{"id":12529,"date":"2022-08-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=12529"},"modified":"2025-05-07T14:55:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T13:55:24","slug":"chart-of-accounts-non-profit-organisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/chart-of-accounts-non-profit-organisation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set up a chart of accounts for your non-profit organisation"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to set up a chart of accounts for your non-profit organisation\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2022-08-15T10:00:00+01:00\">15 August, 2022<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to set up a chart of accounts for your non-profit organisation\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/chart-of-accounts-non-profit-organisation\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/asavinwattanajantra\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Asavin\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-810x810.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Asavin Wattanajantra<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re managing finances for a non-profit organisation (NPO), you&#8217;ll need a chart of accounts (COA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All your money flows through the COA\u2014the basis of your financial reporting and analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The COA is an index of all financial accounts in your NPO&#8217;s nominal or general ledger list. With these accounts, you group specific categories, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Assets:<\/strong> What you own\u2014such as cash, receivables (debtors), inventory, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accounting-software\/fixed-assets\/\">fixed assets<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Liabilities:<\/strong> What you owe\u2014such as payables (creditors), loans, accrued expenses, and deferred income.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Funds (or equity):<\/strong>\u00a0Represents the net worth of your organisation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Income:<\/strong>\u00a0Money coming in from grants, fundraising, goods, services, and investments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expenditure (direct costs and expenses):<\/strong>\u00a0Money going out for bills, salaries, rent, utilities, raising funds, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your financial software will use these categories to aggregate transactions into your NPO&#8217;s financial statements and reports, such as the&nbsp;balance sheet&nbsp;and income and expenditure statement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Setting up your COA is essential for&nbsp;meaningful&nbsp;and relevant internal controls. It&#8217;s also vital if you want to create external reports for outside funding sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s our 10-step guide to setting up a chart of accounts for a non-profit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#devise\">1.&nbsp;Devise the high-level structure for your chart of accounts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#assets\">2. Structure your assets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#liabilities\">3.&nbsp;Structure your liabilities<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#funds\">4.&nbsp;Structure your funds<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#income\">5.&nbsp;Structure your income<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#direct\">6.&nbsp;Structure your direct costs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#expenses\">7.&nbsp;Structure your expenses<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#apply\">8.&nbsp;Apply departmental overlay<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#restricted\">9.&nbsp;Restricted and unrestricted fund analysis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#maintain\">10.&nbsp;Maintain your chart of accounts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#final\">Final thoughts: Review your accounting needs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"devise\">1.&nbsp;Devise the high-level structure for your chart of accounts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The COA is numeric and typically follows a standardised order at a high level. This makes it easier to sort accounts by assigned categories for reports and when locating specific nominal ledger accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s traditional to use the following numbers for each category:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Assets: 1000-1999<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Liabilities: 2000-2999<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Funds: 3000-3999<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Income: 4000-4999<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Direct costs: 5000-5999<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expenses: 6000-9999<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the following steps, we&#8217;ll examine each account category and devise the account structures that need to sit below them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s a balance to be struck in the number of accounts.&nbsp;Introducing more accounts allows a more detailed analysis, but too many accounts make it hard to see quickly and clearly what is happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"assets\">2. Structure your assets&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The asset structure for most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/company\/sage-foundation\/npo-success\/tools-and-resources\/\">NPOs<\/a> is relatively simple and needs to be split between current and fixed assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current assets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/glossary\/what-are-assets\/\">assets<\/a> typically comprise categories such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cash and bank<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Receivables or debtors (the money commissioners owe you or customers for whom services are delivered)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inventories if the NPO is producing or holding goods of any value<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prepayments or deposits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can further subdivide each of these categories as appropriate. Consider which categories you need and what level of detail is required. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You won&#8217;t need an inventory category if you don&#8217;t produce or hold any goods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If prepayments are relatively small, you won&#8217;t need to subdivide this category.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fixed assets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You purchase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/glossary\/what-are-fixed-assets\/\">fixed assets<\/a> for the long term. Some of the more common categories of fixed assets are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Land<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buildings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plant (e.g. factories)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Office and computer equipment and software<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vehicles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Furniture and fixtures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leasehold improvements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Investments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Which of these categories you&#8217;ll need will again depend on your activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You might not need a plant, land or building category. But you may own equipment, software, furniture, and fixtures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"liabilities\">3.&nbsp;Structure your liabilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The account structure of liabilities within a COA tends to start with short-term or current liabilities (those becoming due within 12 months), followed by long-term liabilities.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Short-term liabilities will include trade creditors (for goods and services purchased but not yet paid for), bank overdrafts, and loans due within a year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Long-term liabilities include loans due after more than one year, leases, and, where applicable, multi-year grants paid in advance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"funds\">4.&nbsp;Structure your funds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The standard accounts for NPO funds are unrestricted and restricted income funds.&nbsp;However, some non-profits may have endowment funds and occasionally revaluation reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We discuss restricted and unrestricted funds further in step nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"income\">5.&nbsp;Structure your income&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Review the main types of income received by your NPO. It would be best if you split these into separate accounts.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should typically identify fundraising income and legacies separately from income for NPO activities (coming from contracts or grants), trading, and investment income.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If it&#8217;s helpful, you might want to split public fundraising from corporate fundraising and government grants from trusts and foundations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"direct\">6.&nbsp;Structure your direct costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Direct costs are directly associated with delivering the charitable activities of your NPO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These will typically include salaries, other costs of staff employment, and the contract cost of any third parties associated with the delivery of those activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"expenses\">7.&nbsp;Structure your expenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you&#8217;ve accounted for direct costs, you&#8217;ll need to analyse your remaining expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These will be the organisation&#8217;s overheads and typically include salaries of support staff, facility costs, professional fees (legal and accountancy), marketing expenses, utilities, printing, postage, IT, and telephony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"apply\">8.&nbsp;Apply departmental overlay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For larger NPOs, it may be desirable to analyse income and expenditure in different parts of the organisation (with a geographical segmentation or a functional analysis).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typically, you do this by devising a set of departmental codes and applying these to your financial transactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With some software, this departmental code is appended to the nominal ledger account; in others, it&#8217;s treated as a separate field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"restricted\">9.&nbsp;Restricted and unrestricted fund analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you receive grants or raise funds for specific projects, you&#8217;ll often need to treat that income as &#8216;restricted&#8217; and account for it and all matching costs separately.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a COA, this is best handled as an overlay, using the same basic accounts with a set of fund codes. You can then analyse income and costs for all such grants or projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This will help you accurately report to grant providers, aggregating restricted and unrestricted income and costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"maintain\">10.&nbsp;Maintain your chart of accounts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should review your COA annually to assess whether it still works. You might want to tie it to the budget cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, you might also want to review the COA if you&#8217;re putting in a new finance system or if there is growth or a change in reporting requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"final\">Final thoughts: Review your accounting needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How you do your accounting is up to you but understand that NPOs have unique and complex accounting practices that often need oversight from multiple stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of your complicated budgets and funding sources, you may want to use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/accounting\/industry\/non-profit\/\">accounting software<\/a> with a degree of automation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;ll make your job easier but also leaves you room to grow as your finances get more complex.<\/p>\n \n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Organisational Financial Literacy Hub<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We&#8217;re here to help you and your organisation by providing the tools, support and resources you need to succeed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/company\/sage-foundation\/npo-success\/tools-and-resources\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-8477\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Find out more<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1213\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/12\/Joburg_Colleague_Photo_276.28338-1213x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/12\/Joburg_Colleague_Photo_276.28338-1213x810.jpg 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/bookkeeping\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBookkeeping\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/business-finances\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusiness finances\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/organisational-financial-literacy\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOrganisational Financial Literacy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-30422 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-free-guides-templates tag-accessibility tag-business-finances tag-finance tag-make-receive-payments business_type-small-business card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M11.988 2.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v10.689l-1.72-1.72a.75.75 0 0 0-.957-.099.75.75 0 0 0-.315.776c.031.146.104.28.211.384l3 3a.75.75 0 0 0 1.06 0l3-3a.76.76 0 0 0 .231-.533.74.74 0 0 0-.22-.538q-.108-.106-.247-.164c-.139-.058-.191-.057-.291-.056s-.198.022-.29.061-.174.097-.243.169l-1.72 1.72V3.75a.76.76 0 0 0-.22-.541.76.76 0 0 0-.542-.22zM5.75 8.5C4.24 8.5 3 9.74 3 11.25v7C3 19.76 4.24 21 5.75 21h12.5c1.51 0 2.75-1.24 2.75-2.75v-7c0-1.51-1.24-2.75-2.75-2.75h-3a.76.76 0 0 0-.537.216.74.74 0 0 0-.223.535.76.76 0 0 0 .223.535.74.74 0 0 0 .537.216h3c.699 0 1.25.551 1.25 1.25v7a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25 1.25H5.75a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25-1.25v-7c0-.699.551-1.25 1.25-1.25h3a.76.76 0 0 0 .537-.216.74.74 0 0 0 .223-.535.76.76 0 0 0-.223-.535.75.75 0 0 0-.537-.216z\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-03T10:01:16+01:00\">3 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">16 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/quote-template\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tHow to write a business quote (free quote template to download now)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tLearn what a business quote should include, how it differs from an estimate or an invoice, and the mistakes that catch small businesses out. Download the free UK quote template, with built-in VAT calculations and an acceptance section, and start sending professional quotes straight away.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--more h4\">More on this Topic<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-1 post-10151 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-bookkeeping tag-business-finances tag-mtd-business tag-need-to-know tag-tax tag-vat business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-for-vat-business-tame-tax\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1166663659-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1166663659-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1166663659-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1166663659-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-31T10:48:56+01:00\">31 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">7 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tMaking Tax Digital: how MTD for VAT helps your business tame tax\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-10038 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-bookkeeping tag-business-finances tag-mtd-business tag-need-to-know tag-tax business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-income-tax-needs-to-know\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Checking products to sell to customers\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-31T10:20:19+01:00\">31 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">9 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\t6 things you need to know about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-10211 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accountant-accounting tag-accountant-tax tag-accountants-online-hub-gb tag-business-finances tag-mtd-accountants tag-mtd-business tag-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax tag-making-tax-digital-for-vat tag-need-to-know tag-tax tag-vat business_type-small-business business_type-accountants\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/hmrc-penalty-making-tax-digital\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-31T09:06:37+01:00\">31 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tMaking Tax Digital for Income Tax penalties: HMRC&#8217;s new systems explained\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-25955 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-bookkeeping tag-mtd-business tag-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax tag-tax business_type-small-business industry-construction\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-for-income-tax-what-it-means-for-trades-and-skilled-workers\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-585283345-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-585283345-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-585283345-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-585283345-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-30T16:24:46+01:00\">30 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">10 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tMTD for Income Tax: what it means for trades and skilled workers\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re managing finances for a non-profit organisation, you&#8217;ll need a chart of accounts Read on to learn how to set it up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":356,"featured_media":11424,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[23,135,33],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[62],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[99,107,109],"coauthors":[351],"class_list":["post-12529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","tag-bookkeeping","tag-business-finances","tag-organisational-financial-literacy","business_type-small-business","industry-non-profit"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Asavin Wattanajantra","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-961279906.jpg","imagine_tags":{"99":"Non-profit","107":"Organisational Financial Literacy","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/11424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=12529"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}