Financial Core
Operational guide to the double-entry general ledger, the Chart of Accounts, importing bank transactions with Plaid, and compiling co-op financial statements.
Double-Entry Accounting & Corporate Finance
The Financial Core is a double-entry general ledger for your cooperative. Activity elsewhere in OwnFold (member buy-ins, patronage postings, invoice payments, approved expenses, completed projects and work orders) posts entries to it, and it tracks co-op specific equity such as member capital accounts and collective reserves.
1. The General Ledger & Co-op Equity
Standard accounting systems don't track the individual equity allocations required by cooperative bylaws. OwnFold separates co-op equity into:
- Member Capital Accounts: Member buy-ins and retained patronage allocations. Each member's share is itemized in their Member Ledger capital account history.
- Collective Reserves: Unallocated, indivisible capital retained to protect the organization's financial stability. This capital belongs to the cooperative entity and is not returnable to individual members.
2. Managing the Chart of Accounts (CoA)
Every workspace starts with a default Chart of Accounts (cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, member capital, collective reserves, sales revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and merchant processing fees). Open the Chart of Accounts in the Financial Core to add accounts. System tags tell OwnFold where to post automatic entries:
- CASH / AR / AP: Used by invoice payments, expense approvals, and patronage cash payouts.
- CAPITAL: Member Capital Accounts, credited by buy-ins and retained patronage.
- RESERVES: Collective Reserves, debited when a patronage dividend is declared.
You can also post manual journal entries. OwnFold rejects any entry whose debits and credits don't balance.
3. Bank Transactions with Plaid
Speed up reconciliation by connecting your bank:
- Connect Your Bank: Link your bank account through Plaid from the Financial Core.
- Import & Reconcile: Sync to import the last 30 days of posted transactions. They arrive as unreconciled items, and you assign each one to the right ledger account to reconcile it.
4. Financial Statements
Statements are compiled from the ledger on demand and can be printed or saved as a PDF:
- Income Statement (P&L): Revenue and expense accounts, including cost of goods sold, with your net cooperative surplus.
- Balance Sheet: Assets, liabilities, and equity, including member capital and collective reserves.