Categories and bookkeeping
Classify your income and expenses by category and let the accounting engine record every operation automatically.
Every operation you enter in Finance is classified and then automatically recorded in your books, with no double entry. Whether the amount comes from an online gift or a manual entry, it joins the same ledger and updates your totals in real time. Here is how categories and category tracking work.
Understanding money in and money out
Every operation is first either money in (income) or money out (an expense). When you create an operation you choose this nature first, then a suitable predefined type:
| Nature | Available types |
|---|---|
| Money in (income) | Tithe, Offering, Donation, Mission, Contribution, Other income |
| Money out (expense) | General expense, Rent, Maintenance, Construction, Other expense |
Note: these base types are designed for church life. They are always available, so there is nothing to set up before you begin.
Adding an accounting category
On top of the type, you can attach each operation to a finer accounting category (for example "Sound system", "Benevolence", "Electricity"). This field is optional, but it makes your reports far easier to read.
- Open Finance.
- Create an operation with New operation.
- After choosing the nature and the type, pick a category from the list.
- The list adapts: income categories for money in, expense categories for money out.
Tip: an expense category can also serve as the basis for a budget. That way you track planned versus spent in the same place.
The single accounting engine
Sanctumel runs on a single accounting engine: as soon as an operation is confirmed, it is recorded once and reflected everywhere.
- An online gift collected through Sanctumel Pay lands in the ledger automatically, marked as coming from Pay.
- A manual entry (cash, transfer, cheque) joins the same ledger, marked as manual.
- The totals (income, expenses, balance) recalculate live.
Warning: money coming in is protected. It cannot be deleted freely: cancelling it requires a written justification and stays traced in the log. This is a safeguard for accuracy, not an obstacle.
Tracking activity by category
The Finance dashboard shows summary cards (income, expenses, balance, tithes, offerings, donations). Click a card to open the detail of the matching type.
- Click a card, for example Tithes or Expenses.
- The list of operations of that type opens, each with its category.
- Use the search to filter by member, description, category or reference.
- The total of the selection is shown at the bottom.
Every operation in the main table also shows its category, so you can see at a glance where the money is going.