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

[Chris Green]

On Wed, Aug 26, 2020 at 12:16:43PM +0100, Michael Hendry wrote:
> 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). 
> 
Well it sounds as if you know the ins and outs then! :-)


> 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. 
> 
Yes, I'm in the UK.  I'm unfamiliar with 'restricted' and
'unrestricted', I don't really know what they mean.  It *seems* to be
that 'restricted' funds/donations are monies received for specific
causes (in our case nearly always church repairs and maintenance)
whereas 'unrestricted' are monies recieved in the regular Sunday
collection etc. used to pay outgoings such as vicar's expenses, CofE
central admin/costs, electricity bills and such.

We seem to keep the 'restricted' funds in a deposit account and
'unrestricted' in a current account but I suspect the differentiation
is just 'how it happened' rather than any specific intent.

I'm assuming that my basic book-keeping will be:-

    Create an 'assets' account for the current (unrestricted) account
    and another 'assets' account for the deposit (restricted) account.

    Create 'liabilities' accounts for outgoings (vicar's expenses,
    electricity bill, repairs, etc.) which will be either restricted
    or unrestricted.

    Create accounts for income - but what are these called?  Again
    they need to be 'restricted' or 'unrestricted'

Is there a way in GnuCash to group accounts such that it will only
allow transactions between the same groups (i.e. either restricted or
unrestricted)?

Thanks for any help on any of the above.

-- 
Chris Green