Financial categories help organize debits (charges) and credits into coherent groups. grouping is beneficial for generating financial reports and streamlining the enrollment process by simplifying billing and transaction reporting.
Note: you must establish these financial categories before setting up Line Items. Applicants won't see these categories; they're just for camp management.
Campminder works like a 'data in, data out' system. Using categories effectively helps you make the most of your data. Consider what data you'll need for future reports to guide your decisions
Video Tutorial
Define Financial Categories
Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin. From the Definitions menu in the upper right corner, select Financial Categories.
Click the green Define New button.
Enter the financial category name. Example financial categories include:
Tuition
Medical
Transportation
Discounts
Credits
Penalties
Fees
Miscellaneous
Paid Activities
Accounts
Scholarships
Enter a General Ledger Code if you’d like to be able to map your Campminder data to external accounting software, such as QuickBooks.
Use the radio buttons to decide Yes/No regarding whether or not you want the Category to Exclude Balance Forward. This choice affects how transactions in this category are treated during the rollup process. Choosing 'Yes' means financial items in this category won't be included in the balance carried forward at season's end. The default setting for this option is 'No'."
Use the radio buttons Yes/No to make this category State active or Inactive.
Click Save if you are done adding categories, or Save + Add Another if you have more to add.
Note: The definition of your categories is entirely in your hands. Consider what kinds of debits and credits you'll want to report for your camp. These considerations will shape your financial categories. Aim for broader categories rather than very specific ones, as they tend to be more practical."
Category Notes
Medical | This is an optional category, because it will probably make more sense to create a discretionary account for medical charges. 📖 Related Help Materials: Creating a discretionary account offers the advantage of billing items individually. For instance, you can issue an invoice solely for a medical expense, rather than including all charges. Another perk is the flexibility it provides: if there's an outstanding amount, it can be transferred to the general account for billing. This approach is equally effective for camp store or canteen charges. |
Transportation | Keep in mind that transportation and travel are different concepts. Transportation usually means getting to camp at the start of a session and leaving at the end, while travel involves the trips taken during the camp session. |
Discounts | We highly advise establishing a financial category specifically for discounts.
Example: while you could include discounts in a total tuition charge – like 'Session One Early Bird' – this approach may lead to complications later. Since applicants won't see a detailed breakdown of the discount on their invoice, they might contact the camp for clarification on the discount amount they received. |
Credits | In accounting, credits and discounts not the same. A credit is a debt forgiveness, whereas a discount means the debt was reduced from the start.
Example: an 'early bird' enrollment results in a lower tuition, a discount. In contrast, a credit might be applied to someone who paid full tuition but then referred another camper, offsetting part of their original debt. Similarly, a staff members child at camp might receive a courtesy credit after paying full tuition. |
Discretionary Accounts | This will typically include camp store and medical accounts. There is an entire module devoted to these discretionary accounts, but you will want to create a financial category as well.
When a parent sends in money that will go into a discretionary account, there will be an entry to the financial ledger and a corresponding entry for the particular account, which will transfer the money to that account. |
Scholarships | This category typically includes 'Scholarship' and 'Scholarship Pending' as billing items. They're used because scholarships are often promised before the funds are received.
By entering the scholarship as a charge and an equivalent credit under 'Scholarship Pending,' camps can easily adjust records once the funds arrive. This method also helps track unfunded scholarships. |
Edit Financial Categories
Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin. From the Definitions menu in the upper right corner, select Financial Categories.
Click the yellow "Edit" button on the line of the Financial Category you wish to modify.
Enter your changes and click the green "Save" button.
Delete Financial Categories
Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin. From the Definitions menu in the upper right corner, select Financial Categories.
Click the red "Delete" button on the line of the Financial Categories you wish to remove.
In the confirmation window that appears, click the green "Yes" button to delete.
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