Fund Accounting
With fund accounting, you can keep track of several separate charts of accounts within the program. Each chart of accounts is referred to as a fund.
For the following examples, we have two sets of financial books or charts of accounts: one for Parish Fund and one for School Fund.
Using Multiple Retained Earnings Accounts
- On the File menu, click . On the General tab, select Yes to allow multiple retained earnings and prior year fund balances.
- On the Other Information tab, click Chart of Accounts. Verify the Retained Earnings account is added to all Income and Expense accounts for each fund.
Incorporating Fund Codes
There are two ways you can number the funds in the chart of accounts.
Separate Code Ranges
For example, you can designate accounts 1000–5000 for Parish Fund, and accounts 6000–10000 for School Fund.
Add a Fund Code to Your Account Numbers
This distinguishes between each fund. The code should be easy to identify. In the example below, the Parish Fund code is 01 and the School Fund code is 02:
| Account Description | Account Code | Parish Fund Accounts | School Fund Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | 1010 | 01-1010 | 02-1010 |
| FICA Tax Withheld | 1510 | 01-1510 | 02-1510 |
| Retained Earnings | 1710 | 01-1710 | 02-1710 |
| Building Fund | 2038 | 01-2038 | 02-2038 |
Handling Transactions that Cross Funds
If you use fund accounting, you may cross funds deliberately or accidentally. Crossing funds means you debited one chart of accounts and credited another. In Ledger, you have options for handling transactions that cross funds.