How should I record donations that are made by two people? For example, we frequently receive donations from a couple (as indicated on the check). Sometimes these two people share a last name; sometimes, they do not. They usually share an address, so thanking them is not an issue. Our main concern is accurately recording the donation so that if we look up a donor, we will know how much that person donated.

Let's say John and Mary Smith send us a check for $100. Should I record $50 under each of their names? Or randomly pick one name, such as John, and attribute the full $100 to him? Or create my own identifying system, such as attributing $99.99 to John and $.01 to Mary (I would know by looking at the numbers that it must be combined with another donor's contribution)?

I want to have accurate records, so how do I record these checks?