Nonprofit Accounting and Bookkeeping

Managing money for a nonprofit is not the same as managing money for a business. In this nonprofit accounting course, you’ll learn how to track funds based on donor restrictions, report to grantors, and keep your organization financially healthy and compliant. Whether you’re new to the field or brushing up on skills, this course gives you a clear, practical foundation you can start using right away.

You’ll start with the basics of fund accounting — the system nonprofits use to separate restricted and unrestricted money — and build from there. The course walks you through setting up a chart of accounts, recording donations and grants correctly, and allocating shared expenses across programs. You’ll also learn how to prepare the four financial statements unique to nonprofits, build and monitor budgets, and understand your compliance responsibilities, including IRS Form 990 and audit requirements.

This nonprofit accounting course also covers grant management from start to finish, payroll basics including employee vs. contractor classification, and the month-end and year-end procedures that keep your books clean and audit-ready. You’ll get an overview of popular accounting software tools built for nonprofits, along with tips on how to present financial information clearly to your board.

What You Will Learn 

This course teaches you the core skills needed to handle nonprofit finances with confidence. You’ll learn how fund accounting works, how to set up accounts and record different types of revenue, and how to allocate expenses across programs and functions. The course also covers the financial statements nonprofits use, how to build budgets, and how to put internal controls in place to protect your organization from errors and fraud.

Beyond the numbers, you’ll gain practical knowledge in grant tracking, payroll compliance, year-end closing procedures, and using technology to streamline your work. By the end, you’ll have the skills to support your organization’s mission through sound, trustworthy financial management. This nonprofit accounting course is designed so that what you learn in each lesson can be applied directly to your day-to-day responsibilities.