should help you further determine whether the accounting professional you’re speaking with is one you can trust long-term.

3. Resist the urge to make weird assumptions and stereotypes

When you are interviewing multiple accounting professionals, leave your stereotypes and weird assumptions that bookkeepers and accountants are not valuable as doctors or attorneys at the door. The accounting profession is in the business of helping your organization thrive with fewer tax nightmares, more peace of mind, and keeping your stakeholders happy.

Be prepared to be vulnerable in answering questions about the behaviors that lead to the financial situation your organization is in currently and the plans you have to get out of the chaos. The interview phase is like dating to determine if your organization and the accounting professional want to be married to each other for the next 3-5 years.

Your accounting professional should give you the comfortable space you desire to freely share what’s keeping you and your team up at night. The goal is to be your authentic self and truly allow your accounting professional to help you break through the roadblocks hindering your organization.

4. Focus on quality and value instead of the cheapest service

In our experience working with various nonprofit organizations and conducting discovery sessions, we have found going the cheap route or continuing to use volunteers for highly skilled positions doesn’t translate to high quality and value for nonprofit organizations.

Just because your organization is a nonprofit doesn’t mean everything you receive should be free or discounted. It takes an investment of money, time, and resources to help any business thrive successfully. And, looking at accounting as an afterthought or not wanting to invest now when you are running a nonprofit that generates gross revenue of $100K or more creates future chaos and increases the hefty cleanup fee.

Have a realistic budget in mind when talking with a potential accounting partner that includes how much it will take to streamline your organization and get your books in great shape. Don’t be surprised if you receive a premium quote from a nonprofit accounting expert that is more than your budget.

The best nonprofit accounting professionals are often not the cheapest and are experts with years of continuing education and training, have trained back-office support teams, and bring a diverse wealth of experience to change the trajectory of your organization’s financial infrastructure and operations. The last thing you want to do is reinvent the wheel, so take the time to choose the best accounting partner.

5. Add your accounting partner to your core executive team

There are the less tangible elements of finding the right professional relationship. We believe an accounting professional is more than just someone who “does your books,” or “files your taxes” or a vendor.

To achieve the highest level of success, you have to work with an accounting partner and advisor who is good at more than numbers. The ideal nonprofit accounting partner is someone who can do most (if not all) of the following:

• Become a core part of your team and have a voice at the board and management level of your organization;

• See the big picture in your organization and help you tell your mission and program success stories with accurate finances;

• Serve as the right-hand support you communicate with for every milestone decision (big and small) your organization undertakes;

• Translate information in a language that speaks to the human element of your operations without the accounting jargon;

• Provide accountability for your organization through honest dialogue without sugarcoating the difficult parts;

• Advocate for your organization to secure more funding with funders;

• And, be your “calm during the storm,” and have the ability to absorb some of your pain so you can focus on serving the greater community knowing your finances are well taken care of.

You should be able to laugh, vent, and celebrate the wins of running your organization with your accounting partner.

6. Trust the process and be patient with your accounting partner

When considering all of these factors, and evaluating your potential accounting partner for a fit, we can’t leave out one important piece of the puzzle: You! Remember, as good as your bookkeeper or accountant is, they will need time to understand the complexities of your organization and help you get out of any messes you may have gotten into.

If your nonprofit’s books have been messy for years, don’t expect an instant fix – even if you find someone who fits the bill in all categories. It may seem like a lot is happening and being demanded from your organization within the first 6 months, but when you trust the process and work as a team to achieve goals, it reduces accounting friction and generates long-term results.

All of the above are just a few of the traits that should play in your decision-making when it comes to finding and vetting accounting professionals for your nonprofit.

Goshen Accounting Services is here to support and help your nonprofit organization thrive. If you think we might be a good fit for your nonprofit, review our services and book a discovery session now to get started.

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Tasks templates in Asana are a great way to standardize how you track meeting notes, onboard your employees, document the checklist to record revenue and expenses in your accounting system, process payroll, and much more. Tasks templates are available under Asana Premium, Business, and Enterprise plans.

My tip is to figure out the procedure you consistently create every day and convert it into a task template to make it easier for you and your team to replicate to stop reinventing the wheel.

Task templates only exist inside projects, so create them once and update them as procedures change in your business.

To get started, you have to create the task first and then convert it to a template. When creating a task, add all the required steps and detailed instructions for your team to update when they use the template.

To convert a task to a template, click on the three-dotted icon and select convert the task to a template. And, let Asana do its magic. Asana removes the original task from your project list to avoid confusion.

All the task templates you create will be displayed under the “Add new” menu so you and your team can click on a template to create a new task. If you are using sections in your Asana project, you can click on the plus icon to use your existing template to create a new task.

If you need to edit a task template to add more action steps, click on customize, scroll down to the task templates section, and click on the pencil icon next to the task template you want to edit. An edit window will pop up to allow you to add new subtasks or update the description field.

A few limitations to using task templates in Asana:

• Task templates do not duplicate when you duplicate a project, and dependencies for subtasks do not work on the templates.

• Unfortunately, task templates are unavailable to use in the Asana mobile app.

Outside of these limitations, I recommend you have some fun creating task templates to standardize your business procedures to help your team track information consistently.

Leave a comment below to let us know how you use Asana task templates in your business.

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To use this feature, you must have a QuickBooks Online Advanced subscription and add billable users to QuickBooks Online. So, in this tutorial, I will show how to create a few tasks and show what the task assignee will see when they log back into QuickBooks Online Advanced.

To get started, click on the tasks menu. QuickBooks Online will group your tasks into three sections: overdue, today, and upcoming. Admin users will be able to see everyone's tasks in this view and keep things clean. However, a standard user will only see their assigned tasks or tasks that they created and assigned to other team members. You can create a one-time task or a recurring task in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

To create a one-time task to notify another user that checks are ready to print in QuickBooks Online, you need to do the following:

• Select Add task

• Task Name: Enter a short action title

• Task Assignee: Assign to a team member or yourself

• Task Due Date: Enter the deadline to complete the task

• Task Notes: Enter as much context in the notes field to help the team member, or you complete this task successfully

• Then, click Save

The user you have assigned a task to will receive an email notification or a mobile push notification to complete the task. They can also see the same information when they log into QuickBooks Online.

If you are scheduling the due date to be the exact date you are creating the task, the task assignee will not receive any email nor mobile notifications. Therefore, I recommend scheduling tasks one day in advance. To create a recurring task, repeat the same steps and turn on the recurring option.

Examples of recurring tasks you can create to monitor your business health are:

• Review timesheets for payroll

• Update imported payroll journal entries

• Adjust net asset balances

• Adjust deferred revenues and prepaid expenses

• Review unpaid bills

• Review financial reports or the performance dashboard

The task feature does have some limitations. There are currently no dashboard alerts to notify you when a task is overdue or what’s upcoming. There is no ability to add attachments or hyperlinks like a normal task management tool. The notes field is hard to read and not clickable. I encourage you to give Intuit feedback to continue adding more layers to the task feature.

Overall, I recommend using the task feature to track your money goals and financial tasks, especially if you are not using any external project management tool like Asana. Check out the task feature and comment below letting me the ways you are using tasks in your business.

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To get started, download your credit card statement and open it on one screen.  Then, log in to QuickBooks Online on another screen.

Before we reconcile the credit card, we need to transfer the balance from each employee credit card account to the parent credit card using QuickBooks Online expense.

To do this, click the +New icon and select Expense under the vendors' column.

In the expense window, you need to do the following:

• Select a payee, which is the name of the credit card company listed on your statement.

• Select the parent credit card account as the payment account.

• Enter the date as the statement closing date. Leave the payment method blank. The reference no can be CC and the statement closing date. Select 1.Without Donor Restrictions for the location tracking field.

• Select the employee’s credit card accounts in the expense category field. Enter a description that says, “Card # for the close date balance transfer to parent credit card account.”

• Enter the amount, which is the same as the employee card ending balance listed on your statement. You can leave the class field blank.

• Add more lines and record the balances from the statement from all the other employee credit card accounts repeating the same process we did for line 1.

• Copy and paste the same description from above in the memo field.

• Add a copy of the statement as an attachment if needed. Review everything and click save and new to repeat the process to transfer the balances for all other employee credit card accounts. Click save and close.

Next, you will reconcile the individual employee credit card accounts using an ending balance of zero and the statement closing date.

To do this, click on accounting and select reconcile. You can also click on the gear icon and select reconcile.

In this reconciliation window:

• Select the employee’s credit card account, add zero as the ending balance and enter the statement closing date as the ending date. Then click start reconciling.

• Compare the transactions in the reconciliation window to those listed in your credit card statement and make the ones that cleared, including the closing statement balance amount. Review the account for duplicate transactions and resolve them if needed.

• Once your difference is zero, click Finish to close the reconciliation window.

• Print your reconciliation report to PDF and store it in your cloud storage system.

Repeat the reconciliation process for other employee credit card accounts that you have.

The next step is to reconcile the parent credit card account using the same reconciliation process.

• Open the reconciliation screen again, select the parent credit card account.

• Enter the statement closing balance for the parent credit card account in the ending balance field. Enter the statement closing date in the ending date field. Click start reconciling.

• Compare the transactions in the reconciliation window to those listed in your credit card statement and make the ones that cleared. Review the account for duplicate transactions and resolve them if needed.

• Once your difference is zero, click Finish to close the reconciliation window.

• Click done in this popup screen and go to the history by account to view your reconciliation report. Print your reconciliation report to PDF and store it in your cloud storage system.

Once all credit card accounts are reconciled, run a balance sheet report for the statement period from the reports center. You will notice the employee accounts have zero balances, and the parent credit card account has the statement balance that you pay when your credit card payment is due.

That is how to reconcile a parent credit card account and employee credit card accounts in QuickBooks Online for organizations that use the location tracking feature. Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel, like, and share this post if you found it helpful.

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In this video, I show how to transfer credit card balances from employee cards to the parent credit card account if you are not using the location tracking feature in QuickBooks Online.

To get started, download your credit card statement and open it on one screen.  Then, log in to QuickBooks Online on another screen.

The first step is to transfer the balance for each employee's credit card to the parent credit card account using the QuickBooks Online transfer feature.

• To do this, click the +New icon and select Transfer under the other column.

• In this transfer window, choose the parent credit card account in the transfer funds from field. Choose the employee credit card account in the transfer funds to field.

• Enter the transfer amount, which is the same as the employee card ending balance listed on your statement. Enter the date as the statement closing date.

• Enter a memo that says, “Card # credit card for close date and balance transfer to parent credit card account.”

• Add a copy of the statement as an attachment if needed. Review everything and click save and new to repeat the process to transfer the balances for all other employee credit card accounts.

• Once done, click save and close.

Next, you will reconcile the individual employee credit card accounts using an ending balance of zero and the statement closing date.

• To do this, click on accounting and select reconcile. You can also click on the gear icon and select reconcile.

• In this reconciliation window, select the employee credit card account, add zero as the ending balance and enter the statement closing date as the ending date. Then click start reconciling.

• Compare the transactions in the reconciliation window to the ones listed on your credit card statement and make the ones that cleared, including the closing statement balance amount we recorded as a transfer.

• Review the account for duplicate transactions and resolve them if needed.

• Once your difference is zero, click Finish to close the reconciliation window. Print your reconciliation report to PDF and store it in your cloud storage system.

• Repeat the reconciliation process for other employee credit card accounts that you have.

The next step is to reconcile the parent credit card account using the same reconciliation process.

• Open the reconciliation screen again, select the parent credit card account.

• Enter the statement closing balance for the parent credit card account in the ending balance field. Enter the statement closing date in the ending date field. Click start reconciling.

• Compare the transactions in the reconciliation window to those listed in your credit card statement and make the ones that cleared. Review the account for duplicate transactions and resolve them if needed.

• Once your difference is zero, click Finish to close the reconciliation window.

• Click done in the popup screen and go to the history by account to view your reconciliation report. Print your reconciliation report to PDF and store it in your cloud storage system.

Once all credit card accounts are reconciled, run a balance sheet report for the statement period. You will notice the employee accounts have zero balances, and the parent credit card account has the statement balance that you pay when your credit card payment is due.

That is how to reconcile primary parent credit card accounts and employee credit card accounts if your organization does not use the location tracking feature.

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• Log into your Gmail account

• Click on the calendar icon

• Click on the three-dotted icon

• Select calendars and check the boxes next to each shared calendar you want to see displayed in the sidebar

No more opening full calendar mode to check your availability. And, you can keep your personal schedule and business scheduled integrated into one calendar view.

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1. Establish effective HR policies to ensure your business is in compliance.

2. Follow the policies that you create consistency and stop processing payroll outside of the system.

3. Always get Form W-9 from your service providers before you process the first payments.

Do you need help establishing a solid financial foundation for your business? Have questions about using QuickBooks Online to run your nonprofit or small business? Book a discovery call today - I am happy to help!

With these changes, the IRS also gave us a new 2020 1099-MISC form to track rents, royalties, etc.

In this video, I will show you what the new 1099 forms look like and how you can update the mapping of your expense accounts in the new 1099 wizard in QuickBooks Online so that you can get an accurate 1099 transaction detail report file your 1099s in January 2021.

There are two main changes I love about the new 1099 wizard in QuickBooks Online.

• You will now see the 1099 form names right next to each box, so you do not make the mistake of mapping the expense accounts to the wrong 1099 form.

• The 1099 form names will also show up in the 1099 transaction detail report.

Note that you may see some weird grayed-out old mapped accounts in some of the boxes as seen in my video. I believe this is a temporary glitch that will be fixed by Intuit before the 2021 filing deadline.

Enjoy the video and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel for more QuickBooks tips.

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In this tutorial, I will show how to create and use a custom field to track the W-9 tax classification status of your service providers in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

Normally, I use the notes field under a vendor’s profile to add their W-9 tax classification so it is easier for me to run the vendor contact list report on a monthly or quarterly basis to know which vendors I need to request a W-9 form from and which ones I don’t.

With the introduction of custom fields for vendors in QuickBooks Online Advanced, I can now use a custom field to track this detail and free up my notes box to record other stuff.

Watch the video and follow along with the guide.

Create a Custom Field

Log into QuickBooks Online. Click the gear icon and select custom fields under the lists column. Click add field and select vendor Info.

Enter the field name as “Tax Entity Type (W-9)” and select the drop-down list option as the type.

Leave the box unchecked for use on other expense forms and leave the box for inactive checked.

Add more lines (up to 7) and enter the below as your dropdown options to mirror the W-9 form federal tax classification question part.

• Non-service provider

• Request a W-9 form

• Sole Proprietor/SMLLC

• Partnership

• S Corp or C Corp

• Trust/Estate

Click save to exit the window.

Apply Custom Field to Your service Vendors

Go back to your vendor center/list, find a service vendor. Click edit under the service provider’s profile and scroll down to add the custom field. Then, click Save. Repeat this process to add the custom field to all your vendors.

Currently, there is no way to use the batch action feature to apply the custom field to existing vendors in one click. There is also no way to reorder the drop-down options if you make a mistake, so it is vital you enter everything in the correct order. Please submit feedback to Intuit to implement this.

A workaround tip is to click the gear icon and add the custom field as a display column so you can easily see which vendors have the field and which ones don’t.

Run Your Vendor Contact List Report

Click Reports, then under the Standard Reports tab, find and run the Vendor Contact List report.

Click the customize button to add the following under rows/columns:

• Tax Entity Type (W-9)

• Tax ID

• Track 1099

• Company name, first and last name, and email address and phone number

Click run report to refresh the vendor contact list report. Go ahead and save the report for future use. You can use this report to import your service vendors into Track1099 or provide it to your CPA to send out W-9 form requests to your vendors to complete. I love using this report to email my clients to get email addresses from their vendors.

Comment below and let me know what other cool ways you are using custom fields in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

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In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create vendor types in QuickBooks Online Advanced to track the different suppliers you pay without making your chart of accounts excessively long and complicated.

If you have used QuickBooks Desktop before, you will know that the vendor type feature exists and gives you the ability to segment your suppliers to make the 1099 tracking process easier.

Unfortunately, the vendor type feature does not exist in QuickBooks Online. My workaround is to use a custom field. If you are new to QuickBooks Online, use my partner link to save 50% off QuickBooks Online Advanced retail subscription for one year.

If you are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization already using QuickBooks Online Plus subscription, visit Techsoup.org to upgrade to QuickBooks Online Advanced subscription.

Watch the video and follow along with the guide.

Create a Custom Field

Log into QuickBooks Online. Click the gear icon and select custom fields under the lists column.

Click add field and select vendor Info.

Click the Gear Icon and select custom fields under the lists column.

Click add field and select Vendor Info.

The field name should be called Vendor Type. Select the dropdown list as the type.

Add as many lines as you need and enter your dropdown options in the order you want. Make your names generic to grow with your organization.

Check the box next to Use on PO. Check the box next to Use on other expense forms.

Click save to exit the window.

Apply Vendor Type Custom Field to Vendors

Go back to your vendor center/list, find a vendor. Click edit under the vendor’s profile and scroll down to add the vendor type custom field. Then, click Save.

Repeat this process to add the custom field to all your vendors.

Impact on Expense Forms and Report

The vendor type field will show up when you record a bill and enter an expense or check with that vendor’s name.

The vendor type custom field will only show in the Vendors Contact List report, Unpaid Bills report, and the Transaction List by Vendor report.

To run a report, click Reports, then under the Standard Reports tab, find and run the Vendor Contact List report.

Click the customize button to add the vendor type column.

Click run report to refresh the vendor contact list report. Go ahead and save the report for future use.

Repeat the process to run all other reports. If you are preparing a financial package for your management team, add the transaction list by vendor report as a separate report for your team to understand the details that make up your legal and professional total line on your profit and loss statement.

Comment below and let me know what other cool ways you are using custom fields in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

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Disclaimer: this video and content is not sponsored. All reviews and opinions are my own.

Exportmybooks.com is a brand new app designed to help you export your data from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop without using the outdated Internet Explorer and provide an offline back of your data for safekeeping.

It is a game-changer for accounting professionals looking to clean up clients’ books in QuickBooks Desktop and re-import them back into QuickBooks Online. And, for small business owners tired of paying a monthly subscription fee or my nonprofit organizations looking to move from retail price to a Techsoup price.

Tips to using the app to backup QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop:

• You will need the master administrator or company admin user permissions to connect the app to QuickBooks Online.

• Run your balance sheet report or profit and loss report with all dates selected and display column as years to see how much data you have and get the beginning date of your data.

• Pick a conversion date of one month before the beginning of your fiscal year or calendar year.

• It takes anywhere from 2 hours to 24 hours for the app to process and backup your data. Run the app and go to bed. Wake up to an email in your inbox telling you your data is ready for export.

• Save the audit report and use it to fix any issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

• Save the unique password. Change the password to something else you can remember after restoring the backup company file in QuickBooks Desktop.

• Run all of your financial reports using both accrual and cash basis in QuickBooks Desktop, then compare the numbers to QuickBooks Online reports.

• Review all of your lists: customers, employees, vendors, chart of accounts, and merge any duplicates.

• QuickBooks Online location tracking doesn’t export to QuickBooks Desktop

• If you have the multi-currency feature turned on in QuickBooks Online, you won’t be able to back up your data using this app.

Overall, I like the app and would love to see the exportmybooks.com app developers create more FAQ on how to use it with multiple QuickBooks Online company file, an explanation of why the system created additional global clearing accounts, and other potential limitations of the app.

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To conclude the tracking of restricted funds in QuickBooks Online for churches’ series, in this tutorial, I will show you how to record your beginning fund balances.

If you have been using QuickBooks Online for a while, you will notice every year on January 1st or the beginning of your fiscal year, your net surplus or deficit from all of your fund balances closes to the QuickBooks Retained Earning equity account.

One of the many year-end tasks you need to do is move the fund balances from the Retained Earnings equity account to the with or without donor restrictions net asset accounts. This process ensures your fund balances are accurate.

Log into QuickBooks Online. Watch the video and follow along with the guide.

Record Beginning Fund Balances

Run the Statement of Activities by Class report for the prior year and make a note of each fund net surplus or net deficit amount.

Click the +New icon and select journal entry under the other column.

• Journal date = January 1st of a new calendar year or the first date of your fiscal year

• Journal number = continue with your journal numbering sequence

• Line 1 Entry - Clearing account

  • Account = select the journal clearing account

  • Debit = enter the amount as zero

  • Description = enter “Record 12/31/YY fund balances”

  • Name = leave blank

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = Select the General Fund class

• Line 2 Entry - Record the Retained Earnings amount for the General Fund

  • Account = select the Retained Earnings account

  • Debit = enter the net surplus amount

  • Description = enter “Record 12/31/YY fund balances”

  • Name = leave blank or use a generic customer named “YE Adjustment”

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = Select the General Fund class

• Line 3 Entry - Record the General Fund Net Asset balance

  • Account = select the Without Donor Restriction:General Fund net asset account

  • Credit = enter the net surplus amount

  • Description = enter “Record 12/31/YY fund balances”

  • Name = leave blank or use a generic customer named “YE Adjustment”

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = Select the General Fund class

• Line 4 Entry - Record the Retained Earnings amount for the Temporary Restricted Fund

  • Account = select the Retained Earnings account

  • Debit = enter the net surplus amount

  • Description = enter “Record 12/31/YY fund balances”

  • Name = select the customer/project (aka your fund name)

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = Select the General Fund class

• Line 5 Entry - Record the Temporary Restricted Fund Net Asset balance

  • Account = select the With Donor Restrictions:Temporary Restricted Fund net asset account

  • Credit = enter the net surplus amount

  • Description = enter “Record 12/31/YY fund balances”

  • Name = select the customer/project (aka your fund name)

  • Location/Division = 1. With Donor Restriction

  • Class = Select the Temporary Restricted Fund class

• Repeat the same steps in lines 4 and 5 to record additional restricted fund balances that make up the retained earnings account balance.

• Once done, copy and paste the description text in the journal entry memo box. Then, click save and close.

Run the statement of financial position on January 1st or your fiscal year beginning date and you will notice your retained earnings account is zero and your with and without donor restrictions, net asset accounts now have all of the fund balances we recorded above.

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In this tutorial, we focus on how to release those funds from the restricted class to the general fund class in QuickBooks Online. There are two different methods to record the release of used funds from restriction.

Option 1: If you are only using class tracking for your funds and not location tracking, you need to use the check method to record the release of the restricted funds.

Option 2: If you are using class tracking and location tracking, you need to use a journal entry to record the release of the restricted funds.

To get started, watch the video and follow along with the guide.

Note: You should only release the equivalent of the actual cash of the fund spent either on a monthly basis or a day after you incur the expenses toward the restricted fund.

Log into QuickBooks Online.

Create Released from Restriction Account and Clearing Account

• Make sure you have a revenue account called “Net Assets Released from Restriction” listed on your chart of accounts.

• Create a clearing account called JOURNAL to keep track of all the journal entries you create in QuickBooks Online. Thanks to Megan Tarnow from The Mobius Group for the clearing account tip.

Option 1: Release Used Restricted Funds Using A Check

Create a vendor name called “Net Assets Released from Restriction” in your vendor list.

Click the +New icon and select expense or check under the vendors' column.

• Payee = select the vendor name called “Net Asset Release from Restriction”

• Payment Date = enter the payment date

• Payment method = you can skip this

• Ref No/Check No = Enter the number sequence like FR-01 or something

• Line 1 Entry - release revenue from restriction

  • Category = select the Net Assets Released from Restriction revenue account

  • Description = enter “release used [fund name] from restriction”

  • Amount = enter the amount used

  • Customer = Customer/restricted fund project

  • Class = Select the Temp or Prem. Restricted Fund or your restricted fund name

• Line 2 Entry - release revenue from restriction

  • Category = select the Net Assets Released from Restriction revenue account

  • Description = enter “release used [fund name] from restriction”

  • Amount = enter the amount used as a negative number

  • Customer = customer/restricted fund project

  • Class = select the General Fund class

• Line 3 Entry - release the cash from restriction

  • Category = select the bank account the original restricted funds were deposited into from the chart of accounts

  • Description = enter “release used [fund name] from restriction”

  • Amount = enter the amount used

  • Class = select the General Fund class

• Line 4 Entry - release the cash from restriction

  • Category = select the bank account the original restricted funds were deposited into from the chart of accounts

  • Description = enter “release [fund name] used from restriction”

  • Amount = enter the amount used as a negative number

  • Class = select the Temp or Prem. Restricted Fund class or your restricted fund name

• Memo = repeat the same description from above

• Click save and close

Impact on financial statements

When you look at your Statement of activities by class report or the project profitability report by classes, you will see a decrease in the net assets released from restriction revenue under the restricted fund class and an increase for the same amount and account under the General Fund class creating a net balance of zero.

When you look at your statement of financial position by class report, you will see the cash has been released from restriction between the general fund and restricted fund class.

Option 2: Release Used Restricted Funds Using A Journal Entry

Click the +New icon and select journal entry under the other column.

• Journal entry date = last day of the month or second day after expenses are incurred for the restricted fund

• Journal entry number = Enter a number sequence like FR-01 or something

• Line 1 Entry - clearing account

  • Account = select the JOURNAL account

  • Debit = enter the amount as zero

  • Description = enter “release [fund name] used from restriction”

  • Name = leave blank

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = Select the General Fund class

• Line 2 Entry - release revenue from restriction

  • Account = select the Net Assets Released from Restriction revenue account

  • Debits = enter the amount used

  • Description = enter “release used [fund name] from restriction”

  • Customer = customer/restricted fund project

  • Location/Division = 2. With Donor Restriction

  • Class = select the Temp or Prem. Restricted Fund class or your restricted fund class

• Line 3 Entry - release revenue from restriction

  • Account = select the Net Assets Released from the Restriction revenue account

  • Credits = enter the amount used

  • Description = enter “release used [fund name] from restriction

  • Customer = customer/restricted fund project

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = select the General Fund class

• Line 4 Entry - release the cash from restriction

  • Account = select the bank account the original restricted funds were deposited into from the chart of accounts

  • Description = enter “release used [fund name] from restriction”

  • Debit = enter the amount used

  • Customer = customer/restricted fund project

  • Location/Division = 1. Without Donor Restriction

  • Class = select the General Fund

• Line 5 Entry - release the cash from restriction

  • Category = select the bank account the original restricted funds were deposited into from the chart of accounts

  • Description = enter “release [fund name] used from restriction”

  • Amount = enter the amount used as a negative number

  • Customer = customer/restricted fund project

  • Location/Division = 2. With Donor Restriction

  • Class = select the Temp or Prem. Restricted Fund class or your restricted fund name

• Memo = repeat the same description from above

• Click save and close

Impact on financial statements

When you look at your statement of activities by class report, you will see a decrease in the net assets released from restriction revenue under the restricted fund class and an increase for the same amount and account under the General Fund class creating a net balance of zero.

When you look at your statement of activities by location report, you will see a decrease in the net assets released from restriction revenue under With Donor Restriction and an increase in the same account and for the same amount under Without Donor Restriction creating a net balance of zero.

When you look at your statement of financial position by location report, you will see the cash has been released from restriction between the With Donor Restriction and Without Donor Restriction locations.

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In this tutorial, I will show you how to record your ministry expenses for a restricted fund in QuickBooks Online continuing with my four-part blog series.

If you missed part one of this series, you can check out how to record restricted revenue into restriction.

To get started with recording your expenses, watch the video, and follow along with the guide.

Record restricted fund expenses

Record your expenses normally and apply the general fund class, customer/restricted fund project, and location to the transactions.

Click the +New icon and select expense or check under the vendors' column.

• Payee = select the appropriate vendor name

• Bank Account = select your bank account

• Payment Date = enter the payment date

• Check/Ref No = enter the check number or confirmation number

• Category = select the appropriate expense account

• Description = enter the payment purpose

• Amount = enter the amount paid

• Customer = customer/restricted fund project

• Class = select the General Fund class

• Location = 1. Without Donor Restrictions (optional)

• Memo = repeat the same description from above

• Attachments = add a copy of invoice or bill

• Click save and close

Impact on the financial statements: the expense account increases and the bank account asset account decreases.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to get notified of part 3 of this series on how to record the release of used restricted funds out of restriction.

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In this tutorial, I will explain what a restricted fund is and show you how to record restricted contributions for your ministry in QuickBooks Online. This is part one of tracking restricted funds for churches series.

A restricted fund is a fund that has a donor-imposed condition to be spent at a specific time, for a purpose, or to be maintained in perpetuity. Examples of restricted funds are building funds, memorial funds, mission funds, endowment funds, etc.

Churches operate on fund accounting and have to follow the new guidelines from FASB ASU 2016-14 tracking the conditions of donations by creating net asset accounts on the statement of financial position. Under the new guidelines, there are two classifications of net assets:

• With Donor Restrictions (used to be temporarily restricted fund and permanently restricted fund)

• Without Donor Restrictions (General Fund)

What this means for your church is you will need to record restricted donations with donor-imposed conditions separate from donations with no restrictions using a combination of customers/projects and class and location tracking in QuickBooks Online to get accurate financial reports.

To get started, watch the video and follow along with the guide.

Things you will need to do first:

• Log into QuickBooks Online.

• You must be using a QuickBooks Online Plus or QuickBooks Online Advanced subscription.

• Set up your ministry divisions as customers in the customer center. And, add your restricted fund as projects under each ministry division that is responsible for spending and distributing the funds. Follow my customer guide to set up your customers.

• Add a donation service item to your products/service list and map it to your program contributions revenue account or any other revenue account on your chart of accounts. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to add products/services.

• Click the Gear icon > Account and Settings > Advanced tab > Categories > turn on Classes for each transaction row. Turn on location tracking and use “Divisions” as your label if you want to add an additional level of tracking. Click save and close.

  • Click the Gear icon > All Lists > Select Classes > Add your different funds.

  • Also, add your locations as 1. With Donor Restrictions and 2. Without Donor Restrictions.

• Create your Net Assets accounts in your chart of accounts.

  • Without Donor Restrictions

    • General Fund - this is your operating money

    • Board Designated Fund - this is your reserve money

  • With Donor Restrictions

    • Temp. Restricted Funds By Time/Purpose

    • Perm. Restricted Funds in Perpetuity

Record Revenue into Restriction

Click the +New icon and select the sales receipt under the customers' column.

• Customer = customer/restricted fund project

• Sales Receipt Date = enter the date payment was received from the mail or online giving platform

• Payment Method = select Check, Online Giving, or any one of the dropdown options

• Reference No = Enter the check number or batch report number if you are recording multiple transactions

• Deposit to = select the undeposited funds

• Location = 1. With Donor Restrictions (optional)

• Product/Service = select an existing service item

• Description = enter the payment purpose and any memo from the check

• Qty = 1

• Rate = amount received

• Amount = QuickBooks Online will do the automatic calculations in this field

• Class = Select the Temp. Restricted Fund or your restricted fund name if the fund is temporarily restricted for a time period or a specific purpose. Select the Perm. Restricted Fund if the fund is perpetually restricted by the donor for life

• You can repeat the description from above in the message displayed on the sales receipt if you are not emailing the donor this document.

• Attachments = add a copy of check received or report from your online giving system

• Click save and close

Follow my detailed instructions on how to record a bank deposit for restricted funds to move the funds from the undeposited funds account to the real bank account.

Click the subscribe button below to get notified when I post part two of this series showing you how to record your restricted fund expenses.

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I am always amazed to learn how people track things in QuickBooks Online. I was cleaning up a client’s file the other day and realized that they were using journal entries to record returned sales receipt payments from customers.

The problem with using journal entries is you bypass the sales form and expense form when you record the transaction this way and it makes it harder to see which customer’s profile was impacted by the returned payment.

There are very few instances, you should ever use journal entries to record a transaction in QuickBooks Online. This is not one of them.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to record a returned sales receipt payment and the bank fee without using a journal entry.

Things you will need

• A copy of your bank statement or a copy of the returned payment transaction and bank fee

• A copy of the original sales receipt

• Activate the product/service expense side

To get started, log into qbo.intuit.com.

Step #1 Create a Sales Return income account

If you only have one product or service and you do not use the item details section on expense forms to mark transactions as billable to a customer, you can skip this step.

Click the accounting tab and select the chart of accounts.

Click the green new button to add a new revenue account.

• Account type = Income

• Detail type = Discounts/Refunds Given

• Name = Sales Returns/Discounts/Refunds

• Leave the description field blank

• Make it a sub-account of your overall sales or revenue account already on your chart of accounts

• Click save and close

Step #2 Make the product or service into a two-sided item

Click Sales and select Product and Services.

• Find the product or service item you previously used in the original sales receipt.

• Click edit next to the product or service name.

• Scroll down to the “purchasing information” section and check the box next to “I purchase this product/service from a vendor”.

• Leave the description field and cost field blank.

• In the expense account box, select the income account you created in Step #1.

• Leave the preferred vendor field blank.

• Click save and close.

Step #3 Write a Check to record payment and bank fee

Click the +New icon

Under the vendors’ column, select write a check if recording a returned check or select expense if recording a returned payment from a merchant account. I prefer using the check method.

• Payee = Bank name or merchant account name

• Bank account = the checking account or merchant bank type clearing account the funds were deposited to

• Payment date = the date the funds were returned

• Check no = enter the real check number or ACH

• Print later = keep this unchecked if you are not printing a check

• Location tracking = enter the appropriate location or enter 1. Without donor restrictions for nonprofits

• Under the Category details, enter the bank fee

  • Category = bank charges expense account

  • Description = bank fee for returned payment

  • Amount = bank fee

  • Customer = select the customer’s name

  • Billable = only check the box if you want to charge the customer back for the bank fee

  • Class = enter the appropriate class

• Under the Item details, record the customer’s check that was returned to the bank.

  • Product/service = select the original product or service used in the original sales receipt

  • Description = bounced payment due to insufficient funds

  • Qty = 1

  • Rate = total amount that was bounced

  • Amount = QBO will auto-fill this box

  • Customer = select the customer’s name

  • Class = enter the appropriate class

• Memo field = customer X returned payment and bank fee due to insufficient funds

• Attachments = add any return document that you have here

• Click save and close

Using the check or expense form method gives you the ability to see the returned customer payment in the customer’s profile.

And, you can see the bank fee in the vendor profile to match what is reflected on your bank statement.

It also helps you know how much extra fee to charge the customer when you re-invoice them for the same product or service.

The transaction will reduce the original revenue account the funds were recorded to and increase your bank charges expense account. Don’t forget to contact the customer to collect a different payment method.

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