Each restricted gift comes with a promise about how it will be spent. A business ledger cannot keep that promise. Our nonprofit bookkeeping services track every fund and grant, split costs by function and close your month by the 10th. Your board sees what is truly free to spend.
Funds ยท March close
Net assets $412,600
Certified on the platforms your business already runs on
A business ledger tracks income and expense. A nonprofit also has to track who gave the money and what it may be used for. Miss that and you get a grant report you cannot back up, or a board unsure what it can spend.
Donor-restricted gifts and grants land in the same account as general funds and get spent from it.
What it costs you
Restricted money pays for the wrong things, and you cannot show a funder where their gift went.
Each grant has an approved budget by line, and spending is posted with no link to it.
What it costs you
Every funder report is rebuilt by hand, and misspent money may have to be paid back.
Salaries, rent and shared costs are not split between program, management and fundraising.
What it costs you
Part IX of the 990 is estimated, and your program ratio, the share spent on programs, is a guess.
Donated goods, pro bono services and free space are used but never reach the books.
What it costs you
Revenue and expenses are understated, and the 990 and audit miss gifts that must be shown.
Multi-year grants and pledges are posted when paid, not when the promise is made.
What it costs you
Revenue swings from year to year, and the organization looks weaker or stronger than it is.
Bloomerang or DonorPerfect holds one giving total, and the ledger holds another.
What it costs you
Acknowledgment letters go out wrong, and a donor who gave twice is thanked once.
The detail the return needs is gathered after year end from scattered files.
What it costs you
Extensions and higher prep fees, and three straight years of missed filings means automatic loss of exemption.
Board reports start from cash, with no view of what is restricted or already committed.
What it costs you
The board approves spending with money that is already promised elsewhere.
Spending $1,000,000 or more of federal awards in a year triggers a Single Audit, and many states and funders set their own audit lines.
What it costs you
A longer, costlier audit, and findings your funders will read.
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One flat monthly rate covers gifts and grants in and 990-ready statements out. Nothing here is an add-on, and the fee does not rise with the number of grants you manage.
Every dollar in, recorded with the donor behind it and any limit on how it can be used.
What each program costs to run, and how shared costs are split for the 990.
The statements a nonprofit is required to produce, closed on fixed dates every month.
Good bookkeeping for nonprofits fits the tools you already run. We work inside your donor CRM, giving pages and books. No migration, no new license, and no change to how you fundraise.
Tell us how your funds and grants are set up today. We will review how gifts, grants and restrictions are recorded and show you what is off. Then you receive a flat monthly quote to keep every fund in order. The review is free.
Covered from day one
We see these in most nonprofit books we take over. Each puts something different at risk: a funder's trust, an accurate 990 and the board's grip on spending. All three come from running a charity on a ledger built for a business.
| The mistake | What it causes | How we handle it |
|---|---|---|
| 01Spending restricted gifts from one pot | What it causesWhen restricted and general money share one balance, restricted funds pay for operations. Then you cannot show a donor how their gift was used. | How we handle itWe keep net assets with and without donor restrictions apart. A restriction is released only when qualifying spending happens. |
| 02Guessing the functional split | What it causesWithout splitting costs across program, management and fundraising, Part IX of the 990 is an estimate and the program ratio is a guess. | How we handle itWe allocate salaries, rent and shared costs each month on a written basis, such as time records or floor space. |
| 03Booking grants when the check clears | What it causesMulti-year and conditional grants booked on receipt make revenue jump between years and misstate what you really have. | How we handle itWe book unconditional grants and pledges when promised and hold conditional ones until the barrier is met. Collections are tracked apart. |
Many nonprofit accounting services stop at a basic income statement. We add true fund accounting, an independent second review of each close and a fee that stays flat however many grants you win.
The statements show where the organization stands. These six figures show whether it can keep its promises. Each one comes with a plain note.
Every month
Sent with each close, so program and hiring choices use this month's funds, not last year's.
Measures: Spend against budget, by program
Why it matters: Shows early when a program runs over or under, while there is still time to adjust.
Measures: Cash with no restriction or commitment
Why it matters: The number the board needs before it approves new spending. It is rarely the bank balance.
Measures: Free liquid assets over monthly spend
Why it matters: Tells the board how long you could run if a major grant paused.
Every year
Worked out at year end. Funders, auditors and charity raters ask for these first.
Measures: Program costs as a share of all costs
Why it matters: Donors and raters such as Charity Navigator look here first. A documented split makes it defensible.
Measures: Fundraising cost per dollar raised
Why it matters: Shows whether galas and campaigns are worth what they cost to run.
Measures: Share of revenue from top funders
Why it matters: Heavy reliance on one grant is a risk to plan for before that grant ends.
Business books ask what came in and what went out. Fund accounting also asks whose money it was and what it may pay for. The rows below show the difference.
Onboarding starts with the grant agreements and gift records, since they set the rules. Once restricted balances are rebuilt, monthly closing starts.
Day 0
Half an hour on how you raise and spend, plus a look at the books. We check how restricted gifts are recorded, how grants are tracked and what the last 990 used.
Day 1
A flat monthly price for every fund, grant and program. Correcting prior years, where needed, is quoted apart.
Day 2
You grant access to the ledger, donor CRM, giving pages and bank. We check funds and program classes before any entry goes in.
Wk 1-2
Restricted balances rebuilt from gift and grant records, pledges booked, in-kind gifts captured and the CRM matched. You start from balances an auditor can trace.
Ongoing
Donations, grant payments, bills and payroll are coded to fund and program as they arrive.
Day 5
Bank, giving pages and CRM reconciled, and restrictions released against qualifying spend.
Day 8
The close gets an independent second review. Costs are split by function, and each grant is checked to its budget.
Day 10
Nonprofit statements and the board pack arrive, with a note on what moved and what the board should decide.
The cycle repeats monthly, through grant season and year end.
Most charities owe no income tax, so deductions are not the point. The job is keeping the records your 990, your donors and your auditor depend on, current all year.
Donors need your written acknowledgment to deduct a gift of $250 or more. We keep dates and amounts right.
Donated goods, services and space logged at fair value, with the paperwork behind each one.
Costs split into program, management and fundraising on a written basis, as Part IX asks.
Budget, spending and restriction releases for each grant, ready for funder reports and audit.
For payments over $75 that buy a benefit, donors must be told the deductible part. We keep that split.
Income from work outside your mission flagged, so your preparer can judge if Form 990-T applies.
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Your preparer and auditor decide how each item is reported. Our part is making sure the records are complete and match the books.
Owners who moved their books to Twelix, on what changed afterward.
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Yes, fund accounting is the core of our nonprofit work. Under ASC 958, net assets are split into two classes: with and without donor restrictions. We record each restricted gift against its purpose. We release the restriction only when qualifying spending happens. That lets you show each funder where their money went.
Yes, we keep the books your Form 990 is prepared from, all year. That covers revenue by source, the Part IX functional expense split and restricted balances. Small groups may file the 990-N if gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. The 990-EZ is for receipts under $200,000 and assets under $500,000. The return itself is prepared by your CPA, or by Twelix if you add our tax preparation service.
Yes, we track each grant's spending against its approved budget, line by line. Costs are coded to the grant as they post, so budget vs. actual is ready any day. Funder reports come straight from the books. We flag unspent balances and near deadlines early.
Yes, we deliver a board pack every month by the 10th. It holds the statements, budget vs. actual by program, free unrestricted cash and reserves. The format stays the same, so trends are easy to read. The board sees what it can spend, not a bank balance full of promised money.
Yes, we work with small, volunteer-run nonprofits as well as those with multimillion-dollar budgets. The method is the same: fund accounting, grant tracking and a monthly close. The fee is flat and set by your size and complexity. A small group pays only for what it needs.
Nonprofit accounting tracks limits on how money is used, not profit for owners. Instead of equity, you report net assets with and without donor restrictions. The statements have different names: financial position and activities. Expenses must be shown by function as well as by type. The yearly IRS filing is Form 990, not a business tax return.
Nonprofit fund accounting tracks money by its source and by any limits on its use. Each fund, such as a grant or a capital campaign, gets its own balance. You can see what came in, what was spent and what is left. It is how you prove restricted money went where the donor asked.
A nonprofit records an unconditional grant when it is promised and a conditional grant once its conditions are met. Under ASU 2018-08, a grant is conditional if it has a barrier to meet and a right to take the money back. Unconditional grants are booked even if the cash comes later. Some government grants are exchange deals, not gifts, and your CPA confirms that call.
We book an unconditional pledge as revenue and a receivable when it is made, and stock at fair value on the gift date. Pledges due over more than a year are discounted to present value. If you sell the stock later, any gain or loss is booked then. The donor receipt lists the shares, not a dollar value.
The ticket price is split into the value of what the donor gets and the rest, which is the gift. If a donor pays $150 for a dinner worth $60, $90 is the donation. For payments over $75, you must tell donors the deductible amount in writing. We record both parts, so revenue and receipts agree.
Most small nonprofits use QuickBooks Online, Xero or a fund-based tool like Aplos, and larger ones often move to Sage Intacct. Donor data usually lives in Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Little Green Light or Blackbaud. We work inside what you have and match the CRM to the ledger. There is nothing new to buy.
Nonprofit bookkeeping services with us cost one flat monthly rate, set by your budget, funds, grants, volume and reporting needs. The rate does not rise in grant season, and there is no setup fee. You will have the quote in writing within 24 hours of our call. Catch-up work on past years, if needed, is quoted on its own.
Many nonprofits earn fees from classes, clinics or events. These pages show how we handle each of those income types.
Useful if you charge tuition or course fees next to grant-funded work.
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Relevant if your charity bills insurance or runs a community health program.
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Worth reading if your galas and benefit nights need a clean profit and loss for each event.
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Payouts from every sales channel and sales tax, reconciled.
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Job costs, work in progress and retainage, tracked by job.
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Insurance claims, deposits and job cost, tracked by roof.
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A P&L for each property, plus escrow and owner draws.
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Daily POS sales, tips owed and food cost as a share of sales.
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Cost per mile, IFTA fuel tax and driver pay, tracked.
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Deferred revenue, MRR and R&D tax credit support.
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Billable hours, work in progress and retainer balances.
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Crop cycles, equipment depreciation and subsidy income.
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Recurring memberships, class packs and failed payments.
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280E cost allocation and seed-to-sale reconciliation.
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Bring your last board pack and one grant budget to a 30-minute call. We will check how restricted money is tracked and send a flat quote within a day. There is no fee for the review.
No setup fee. Month-to-month. Running within 48 hours.
