Combining Quicken ODF files

Posted by Bill Roberts on May 30, 2007, 5:21 pm

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I have just taken over as our Church's Treasurer, and they have to records
on Quicken 2005. They have (for some reason which I cannot understand)
placed the three major accounts in three different QDF files. I would
like to combine these three files into one, so I can transfer money from
one account to another without making it look like the money is going out
as an expense. Also, it would be much easier to generate reports.

Has anyone out there had a similar experiance, and if so could you offer
some advice.

Thanx.

Posted by John Pollard on June 2, 2007, 3:59 pm

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Bill Roberts wrote:

> I have just taken over as our Church's Treasurer, and they

> have to

> records on Quicken 2005. They have (for some reason which I

> cannot

> understand) placed the three major accounts in three different

> QDF

> files. I would like to combine these three files into one, so

> I can

> transfer money from one account to another without making it

> look

> like the money is going out as an expense. Also, it would be

> much

> easier to generate reports.

> Has anyone out there had a similar experiance, and if so could

> you

> offer some advice.

Here are a couple of posts that should get you started.

http://tinyurl.com/2xfnce

http://tinyurl.com/ysb3l2

If you have questions after reading those two blurbs, post back
here.

--
John Pollard
First initial underscore Last name at mchsi dot com
Please reply to newsgroup

Posted by R. C. White on June 4, 2007, 3:48 pm

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Hi, Bill.

John has given you good "how to" advice. But you might also need some
"whether to" counseling, although you didn't ask for it.

Many organizations, especially non-profits, are required to keep certain
funds strictly separate and to NOT commingle them. As just one example, a
church member may have donated a sum of money to be used only to fund an
annual church picnic. Even if there are tons of excess cash in that fund,
it may not be legally available to pay the church's utility bills.

Also, many organizations are divided into separate sub-organizations for
management or other purposes. One sub might own the church building, for
example, and rent it to one or more subs; to those other subs, the rent
check is not just a transfer, but an expense. There may be a mortgage with
legal requirements for segregating the funds.

The key part of your question is your parenthetical,"(for some reason which
I cannot understand)". Please don't change the system UNTIL you understand
WHY it is being done this way. It may be, as you suspect, simply some prior
treasurer's whim. But it may be based on solid legal or management
considerations.

If you search the archives here, you will find my prior treatises on why
Quicken should not be used for what I called "third-party accounting". It
is a fine product for keeping my own records for my own (first-party)
purposes. It is not too bad for second-party accounting, such as for my
minor children or elderly aunt, or for preparing my own income taxes or
applying for a personal loan at my bank. Quicken is only a tool to organize
the information that I'm submitting to the IRS or bank; they are relying on
my representations and don't care if I used a computer or a pencil to arrive
at those numbers. But for a situation where you will need to submit reports
to unrelated parties (your church board and members, for example), you
really need an accounting system that is auditable. Quicken allows any
entry to be changed or deleted with no trace of who deleted it or why - or
even that it was deleted. That kind of system is simply not suitable for
accounting that will be relied on by third parties who did not actually keep
the books. That is my professional opinion. I urge you to consult with
someone you trust who is knowledgeable about matters, perhaps a CPA or
attorney who is a member of your church. Not about "how to", but "whether
to" use a different accounting method.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.)
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Currently running Vista Ultimate x64)

>I have just taken over as our Church's Treasurer, and they have to records

> on Quicken 2005. They have (for some reason which I cannot understand)

> placed the three major accounts in three different QDF files. I would

> like to combine these three files into one, so I can transfer money from

> one account to another without making it look like the money is going out

> as an expense. Also, it would be much easier to generate reports.

> Has anyone out there had a similar experiance, and if so could you offer

> some advice.

> Thanx.