Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting For Dummies

Front Cover
John Wiley & Sons, May 4, 2009 - Business & Economics - 368 pages

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 find:

  • 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
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Accounting for Nonprofit Situations 151
4
Accounting and Bookkeeping Nonprofit Style 7
9
Starting with Basic Bookkeeping and Accounting
25
Introducing Financial Statements
43
Accounting and Bookkeeping Nonprofit Style 7
48
Keeping Good Records Using a Manual System
59
Balancing Your Nonprofit Books
73
Introducing Federal Grants 153 Chapter 11 Tracking and Accounting for Federal Dollars
167
Getting Ready for the Grant Audit
187
Accounting for Payroll and Payroll Taxes
205
Getting Ready for the Grant Audit 187 Chapter 13 Accounting for Payroll and Payroll Taxes 205 Chapter 14 Doing the Accounting for Tax Form 990
225
Wrapping Up the Books
241
Analyzing the Statement of Activities
243
Reporting Financial Condition
253
Eyeing the Cash Flow Statement
267

The Nuts and Bolts of Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting 9 Chapter 2 Starting with Basic Bookkeeping and Accounting 25 Chapter 3 Introduci...
76
Assigning Numbers to the Accounts 85 Chapter 6 Recording Transactions and Journal Entries
87
Balancing the Checkbook Donations and Expenses
103
Balancing Cash Flow Creating an Operating Budget
121
Setting up the Chart of Accounts for Nonprofits 75 Chapter 6 Recording Transactions and Journal Entries 87 Chapter 7 Balancing the Checkbook Do...
137
Introducing Federal Grants
153
Accounting for Nonprofit Situations
154
Organizing the Statement of Functional Expense
277
Eyeing the Cash Flow Statement 267 Chapter 18 Organizing the Statement of Functional Expense 277 Chapter 19 Closing the Nonprofit Books
287
Preparing for an Accounting Audit
301
Preparing for an Accounting Audit 301 Part V The Part of Tens
313
Index
327
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2009)

Sharon Farris has been involved in the grants industry for more than ten years. She is the president of Farris Accounting & Consulting Training Services (FACT$) as well as the former president of the American Association of Grant Professionals (AAGP) Montgomery.