The Role of a Nonprofit Bookkeeper

Non-profits can choose from several bookkeeping solutions, including purchasing accounting software, hiring a full-time bookkeeper, or outsourcing to professionals. Non-profit bookkeeping is the practice of maintaining detailed, accurate records of all revenues and expenses. Accountants rely on accurate bookkeeping for financial reporting and analysis. Non-profit accounting is a set of principles for recording non-profit organizations’ financial activities. From accounting and month-end close to financial reporting to data visualization, we conduct a variety of services and can customize them to your nonprofit’s specific needs. Rob has extensive experience partnering with nonprofits during his time working in social services and has also worked within numerous grassroots organizations.

Professional Nonprofit Accounting & Bookkeeping Services

Accurate bookkeeping for nonprofits is the backbone of every successful not for profit organization. Unlike for-profit businesses, nonprofits face unique challenges in managing their finances, from tracking donor contributions to complying with https://nerdbot.com/2025/06/10/the-key-benefits-of-accounting-services-for-nonprofit-organizations/ strict regulatory requirements. In this guide, we will delve into the intricacies of not-for-profit bookkeeping, offering you essential tips and best practices to streamline your financial management processes. Every nonprofit, no matter its size or sector, requires dedicated bookkeeping processes to ensure financial health, legal compliance, and maintain trust with donors. Integrating accurate bookkeeping software for nonprofit organizations and implementing standard nonprofit bookkeeping principles streamlines financial management. It’s also critical for avoiding financial oversight or regulatory missteps so that the organization’s mission can succeed.

Accurate, reliable bookkeeping services for nonprofit organizations

• Don’t use your personal bank account to receive, hold or disburse money for your nonprofit.
• Bookkeepers lay the foundation for the accounting processes that will follow.
• At the beginning of each month, we’ll request your previous month’s bank statement, credit card statements, and contributions (if applicable).
• We’ll also handle a variety of analysis and reporting tasks, such as reconciling accounts, compiling financial statements, and issuing 1099s.
• Let’s look at the different options you have and the steps for hiring these professionals in more detail.
• This process helps identify and correct discrepancies, preventing potential issues down the line.
• The COA organizes all the accounts that a non profit uses to track its financial transactions, ensuring that each entry is categorized correctly.

Let’s look at the different options you have and the steps for hiring these professionals in more detail. Accounting software can help non-profits with tracking and categorization activities. For example, Quickbooks offers non-profit functionalities to help with fund accounting complexities. By the way, 1-800Accountant can support your non-profit with professional bookkeeping and accounting services.

• Since nonprofit organizations risk losing their tax-exempt status if they don’t comply with accounting principles, it’s vital to pay attention to proper bookkeeping.
• Your non-profit should summarize the total cash received or used for operating, investing, and financing activities.
• Smaller organizations with fewer transactions might outsource bookkeeping.
• Each statement relies on quality information regarding the organization’s income from cash donations, grants, in-kind gifts, and expenses.
• Your expenditures will be influenced by how your accounting systems, processes, reporting requirements, and laws are established and handled, in addition to these core bookkeeping duties.

Resources

There are major differences between the three types of bookkeepers and what each can offer your Nonprofit. Figure out which works best for your organization and start tackling the problems with your books. The average price of outsourcing your bookkeeping ranges from about $2,000 to $3,500 per month depending on the number of transactions and complexity of services required. As a nonprofit leader, you naturally want as much of your resources to go toward furthering your mission as possible, but of course, keeping a nonprofit’s operations in motion doesn’t just happen for free. The IRS provides this The Key Benefits of Accounting Services for Nonprofit Organizations handy questionnaire to help you figure out exactly which parts of the tax code apply to your organization, and which form you’ll use to apply for tax-exempt status.

How Much Do Bookkeeping & Accounting Services for Nonprofits Cost?

When you select board members or hire an individual to serve as your executive director, you likely aren’t selecting them for their strong background in bookkeeping and accounting. Likely, you choose them based on their list of contacts, fundraising abilities, and proven commitment to your cause. As a result, most executive directors and nonprofit board members aren’t qualified to handle the bookkeeping and accounting for your nonprofit.

• Nonprofits have tight rules around what they can and can’t spend money on.
• Mindy has 12 years of governmental accounting experience performing bookkeeping tasks and financial reporting.
• While both nonprofit and for-profit bookkeeping involve tracking financial transactions, there are key differences.
• You can determine whether these are one-time or regular experiences and choose how to raise funds for different programs that don’t gain as much financial support.
• Bookkeepers and grant managers regularly review expenses and progress to ensure compliance with the grant’s terms, including spending deadlines and reporting requirements.
• Because of this, the IRS requires that you obtain nonprofit status from your state before applying for tax-exempt status.

Jitasa’s tax specialists have filed more than 5,000 tax returns for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes. In addition to your IRS Form 990, we’ll prepare any and all additional tax forms required by your state or local government. Outsource where you need to, so you can stay on top of running your nonprofit. Get a free bookkeeping estimate here and learn more about our consulting options if you need to work on your budget. When you’re looking for a good bookkeeper, you’ll want to look for everything on this and the RELATIONSHIP you can have with your bookkeeper.

That experience was developed in small and mid-sized organizations in industries such as banking, finance, photography/videography, coaching/consulting, real-estate, and law. Even tiny nonprofits have BIG bookkeeping challenges, like cash flow forecasting, grant tracking, and finding the time to reconcile your accounts. Many nonprofits have earned revenue streams, like membership subscriptions, tuition fees, course enrollments, or sales at company stores. In those cases, nonprofit bookkeeping includes creating accurate invoices (that account for and collect any required sales tax) to track every sale. This is unusual for a bookkeeping company because bookkeeping does not require a degree or certification. This means every level of your bookkeeping has a professional set of eyes on it from top to bottom.