How do I add an expense transaction?

To add an expense transaction in ChMeetings:

Go to Accounting > Accounts.
Select the account (e.g., Checking, Savings, etc.) where the expense should be recorded.
Click Add Transaction.
Choose Expense as the transaction type.
Fill in the details, including:
- Date
- Payee (optional)
- Category (the type of expense)
- Fund (the fund this expense should reduce)
- Amount
Save the transaction.

Expenses automatically reduce the balance of the selected category and fund. Since Category and Fund balances are calculated from transactions, there’s no need (and no option) to manually adjust them afterward.

See Work With Transactions to learn more.

How can I find out how much money is in a category?

You can see how much money is in a category by going to Accounting > Reports > Category Overview. This report shows all categories with their current balances, and you can also filter by date range to check the balance for a specific period.

Please note that by default, the report is filtered from the start of the current year. If you’d like to include data from previous years, simply remove the start date and the report will include all transactions, before the current year as well.

If you’d like to review detailed transactions for a specific category, you can use the Detailed Category Transaction report, which lists every transaction for the selected category.

How do I add a beginning balance?

You can set your beginning balance in two ways:

When creating a new financial account:
- Go to Accounting > Accounts > Add Account.
- Enter the Starting Balance in the dedicated field during setup.
If the account already exists:
- Go to Accounting > Accounts.
- Select the account to which you want to add the beginning balance.
- Click Add Transaction.
- Set the Transaction Type to Income.
- For clarity, use a dedicated category such as Opening Balance.
- Set the Transaction Date to the end of the prior fiscal period.
- Enter the Amount and save.

How do I map contribution funds into accounting funds?

Mapping happens during the deposit process:

Go to the Batches page in Contributions.
Locate the batch you want to deposit.
Click the 3 dots menu beside the batch and choose Close & Deposit.
In the deposit window:
- Select the Account where you want the batch deposited (e.g., Checking, Savings, etc.).
- Set the Deposit Date.
- Use the Funds Mapping section to map each Contribution Fund to an Accounting Category and an Accounting Fund.

Once saved, this mapping is remembered for the next deposit. At the next deposit, your last-used mappings will load automatically. You can update them at any time, and changes are saved for future deposits.

See Deposit Contribution Batches to learn more.

How do I link imported transactions into the correct categories?

To automatically assign imported transactions to the right Category and Fund, you can create Rules:

Go to Accounting > Accounts.
Select the account where your transactions are being imported.
Click Manage Rules.
In the Manage Rules window, create a rule by setting:
- Matching Criteria: Which criteria should the transactions meet to be assigned to the Category and Fund set by this rule?
- Description: Match text that appears in the transaction description.
- Amount: Match based on a value you set. You can choose:
- Equal to a specific amount
- Greater than a specific amount
- Less than a specific amount
- Destination: Choose the Category and Fund where matching transactions should be assigned.
Save the rule.

If a transaction doesn’t match any rule, you can still categorize it manually.

Why can’t I manually adjust the fund balance?

Fund balances in ChMeetings are automatically calculated. They are based on the total Income and Expenses linked to each fund.

If you need to change a fund balance, you must do so by adding, editing, or deleting transactions.

This design prevents manual errors and ensures fund balances always stay accurate and consistent with actual financial activity.

How can I transfer money between funds?

To transfer money between funds in ChMeetings:

Select the Account
- Go to Accounting > Accounts and choose the account that contains the money you want to transfer.
Create a New Transaction
- Add a new Income transaction to that account.
Add Line Items
- First line item: Select the fund you want to move money from and enter the amount as a negative value.
- Second line item: Select the fund you want to move money to and enter the amount as a positive value.
Ensure the Total is Zero
- Confirm that the transaction total is 0, since you are reallocating money internally rather than adding or removing money from the account.
Add a Note
- In the notes or memo, write a description such as “Transferring from General Fund to Building Fund” for clarity.

This process does not affect your actual account balances, because no bank withdrawal or deposit is involved. It is purely an internal reallocation of funds between Funds.

See Manage Funds to learn more.

How to create a Treasurer Role?

First, you need to create a new role called “Treasurer” from under Users & Roles > Roles & Permissions > Add Role, and check the boxes for View People and all options under the Contributions and Accounting features. This grants the role permission to view and manage contribution and accounting information within your account. See Managing Users, Roles, and Permissions for more.

Next,, go to Users & Roles > Users, find the user you want to update, go to ⠇> Roles and assign them the Treasurer role. Learn more about role assignments.