[GNC] New user - anyone else using GnuCash for PCC (church) accounts? Advice?

[Michael Hendry]

On 26 Aug 2020, at 11:21, Chris Green <cl at isbd.net> wrote:
> 
> I have just taken over as treasurer of a (very) small church Parochial
> Church Council.  The existing accounts are all wholly manual and I
> want to move to some level of computerisation.
> 
> I am a long time Linux user and was, before I retired, a Software
> Engineer so the 'techie' side of things shouldn't be a big issue. I
> can install GnuCash OK and get it running etc.
> 
> I used to run my own small Ltd. company so basic accounting methods,
> VAT, etc. are not beyond me either.
> 
> What I want is more on the 'how to run a small PCC accounts with GnuCash'
> sort of thing.  There are some quirks to PCC accounts (I think!):-
> 
>    How does one deal with 'unrestricted' and 'restricted' accounts?
>    Can one set up 'types' of accounts in GnuCash?
> 
>    Is GnuCash overkill for this?  Total cash assets are only a few
>    thousand pounds and annual turnover is probably down in the
>    hundreds now.
> 
>    Is there anyone else using GnuCash for this?
> 
> Thank you for any/all help that anyone can offer.
> 
> -- 
> Chris Green

Hi, Chris, welcome to the GnuCash community.

I’ve been using GC for my personal accounts for 10 years, a small local charity for 6 and recently became Treasurer of the local Rotary Club (which has separate charity and club accounts).

I was advised on this forum that I could represent restricted funds as Liabilities, but the accountant who certifies the first-mentioned charity’s accounts advised that this is not acceptable in the UK - which is where I’m assuming you’re based. It’s necessary to keep a separate account of receipt and payment of restricted funds, which can then be detailed on the annual report.

I gather that US churches tend to receive pledges from members which can be regarded as assets in accounting terms, but this probably won’t affect you.

If you’re a competent double-entry bookkeeper with IT experience you should have no trouble in making the transition, and GC will protect you from a lot of the errors that can creep into paper records.

Best of luck!

Michael