Running a non-profit organization isn’t easy! It’s a challenge to “do good” efficiently, often with limited resources. Through my work with non-profits, I’ve found the most common issues to be:
1) Funding
2) Man-power, and
3) Keeping on top of all the boring stuff like accounting and compliance.
4) Getting the board everything they need.
Xero has made each of these issues easier on non-profits. Not only that, the accounting work is easy, accessible and fun! Being accessible to everyone seems to be the key. It allows Southern Cloud Accounting to push down the work that needs to be done by volunteers while maintaining accounting discipline in the reporting and for management.
At Southern Cloud Accounting we are having great success with small non-profits and Xero. This is because it’s quick and easy to keep a track of day-to-day transactions. Many non-profits have a volunteer bookkeeper or treasurer. To keep their lives as stress-free as possible, Xero is a great solution.
Non-profit Funding
One of the most used features is “Tracking” to monitor expenditure against particular funding sources. Many grant makers require accountability reports to show that funding has been used in accordance with the specified purpose. Instead of having to dig through various general ledger codes to extract this data, Xero lets you produce reports that isolate transactions tagged to specific grants. This reduces the time and effort of compliance significantly. It also helps with those pesky audits! We have designed a system that make audits a breeze and potentially lower your audit bill.
Man-power
Our clients sometimes lack man-power and funds for accounting. Xero helps with both by being accessible and easy to use by everyone at the same time.
Keeping track of the boring stuff
As accountants, our expertise lies in reviewing the day-to-day data, sense checking it, and ensuring that all relevant legislative requirements have been complied with. That includes those mysterious accounting standards.
The new suite will clarify a lot of the past areas of confusion, however, ensuring that all the boxes are ticked is a job for us with the help of Xero. Xero recently launched their new not-for-profit reporting packs. Southern Cloud Accounting will be using these to assist our non-profit clients get compliant with the new requirements. The new Xero features will include:
Customizable Statement of Cash Flows (Direct) report – works like any report template with the added ability to split debit and credit transactions to show as separate line items
Southern Cloud Accounting can help you get the most out of your Xero ledger and customize it to your specific organization’s needs. We have a wide array of clients that we work with successfully to maximize their outcomes, both financially and operationally.
Importance of a monthly report package for the board to use
At Southern Cloud Accounting, the end product is an accurate monthly financial statement that can be used by the board to make decisions and delegate action. We plan and implement a very affordable and sustainable solutions that gets you back to your mission and leave the admin to us.