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Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting For Dummies
Your hands-on guide to keeping great records and keeping your nonprofit running smoothly
Need to get your nonprofit books in order? This practical guide has everything you need to know to operate your nonprofit according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) — from documenting transactions and budgeting to filing taxes, preparing financial statements, and much more. You’ll see how to stay organized, keep records, and be prepared for an audit.
Begin with the basics — understand common financial terms, choose your accounting methods, and work with financial statements Balance your nonprofit books — set up a chart of accounts, record transactions, plan your budget, and balance your cash flow Get the 4-1-1 on federal grants — find grants and apply for them, track and account for federal dollars, and prepare for a grant audit Stay in good standing with Uncle Sam — set up payroll accounts for employees, calculate taxes and deductions, and complete tax forms Close out your books — prepare the necessary financial statements, know which accounts to close, and prepare for the next accounting cycle Know what to do if you get audited — form an internal audit committee, follow IRS rules of engagement, and keep an immaculate paper trail Open the book and
The difference between bookkeeping and accounting How to maintain a manual or computer record-keeping system Ten vital things to know when keeping the books Do’s and don’ts of managing federal grant money How to prepare for an audit of your financial statements IRS Form 990 good practices The most common errors found during nonprofit audits How to figure out employee payroll deductions and taxes
Need to get your nonprofit books in order? This practical guide has everything you need to know to operate your nonprofit according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) — from documenting transactions and budgeting to filing taxes, preparing financial statements, and much more. You’ll see how to stay organized, keep records, and be prepared for an audit.
Begin with the basics — understand common financial terms, choose your accounting methods, and work with financial statements Balance your nonprofit books — set up a chart of accounts, record transactions, plan your budget, and balance your cash flow Get the 4-1-1 on federal grants — find grants and apply for them, track and account for federal dollars, and prepare for a grant audit Stay in good standing with Uncle Sam — set up payroll accounts for employees, calculate taxes and deductions, and complete tax forms Close out your books — prepare the necessary financial statements, know which accounts to close, and prepare for the next accounting cycle Know what to do if you get audited — form an internal audit committee, follow IRS rules of engagement, and keep an immaculate paper trail Open the book and
The difference between bookkeeping and accounting How to maintain a manual or computer record-keeping system Ten vital things to know when keeping the books Do’s and don’ts of managing federal grant money How to prepare for an audit of your financial statements IRS Form 990 good practices The most common errors found during nonprofit audits How to figure out employee payroll deductions and taxes
510 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
73 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 6, 2023
IMO- book does a great job of delivering what it says it will deliver. It’s an overview of the subject, not too in depth, but great for concerned citizens or just someone looking to learn about this topic. I love the tips and warning sections. Great resource!!
February 13, 2014
Basic, simple. This did the job I needed.
April 14, 2023
Overall, this book provides a fairly thorough overview of Bookkeeping and Accounting for Nonprofits. If you're starting from scratch, or want a high level overview, this is a great place to start. The first obligatory caveat is that the book is over 10 years old and laws, rules, and GAAP all change over time - that doesn't really have much of an impact here, and the author is usually good to point out when this is especially important. It is most apparent talking about manual bookkeeping vs. using software. QuickBooks, and free alternatives are much more prevalent. Also, efiling is much easier, and much more often required now.
I have two areas in which I think the book could be improved. First, and the biggest, is that users of this book are likely involved in small nonprofits. While the author does a great job of stating where things are important even for the smallest nonprofits, I think much more color could be given on deciding what are some of the correct policies and controls for smaller nonprofits where the tradeoff between doing something in the textbook manner and paying for the staff/external bookkeeper is an important tradeoff. There is almost no guidance about this, except on forming an audit committee in chapter 20.
Secondly, there is a lot of emphasis on Federal Grants, along with their special accounting and auditing rules. The inclusion is good, because the requirements are relatively strict. However, thinking again about smaller nonprofits, they're much less likely to obtain these grants. Aside from the onerous accounting and reporting rules, which can be a material burden for small and even medium nonprofits, many of the criteria for grant selection naturally exclude smaller nonprofits. The chapters about Federal Grants are helpful and should stay as they are, but in some of the other chapters it is almost suggested that they're your only funding source, and the author could have spent more time on other types of revenue.
As a bottom line, if you're completely new to the business/nonprofit world, this is a good start. But, unless you're a board member of a nonprofit with a well established accouting practice and strong skills in staff and other board members, it would be beneficial to spend time with a more advanced resource as well.
I have two areas in which I think the book could be improved. First, and the biggest, is that users of this book are likely involved in small nonprofits. While the author does a great job of stating where things are important even for the smallest nonprofits, I think much more color could be given on deciding what are some of the correct policies and controls for smaller nonprofits where the tradeoff between doing something in the textbook manner and paying for the staff/external bookkeeper is an important tradeoff. There is almost no guidance about this, except on forming an audit committee in chapter 20.
Secondly, there is a lot of emphasis on Federal Grants, along with their special accounting and auditing rules. The inclusion is good, because the requirements are relatively strict. However, thinking again about smaller nonprofits, they're much less likely to obtain these grants. Aside from the onerous accounting and reporting rules, which can be a material burden for small and even medium nonprofits, many of the criteria for grant selection naturally exclude smaller nonprofits. The chapters about Federal Grants are helpful and should stay as they are, but in some of the other chapters it is almost suggested that they're your only funding source, and the author could have spent more time on other types of revenue.
As a bottom line, if you're completely new to the business/nonprofit world, this is a good start. But, unless you're a board member of a nonprofit with a well established accouting practice and strong skills in staff and other board members, it would be beneficial to spend time with a more advanced resource as well.
June 29, 2017
My old boss left this in his desk after he quit and I got bored today and skimmed it in case there was any great info, but I ended with like one additional idea (and learned that 1099s seem kinda easy, which is something new I have to handle this year). It's a fairly good resource I guess, but nothing too in depth if you work in the sphere. If you are starting a nonprofit or are starting roles in an accounting function, probably a good overview to get an idea of how things work. If you want specifics on how to handle taxes or audits or 990s, it doesn't do much more than tell you that it basically all exists.
July 4, 2018
A book for a beginner like me, it provides worked examples, definitions and exercises. My only critique is that it's also a promotion of the SAGE programme, which is unnecessary.
September 8, 2019
In need of edits and new release. Much was out of date.
December 9, 2012
Meh. I'm not sure it is the right resource for me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews