Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Non-Profit Budgeting: Handling Your Cash Flow



Unpredictable economic trends have caused nonprofit organizations to worry about meeting their financial obligations. As a non-profit leader, you can have the confidence to plan and take necessary actions by efficiently managing your cash flow.

Cash flow management is more than taking your annual budget and dividing by 12. Effective cash flow management includes analyzing cash inflow and outflows based on the timing of receipts and payments. For example, if your organization manages an annual convention, operational costs may increase during that month, as more staff may be necessary for the event. If your headquarters is located in an area that experiences extreme cold in the winter, costs for those months may increase as extra heating may be necessary.

If your current software does not have any budgeting or forecasting capabilities, you can create a report using a grid, such as Microsoft Excel to give you a visual idea of when you can expect cash inflow and outflow, and will help you predict cash flow more accurately in the future.

Read the full article and get more tips on managing cash flow.

FMI, contact By Steven K. Stucky, CPA; Partner, Sikich LLP. Steven can be reached at 317-842-4466 or sstucky@sikich.com.

2 comments:

Joelle O'Reilly-Hyland said...

I believe budgeting is one of the most important aspects in charities and non-profit organizations. That's why your article is very useful and informative.

Unknown said...

True. The importance of cash flow management should be emphasized, as the lack of it can lead to complications, particularly in the finances of an organization. There are different ways organizations do this. Some prefer to do the work themselves, while others prefer to leave the hassles of cash flow management to professionals. It can be really complicated and cumbersome because it involves a lot of paperwork.

Neil Dando