Accounting

The Accounting   Module of Church Windows is a fund accounting software package for Churches and non-profits that coordinates information from the Donations and Payroll Modules. The Module allows income and expense tracking, Budgets and Budget Projection, and check writing. It also provides fund accounting financial statements and other Reports. The information kept track of in Accounting is based on Transactions applied to a Chart of Accounts that you create using the Chart of Accounts Wizard.

 

The Chart of Accounts is divided into the following types of accounts, each listed below with fictitious, yet applicable examples of what is kept track of in each type of account:

An Asset is anything of monetary value that your Church OWNS as property and controls to its benefit. Some examples of Assets can include bank accounts, investment accounts, as well as cash on hand. The total balance of all the Assets you set up in the Chart of Accounts represents the value of what your Church owns, prior to calculating all the money your Church owes.

Note:
The software also provides an Accounts Receivable component that you can use only after activating the Licensing key to unlock its functions. If the key is successfully activated, the Assets will contain a separate Accounts Receivable ledger for you to keep track of each Client that pays your Church for services your provide. To obtain a key to activate Accounts Receivable, please call our toll-free Customer Service line at 800.533.5227 and ask about purchasing an Accounts Receivable activation key.

A Liability is something the Church OWES. Some examples of Liability accounts can be: payroll deductions, "pass-through" payments, and loans or mortgages. Within the Liabilities, the software provides for you a separate Accounts Payable ledger to keep track of money owed to Vendors and Payees, from which can then use the software to print Tax Forms for them. The total balance all the Liability accounts you set up in the Chart of Accounts represents all the money your Church owes.

 

A Fund is an accounting entity set up to fulfill a designated purpose and to keep all its financial transactions separate from other Funds. In the software, the Fund has a Fund Balance, or representation of the total value of the Fund. Each Fund can be linked to at least one Income account and/or at least one Expense account. The Fund Balance can then be raised and lowered according to the transactions posted to the Income and Expense accounts.
 
Most Churches will have a General Operating Fund. They might also have the following: Building Fund; Mission Fund; Outreach Fund; Memorial Fund; Youth Fund. A fund is not always money though; some Churches, for example, will set up a Fixed Assets fund to keep track of the value of the Church building and its contents.

The software provides you with the means to set up an Income account for each source of funding to your Fund. The representation of the money that your Church receives takes place when you post a transaction to an Income account. Because the Income account is linked to some kind of Fund, the transaction then adjusts the Fund Balance by the amount in the transaction.

For example, suppose that you set up an Income account called "Walk-a-thon Donations" and link it to a Fund account called "General Operating Fund". When you post a transaction to represent the money from the Walk-a-thon, the amount you post will then raise the Fund Balance of the "General Operating Fund".

The software provides you with the means to set up an Expense account for each representation of money being spent. The representation of the money being spent takes place when you post a transaction to an Expense account. Because the Expense account is linked to some kind of Fund, the transaction then adjusts the Fund Balance by the amount in the transaction.

For example, suppose that you set up an Expense account called "Office Supplies" and link it to a Fund account called "General Operating Fund". When you post a transaction that represents a bill payment for Office Supplies, the amount you post for the bill will then lower the Fund Balance of the "General Operating Fund".

 

In the Chart of Accounts, you can also add Sub-Accounts to any accounts that allow it. A Sub-Account is a subordinate account of any already existing account that you set up with the purpose of having its balance serve a part of the balance of its higher-level account.