Does your organization have more than one major program service? You get a chance to show off the accomplishments of your organization’s top programs in Form 990. Part III of Form 990 contains three generous spaces to write a description of accomplishments for your organization’s top three programs. If you really have a lot going…
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Over the course of this year we have taken you along on a Chart of Accounts Grand Tour (with a few detours here and there!) We hope you have enjoyed it. As we wrap up 2018, we want to leave you with a “map” of the accounts we visited. We provided a table of blog…
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For many organizations, December is the last month of the fiscal year. That means wrapping up not only books for December, but for the entire year! Even if you are not a December year-end, read on for tips to make closing the books faster and less stressful. Follow Up on Outstanding Checks and Deposits in…
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Last week we looked at Bridges for Heroes, an organization that provides assistance to veterans for health insurance and costs of health care not covered by insurance. We determined this type of help qualifies as charitable assistance because: Veterans constitute a “charitable class.” Recipients must show need by meeting eligibility requirements But is the charitable…
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Jean Ryan started a nonprofit organization called Bridges for Heroes to help veterans and their families with the cost of health insurance, co-pays and deductibles. Does Bridges for Heroes qualify as a 501(c)(3) organization? Is this type of help considered charitable assistance? A Little Background The IRS states, “To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the…
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One of the biggest, if not THE biggest expense for many nonprofit organizations is payroll. We often see problems in the way payroll expenses are entered into the books of nonprofit organizations. Here are a few common mistakes: Gross wages, payroll taxes and payroll service fees are mixed up in the same account. Payroll tax…
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Our Chart of Accounts Grand Tour now winds its way into nonprofit expenses. Nonprofit expenses are in many ways similar to those of a regular for-profit company. Payroll, office supplies, rent, and other expenses are commonly found in nonprofit organizations. This post will give an overview of the nonprofit expense landscape, starting with… Distinguishing Expense…
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Last week we laid out a simple accounting framework for special events: Special Events (parent account, not for data entry) – Special Event Income (sub account of Special Events) – Special Event Direct Costs (sub account of Special Events) The above framework accounts for all special event income in the Special Event Income account and…
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What’s the number one accounting question on everyone’s mind about a special event? “How much did we make?” of course! We are talking about events that are primarily fundraisers, not events held to further the organization’s exempt purpose. It gets complicated when you have events for both program and fundraising purposes, but we’ll tackle that…
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“Hey, I have a great fundraising idea. Let’s sell {insert merchandise} to raise money!” Sometimes this can truly be a great idea. And it may be worth pursuing. Just proceed with full knowledge of what you are getting into. Selling merchandise involves a different type of accounting. In fact, it involves a lot of different activities.…
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