Nonprofit Fundraiser Tracking

To track a fundraiser in QuickBooks Online, we recommend using a combination of Customers and Classes. This allows you to record individual donor activity for year-end reporting while keeping expenses and revenue consolidated by event.

1. Set up Class Tracking

Classes allow you to track income and expenses by specific programs or events (like your Annual Fashion Show) across all accounts.

1. Go to Settings (gear icon) and select All Lists, then choose Classes.
2. If you haven’t enabled it yet, go to Settings > Account and Settings > Advanced > Categories and turn on Track classes.
3. Create a class named “Fundraising” (or a specific class for the event, e.g., “Annual Fashion Show”).

2. Set up Customers

Use the Customer list to manage the individuals involved.

• For the Event: Create a Customer named “Annual Fashion Show” (or similar). Use this to record consolidated ticket sales and event-related expenses.
• For Donors: Create individual Customer records for donors (e.g., “Sally Smith”). This is necessary for tracking cash donations and silent auction bids if you need to report contributions to specific individuals at the end of the year.

3. Record Transactions

Here is how to handle the different types of transactions:

• Ticket Sales: Since ticket sales are not donations, you do not need to track every purchaser by name. You can create a single Sales Receipt or Invoice using the “Annual Fashion Show” customer to summarize total ticket revenue. Be sure to assign the appropriate Class (e.g., “Fundraising”).
• Donations: For cash donations, create a Sales Receipt for the specific donor (e.g., Sally Smith). Use a Service item mapped to a Donation income account and assign the correct Class.
• Silent Auction: Record the winning bids as Sales Receipts or Invoices under the specific donor’s name. If the donor paid immediately, use a Sales Receipt; if they need to be billed later, use an Invoice. Assign the appropriate Class.
• Expenses: When entering bills or writing checks for event costs (venue, decorations, etc.), assign the expense to the “Annual Fashion Show” customer (optional, but helps with job costing) and the specific Class.

4. Reporting

To see the full picture of your fundraiser:

• Profit and Loss by Class: Run this report to see the total income (tickets, donations, auctions) minus expenses specifically for the “Fundraising” or event class.
• Sales by Customer Summary: Run this report to see the total contributions broken down by individual donor (Sally Smith) versus the event (Annual Fashion Show).