How to Enter Donations and Grants in QuickBooks
Published 12/28/2011 | 
I just started using QuickBooks 2011 and am trying to figure out how to enter simple donations and grants received. Could someone please take me step-by-step through how to do both of these functions? Thank you!
Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to enter donations and grants in QuickBooks:
- Go to Lists > Chart of Accounts and create two revenue accounts – one for donations and one for grants.
- Go to Lists > Item List and create two service items – one for donations and one for grants using the appropriate revenue account.
- When you receive a donation or grant, go to Customers > Enter Sales Receipts using the items you created above.
- When you make the bank deposit, go to Banking > Make Deposits and select the payments you’re depositing.
This article is provided for informational purposes and is not intended to be construed as legal, accounting, or other professional advice. For further information, please consult appropriate professional advice from your attorney and certified public accountant.
Written by +Ruth Perryman, CMA, CFE, CFM, MBA
Ruth is the president of The QB Specialists, an Intuit Premier Reseller that offers huge savings and expert advice on QuickBooks POS and QuickBooks Enterprise. She is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and a member of Intuit’s Trainer/Writer Network. She is also certified in QuickBooks POS and QuickBooks Enterprise and has provided expert QuickBooks help to thousands of businesses all over the world since 1996.
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i am working on a Distributor company and we received an Inventory from our Principal without any pay, a donation in short…How can I enter it in the quickbooks???we are using a Quickbooks 2010 version.
Hi EJ,
I’d enter a $0 check or bill. On the Items tab, ener the inventory items you received with a positive. On the Expenses tab, enter an Equity account with a negative amount. You’ll need to check with your tax professional to determine what sort of equity account to use.
Hi,
I started using quick books for non profit for a school. We received donation in cash and checks. Would you please give me steps by steps how to enter the donation?
I really appreciate your help.
Thanks.
Hi Fouzia,
You should use sales receipts to enter your donations and invoices to enter your pledges. If you use invoices, make sure to receive the payment once it’s paid. Do not enter a sales receipt.
Both sales receipts and invoices require you to use items. If you haven’t already, you’ll need to create an item called something like Donations.
Ruth
Thanks Ruth. That helps a lot.
I have a couple of others questions please:
- Do I have to specify the class of the donation”unrestricted donation” or it is not necessary?
- Non profit schools receive a Georgia tax grant that needs to be used for specific things. Do I enter this donations the same way I deal with regular donation please?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Fouzia,
If you also get restricted donations, you need to use classes so you can track them properly. Most nonprofits have a class list that looks something like this:
Unrestricted
Admin
Fundraising
Programs
Program 1
Program 2
Temporarily restricted
Donor restricted
Program 1
Program 2
Grants
Grant 1
Grant 2
Permanently restricted
Endowment 1
Endowment 2
Using QB POS 10.0 how can we enter donations and other non-taxable revenue?
Hi Stacey,
Create a service or non-inventory item for the donation and change the tax code to Non.
Ruth