[GNC] Club membership fees and charitable contributions - Business Features or Assets?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 2 Aug 2019, at 13:09, Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> On 8/2/2019 3:34 AM, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
>> I’m not sure about keeping track of member donations in an Asset account.
>> 
> There are difficult issues doing financials for non-profits which can require some fiddling using gnucash (or any alternative).
> 
> For example -- the members  may want to receive "statements" (invoices) and want these to reflect a unified statement (membership as well as pledges) BUT membership dues are NOT a receivable for such organizations <<which may be keeping books on a cash basis, but more important, a member can withdraw at any time, does not OWE the billed dues. They DO owe pledges, but only according to the terms of the pledge* >>

Fortunately, our members don’t want to receive invoices or statements of any sort, and they don’t make pledges - except perhaps in that they undertake to dine at another member’s house at some future date, and make a payment to the club’s charity account.

> 
> ONE solution is to bite the bullet and keep multiple books for different purposes.

I have one file for the club, and one for the charity - the bank accounts must be kept separate, and I think it’s important for me to be wearing a “club” hat or a “charity” hat in dealing with the bookkeeping.

> Main books on a cash basis NOT tracking members but just the source of the income (dues, donations, pledges, etc.) and the other used just to be able to invoice and track which members have paid, etc.

If I understand you correctly, this would involve my keeping four sets of books:

Club - members
Club - business of running the club

Charity - members
Charity - business of running the charity

> In the example situation above where members may contribute (get credited for contributions actually made by others) that is another level of complexity.


> 
> Michal D Novack
> 
> * Thus if a pledge is $5000 in the form of $1000 a year for five years they do not owe $5000 immediately

I wish I had such a problem to deal with!

Thanks,

Michael