Getting Started with Non-Profit Bookkeeping
Important Disclaimer
Non-Profit Bookkeeping is an organizational, bookkeeping, reporting, and tax-preparation assistance tool. It is not a substitute for professional accounting, tax, legal, or financial advice.
The application may help categorize transactions, prepare financial reports, organize nonprofit records, and suggest where amounts may generally appear on IRS forms such as Form 990-N, Form 990-EZ, or Form 990. These suggestions are based on the information entered into the system and are intended to support preparation and review.
Final accounting treatment, tax classifications, filing requirements, form selections, and legal compliance decisions should be confirmed using current IRS and state guidance and, when appropriate, with a qualified accountant, tax professional, attorney, or other professional advisor.
The organization remains responsible for reviewing the accuracy and completeness of its financial records and filings.
Note About Google Drive Storage
Non-Profit Bookkeeping runs as a Google Sheets add-on and uses Google Drive and Google Workspace files as part of its working storage system.
Depending on the features you use, the add-on may create or maintain bookkeeping sheets, reports, exports, reconciliation files, supporting records, or other files within your Google account. These files use the storage available to your Google account just like files you create manually.
The application is designed to work with files associated with your bookkeeping project rather than searching through unrelated files in your Google Drive.
You remain in control of files stored in your Google account. Moving or deleting files that are still used by the bookkeeping application may affect related reports, records, or features.
Welcome
Non-Profit Bookkeeping is designed to help small and growing nonprofit organizations maintain organized financial records without requiring users to understand every accounting concept before getting started.
The Community Edition works as a Google Sheets add-on. Instead of making a copy of a spreadsheet that contains its own script, you install the add-on once and use it with the Google Sheet that will hold your organization’s bookkeeping records.
This keeps the application code centrally maintained while your nonprofit’s bookkeeping data stays in your own Google account.
Quick Start
- Install Non-Profit Bookkeeping from Google Workspace Marketplace. Until the public listing is approved, approved testers can use the Google add-on test deployment.
- Open a Google Sheet that you want to use for your nonprofit bookkeeping.
- In Google Sheets, open Extensions and select Non-Profit Bookkeeping Community Edition.
- Start the setup process and authorize the permissions requested by Google.
- The add-on will create or prepare the bookkeeping sheets and supporting structure it needs in the current spreadsheet.
- Open the Bookkeeping Dashboard and complete your organization information.
- If you previously used the Nonprofit Startup Kit, you can optionally import its bookkeeping setup JSON from Settings → Organization Information → Import from Startup Kit.
Important: Install and use the add-on from the Google account that should own or manage the nonprofit’s bookkeeping spreadsheet and supporting Google Drive files.
For a more detailed installation walkthrough, use the Install from Google Workspace Marketplace page in the Bookkeeping help menu.
Before You Begin
It helps to gather a few basic pieces of information about your organization before setup.
- Your organization’s legal name
- Employer Identification Number (EIN), if one has been issued
- Date the organization was formed
- Fiscal year beginning and ending dates
- Current bank and financial accounts
- Beginning balances, if applicable
- Prior bookkeeping records, spreadsheets, or accounting reports
- Bank and credit-card statements
- Payment processor information such as Square, PayPal, Stripe, Zeffy, or similar services
- Grant, sponsorship, and donation records
- Existing chart of accounts, if the organization already uses one
- Prior Form 990-N, Form 990-EZ, or Form 990 filings, if available
If your organization is brand new and has no financial history yet, that is fine. You can begin with current activity and add historical information when appropriate.
Step 1 — Complete Organization Setup
Open the Bookkeeping Dashboard and go to Settings → Organization Information.
Enter or confirm information such as:
- Organization name and legal name
- EIN
- State of formation
- Organization type
- Fiscal year
- Founding or incorporation date when requested
- Other tax and historical settings used by the Tax Prep area
If your organization was created with the Nonprofit Startup Kit, use Import from Startup Kit to preview and import organization basics, programs, people and roles, and related-party metadata. Transactions, accounts, balances, funds, reconciliations, and tax history are not imported by that bridge.
Step 2 — Set Up Your Financial Accounts
Add the real-world financial accounts your organization uses, such as checking, savings, credit cards, cash, payment processors, loans, or other relevant accounts.
Keeping each real-world account separate makes reconciliation and reporting much easier.
Keep Organization and Personal Finances Separate
Whenever possible, nonprofit funds should remain separate from personal funds and unrelated businesses.
If someone pays an organization expense personally, document it clearly so the organization can later determine the appropriate treatment, such as a contribution, reimbursement, or another properly documented organizational transaction.
Step 3 — Review Categories and Accounting Structure
The application includes bookkeeping categories and accounting structure intended to support nonprofit reporting. You do not need to create hundreds of accounts before you begin.
Start with a practical structure, then add detail when the organization’s operations require it.
Step 4 — Add Programs and Funds
Programs and funds help explain not only what was spent or received, but also why.
For example, a supplies expense can be assigned to a Youth Arts Program instead of appearing only as a general supplies expense. Restricted funds can also be tracked separately when donor or grant restrictions require it.
Step 5 — Enter or Import Transactions
Record day-to-day financial activity consistently. Useful transaction information includes the date, amount, financial account, payee or payer, category, program or fund, description, and supporting documentation when available.
Transfers Are Not Income or Expenses
Moving money between two accounts owned by the organization is generally a transfer. Correctly identifying transfers helps prevent income and expenses from being counted twice.
Step 6 — Reconcile Accounts
Compare bookkeeping records with bank, credit-card, payment-processor, and other financial statements. Reconciliation helps identify missing transactions, duplicates, fees, incorrect amounts, and timing differences.
Step 7 — Review Financial Reports
Use the Reports area to review financial statements, account activity, program or fund activity, and other reports generated from your bookkeeping records.
Step 8 — Maintain Supporting Documentation
Keep receipts, invoices, contracts, grant agreements, sponsorship records, bank statements, payment-processor reports, reimbursements, and other documentation that supports the organization’s financial records.
Step 9 — Use the Tax Prep Area
The Tax Prep area organizes bookkeeping information to assist with annual nonprofit tax preparation. Depending on the organization’s financial activity, it may help identify the general filing ranges associated with Form 990-N, Form 990-EZ, or Form 990 and show where calculated amounts would most likely appear.
These results are preparation guidance only and should be reviewed before filing.
Step 10 — Close the Fiscal Year
Before closing a fiscal year, reconcile financial accounts, review uncategorized activity and transfers, confirm balances, review financial statements, and resolve unusual items. Preserve final reports and supporting documentation for the completed year.
A Good Routine
Weekly: enter or review transactions, organize receipts, and correct obvious categorization issues.
Monthly: reconcile financial accounts and review income, expenses, programs, and funds.
Quarterly: review financial statements, grants, receivables, payables, and board reporting needs.
Annually: complete year-end reconciliation, tax preparation, annual filings, and archival of completed records.
Start Simple
Consistent bookkeeping is more useful than an overly complicated system nobody wants to maintain. Start with organization information, financial accounts, current transactions, and regular reconciliation. Add additional detail as the organization grows.
Questions and Professional Review
Use the application’s help pages and guidance when you are unsure how a feature works.