# Chapter 5 — Finance & Accounting

## 5.1 How church finance is organized

Finance in Acacia CMS is split into layers:

```
Givings (congregation donations)
  ├── Offerings
  ├── Tithes
  └── Pledges

Accounting (general ledger)
  ├── Recorded Income
  ├── Expenses
  ├── Categories
  └── Bank Accounts

Reports
  ├── Profit & Loss
  ├── Balance Sheet
  └── Gift Aid (UK)
```

### Key concepts

| Concept | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| **Offering** | General donation (often Sunday collection) |
| **Tithe** | Member's regular tithe (often linked to member) |
| **Pledge** | Commitment to give over time; track payments against it |
| **Recorded income** | Combined view of all income entries |
| **Expense** | Church spending with optional receipt |
| **Category** | Income or expense classification for reports |
| **Bank account** | Physical or virtual account tracked in reports |

All amounts use your tenant **currency** (set in Settings or by plan).

---

## 5.2 Offerings

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Offerings**

![Offerings list](../assets/screenshots/07-finance-offerings.png)
*Figure 5.1 — Offerings list with sample Sunday records*

### Record an offering

1. Open **Offerings** → click **Add Offering**.
2. Enter:
   - **Date** of the offering
   - **Amount**
   - **Member** (optional — link to donor)
   - **Category** (if applicable)
   - **Notes** (optional)
3. Click **Save**.

### Edit or delete

1. Find the record in the list.
2. Click **Edit** (pencil) → update → Save.
3. Or click **Delete** → confirm.

### Export offerings

Apply date filters → **Export** → download.

---

## 5.3 Tithes

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Tithes**

Same workflow as offerings, but tithes are typically:

- Linked to a specific **member**
- Recorded on a regular schedule (weekly/monthly)

### Record a tithe

1. **Tithes → Add**.
2. Select **member**, enter **amount** and **date**.
3. Save.

---

## 5.4 Pledges and pledge payments

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Pledges**

A **pledge** is a commitment to give a total amount over a period.

### Create a pledge

1. **Pledges → Add**.
2. Enter member, total amount, start/end dates, purpose.
3. Save.

### Record a pledge payment

1. Open the pledge detail.
2. Click **Record Payment**.
3. Enter amount and date.
4. Save — progress bar updates.

---

## 5.5 Recorded income

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Recorded Income**

Unified view of all income (offerings, tithes, other income entries).

1. Open **Recorded Income**.
2. Filter by date range or category.
3. Review totals.
4. Export if needed.

---

## 5.6 Expenses and receipt scanning

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Expenses**

### Record an expense manually

1. **Expenses → Add**.
2. Enter date, amount, category, vendor/description.
3. Optionally attach a receipt file.
4. Save.

### Scan a receipt (AI)

If receipt scanning (AI) is enabled for your church:

1. **Expenses → Add**.
2. Click **Scan Receipt**.
3. Upload a photo or PDF of the receipt.
4. System auto-fills amount, date, vendor.
5. Review and correct if needed.
6. Save.

---

## 5.7 Categories and sub-categories

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Categories**

Categories classify income and expenses for reports.

### Create a category

1. **Categories → Add**.
2. Enter name, type (Income or Expense).
3. Save.

### Sub-categories

Some setups support sub-categories under a parent. Create the parent first, then add children.

---

## 5.8 Bank accounts

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Bank Accounts**

Track church bank accounts for balance sheet and reconciliation.

1. **Bank Accounts → Add**.
2. Enter account name, bank name, account number (optional), opening balance.
3. Save.

---

## 5.9 Profit & loss report

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Profit & Loss**

1. Open **Profit & Loss**.
2. Select **date range** (month, quarter, year).
3. View income vs expenses summary.
4. Export if permitted.

---

## 5.10 Balance sheet and reconciliation

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Balance Sheet**

1. Open **Balance Sheet**.
2. Select date.
3. View assets, liabilities, and equity.
4. Use **Reconcile** to match bank account balances against records.

---

## 5.11 Gift Aid (UK churches)

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Gift Aid** (when enabled)

Gift Aid is available only when **all** of the following are true:

1. Your **plan** includes Gift Aid
2. Your church is in a **supported country** (UK)
3. An administrator has turned **Allow Gift Aid** on in **Settings → Financial**

### Enable or disable Gift Aid (church / branch admin)

1. Open **Settings → Financial**.
2. Toggle **Allow Gift Aid** on or off.
3. Click **Save**.

Turn off Gift Aid if your church does not use the scheme, even when it is on your plan.

### How Gift Aid works

UK charities can reclaim 25% tax on donations from donors who have signed a **Gift Aid declaration**.

### Download a blank declaration form

1. Open **Gift Aid** (or **Members → GDPR form** area for related forms).
2. Use **Download declaration form** to get a printable template.
3. Have the donor sign; staff record the declaration in the system.

### Capture a declaration

1. **Gift Aid → Declarations → Add**.
2. Select member/donor.
3. Record declaration date and signed status.
4. Optionally upload the signed form (PDF, DOC, or image).
5. Save.

### Run a Gift Aid report

1. **Gift Aid → Report**.
2. Select tax year or date range.
3. View reclaimable amounts.
4. Export for HMRC submission.

---

## 5.12 Common fund (multi-branch)

| Role | Action |
|------|--------|
| **Branch** | Submit contributions to HQ common fund |
| **HQ** | View consolidated common fund balance |

### Branch: submit a contribution

1. **Finance → Common Fund**.
2. Click **Submit Contribution**.
3. Enter amount and notes.
4. Preview → confirm.

### HQ: view common fund

1. **Finance → Common Fund**.
2. View total pool and branch contributions.

---

## 5.13 HQ finance overview and branch access

**HQ only.**

### Request branch finance access

1. **Finance → Finance Overview** (or Reports → Finance).
2. Click **Request Access** for a branch.
3. Branch admin receives the request.

### Branch: approve or deny

1. **Finance → Finance Access**.
2. Review pending requests.
3. **Approve**, **Deny**, or **Revoke** access.

Once approved, HQ can view that branch's finance data in consolidated reports.

---

## 5.14 Export finance data

Most finance modules support export:

1. Open the module (Offerings, Expenses, etc.).
2. Apply filters.
3. Click **Export**.
4. Download CSV, Excel, or PDF.

Requires **Export** permission.

### Tithes

**Menu:** Finance & Accounts → **Tithes**

![Tithes list](../assets/screenshots/18-tithes.png)
*Figure 5.2 — Tithes module*

Same workflow as offerings — select member, enter amount and date, save.

### Profit & loss

![Profit and loss report](../assets/screenshots/20-profit-loss.png)
*Figure 5.3 — Profit & loss report filters*

### Gift Aid (UK)

![Gift Aid declarations](../assets/screenshots/13-gift-aid.png)
*Figure 5.4 — Gift Aid module (UK churches)*

### Expenses

![Expenses list](../assets/screenshots/14-expenses.png)
*Figure 5.5 — Expenses module*

---

[← Chapter 4](04-attendance.md) | [Next: Chapter 6 — Events →](06-events-communication.md)
