Whether you’re a small business owner or the leader of a non-profit, your goals in managing a successful organisation are important no matter where you work. Not-For-Profits have a unique challenge of needing to be diligent with spending as many of their revenue sources are from sponsorships and grants and need to keep focus on providing an adequate amount of funding to a cause! Not-For-Profits run just like businesses, so it makes perfect sense that they would use the same effective record-keeping processes, software and tools.
Due to the strict governance behind Not-For-Profits and requirement to be fully transparent to the community and the cause they support, having great record keeping along with appropriate reporting goes a long way.
Many Not-For-Profits are managed by committees who change yearly and as a result rely on information provided to them, however although volunteers they are under the same scrutiny and liability of any other board.
Some awesome tips for Not-For-Profits are;
Start with Bookkeeping – This first step is also one of the most important. To understand how to track your donations, revenue and expenses, you need to create processes within your Not-For-Profit that all can follow. To then track all incoming and outgoing monies Accounting Software is critical to assist the management of the Not-For-Profit and allow for the adequate reporting to the committee, wider community and any third-party bodies. Through Galaxi Bookkeeping, Omnia Business Solutions is a Xero Partner to find out more visit our cloud-based bookkeeping software available to all to make tracking cash donations, invoices and cheques easy to monitor no matter where you are.
Prepare for the Annual Audit – Not-For-Profits are highly regulated and in many cases need third-parties to audit their financial statements to ensure they represent what has occurred and are accurate. Looking for last minute documents, receipts and financial statements creates a stressful exercise for any individual. Using cloud-based bookkeeping software means you can quickly and simply upload images of any documents into the software for future reference. This makes it easy for you to go back and look at invoices or receipts throughout the year and makes the annual audit relatively stress-free. In many cases, auditors can be given access to the software to allow for self-service of information.
Continuity – Commonly Not-For-Profits are managed by volunteers who come and go on a frequent basis, on many occasions committees and board change yearly with many positions like Treasurer held by members who are not experienced in finances. Creating a streamlined bookkeeping process and having a third-party firm look after the bookkeeping with appropriate software makes it easy for members to transition into a committee and keeps the machine well-oiled and running smoothly. The committee may change by the principles and process don’t.
These bookkeeping tips for Not-For-Profits are crucial in making sure the finances are in order at all times. At Omnia Business Solutions we support many local Not-For-Profits from local sporting organisation & associations to Charities which provide much needed assistance to the community. We do this by not only providing the great service Omnia Business Solution has become known for but providing reduced engagement rates and sponsorships back to the organisation.
Most recently we have partnered with a great association providing a much needed service and assistance to the local community. We are proud in helping them achieve their goals and maintaining great governance. At a most recent meeting with the team at Hills Community Aid, they said “Omnia Business Solutions is doing an amazing job looking after our bookkeeping needs. They have excellent communication, great attention to detail and are so organised ! They have also kept the budget of a non-for-profit in mind and are very reasonable. I would highly recommend working with their friendly team”.
We have always donated our time to various causes throughout the years and strongly recommend if you have the time to volunteer it is a worth while experience. If you know an awesome Not-For-Profit that could benefit from having a chat to us around their governance and bookkeeping, have them contact us so that we can start the conversation on how they can achieve their goals whilst maintaining excellent record keeping.