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.
The standard chart of categories
You don't have to invent your categories: Sanctumel ships a standard church chart of categories, precise and ready to use, in your church's language.
- New church: the standard categories are created automatically on first visit (tithe, offering, donations, thanksgiving, missions, rent & utilities, maintenance, transport, benevolence, bank fees...).
- Existing church: in New operation, click Standard church categories to adopt them in one click. Nothing is ever duplicated: the categories you already have are kept as they are.
- You remain free to add, rename or delete your own categories at any time.
Note: online payments are categorized automatically at the source: a store sale lands in "Store sales", an event ticket in "Event tickets", an online tithe in "Tithe". No opaque "Other" bucket.
Sales channels and payouts
Money from the Store, Ticketing, Book and Curriculum sales is tracked channel by channel:
- Open Finance, then Reports, tab Sales channels.
- Each channel shows the gross, fees and net for the period, plus the running net, the already paid out and the available amount.
- Click Pay out to record in one click the transfer of the channel's money (to the central cash desk, a manager, a project). The amount is pre-filled with the available balance.
The payout creates an expense entry "Payout..." dated today: the channel's income stays intact, the outflow is traced, and every report (categories, period, funds) stays accurate.
A category decides the account
A category is not a mere filing label. It is what decides the accounting account on which the transaction will be posted, and therefore the line where it appears in all your books.
It is the chart of accounts that bridges your language ("Sound system", "Benevolence") and your accountant's numbers. You set it once, at the start. See the chart of accounts.
Tip: before creating a new category, ask yourself whether you will one day want to see that line on its own in a report. If the answer is no, an existing category is enough. Multiplying categories makes the category report unreadable without adding anything.
What becomes of your entry
As soon as the transaction is validated, a double-entry posting is born behind you: the category gives the income or expense account, the payment method gives the cash account.
| What you record | The derived entry |
|---|---|
| Tithe, 100, cash | Debit 571 Cash 100 · Credit 7300 Tithes 100 |
| Rent, 850, transfer | Debit 6100 Rent 850 · Credit 550 Bank 850 |
You never record a debit or a credit. See the journal to read these entries, check the health of the book and understand how a mistake is corrected.
Note: if you change the category of a transaction already recorded, the entry follows on its own: its income or expense line changes account, and cash does not move, because it was right.