Common Billing Questions

• Which account should I assign to my fee item?

Fee items need to be assigned to the account under which they should report on your financial statement. This could be an income account, deferred income account, expense account, etc. It will, however, never be an Accounts Receivable account. If you are unsure as to which account should be selected you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements.

• Which account should I choose when I do a write-off?

Write-offs can be recorded under various accounts. Sometimes these are recorded under an expense account, such as bad debt, whereas other times they are backed out of the original income account. Accounts Receivable, however, should never be selected at the write-off screen. If you are unsure as to which account should be selected you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements.

• Which fee item should I choose when I create a credit?

Credits can be done using any fee item that exists on your items list. Keep in mind that whichever fee is selected will decrease the income account that is assigned to that item. In some instances, you could select the item that is the reason for the credit needing to be created (i.e. A credit is being issued for a cancellation to the annual dinner. Create the credit and select the annual dinner fee item. This will decrease the amount of income reporting on the financial statements for that event). If you are unsure as to which item should be selected you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements.

• Which Accounts Receivable account should I use when I create an invoice?

If there are multiple Accounts Receivable accounts used for financial reporting be sure to select the one that pertains to the activity that is being invoiced. If there is a Membership Receivable account and member invoicing is being done that would most likely be the receivable account selected. If you are unsure as to which account should be selected you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements.

• Should I be exporting on a Cash or Accrual Basis?

This is going to depend on how your financial statements are presented. If you present both an accrual and a cash basis financial statement then you will need to export on an accrual basis (there is an additional step needed for QB users that follow this process). If you present only accrual basis financials then export only on an accrual basis. If you present only cash basis financials then export only on a cash basis. If you are unsure as to which method you report on you will want to check with your accountant.

• Should I be using Classes in CM/GZ? (QuickBooks users only)

Class tracking is a QuickBooks feature that not everyone uses. If you do use classes inside your QuickBooks company file you can, and should, be using them in your CM/GZ database. If you unsure as to whether or not this applies to you, you will want to check with your accountant.

• Which Class should I choose in CM/GZ? (QuickBooks users only)

The class that is selected when recording transactions should be the class under which you need to track the activity. If you are unsure as to which class should be selected you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements.

• What date should I put on my invoices?

The date that is used as the ‘invoice date’ should be the date that you need to have the activity begin appearing on your financial statements. The ‘due date’ has no effect on the financial reporting other than determining when an invoice becomes past due. If you report solely on a cash basis this will not affect your information because the payment date determines when the activity is recognized. If you are unsure as to the date that should be used you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements.

• Should I create a Sales Receipt or an Invoice and Payment?

This is a personal preference. A sales receipt is typically used in place of creating an invoice and then immediately recording a payment as it bypasses the use of an Accounts Receivable account. Sales receipts are most often used for ‘Point of Sale’ transactions where an item is being paid for at the time of acquisition. An invoice and payment is typically used when a purchase is being made that will be paid for at a later date. This allows for the use of an accounts receivable account so that open balances can be tracked. Note: some accountants prefer to have all activity recorded as an invoice and payment, regardless of whether or not monies are received at the time of purchase. If you are unsure as to which option to choose you will need to check with your accountant to see what they prefer.