It is accounting software that tracks and breaks down income and expenses by fund or program. It's therefore built for how non-profits and charities are structured, handling things general bookkeeping tools aren’t necessarily designed for: Fund accounting for restricted and unrestricted money Donor and pledge tracking Reporting by program or grant, not just the bottom line Statements suited to a mission-driven organization, not a for-profit business QuickBooks Online brings these to Canadian non-profits and charities, alongside donor tracking, online donations, and CRA-ready records in one place.

Regular accounting measures whether a business turned a profit; non-profit accounting measures whether money was used the way donors and funders intended. Since non-profits don't have owners or retained profit, they have funds and programs to account for. Non-profits and charities also handle realities most businesses don't: Fund accounting, so restricted donor money stays separate from general operating funds A statement of activities rather than a traditional profit and loss Reporting by program or grant to a board and funders CRA charity or NPO filings instead of standard business tax returns Software with fund-style tracking, like QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced with class and location tracking, shows where every dollar went so that you can manage your non-profit properly.

Yes, and the distinction matters for your books. A non-profit organization (NPO) is any organization run for something other than profit, but it isn't automatically a registered charity. Only organizations formally registered with the CRA as charities can: Issue official donation receipts that donors can claim on their taxes File the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return each year Non-profits that aren't registered charities generally don't issue tax receipts, and instead may need to file the T1044 NPO Information Return if their revenue or assets pass certain CRA thresholds. Either way, your books need to track receipted versus non-receipted funds distinctly. You should confirm your organization's exact filing obligations with your accountant or the CRA.

Anyone who runs an organization for a mission rather than a profit can use and benefit from good accounting software, though needs vary by size and structure: Small charities, churches, and community groups run mostly by volunteers: simple fund tracking and donation records Registered charities with staff: donor tracking, T3010 prep, and program reporting Non-profit associations and foundations: membership dues, grants, and multi-program reporting Larger non-profits with a board: reports the board and funders can actually read QuickBooks Online works across all of these because it tracks money by fund and program, then rolls it up for CRA filing and board reporting.

Fund accounting means organizing your books around funds instead of one general pot, so you can always show that a dollar given for one purpose was spent on it. It's the core discipline behind non-profit and charity bookkeeping. To do this in QuickBooks Online, use class tracking (Plus and Advanced) to tag every transaction to a fund, and location tracking to split by program or site. Run a profit and loss—or, in non-profit terms, a statement of activities—filtered by class to see the balance of each fund.

Yes, and it is essential for a non-profit or charity. Donors and funders often restrict how their gift can be used, temporarily or permanently, while unrestricted funds cover general operations; mixing the two makes it impossible to show funders their money went where they intended. In QuickBooks Online you can tag restricted funds to their own class, then run a report showing the balance remaining in each fund alongside your unrestricted operating balance. That gives your board and funders a clear answer to "how much of this fund is left" at any point in the year.

Yes. Grants usually come with their own reporting requirements, spending deadlines, and approved budget lines, so keeping them separate matters for compliance and for bookkeeping. In QuickBooks Online you can: Tag each grant to its own class or project Track spending against the grant's approved categories Pull a report showing income and spending for just that grant That turns a funder's year-end report into something you can easily generate.

Yes. Knowing who gave, how much, and when is central to both stewardship and receipting. In QuickBooks Online, donors are managed like customers. Through Customer Hub, you can keep donor records, giving history, and follow-up notes in one place, then match incoming gifts to the right donor automatically through your bank feed. What QuickBooks doesn't do is run a full donor CRM with segmentation, campaign tracking, or event management-larger non-profits often pair it with a dedicated fundraising platform connected to QuickBooks for the accounting.

Yes. Online giving (both one time and recurring) is how most donors prefer to give these days, and it needs to land in your books without manual re-entry. With QuickBooks Payments you can: Accept donations online, including recurring gifts from monthly donors Have each gift recorded and matched to the donor automatically Keep the donation ready for receipting and reporting

Beyond a statement of activities and statement of financial position, non-profits and charities rely on reports built around funds and programs: Income and spending by fund or program Grant-specific reports for individual funders A clear restricted-versus-unrestricted balance Dashboards a board can read without an accounting background QuickBooks Online generates these alongside the core statements, and on Advanced you can build custom dashboards and reports to reach your board automatically.