The Community Foundation of Utah

Today we participated in the event "Enlightened Entrepreneurs," sponsored by the Community Foundation of Utah. The purpose was to give local nonprofit organizations a chance to network and learn from entrepreneurs. I hadn't thought of myself as much of an expert, but I believe I was able to help a few people today. (You can read the twitter feed here and the official news bulletin here.)
 
The advice I gave tended to fall into two categories: bookkeeping practices and social networking. Here's a summary.

• Educate yourself. Read some of the IRS literature about tax-exempt organizations, familiarize yourself with the 990, and look for resources online.
• Keep very careful track of your income: who it came from, exact amount, purpose, and date. Expense records are easy to reconstruct from bank and credit card statements, but income records are much harder to create after the fact.
• Don't use cash to pay for expenses--it's too easy to lose the records. Card and check transaction records are always kept by the bank.
• Reconcile all your bank and credit card accounts every month; it's the easiest way to catch errors. Review your financial statements for accuracy after you reconcile.
• Put all your tax reporting and payment deadlines on a calendar so you won't forget them.
• Don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it.
• Above all, it's more important to have a system than to have a perfect system.

 
As for social networking, I always recommend the book World Wide Rave, by David Meerman Scott, to those who aren't convinced it's worth the trouble.
 
In addition, I found a great online resource for nonprofits who need some accounting guidance: Alliance for Nonprofit Management. Do a search on "financial management," and some great articles will pop up.