Missions Trip

by Erica
(Maryland)

A few members of my church are participating in an upcoming missions trip. There are fees associated with this trip that each member is responsible for. The lead volunteer has paid and is paying some expenses up front and then the church is reimbursing her for those expenses. At the same time, the other members who are going on the trip are paying the church for their portion of fees that they owe.

1)How do I account for the fees the members are paying to pay off their trip?

2)How do I account for the lead volunteer's reimbursements?

I am using QuickBooks to track the church's finances. I think I may need to start using Fund Accounting in QuickBooks but I don't know exactly how.

Thank you so much for your help.

(Please click on the comment link below to see the suggestions and comments of Vickey and others.)

Comments for Missions Trip

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What if...
by: David

What if each person gives their share to the church, and all the expenses are paid from the church checking account, do those contributions also not count at deductible?
Recording Mission Trip Expenses
by: Vickey

Great answer as usual, Marcus. Thank you!

Erica, a good resource for setting up Quickbooks for fund accounting is Running QuickBooks in Nonprofits

Also, the easiest way to set up funds in QuickBooks is to turn on class tracking. Seee this post for instructions on setting up class tracking.

One quick point...you probably know this...but you will not issue a contribution receipt for those "pass through" donations that those members gave for their mission trip fees.
Mission Trip Expenses and Income
by: Marcus in Texas

At our church we record the income in the same account from which expenses will be paid, so that, theoretically, they should be a "wash" although this is not always the case. Clearly, the individual who is paying expenses and who will be reimbursed by the church should be paid from the same account into which the deposits/fees were made. We have several different accounts set up in the church's accounting system where "accounting for" these kinds of activities occurs.

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