Stella,
We had similar challenges when I started as the finance chair/treasurer in my organization. I sat down with our (new) bookkeeper and we hashed out the chart of accounts/lists in QB and it made all the difference. Not going to lie, it was painful and it took a few weeks to get everything dialed in properly, but once we did it worked like a dream. That was 10 years ago. We don't even have to think about it anymore. Once you get QB set up properly, it is solid.
Sit down with your bookkeeper/accountant and set QB up the way you want it to work. For us, the key was having a logical structure where the categories/accounts for QB matched our budget line items (income and expense). Do it once, do it right. It might mean having to start with a fresh sheet of paper/brand new charts and accounts (that's what we finally did) to get it all set up the right way, but it is well worth it, and if done correctly, is a one time expense.
If your bookkeeper is unable/unwilling to do this, might be time to find a new one. There are lots out there who love animals and might give you a break on their fees, but even if they do not, the cost to get QB set up correctly will make your life infinitely easier and save you a ton of time. (Plus, when it comes time to apply for grants, you have the data at your fingertips)
Might be getting too deep in the weeds here, but the way we work it now, all invoices get a thee line code that corresponds to our budgets, and are set up in QB (Department/line item/description. ie: Kitten Foster Program / Food / 20 cases of Brand X food) on the invoice and then we put it into dropbox and our bookkeper does the QB updates. We do a two line for income (Category/ what fund it goes to. ie: Grant/Kitten Foster Program), again, with categories already set up in QB.
Part of the process is figuring out how granular you need your categories/accounts to be. For our kitten foster program we have a line for food, and line for medical, and that works for us. I could see it where you might need more detail ie: Medical-spay neuter costs, medical-vaccine costs, medical-prescription meds. For us, we do not need that granularity, but you might. Look at your historical records, figure out what really matters/what you really need and build your budget/category lines there.
If you'd like to talk more, I'd be happy to do a zoom and share some screens on how we built our budget lines. I'll be honest: I don't have the QB expertise on how to go in and actually set all this up in QB, but after I had the lines/categories set up in our budget, I handed it all to the Bookkeeper and said "make QB match this".
Hope this helps.
Chris de Zorzi
Finance/Development Chair and Kitten Foster Dad
The Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter
www.thevbas.org
------------------------------
chris zorzi
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2024 04:19 PM
From: Stella Plit
Subject: Keeping Track of Expenses
Hi Rene!
Thank you so much ! we do have QB but have also found it to be difficult to maintain - as it - we have to still do a ton of work manually and sometimes even undo what QB did. Additionally - do you have QB somehow setup that it go through your invoicing? because if not, while it automates a medical bill from a food bill, it doesnt automate what was included in the bill itself, it just sees it as a charge (?) For example - QB will put a vet charge under medical costs, but it wont separate spay charge from a vaccine charge. Its the nitty-gritty that we're having trouble with.
Am I missing something if that doesnt sound right?
Thank you for all of your time and advice.
------------------------------
Stella Plit
President
Rescue City
NY
Original Message:
Sent: 01-26-2024 09:26 AM
From: Rene Agredano
Subject: Keeping Track of Expenses
Hi Stella!
We use Quickbooks for everything. It makes bookkeeping easy for us, and our accountant.
The online version is easier to use than Desktop, but has less features. And although it requires some training, I think you'll be happy you learned it in the long run.
Congratulations on taking the next step to get organized with the books. It's one of the most important steps you can take as an org.
------------------------------
Rene Agredano
Tripawds
Original Message:
Sent: 01-25-2024 05:41 PM
From: Stella Plit
Subject: Keeping Track of Expenses
Hi guys ! thrilled to be learning SO much thanks to this incredible resource of threads.
We're looking to enhance our operations for 2024, and one of the ways we're struggling with is a ton of software / spreadsheets / etc in keeping track of everything and at the end we still need a lot of manual calculations - sadly, it is a black hole for all of us.
Currently I am looking for any advice on how to keep track of our expenses - for example - how much we spend on spays/neuters; preventatives, vaccines, etc. Also how to better keep track of thing we buy for day-to-day operations like food, pads, crates, etc.
thank you so much! looking forward to learning!
#CommunityPartnerships*
#DataandTechnology
#FundraisingandDevelopment
------------------------------
Stella Plit
President
Rescue City
NY
------------------------------