Ciste Blog
Nonprofit accounting,
demystified.
Guides, updates, and insights for nonprofit finance teams.
Fund Accounting
Restricted vs. Unrestricted Funds: A Plain-English Guide for Executive Directors
Misusing restricted funds isn't a bookkeeping error. It's an audit finding and sometimes a grant violation. Here's what every Executive Director needs to understand.
990 Prep
Nonprofit 990 Preparation Checklist: Everything Your CPA Needs From You
Most 990 delays aren't the CPA's fault. Here's every number your accountant needs from you, organized the way the form asks for it.
Grant Management
The Grant Report You Dreaded: Why Budget-vs-Actual Takes All Day
It's Friday afternoon. Your funder's quarterly report is due Monday. You open QuickBooks, pull a transaction report, paste it into Excel, and begin the ritual. You already know this will take most of the weekend.
Fund Accounting
Why QuickBooks Fails Nonprofits (And What to Do About It)
Millions of nonprofits use QuickBooks. Most of them have built elaborate workarounds to handle the one thing QuickBooks fundamentally can't do — fund accounting.