Nonprofits
Donor dollars and grant funds require careful tracking. We handle fund accounting so you can focus on the mission.
Your Mission Has Paperwork
Nonprofits exist to serve a cause. You’re feeding families, supporting your congregation, teaching kids, or advancing something you believe in. The work matters more than the money. But the money still has to be tracked. Every donation that comes in needs to go somewhere specific. Every grant has reporting requirements. The IRS wants a 990 every year. Your board wants to understand where the funds went.
The problem is that most nonprofit leaders didn’t get into this to do accounting. You’re writing grants, managing programs, coordinating volunteers, and trying to stretch every dollar. The bookkeeping falls to whoever has time. Which means it often doesn’t get done properly until someone asks a question you can’t answer or a deadline forces a scramble.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Charities, churches, foundations, community organizations, and associations on Long Island. Any nonprofit that receives donations, manages grant funding, or needs to file a 990.
What Makes Nonprofit Books Different
What Makes Nonprofit Books Different
Fund accounting. You need to track restricted money separately from unrestricted funds. A $20,000 donation for building repairs can’t get mixed with operating expenses. Grant spending needs to be documented against specific budget categories. Standard business accounting doesn’t handle this.
What We Handle
Fund accounting is the foundation. When donors give restricted gifts, that money needs to stay separated in your books. When you receive a grant, spending needs to be tracked against the grant budget categories. We set up your chart of accounts to handle fund tracking properly from the start. If it wasn’t done right before, we clean it up so you can move forward with accurate records.
Grant compliance reporting becomes straightforward when the tracking is built into your bookkeeping. Instead of reconstructing expenses from bank statements before each report is due, you have the data ready. We also prepare your financials in formats your board can actually understand and make sure everything is organized for your 990 filing.
Fund Accounting and Grant Tracking
Fund Accounting and Grant Tracking
Restricted and unrestricted funds tracked separately. Grant spending documented against budget categories. Revenue properly classified by source. Clean records that show exactly where money came from and where it went. QuickBooks set up specifically for nonprofit fund accounting.
Board Reporting and 990 Support
Board Reporting and 990 Support
Monthly or quarterly financial statements formatted for board review. Year-end financials organized for your 990 preparer. Documentation maintained throughout the year so tax filing doesn’t become a crisis. Reports that answer the questions your board actually asks.
What Goes Wrong
The biggest problem is mixing restricted and unrestricted funds. A donor gives $15,000 specifically for the youth program. Three months later, payroll is tight and that $15,000 is sitting in the bank. Easy to borrow from it. Except now you’ve spent restricted funds on operating expenses. When the board asks for a fund balance report or a donor wants to know what happened with their gift, you have a problem that’s hard to fix.
Grant reporting falls apart when tracking wasn’t set up in advance. You know the grant money went to the program. But can you show exactly which expenses were covered? Can you prove the spending matched the budget categories in the grant agreement? Without proper tracking, every grant report becomes a reconstruction project. Mistakes happen. Funders notice. Future funding gets harder to secure.
Restricted Funds Get Spent Wrong
Restricted Funds Get Spent Wrong
Without proper fund accounting, restricted donations get mixed into general spending. You might not realize it happened until a donor asks for a report or an auditor starts asking questions. Cleaning this up retroactively is expensive and stressful. Getting it right from the start is much easier.
990 Filing Becomes a Scramble
990 Filing Becomes a Scramble
The 990 requires detailed information about revenue, expenses, programs, and governance. If your books aren’t organized throughout the year, preparing the 990 means reconstructing twelve months of activity under deadline pressure. Details get missed. Errors happen. The filing that should demonstrate your accountability ends up being stressful guesswork.
What Changes
Your board gets financial statements they can actually use. They see fund balances, program spending, and cash position clearly. Questions get answered with data instead of vague reassurances. When it’s time to make budget decisions, the numbers are there to inform the conversation. Board meetings become productive instead of frustrating.
Grant compliance becomes routine. You know exactly how much of each grant has been spent and on what. Reports go out on schedule with accurate numbers. When you apply for the next grant, you have clean financial records that demonstrate you can manage funder money responsibly. Your 990 gets filed without drama because the data was organized all year.
Board Confidence
Board Confidence
Financial statements that answer real questions. Clear fund balances. Program spending tracked against budget. Cash flow visibility. Your board can make informed decisions instead of just hoping the numbers work out.
Grant and Compliance Ready
Grant and Compliance Ready
Grant spending documented as it happens. Reports produced without scrambling. 990 data organized throughout the year. When auditors or funders ask questions, you have answers. Your financial records demonstrate the accountability your mission deserves.
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