Paypal transaction split confusion

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 4/16/2016 4:58 PM, trythis wrote:
> That helped!

> I made an invoice for 12 items at $5 each and apply a payment for each
> paypal transaction but since part of the money is lost to paypal fees the
> invoice will not be completely paid, so not sure how to handle that.
> If the donor wanted a receipt it would show an incomplete payment which
> isn't true, and I think we have to show any fees that reduce the donation,
> not sure.
Look, this ISN'T really a gnucash question << your problems are with the 
fundamentals of accounting  -- and tax law in addition >>

Your donor made a donation (to your organization) of $5. The fact that 
your wildcat bank charges you a fee for deposits being made to your 
account is YOUR expense (an overhead expense, "bank charges"). While I 
don't know of any (real) banks charging for deposits these days, when I 
was young there most certainly  usually was  a fee per check deposited 
which banks began dropping about the time I got old enough for my own 
checking account.

There may be other overhead expenses associated with receiving a 
donation. Suppose your organization sends out acknowledgement letters. 
Do you think you should be deducting the cost of the stationary, the 
stamp, even a proportion of the pay of an employee tasked with creating 
and sending these letters out?

Michael D Novack