Bookkeeping, fund accounting, and 990-ready reporting for mission-driven organizations

Insights

Practical bookkeeping content for churches, nonprofits, and small businesses.

Articles written for the people who actually handle the books — administrators, executive directors, volunteer treasurers, and owner-operators — not for accountants.

Latest articles

Read this if your books are behind, unclear, or held together with spreadsheets.

A church administrator and volunteer treasurer reviewing designated gift and fund balance reports together.
Church bookkeeping

5 bookkeeping mistakes that quietly undermine church stewardship

Stewardship problems rarely announce themselves. They show up as giving records that do not match the bank, designated gifts absorbed into the general fund, and board members who stop asking questions.

Read the article →
A nonprofit executive director organizing 990 supporting documents and financial reports before year-end.
990 readiness

How nonprofits can get 990-ready before year-end pressure hits

Filing season gets painful when bookkeeping is rushed, incomplete, or spread across disconnected systems. The earlier a nonprofit organizes its records, the cheaper and calmer the process becomes.

Read the article →
A nonprofit finance team evaluating whether generic accounting software can handle fund accounting and donor tracking.
Nonprofit software

When for-profit accounting software is holding your nonprofit back

Most accounting software was built for businesses that sell products or services. Nonprofits need funds, restrictions, donor activity, and reporting that answers to a board.

Read the article →
Topics we write about

Four themes that come up in almost every engagement.

Fund accounting

Restricted, designated, and unrestricted balances — how they work, how they get misclassified, and how to keep them clean.

990 & compliance

Staying 990-ready year-round, organizing supporting schedules, and coordinating smoothly with your CPA or preparer.

Volunteer treasurers

Handoffs, segregation of duties, documentation, and reporting designed for people who are not career accountants.

Small business basics

Monthly close discipline, payroll obligations, tax-ready records, and knowing when to bring in help.

Coming next

Topics queued up for the next few months.

Internal controls

Building an audit trail volunteers and board members can actually trust

A clean audit trail is not bureaucracy. It is what lets volunteers serve confidently and boards sign off without worry.

Coming soon
Capital campaigns

Tracking a building fund without losing track of the restriction

Capital campaigns create a specific set of fund accounting problems. Here is how to structure one from the first pledge.

Coming soon
Payroll

Clergy payroll, housing allowance, and the mistakes that trigger notices

Clergy compensation has its own set of rules. Getting the housing allowance treatment wrong is a common and expensive error.

Coming soon
Have a question we have not written about?

Ask it directly — we answer the same questions in real engagements every week.

If something in your books is not making sense, it is probably not just you. Send us the question and we will tell you how we would approach it.

Stay updated Practical stewardship and bookkeeping guidance for church and nonprofit finance teams, once a month.
Request the newsletter