October 16, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Bookkeeping Basics: What Every Nonprofit Bookkeeper Needs to Know
by Debra L. Ruegg and Lisa M. Venkatrathnam
Bookkeeping is an essential task for all nonprofit groups, write Debra L. Ruegg, a principal and senior consultant at LarsonAllen Public Service Group, a financial-management consulting organization in Minneapolis, and Lisa M. Venkatrathnam, owner of White Fence Communications, in Minneapolis. They say that bookkeeping helps organizations safeguard their assets and make decisions about programs. Their guide provides detailed instructions for setting up and maintaining financial records.
The authors say a key step in bookkeeping is maintaining copies of checks, deposit receipts, and invoices. The guide explains how to record those transactions and then summarize the information to help charity directors and board members assess the group’s financial well-being. A table lists the documents that should be retained, along with ideas on organizing them. Throughout the book, for reference, are sample records and statements.
The book also describes some of the requirements for handling nonprofit contributions. The authors explain, for example, that charities must classify donations to reflect whether donors have placed restrictions on their gifts.
Publisher: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 919 Lafond Avenue, St. Paul, Minn. 55104-2108; (651) 659-6024 or (800) 274-6024; fax (651) 642-2061; books@wilder.org; http://www.wilder.org; 128 pages; $22; I.S.B.N. 0-940069-29-6.
