Why ParishSOFT Accounting Support may not tell you which account to use in a transaction or answer specific accounting questions
Some customers call support asking us to give them accounting advice or asking us to tell them which accounts to use in a transaction. We would love to be able to help in any way. However, we are not authorized to give accounting advice nor to tell you which accounts to use for your transactions. The following gives a list of reasons why we may not do so.
We are not qualified to offer accounting advice, as our policy is to assist with how to use the software to reach the customer's desired outcome.
- We have thousands of customers; each design Chart Of Accounts (COA) differently
- Within each different COA design, there are different ways to use accounts
- Some do not use expense/income accounts but instead use dedicated accounts
- Some have one entity; some use a different entity for major departments (church, school, cemetery); some use a different entity for every fund
- Some use cash and others use the accrual method of accounting
- Some (Arch)Diocese have a mandated Chart of accounts and have guidelines on how to use the accounts, on which our support team is not qualified to advise.
- The software is designed as a tool to use for you to keep your books
- Support offers information on how to use the tool to meet your needs
- Support does not offer bookkeeping expertise nor accounting expertise
- You tell us what you want to do (and which accounts are affected) and we can tell you how to use the software to reach that end
- Since we are not experts in bookkeeping nor accounting, you do not want to get accounting advice from us.
- You are better (served) getting accounting advice or bookkeeping advice from the professionals in these areas.
- If we started to give accounting advice and told you which account to use, then you were audited, would we be liable for the accounting misinformation? Since we are not accountants, this would be a real possibility.
Who to ask
- If your church has a finance committee, they are a good resource to tap into when you are uncertain which account to use for a transaction.
- If your church has a professional accountant, ask them.
- If you are under the management of a diocese and you don't have the other two resources available, your diocese should be able to give you advice on which accounts to use.
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