Nonprofit Accounting Tools

At Propel Nonprofits, we know accurate and realistic budgets, cash flows, scenario plans, dashboards, and understanding your true program costs are critical to keeping an organization on track and to fueling its impact and effectiveness. Whether your organization has recently received its 501(c)(3) status or simply wants to develop another tool to help navigate these uncertain times, our expertise in developing these skills and understanding the unique needs of nonprofits will set your organization up for success.

Nonprofit Accounting Tools

Budgeting

Your budget is the financial path to your mission. It helps to inform your organization through critical decision-making and guides you toward your organizational priorities. We will walk you through Propel’s 10 Steps of Budgeting process and develop a strategy to make your annual budgeting process work for your organization year after year.

Cash Flows

Can I invest in equipment? Do we need a line of credit? Can we afford to expand our team? If you’ve asked yourself these questions, you might need to take a deep dive into your cash flow statements. Cash flow statements provide insight and answers to questions like these. Understanding the ebb and flow of your organization’s cash will help you to make smart management decisions that protect your core programs and overall sustainability. We will partner with you to translate your financial statements into a cash flow statement and teach you to understand how to use it.

Scenario Planning

Whether you’ve just lost a major funding source, the economy is heading toward recession, or you’re changing your program mix, scenario budget planning can proactively prepare you for the possible paths ahead. We will partner with you to determine your organization’s goals and consider different possibilities. We will help you develop your scenario summaries based on a range of possible outcomes and outline what steps you’ll need to take when the time comes for you to choose one of those outcomes.

True Program Costs

Knowing the real and full costs of delivering nonprofit programs is critical to moving an organization toward financial sustainability. When you know what it costs to deliver your programs you are better able to make decisions about fundraising, evaluate impact ROI, develop contract terms or pricing, and make the best use of unrestricted revenue. We will guide you through the process of defining your programs, understanding and selecting the right allocation methods for your organization, defining your direct and indirect costs, and allocating your administrative and fundraising costs.

Related Resources

Cash Flow Primer Video

Propel Nonprofits video about cash flow to help you better understand the ebbs and flows of your organization’s cash.

Cash Flow Template

Propel Nonprofits template helps you understand the ebbs and flows of your organization’s cash in order to manage your cash…

Budgeting: A 10-Step Checklist

Propel Nonprofits 10-step budgeting checklist is a planning tool that reflects an organization’s programs, mission, and strategic plan.

12 Golden Rules of Nonprofit Finance

Join us as Propel trainers will go through 12 Golden Rules of nonprofit finance to keep your organization healthy.

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Free

Transforming Business Models

Join us to learn the four core components of a nonprofit business model – revenue mix, understanding the cost of programs, infrastructure, and capital structure – and explore how all these components connect to mission and your organization’s financial health.

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Free

Fundamentals of Nonprofit Finance

This workshop is right for you if you are new to the nonprofit sector, nonprofit finance, or your position as staff or board member.

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$85