Setting up accounts for float money

Hi I am having trouble setting up accounts to record the balance of my float money and hoping someone can help.

I have set up two cash accounts one as Raceday Change Float for the amount of the float used and then one named Float in Safe to bank the excess cash or debit if the next meeting has a higher float. I used to write a cheque to cash at our local bank from our cheque account and debiting Raceday Change Float and then I would use a sales receipt to pay back in our cheque account after the meeting and that would balance the amount out. Now I am keeping the cash onsite and needing to record it in our chart of accounts so set up Float in Safe account.

Do I need one account to debit the amount of the float and then pay it back at the end of the day and one to use to hold the excess amounts or debit if the float is higher for the next meeting. Or should I just use the one account named Raceday change Float to record all transactions?

I cannot work out how to process transactions without it crediting and debiting both accounts the same amount? Should I be using sales receipt and/or general journals to record transactions and Banking - Make a deposit for deposits to the account?

Thank you

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Acctd4

Gosh ... that sounds incredibly complicated 😪

How is your actual FLOAT set up & being tracked?

It sounds like a "Petty Cash" scenario in which case you only need ONE Bank-type account for the float. This allows you to use a Write Cheque entry to accurately record each 'spend' out of it. You can also record any transfer deposits the same way via a Write Cheque FROM this account, posting directly back TO your Cheque account. (Some people use Transfer Funds or Make Deposit for this but I prefer using a Cheque as it allows for more detail 😊)

NOTE:

Only sales & purchases/expenditures should have an applicable tax code! Any transfer/movement of funds between accounts should NOT - The tax code should be left BLANK on these entries.
Sales Receipts are for recording actual sales/income so shouldn't be used for expenditure or transferring funds.

Hope that helps 😊

Dianne_8324879

Hi Shaz thank you for your reply I have made it complicated and now I am confused.

Currently I have a Raceday Change Float account and Raceday Float in Safe account set up as bank account.

If I write a cheque would I write it from Bank Account - Raceday Change Float, who would my supplier be - the business name that is what I used when I cashed a cheque at the bank? Also what account do I use to debit the amount from I only have the two accounts listed above created for floats - do i need to make an expense account?

Acctd4

The float is just another 'funds holding' account (like the bank account) so you would treat it the same.

I create Other Name-types to use for internal movements such as "Float Cash Dep":

NOTE: This is simply a MOVEMENT of money from one account (your main Chq account) to another (the Float)

The benefit of creating a specific name for these entries is that if you have prefill enabled in your Preferences, it will automatically autocomplete the detail each time & you can just edit the specifics accordingly. It also keeps all these entries exclusively under the one name.

Yes, When you spend money from the float funds, you use a Write Cheque out of this float account. It would be made out to the Supplier you're purchasing from & the expense would be allocated to the applicable expense - or COGS - account with the relevant tax code (the same as when you purchase something using your Cheque account)

Just like with your normal bank account, you can keep track of the spending & balance:

... & this is how it looks in the Float register (just like your normal bank account display):

Dianne_8324879

I have this set up for my petty cash but it does not seem to work to track my cash I am holding in the safe.

The funds are not coming from a bank account -at the end of each race meeting I hold out cash to use for as the float for the next race meeting (this amount varies) that is what I am wanting to keep record of what cash is going in and out of the safe. Do I need to add an account like Cash from race meetings to write the cheque from?

Acctd4

Where is the cash that you “hold out” originally coming from ?

Dianne_8324879

For the first meeting for the season I write a cheque from our bank account and cash it to do the floats for the day say $15000. At the end of the night I bank the cash for money taken to canteens and bars etc. and keep out $15000 float to use for the next race meeting, This is the amount I am trying to keep track of. The float amount varies each time so i need to be able to credit and debit from the account.

GerryWinter

I think you need to call one of us to explain it in more detail.

Acctd4

OK ... So you would enter a Write Chq to draw out the original $ 15,000 so break down that Chq withdrawal across those Float accounts for each:

I'm assuming you have separate bank accounts for each float (like the example above) & are recording the revenue going into each one via Sales Receipts.

When you deposit the revenue for the night into your main Chq account, deduct out the amount you're withholding & post it to the "Float" account. You can do this via Make Deposit:

(You can call these accounts anything that makes most sense but you're just “moving” the funds between them all) 😊

Dianne_8324879

Sorry I am not explaining very well. The original $15,000 I write a cheque from our bank account and debit account Race Day Float bank account. After a race meeting say I have $50,000 - $20,000 to bar and $15,000 to canteen I do a sales receipt for this amount to each individual amount and bank the money to our bank. The remaining $15,000 I want to keep in the safe to use as a float for future meetings. This is the amount I am trying to keep track of how do I record it ?The float amount varies each time so i need to be able to credit and debit from the account.

Dianne_8324879

Shaz any chance I can call you?

Acctd4

@Dianne_8324879 Sure ☺️

Unfortunately I’m not at home at the moment but should be back in a couple of hours if that’s not too late for you ?

Acctd4

@Dianne_8324879 If you’d like to shoot me an email with your number, I can call you when I’m back home ☺️