Nonprofits & ministries
Bookkeeping for nonprofits and ministries
A nonprofit's books answer to more people than an owner. Donors, grantmakers and a board all need to see that money went where it was promised.
Fund accounting is the whole job. A gift given for a specific purpose is not general money, and a nonprofit that cannot show the balance of each restricted fund at any moment will eventually be asked to and be unable to.
The same discipline that serves churches serves other nonprofits, with one addition: grants come with their own budgets, reporting periods and allowable costs, and tracking them loosely is how a renewal gets refused.
Where the books go wrong
What we look at first
Restricted gifts in the general pool
Once a restricted gift is mixed in, the balance can only be reconstructed by hand — and only if someone remembers.Grants tracked outside the books
A grant budget living in a spreadsheet drifts from the accounts. The grant report and the general ledger should come from the same numbers.No split between program, administration and fundraising
Boards, funders and the annual return all ask for this split. Building it into the accounts beats estimating it afterwards.In-kind gifts unrecorded
Donated goods, services and space are real support. Leaving them out understates both what came in and what it cost to operate.
What we do each month
- Gifts recorded to their fund at the point of deposit, restricted or unrestricted
- Fund balances carried forward and reported every month
- Grant income and spending tracked against each grant's own budget and period
- Costs allocated across program, administration and fundraising on a consistent basis
- In-kind contributions recorded where they can be reasonably valued
- Board-ready statements: fund balances, budget against actual, and cash position
Setting up QuickBooks for it
QuickBooks Online is not purpose-built fund accounting software, but with a disciplined chart of accounts and classes for funds and programs it tracks restricted balances reliably for most small nonprofits.
Grants work well as projects, which keeps grant spending against grant budget in one view rather than in a parallel spreadsheet.
The monthly close includes a fund balance report, because a fund balance nobody looks at drifts as easily as one nobody tracks.
Carey is a QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor, so a file can be set up, cleaned up or migrated as part of the same engagement — see QuickBooks services.
Reporting
The numbers worth watching
Fund balances
What is held for each purpose right now — the report that answers most donor and board questions before they are asked.Budget against actual by program
Where the year is running ahead or behind, program by program, while there is still time to adjust.Months of operating reserve
Unrestricted funds against normal monthly spending. The board question that comes up every year.
Questions we are asked
Is this the same as your church bookkeeping service?
The fund accounting is the same discipline, and much of Carey's 20+ years of bookkeeping has been with churches. Other nonprofits add grant tracking and functional expense reporting, and they do not have the payroll questions particular to ministers. See the church bookkeeping pages if a congregation is what you are looking for.
Can you prepare our Form 990?
No. The 990 is a tax return, and tax preparation is outside what we provide. We keep the books so that whoever prepares it has accurate fund balances and a clean functional expense split to work from.
Can you audit our books?
No. Audits, reviews and other attest work require an independent CPA firm. Bookkeeping and audit are separate roles, and a bookkeeper cannot provide assurance on their own work.
Start with a conversation
Let's look at your books together
Tell us about your church or business and where your bookkeeping stands. Carey will follow up to arrange a consultation, and you'll receive a written scope before any work begins.