Non-profits & charities

Books built for a board, a funder and CRA, at once.

Fund accounting, restricted contributions and charity HST are not special requests here. They are the day to day work.

01

Restricted and deferred funding

Money that arrives before it is earned gets recognised monthly against the expenses it relates to, on a schedule that stays intact when the audit comes around, instead of a year-end scramble to reconstruct it.

02

Fund and programme reporting

A board usually wants departmental numbers the accounting system does not produce on its own. The usual workaround is a spreadsheet living outside the ledger. I build the classes and the process so that report comes out of the file itself.

03

HST in a partially exempt charity

The public service body rebate, mixed activities, and tax determined per line at the product level rather than on invoice totals. This is exactly where naive bank-feed automation fails, and where a CPA’s judgment on the file matters most.

04

Payroll across programmes and funders

Seasonal headcount, more than one time-capture method, and allocation across funding sources, run with remittance discipline that helps directors meet their source-deduction obligations.

05

T3010 and funder reporting

The Registered Charity Information Return and the reporting a funder asks for, prepared from a file that already ties, not reconstructed separately at year end.

06

Audit readiness

A file has to survive an external audit, not just balance. That means a documented trail from source document to financial statement, reviewable by someone who was not in the room when the entry was made.

07

Migration and catch-up

Moving off legacy desktop software, with opening balances that tie and a documented trail behind them, so the new file starts clean instead of carrying an unexplained variance forward.

Before & after

Without a finance function, and with Lunar.

WithoutWith Lunar
Restricted grants tracked in a spreadsheetTracked in the books, reported monthly
Board sees numbers weeks lateMonthly package by the 10th
Audit prep is a year-end scrambleSchedules kept current all year
HST rebate worked out at filing timeBuilt into how every purchase is coded
One person holds all the know-howA written close checklist anyone can follow

Every restricted dollar tracked to the programme it funds, visible on demand, not reconstructed at year end.

Questions

Before you reach out

Can you work with our auditor?
Yes. The file is built to survive an audit, not just balance: a documented trail from source document to financial statement that someone outside the room can follow. I liaise with your auditor directly and provide the schedules they ask for, prepared from the same file that closes every month.
What does the board get each month?
A monthly financial package by the 10th: statements that explain the numbers rather than just present them, fund and programme reporting where it applies, and enough context for the board to ask good questions rather than simply receive figures.
In a client's words
“Sam is knowledgeable, generous with time, and understands the realities of running a non-profit. On a personal level Sam is also great to work with; patiently listening to our concerns and recommending appropriate solutions.”

David Williams, Executive Director, Rainbow's End Community Development Corporation

Talk through where the file stands today.

Tell me what your board and funders need to see.

Book a call