Nordlet

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Nordlet for non-profits

How an association, foundation or other non-profit in Europe can use Nordlet's general accounting features to keep its books.

A non-profit still has to keep books. It receives money, pays bills, may employ staff, and reports to its members, its board and the authorities.

Nordlet has no features made only for non-profits. This page lists the general features such an organisation can use.

When you add the organisation to Nordlet, you choose its country and legal form. The list for many countries includes non-profit forms. Examples are the e.V. in Germany, the stichting and vereniging in the Netherlands, the ASBL in Belgium and Luxembourg, the Mittetulundusühing in Estonia and the VšĮ in Lithuania.

What Nordlet does

  • Books in double entry. Every document becomes a journal entry in the general ledger. Each entry is written to two accounts, so the books always balance.
  • No VAT if you are not registered. Untick "VAT payer" on the company profile. Invoices then carry no VAT, and expenses are booked at their full amount. See the glossary entry on VAT.
  • Invoices. You can invoice members, sponsors or customers, and repeat an invoice on a schedule.
  • Bills from suppliers. You register purchase invoices, or forward them to the organisation's own e-mail address so they appear on the capture page.
  • Bank. You connect a bank or import a statement file, and Nordlet matches payments to invoices. Checking the books against the bank this way is called bank reconciliation.
  • Cash. You record cash received and cash paid out with numbered cash orders.
  • Staff costs. Employees who pay from a cash advance hand in an expense report, and Nordlet books it.

See where the money goes

A non-profit often needs to show what each activity cost. Nordlet has two tools for this.

  • Cost centres. A cost centre is a part of the organisation you want to measure on its own, such as a department or a location. You put a cost centre on an invoice or purchase line. The cost centre report shows income, expenses and the result for each one.
  • Projects. You tag sales, purchase and journal lines with a project. The project report shows its revenue, costs and profit, and the hours logged against it.

The income statement and the balance sheet for the whole organisation are under Reports, with the trial balance and the cash flow statement.

Staff, equipment and access

  • Payroll. Nordlet calculates salaries, taxes and social contributions with the payroll rules of the organisation's country. It also builds a bank transfer file to pay the staff. See payroll.
  • Equipment. Computers, vehicles or buildings go into the fixed asset register. Nordlet can post their monthly depreciation by itself.
  • Access. Each person gets a role. A viewer can read everything and change nothing. The team roles guide lists what each role can do.

Moving from another system

You can bring your chart of accounts, partners, opening balances, open invoices, fixed assets and stock from another system. The migration guide explains how.

Frequently asked questions

Does Nordlet produce reports made for non-profits, such as a donor report?

No. Nordlet produces the general reports listed above. Cost centres and projects let you split income and costs by activity.

Can a non-profit that is not registered for VAT use Nordlet?

Yes. Untick "VAT payer" on the company profile, and Nordlet issues invoices without VAT.

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