Setting Up Funds
Funds are the backbone of church accounting. Unlike a personal checking account where all money sits in one pool, fund accounting tracks money in separate "buckets" so you always know what was given for what purpose. This guide walks you through creating and configuring funds in Wired Church.
Contribution Funds vs. Accounting Funds
Before creating your first fund, it is important to understand that Wired Church has two different concepts that use the word "fund."
| Contribution Fund | Accounting Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Donor-facing label on giving forms and receipts | Ledger-level bucket for double-entry accounting |
| Where it lives | Admin > Contributions > Fund Setup | Admin > Finance > Funds |
| Who sees it | Members and donors | Bookkeepers, treasurers, and board members |
| Example | "Missions" on the online giving form | "Missions Fund" on the Balance Sheet |
A contribution fund is what a donor selects when they give. An accounting fund is where that money lands in your general ledger. When you link a contribution fund to an accounting fund, Wired Church automatically generates the journal entries every time a contribution batch is posted.
Key takeaway: You can have a contribution fund called "Missions" that maps to an accounting fund called "Missions Fund." They are related but serve different audiences.
Navigating to Funds
- From the admin sidebar, click Finance.
- In the Finance section, click Funds.
You will see a list of all active funds, each showing its name, fund type badge, code, and current balance. Inactive funds appear in a collapsible section below.
Creating a New Fund
- Click the New Fund button in the top-right corner of the Funds page.
- A modal will appear with the following fields.
Required Fields
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The display name for this fund. Must be unique within your organization. | General Operating |
| Fund Type | The restriction level that governs how money in this fund can be spent. See the Fund Types section below. | Unrestricted |
Optional Fields
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Code | A short alphanumeric code for quick reference on reports and exports. | GEN |
| Description | A longer explanation of the fund's purpose, visible to staff. | Covers all general church operating expenses including utilities, salaries, and supplies. |
| Linked Contribution Fund | Connect this accounting fund to a contribution fund so that giving automatically creates journal entries. | General Fund (contribution) |
| Sort Order | Controls the display order on lists and reports. Lower numbers appear first. | 1 |
- Click Save to create the fund.
- A success message confirms the fund was created. It immediately appears in the active funds list.
Fund Types
Every fund must have a type that describes its restriction level. This is not just a label — it determines how the fund appears on your Statement of Financial Position and what rules apply to spending.
Unrestricted
Money with no donor-imposed restrictions. The church leadership decides how to spend it. Your General Operating fund is almost always unrestricted.
Badge color: Green
Temporarily Restricted
Money that donors gave for a specific purpose or time period. Once the purpose is fulfilled or the time period passes, the restriction is released and the balance moves to unrestricted. Examples: a building campaign fund, a short-term missions trip fund, or a VBS fund.
Badge color: Amber/Yellow
Permanently Restricted
Money where the principal must remain intact forever, per the donor's wishes. Only the investment earnings can be spent. This is uncommon in smaller churches but applies to endowments.
Badge color: Red
Designated
Money that the church board has internally designated for a purpose, but with no external donor restriction. The board can un-designate it at any time. Example: setting aside money for a future roof replacement.
Badge color: Purple
Default Funds for a Typical Church
If you are setting up funds for the first time, start with these common church funds. You can always add more later.
| Fund Name | Code | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Operating | GEN | Unrestricted | Day-to-day church operations — salaries, utilities, supplies, maintenance |
| Missions | MIS | Temporarily Restricted | Missionary support and outreach programs |
| Building | BLD | Temporarily Restricted | Building maintenance, repairs, and future construction |
| Benevolence | BEN | Temporarily Restricted | Assistance for members and community in need |
| Youth | YTH | Temporarily Restricted | Youth ministry activities, camps, and events |
Start with fewer funds and add as needed. Every fund requires its own set of accounts in the chart of accounts, its own column on financial reports, and its own reconciliation work. Five well-managed funds are better than fifteen neglected ones.
Fund Properties and Settings
After creating a fund, click its name to open the fund detail page.
Active vs. Inactive
- Active funds appear in all dropdowns, forms, and reports.
- Inactive funds are hidden from day-to-day operations but their historical data remains intact. You cannot delete a fund that has transactions — deactivate it instead.
To deactivate a fund:
- Open the fund detail page.
- Click the Edit button.
- Uncheck the Active toggle.
- Click Save.
Deactivating a fund does not move its balance. If the fund has a remaining balance, transfer it to another fund first using a fund transfer (see the Fund Transfers article).
System Funds
Some funds are marked as system funds and cannot be deleted or renamed. These are created automatically during initial setup to ensure your chart of accounts has a valid default structure.
How Funds Connect to the Chart of Accounts
In Wired Church, every account in the chart of accounts can optionally be linked to a fund. This means you can have:
- Fund-specific accounts: A "Missions Revenue" account linked to the Missions fund, so it only receives transactions for that fund.
- Cross-fund accounts: A "Checking Account" asset that holds money for all funds. The fund-level tracking happens on the journal entry lines, not the account itself.
When you create journal entries, each line specifies both an account and a fund. This is how Wired Church produces fund-level financial statements — it filters journal lines by fund.
Example
A $500 contribution to Missions flows through these journal entries:
| Account | Fund | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 - Checking Account | Missions | $500.00 | |
| 4200 - Missions Revenue | Missions | $500.00 |
Both lines are tagged with the Missions fund. When you run the Statement of Activities filtered to the Missions fund, that $500 appears as revenue. When you run the consolidated statement, it rolls up into total revenue.
Setting a Default Fund for Undesignated Contributions
When a donor gives without specifying a purpose, Wired Church needs to know which fund receives the money.
- Navigate to Finance > Settings.
- Look for the Default Fund setting.
- Select the fund that should receive undesignated gifts (typically General Operating).
- Click Save.
This default is used when the contribution integration auto-generates journal entries and no fund mapping exists for the contribution fund.
Fund Restrictions and Financial Reporting
Fund types directly affect how your financial reports are structured.
On the Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet), net assets are broken into:
- Net Assets Without Donor Restrictions — from unrestricted and designated funds
- Net Assets With Donor Restrictions — from temporarily and permanently restricted funds
On the Statement of Activities (Income Statement), revenue and expenses are separated into columns by restriction type.
This is not optional formatting — it is required by nonprofit accounting standards (ASC 958). Wired Church handles this automatically based on the fund type you assign.
If a donor gives money "for missions," that gift is temporarily restricted. Recording it as unrestricted violates accounting standards and could cause problems during an audit. When in doubt, consult your church's CPA.
Common Questions
Can I rename a fund? Yes. Open the fund, click Edit, change the name, and save. The new name appears everywhere going forward. Historical reports regenerate with the updated name.
Can I change a fund's type after creating it? Yes, but proceed with caution. Changing a fund from restricted to unrestricted (or vice versa) affects financial statement classification. Review your reports after making the change.
Can I delete a fund? Only if the fund has zero transactions and a zero balance. Otherwise, deactivate it. This protects your audit trail.
What happens when I link a contribution fund to an accounting fund? Every time a contribution batch is posted, Wired Church automatically creates journal entries that debit your bank asset account and credit the revenue account for the linked accounting fund.
Related Articles
- Fund Transfers — Move money between funds
- Financial Reports by Fund — Run fund-level financial statements
- Understanding the Chart of Accounts — How accounts and funds work together