Make sure that you clearly determine the roles and decision-making processes that will yield the most effective information gathering, analysis, and decision making. Additionally, determine a timeline that ensures approval prior to the fiscal year-end. To protect your budgets, add BILL Spend & Expense to your nonprofit tech stack. This category may include cell phones, internet, electricity, water, and other utilities for daily operations. If your nonprofit needs TV streaming, cable, or satellite service, include that here too. This category includes things like educational materials, workshops, and conferences.

• Make necessary adjustments to ensure the budget is both realistic and aligned with organizational priorities.
• The process of building a nonprofit operating budget is fundamentally a planning process.
• If you have a new nonprofit, I recommend finding an accountant as soon as possible.
• Understanding and managing both fixed and variable costs helps you make smarter spending decisions and maintain financial flexibility.
• You want your budget to be a useful tool, not something you’re too intimidated to look at.
• Before you begin budgeting, establish your organization’s goals and objectives for the upcoming fiscal year.
• After reading over the complete draft of your nonprofit operating budget and revising any inconsistencies or unclear information, send it to your board of directors for approval.

Month-by-Month Budgeting

How to create your superstar team and assign the right Givebutter roles to unlock your team’s full potential—without risking donor data or burnout. Ready https://nerdbot.com/2025/06/10/the-key-benefits-of-accounting-services-for-nonprofit-organizations/ to see how Givebutter can help you stick to your budget and accomplish your mission? Elizabeth Male is director of marketing and communication at StriveTogether.

What is a Nonprofit Budget Template?

Capital expenditures are expenses needed to acquire or maintain fixed assets, such as fixing or maintaining buildings, land and cars. Indirect costs, which are also called overhead, include things like utility bills, internet fees and postage. The budget paints a clear picture of how much cash is coming in and how much is going out. Budgets form the basis for boards to make better decisions and to avoid making mistakes. Budgeting allows boards to put limits on certain expenses as necessary and work to increase income sources early when it looks like there may be a shortfall.

Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting Services from Charity Charge

Grab all the details you need to know to run efficient accounting for your mission. Prepare your nonprofit financial statements with ease by understanding the four common types outlined in this helpful guide. A template saves time by providing a structured format where you input data. These usually include a comprehensive set of income and expense categories. Remember that your budget is a living document that requires regular review and adjustments. Regularly compare actual expenditures against the prepared budget to ensure your nonprofit is on track.

• This grant proposal budget template caters to nonprofits seeking funding for their organizations.
• Many nonprofit budget templates also come with built-in formulas and functions to automatically calculate percentages, variances, and totals.
• The benefit is that you now have better information for discussions about priorities and how resources are used.
• If that has not been your practice we urge you to gather some accurate information by completing a timekeeping report or adding time reporting to payroll or database records.
• When creating your nonprofit operating budget, use the past as a benchmark for your expectations and goals in the coming year.

They also have a plan in place to monitor their financial performance and make adjustments as needed. Let’s follow our fictional nonprofit, “Feeding Our City,” through the process of creating an incremental budget. Be sure to include all the payments that have gone toward your mission programs—including international payments. Does your nonprofit use small equipment, software subscriptions, or office supplies?

Ideally, salary allocations will be based on regular, reliable tracking of time. The data is already available for nonprofits that track time for grants and contracts. If that has not been your practice we urge you to gather some accurate information by completing a timekeeping report or adding time reporting to payroll or database records. We know from experience that allocating time based on general estimates or gut feeling is often inaccurate. The goal of program-based budgets and allocations is to gain a solid understanding of the true costs, and staff cost is too important to leave to guesswork.