What Does a Bookkeeper Do for a Non-profit?

Virtual bookkeeping services(https://ossisto.com/ ) have become quite popular as it offers dedicated services to any business. A virtual assistant offering bookkeeping services provides assistance from a remote location and eliminates the need for an on-roll accounting team.

Hiring virtual bookkeeping services means that you no longer need a full-time staff to handle the monthly financial reports, utilization of bookkeeping software, payroll services, and much more. These virtual assistants use the latest bookkeeping software that suits the requirement of the clients. They come with extensive experience in integrated accounting software that makes the bookkeeping experience smooth. They help to deal with the complexities of inventory, budgeting, taxes, payroll, expenditures, and financial statements.

What exactly is bookkeeping?

The main responsibility of a virtual bookkeeper is to maintain accurate records of every financial transaction. They collect all the information to create a solid foundation for a non-profit organization. You need to ensure that you hire a skilled virtual assistant for the bookkeeping services so that they pay attention to details and are professionally qualified to do the job. The daily responsibilities of a bookkeeper include handling payments, processing payroll, planning the budget, categorizing expenses, paying bills, and maintaining records of the non-profit organization.

What are the benefits of a virtual bookkeeping service?

A virtual assistant is capable of completing almost every task which an in-house bookkeeper can do. This includes reconciling accounts, recording financial transactions, maintaining statements, and generating financial reports. All this is done remotely, and it comes with a lot of advantages:

1. Flexibility of job

A virtual bookkeeping assistant can work from any location. There are no geographical boundaries, and you can get in touch with the virtual assistant at any time. Digital communication has made the process easy. You may be in touch through email, text, phone, or software.

2. Cost Efficient

Hiring a virtual bookkeeper is much more cost-effective than hiring a full-time staff in the office. You save on a lot of costs like the cost of hiring, space, equipment, training, and other benefits offered to on-roll staff. Virtual bookkeeping services work through online accounting software and reduce these costs. They are hired on a project basis, so you need to pay a monthly salary to such assistants.

3. Grow with the Business

You can hire only local bookkeepers if you want a full-time employee for the business. The reach is limited to local talents. As the business grows rapidly, you may need more help and better skill-sets. The professional bookkeepers may charge high fees. So, the business must opt for virtual bookkeeping services that offer a team of professionals to take on the tasks as required.

4. Higher security

If the non-profit works in different locations, then a full-time bookkeeper will need to travel to places to create and maintain proper books. The process is more time-consuming and expensive. Hiring a virtual bookkeeping company switches all the tasks to cloud accounting, and the data is stored electronically in highly secure servers. There is a greater security and flexibility in such bookkeeping services.

A virtual bookkeeper uses accounting software to record and organize data. These well-trained assistants are available at all the times. The software they use is user-customizable, and the clients can view all of financial information at a click whenever needed.

Bookkeeping for non-profit:

Bookkeeping tasks like ledger maintenance, accounts receivable and payable management, etc., can be a tedious job to perform. A non-profit generally has limited time, resources, and budget. A lot of non-profits do not have trained staff to take care of these bookkeeping tasks, and this may end up in mistakes.

By hiring a virtual bookkeeping service provider, you can be confident that all the data will be maintained in an accurate manner and that the information gets updated on a daily basis. With the use of accounting software for nonprofits, they can maintain and handle the books of a non-profit without any hassle, and you can focus on your priorities and work towards the mission of the organization. You can now allocate time, budget, and resources to your mission to achieve long-term success.

Taking care of the cash flow is the most important task for any non-profit, and virtual assistants can be of great help. They can easily remove the hassle of bookkeeping so that you work towards your mission of supporting communities.

Virtual bookkeeping services offer a vast gamut of online services for non-profit organizations. They offer numerous services on a project or monthly basis. The non-profit can save time, money, and resources to focus on its goals.

Job description of a non-profit bookkeeper:

Non-profit virtual bookkeepers are responsible for the daily activities of the organization. They are delegated the tasks of tracking and managing the daily transactions and recording the regular financial charges and expenses.

Non-profit organizations operate differently and have different priorities when it comes to budgeting, cash, expenses, and taxation. There are certain restrictions levied on certain type of finances. A non-profit works through grants used for particular projects. There are a lot of other details that they need to adhere to while maintaining and organizing data. A non-profit bookkeeper must have the desired experience and needs to understand the nitty-gritty of the working of a non-profit.

A bookkeeper’s duties include the following:

  • Basic data entry: Virtual bookkeepers will record all of the donations, expenses, cash transactions, and financial data in a spreadsheet or software used by the organization.
  • Recording all operational expenses daily: A virtual bookkeeper needs to take care of the payment of bills and expenses like rent, water, utilities, electricity, and other operational expenses.
  • Writing cheques and making online deposits: A virtual non-profit bookkeeper will be skilled enough to handle daily payments and deposits. They need to keep a daily record of such data and make an entry in the books of accounts.
  • Process the non-profit’s payroll: A virtual bookkeeper can also work in unison with the HR department. In smaller organizations, a bookkeeper can also help to process the payroll and release the payments to the staff.
  • Allocating costs: Virtual bookkeepers need to organize the expenses. They must make allocations timely to take care of the expenses. They need to allocate budgets for administrative work and fundraising. Every incoming and outgoing fund needs to be entered into the record for a non-profit organization. A non-profit bookkeeper maintains these records and keeps them organized and up-to-date.
  • Bank Reconciliation: A virtual assistant need to ensure that the bank accounts reconcile with the accounting records. He needs to keep them updated and reconcile the same every month. It helps to detect errors, check for unauthorized transactions, prevents any embezzlement and supports the non-profit in managing cash efficiently.
  • Reports for meetings: A virtual bookkeeper also needs to prepare timely statements to show the financial position. They need to prepare the balance sheet and income statement for the non-profit. It provides actionable insight in an easy-to-understand manner so that it is clearly known where the resources are going.
  • General Ledger Maintenance: A virtual assistant will also maintain the general ledger of a non-profit on a monthly basis. This monthly process makes it easy to figure out, address, and correct any accounting discrepancies in the system. You get to know about unrecorded payments and fake donations, thus helping to maintain the books accurately and preventing accounting errors timely.
  • Consultation whenever needed: A virtual bookkeeping assistant works in the best interest of a non-profit organization. They are readily available to assist anytime. A non-profit can reach out to them for consultations whenever needed. These assistants have the desired qualifications and experience to answer all queries and make decisions that are meant for the benefit of the organization. Moreover, a virtual bookkeeping service will offer customized packages as per the needs of the non-profit at a pocket-friendly price. This leads to the success and growth of your organization.

Conclusion:

A virtual bookkeeper is required to record and analyze all the daily transactions and help the organization with their experience and knowledge to do the tasks effectively. They focus on building a strong foundation for the non-profit. They ensure that all the books are organized and accurate so that all financial reports are ready for analysis and review.

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