An Easy-to-Use Accounting Procedures Manual Template
Accounting Procedures Manual Template in Word. Download the Word document, and everything you need to fill in is in red.
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Gold never goes out of style — and neither does good advice. The Gold Avocado series showcases some of the very best content that Blue Avocado has for nonprofit leaders, based on overall popularity, reader response, and quality.
Creating a draft of your nonprofit’s accounting procedures manual from scratch can feel like a daunting task, and one that may be tempting to put on the back burner for another day… or month… or even year.
First published in 2011, this Gold Avocado article is a downloadable template — designed to take the guesswork out of creating an accounting practices manual and make it doable in as little as 30 minutes!
Create a Draft of your Accounting Procedures Manual in 30 Minutes
Has “Create an Accounting Procedures Manual” been on your “to do” list for several months now? For several years?
You aren’t alone. We often stumble on this task for two, curiously contradictory reasons:
- Creating an Accounting Procedures Manual seems like too huge a task to get started on.
- An Accounting Procedures Manual is one of those things that takes a year and an hour to do.
So here’s a template. Download the Word document, and everything you need to fill is in in red. So you can probably do a draft of the whole thing in 30 minutes!
Our thanks to Deborah Cooper of the California Association of Nonprofits, along with Meredeth Clark (also from CAN) and Steve Zimmerman, C.P.A., for this template.
Download the Accounting Procedures Manual Template in Word
See also in Blue Avocado:
- Five Internal Controls for the Very Small Nonprofit by Carl Ho, C.P.A.
- Outsource Your Bookkeeping! by Steve Zimmerman, C.P.A.
- A Board-Staff Agreement for Financial Accountability by Jan Masaoka
- Nonprofit Bookkeeping Test by Dennis Walsh, C.P.A.
You might also like:
- Treasurers of All-Volunteer Organizations: Eight Key Responsibilities
- A Guide for Private Foundations: Tax Exemption and 990-PF Filing Requirements
- Board Horror Stories: How to Reduce Board Resignations
- Why is it Hard to Give My Money Away? A Donor’s Perspective
- The Best Route to Approaching Donors: Hand-Head-Heart
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About the Author
Deborah Connors, prior to retiring, Deborah was the Chief Financial Officer of the California Association of Nonprofits and its for-profit subsidiary, CAN Insurance Services. She worked in the nonprofit sector for over 26 years. Her personal dream on the topic of accounting manuals is to create a “manual to account for” her teenage nephews’ thought processes.
Articles on Blue Avocado do not provide legal representation or legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for advice or legal counsel. Blue Avocado provides space for the nonprofit sector to express new ideas. The opinions and views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect or imply the opinions or views of Blue Avocado, its publisher, or affiliated organizations. Blue Avocado, its publisher, and affiliated organizations are not liable for website visitors’ use of the content on Blue Avocado nor for visitors’ decisions about using the Blue Avocado website.
34 thoughts on “An Easy-to-Use Accounting Procedures Manual Template”
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Anyone have such a template for a no-staff organization? If so, please send to nadiaegardner@yahoo.com
Not exactly the same, but might be helpful: Blue Avocado's article on "Eight Responsibilities of the Treasurer in an All-Volunteer Organization:
https://www.blueavocado.org/content/treasurers-all-volunteer-organizations-eight-key-responsibilities
Good luck! Jan
Ms. Connors, My question is concerning an extremely small organization with no employees. I have suggested that the Treasurer not be the same person that collects funds for our small fundraisers. That way the Treasurer can verify the funds collected by another assigned individual. The assigned individual position would rotate as the fundraiser coordinator rotates. Others feel the Treasurer should be the only one to handle all the money at all times. All opinions would be appreciated. Thank You, Margaret Andrews forsethandrews@yahoo.com
Margaret, Even in small organizations with few or no employees, it’s important to have at least 1 other person involved in financial transactions – whether it’s another board member or a volunteer. It’s never a good idea to have only 1 person overseeing all transactions involving money. Even in very small organizations, it’s important to have written policies about how money is handled and then to make sure they are followed. I hope this helps, Deborah
Thank you so much. This will help us greatly.
This is the best thanks so much!! Been trying to find a good template to help local non profit orgs. Sarah Chau Director of Finance Cultural Council Jacksonville, FL
Thank you for the use of the manual, very helpful and much appreciated.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This tool has just made my year! Thank you for sharing!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This tool has just made my year! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks you!!!! God bless you. We're already doing this but appreciate having it template form. A Ayris
Thanks you!!!! God bless you. We're already doing this but appreciate having it template form. A Ayris
Our non-profit is reviewing is policies and procedures and it will be good to have a source to refer to.
Our non-profit is reviewing is policies and procedures and it will be good to have a source to refer to.
Going through this template is illuminating for me. For many years I have worked in nonprofits with the title of accountant or bookkeeper. Recently I have found it very difficult to get a new job. Now I see that, for at least some organizations, bookkeeper is actually an incredibly lowly position that isn’t trusted to make any decisions or take any initiative (what I would call a clerk), and that for the past 15 years I’ve been performing as an Operations Manager without having the title or pay. No wonder employers have been passing me by.
Great job! It couldn’t have been more helpful.
Thank you so much this article and template is very helpful as we are implementing policies and procedures!
When I try to click the link to download the Accounting Procedures Manual, I’m just receiving an error message that says, “The requested page “/sites/default/files/CAN Blue Avocado Accounting Manual Template.doc” could not be found.”
What else can I do to locate the link? It sounds like exactly what I need!
The link has been fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for reporting the issue!
Thanks so much! I’ve started going through and adjusting for our organization, and this is so incredibly helpful. I appreciate it.
This could be most helpful.
[…] steps were taken to recover funds (perhaps they were even recovered), and the organization’s processes and procedures were overhauled to ensure it will never happen again. Depending upon the severity of the event and the level of […]
I am tweaking this for a non-profit org and it is excellent basis. What reference should I use in my document?
Just want to say thank you for this. You’re a godsend.
RT