Nonprofit Bookkeeping Services

It’s essential to be familiar with some of the most important nonprofit bookkeeping services. If you need professional help, you can contact us!

Financial Reporting and Compliance

All nonprofits must prepare accurate and transparent financial statements. An expert can ensure compliance with accounting standards.

Donation and Revenue Recording

Nonprofits typically receive money from various sources, and all funds must be recorded correctly. Receipts must be issued, for tax purposes, and the donor’s history must be tracked.

Grant Tracking and Reporting

Most nonprofits rely on grants, and this comes with rules such as tracking grant income and expenses separately.

Fund Accounting

You need to track not only income and expenses but also how funds are restricted and used.

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Quality Work

Almost every client in our portfolio is 100% satisfied with our performance.

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Professional Team

Every bookkeeper on our business’s team is a fully qualified and competent professional.

NONPROFIT BOOKKEEPING SOLUTIONS

How to Do Bookkeeping for Nonprofits?

Nonprofit bookkeeping is a detail-focused process that goes beyond basic recording. A nonprofit bookkeeper records all transactions, from grants, donations, expenses, and payroll. They would also reconcile bank accounts regularly, while reviewing support documentation and maintaining accurate ledgers. When we’re talking about nonprofits, grant budgets must be tracked, and shared costs must be allocated across programs. As you can see, bookkeeping for nonprofit organizations is way more complex than regular bookkeeping, which is why it requires a professional.

Moreover, on a monthly or quarterly basis, financial reports, such as the Statement of Activities, must be prepared. These kinds of reports provide the leadership with clear and insightful information when it comes to the financial performance of the organization. Not to forget that all the records must be in compliance with all applicable regulations.

BOOKKEEPING VERSUS ACCOUNTING

What Are the Differences betweenNonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting?

Bookkeeping for nonprofits is about recording daily donations and expenses, while accounting analyzes and interprets the data that bookkeeping provides. Let’s look at three of the elements that clearly differentiate the two fields.

Complexity

Bookkeeping requires attention to detail, as all data must be recorded accurately. While accounting requires interpretation and judgment skills. Everything related to nonprofits is complex because the rules are strict and complicated.

Purpose

The purpose of bookkeeping is to record all day-to-day transactions. While the purpose of accounting is to analyze the data and support planning and decision-making. These two fields work closely together, but their goals are different.

Output

What they produce is also different. Bookkeeping produces financial records, like transaction logs and ledgers. Accounting produces structured reports and insights, that are used for reporting.

NONPROFIT BOOKKEEPING GLOSSARY

Terms Every Nonprofit Bookkeeper Knows

There are a few terms that everyone should know if they are working within a nonprofit organization. Knowing these terms makes it easier to understand the nonprofit budget and how every little task matters.

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Restricted Funds

This refers to donations that must be used for a specific purpose or under certain conditions that were imposed by the donor.

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Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted funds can be used for any operational need, which gives the organization flexibility in spending

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Statement of Financial Position

This kind of statement displays assets and liabilities, and it’s often described as a snapshot of the financial situation of a business at a specific point in time.

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Statement of Activities

A financial report showing revenue and expenses over a period, similar to a for-profit income statement.

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Fund Accounting

This refers to tracking money based on its purpose or restrictions. This is done to ensure that all donations are used as the donors want.

THE BENEFITS

The Benefits of Working with Nonprofit Bookkeeping Firms

You might ask yourself if there are any actual benefits to working with experts in the bookkeeping process. Knowing these benefits can help you answer that question and also understand what kind of help you will receive.

Expertise in Nonprofit Rules

Professionals have expertise in nonprofit practices like fund accounting and donor restrictions. The regulations that nonprofits must be in compliance with require special care and expertise in order to be respected.

Time and Cost Efficiency

One of the things you will notice at first is how much time you are saving and how cost-efficient the services are. You and your team can focus on other areas of the business, and the overall cost of outsourcing will be lower than having an in-house team.

Improved Compliance

A bookkeeping firm can help you meet legal and reporting requirements, including filings like IRS Form 990, or other local equivalents, reducing the risk of errors or penalties.

PROLEDGE BOOKKEEPING SERVICES

Bookkeeping Services that We Offer

Proledge provides a series of bookkeeping services that could be very helpful to your business or organization. All of the members of our team are experts, so you are in good hands!

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QuickBooks Training

QuickBooks is a software program that can help create a bookkeeping system that’s faster and more efficient. We can help set up the best bookkeeping software for nonprofits, but also ensure that your team is using it effortlessly.

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Virtual Bookkeeping

Thanks to virtual bookkeeping, we can provide bookkeeping support 24/7. You are able to access our services from anywhere in the world!

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Tax Services

We can help with ensuring that everything is accurate and ready for when tax season comes around. This takes the stress away from you and your team.

Accounts Payable

Accounts payable refers to the money a company owes to vendors. Knowing all of the money that you owe is important if you want to accurately assess the financial health of your organization.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable refers to the money that others owe to you; it’s the money that you are supposed to receive. Not keeping track of this often means losing money.

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Account Reconciliation

Account reconciliation is the task that ensures that there are no discrepancies by comparing internal and external financial records.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FAQ

Fund accounting is a system that is used by nonprofit organizations to track money based on its purpose, rather than its source. Funds are often characterized as restricted or unrestricted, and this is determined by the donor’s requirement. This kind of system ensures that donations are used as they were intended by the donor. This is important both legally and ethically. For nonprofit organizations, respecting the donor’s request is important.

There are a few key financial statements that most nonprofits need to prepare. Two of the most important ones are: Statement of Activities, which shows revenue and expenses, and Statement of Financial Positions, which shows assets and liabilities. These statements are essential to understand the financial situation and health of the organization.

Outsourcing bookkeeping provides access to a team of experts and the latest tools on the market, for little of the price you would pay for these if you have an in-house team. With outsourcing, you don’t have to worry about office space, about equipment, training, software program subscriptions and salaries. When dealing with complex funding structures, outsourcing can improve accuracy and compliance.

Restricted funds need to be recorded separately from unrestricted donations. Bookkeepers should assess these funds to designated accounts, but also monitor to see how they are spent over time. Regular reporting shows how much money has been used and on what. With restricted donations, it’s essential to have proper and transparent documentation to be able to prove that the funds were used as the donor intended.

Many nonprofit organizations ask what are the forms that they need to file. To maintain their legal status, there are some annual reports and tax forms that nonprofits need to file. In the US, forms like the 990 are needed. The filing requirements will also depend on the organization’s location and size. Failing to file all of the forms required by law will lead to penalties or even loss of tax-exempt status.

Bookkeeping for nonprofits should always be done regularly, as that ensures the best results. For active organizations, it’s best to make updates weekly, or even better, daily. For a nonprofit’s financial records to remain accurate and up to date, frequent updates are needed. They make it easier to manage cash flow and to catch any errors early. Waiting a long time to make updates often leads to missed deadlines, errors, and, ultimately, an increased workload.

Some of the best bookkeeping practices for nonprofit organizations include maintaining up-to-date records, regularly reconciling accounts, and accurately tracking restricted and unrestricted funds. Constant reporting and clear documentation are practices that ensure compliance, transparency, and provide insight that allows for better decision-making.

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    TESTIMONIALS

    What Our Clients Say About ProLedge

    Working with ProLedge means professionalism and dedication. Check out what our clients had to say about our bookkeeping services!

    Melissa K is an absolute GEM to work with. She’s been working with my company since the early stages and has provided a competency that I don’t for granted. Knowing that the company books are tidy, correct, and easy to understand is the ultimate security for a startup in my opinion. Melissa is definitely a part of the team and we’re happy to work with her as we grow!

      Michael Krajicek
      Michael Krajicek

      We’ve been working with ProLedge for three years now and as a small business owner, their service has made a huge impact on both the accuracy of our bookkeeping and allowing us to focus on the things that we do well. Working with ProLedge was one of the best decisions we’ve made, and highly recommend them!

        Mark Gmur, CWE
        Mark Gmur, CWE

        Using Proledge Bookkeeping Services to handle our bookkeeping has been excellent. My CPA focuses on year end tax planning and strategy and Proledge makes sure our books are clean and transactions are all accounted for. I’ve been a happy client for years now and they have always been easy to work with, transparent, and prompt in responding to any questions. Highly recommend!

          Drew Provost
          Drew Provost

          I really like this company. They came to my rescue 3 years in a row, with my backed-up bookkeeping needs, in a timely and professional manner. It’s been a pleasure and a breeze working with Rebecca. I’m happy to have retained their services. I highly recommend them.

            Obichukwu Okoye
            Obichukwu Okoye

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