Bookkeeping Basics

Description

No trained bookkeeper on staff? No problem. Many nonprofits don't have a trained bookkeeper on staff. This crucial function goes to whoever has the time and the willingness to do it. Lack of formal accounting training or background is not only frustrating for the individual, but also potentially risky for the nonprofit.

Written in plain language, complete with step-by-step instructions, detailed examples, and handy reproducible forms, Bookkeeping Basics will enable you to successfully meet the basic bookkeeping requirements of your nonprofit organization. You'll find enough knowledge and skills to track the financial activity of your nonprofit in a way that brings order out of chaos, safeguards the organization's assets, and provides useful information for making sound decisions.

Authors Debra L. Ruegg and Lisa M. Venkatrathnam guide you through the concepts and processes you most need to know, including:

Single- vs. double-entry bookkeeping
Cash vs. accrual basis accounting
Posting financial transactions
Keeping a "paper trail" of source documents
Preparing a trial balance
Creating financial statements
Establishing internal controls
Preparing for your annual audit
Closing out the fiscal year

The authors clearly define such terms as debits and credits, assets and liabilities, charts of accounts, segregation of duties, and more, and then add a glossary at the back for ready reference. Reproducible charts and forms include an accounts payable register, accounts receivable register, general ledger, financial summary form, grant-tracking form, and internal controls activity process flow chart.

Bottom line: If you're the bookkeeper for your nonprofit—by choice, assignment or default—Bookkeeping Basics is for you.

Authors and contributors

Author Debra L. Ruegg is a former principal and senior consultant with the nonprofit and government group, a leading financial management consulting firm for nonprofits, foundations, and entrepreneurial government entities. She is co-author (with Susan Kenny Stevens) of Budgeting Your Way to Financial Stability.

Author Lisa M. Venkatrathnam is a freelance writer and owner of White Fence Communications. She previously served as a consultant at LarsonAllen. She is co-author of several books and studies.