Accounting Procedures for CitizensMatch Dollars (C$)
Table of Contents
Setting up your accounting system for C$
Receiving payment in C$
Paying invoices in C$
Supporting elder services with C$
Other recommendations
Setting up your accounting system for C$
Citizen Dollars is a trade currency, so you should treat them the same as you would any other currency that your business conducts transactions in … whether it be US federal dollars or Canadian currency or Euros, for that matter.
There are three ways to transact Citizen Dollars. Either in Certificate/Scrip form, which will be spent by individual Citizen Dollar earners (Citizen to Business), in Voucher form, which will be spent by other business owners (Business to Business), or online via the citizensMatch Broker.
Upon your enrollment as a CitizensMatch member business, you are set up with a Citizen Dollar account on the CitizensMatch Trading Platform All of the accounting related to C$ goes through this one account.
You should set up a manual C$ Account so that you may record your C$ in the same way that you track all other transactions. Upon accepting C$, in either Certificate or Voucher form, you have two options. You can either call the CM Broker and conduct the transaction through your online account or you can send the certificates and vouchers to the CitizensMatch Broker, who will perform the transaction electronically for you.
Since Citizen Dollars are currency, place them in a secure location and keep track of them by recording all activity through your manual system as you wis. The total number of C$ in your manual account should always equal the total amount in your online account.
Receiving payments in C$
As with any payment, your customers will expect a receipt when they give you C$ in exchange for goods or services. Record the payment as a debit to the “C$ Account” for the full amount and credit the appropriate revenue account. It should be the same entry that you would record for a sale for which you received a payment with cash or a check. Calculate and collect sales tax on the full amount of the sale. Sales tax must be collected in US federal dollars.
Paying an invoice in C$
Payments are accepted by other member businesses. Verify with the business that it is still an active member or call the CM Broker if you have any questions. As a business owner, you may make a payment to another business through a voucher or by calling the CM Broker. Send the C$ voucher, along with a copy of the invoice being paid, to the participating business. File your original invoice as you normally would with a notation indicating that the invoice was paid through a C$ voucher. Debit the appropriate expense account or accounts payable for the full amount, as though you were making the payment by check. Credit the “C$ Account” for the same amount.
Supporting elder services through C$
C$Cerificates/Scrip have a one year life from the date of issuance. There are two ways to support local elder services. At any time, you can donate any, or all, of your C$ directly to Highland Valley Elder Services. A second method to offer support is allowing C$ to expire, at which point they will automatically revert to Highland Valley Elder Services as a donation. In either case, the transaction is recorded as a debit to your “Donation Account” and a credit to “C$ Cash Account.” For contributions of $250 or more, a Form 1099 will be issued from Highland Valley Elder Services in accordance with IRS regulations related to donations. The donated certificates should be removed from your secure location and sent to Highland Valley Elder Services.
Other recommendations
∙ When in doubt, handle transactions just like cash activities.
∙ If payments are received in C$ Certificates, no change need be given.
∙ Check the published list of active business members regularly to look for creative opportunities to re-circulate your C$.
∙ Ask non-members businesses if they would like to accept C$ and become members.
∙ Pay bonuses to your employees in C$.
∙ Partially pay willing employees in C$.
∙ Support branding by adding “C$ Accepted” to your advertising and the C$ Logo on your door.
∙ Do not hesitate to place restrictions on acceptance of C$, if you temporarily need to.