Non-Profit Bookkeeping Services
At Back Office Stars, we specialize in providing top-tier bookkeeping services tailored specifically for Canadian non-profits and charities.
Our team understands the unique financial challenges you face and offers customized solutions to help you achieve financial transparency, compliance, and efficiency.
Specializing in the latest cloud accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks Online, Hubdoc and Dext, we ensure that your non-profit uses the most efficient systems to deliver the accurate reporting and accountability your stakeholders expect.
With extensive experience supporting Canadian non-profits and charities, we understand your operational needs and financial objectives. Our team is dedicated to helping you achieve your mission with confidence.
Why Choose Us for Your Non-Profit Bookkeeping Needs?
Specialized Knowledge of Non-Profit Accounting Methods
We have a deep understanding of the financial intricacies involved in non-profit organizations, ensuring accurate and compliant bookkeeping. Our expertise includes:
- Fund accounting proficiency to manage restricted and unrestricted funds effectively.
- Skilled handling of in-kind donations to reflect true financial standing.
- Customizable financial solutions tailored to your organization's structure.
Compliance and Reporting
Navigating Canadian tax regulations for non-profits can be complex, but we ensure full compliance with:
- Knowledge of CRA requirements and filing standards.
- GST/HST filings, ensuring timely and accurate submissions.
- Assistance with maintaining records that align with regulatory standards.
Comprehensive Financial Statements and Reporting
We provide accurate, insightful reports to support informed decision-making, including:
- Preparation of essential financial statements such as Statement of Activities, Cash Flow, and Financial Position.
- Reliable financial reporting for board meetings and stakeholder communication.
- Budget vs. actual reporting to help you stay on track and make data-driven decisions.
Audit support services
We work closely with your audit firm from day one to understand the issues identified in past audits and to build improved systems and workflows so that the auditors can quickly find the backup documentation they want for every transaction.
Software Proficiency
Our team leverages leading cloud-based accounting tools to enhance accuracy and accessibility, including:
- Expertise in platforms like QuickBooks Online and Xero, as well as Stripe, PayPal, Moneris, CanadaHelps, Keela, DonorPerfect and several donor management systems.
- Tailored setup and customization of chart of accounts specific to non-profit organizations.
- Optimization of the integrations between your donor management system, payment processors and your accounting system so that you can pull timely, accurate reports.
Cost-Effective Solutions
Outsourcing your bookkeeping to us can provide significant cost savings compared to hiring in-house staff. You can reduce overhead costs while maintaining high-quality financial management.
Specialized Non-Profit Services
We offer a comprehensive suite of services to meet your organization's unique needs, including:
- Efficient accounts payable/receivable management.
- Grant tracking and reporting to help you monitor funding and compliance.
- Expert assistance with HST and payroll management.
Proven Industry Experience
With extensive experience supporting Canadian non-profits and charities, we understand your operational needs and financial objectives. Our team is dedicated to helping you achieve your mission with confidence.
How Our Non-Profit Bookkeeping Services Work
You'll be working with a dedicated bookkeeper located in Canada. You'll be able to contact them on a schedule that you agree on.
Correspondence between you and the bookkeeper will be primarily done via email, but you can also arrange to set up calls or web meetings.
Hubdoc is the preferred way for you and your bookkeeper to share the documents. Hubdoc serves as the central database for the bookkeeping process. We use Hubdoc for our non-profit clients because it allows for 4 sales tax rules, which speeds up non-profit transaction processing.
In terms of cloud accounting systems, we only use Xero and Quickbooks Online.
We use bookkeeping management software called Financial Cents to manage our workflow and reminders and it has an excellent feature that enables us to send you a list of documents we need and it reminds you until you check them all off. Our clients love how it puts all the requests in one list for them.
Simple Onboarding
- We help you get set up with virtual bookkeeping quickly.
- We start with a virtual kickoff meeting using Zoom, a web-based conferencing tool.
- We ask you about your existing systems and how you do your bookkeeping, and then we develop an approach that delivers the right solution for your needs while keeping efficiency and cost in mind.
- There are some setup tasks you need to complete (mostly providing information to us), and then we try to take care of the rest.
Fast, Accurate, and Reliable Service
Our Canadian team is committed to providing fast and precise bookkeeping services, ensuring your financial data is always up-to-date and dependable.
Supportive Partnership Every Step of the Way
We're not just a service provider; we're your partner as you grow. Our team is here to support you at every step, from setting up your bookkeeping system to ongoing financial management. We'll guide you through the complexities of meeting the CRA's obligations, ensuring you have a clear understanding and control over your non-profit's financial trajectory.
More Information
Frequently asked questions
Here are some of the most frequent questions we get from potential non-profit clients.
We charge $50/hour for non-profit bookkeeping services and $70/hr for time-sensitive accounts payable and payroll services.
We charge a base fee that starts at $80/mo for clients with 4 or less hours/mo and scales up at roughly $18 per hour of services per month. As an example, the base fee for a 10 hour/mo client is $170/mo.
We are very efficient and have found that we often complete the same work another bookkeeper previously did in less time. The cost of software like Xero, Quickbooks Online, Dext/Hubdocare incremental to that. You’ll also be responsible for any transaction fees incurred from payroll or bill payment services that charge on a transaction basis.
You’ll be asked to provide in-depth information on what services you’d like to include in your plan. You can either submit a form giving us the information such as the # of accounts and transactions or we can go over it together in a call. We usually respond within 48 hours of receiving your form submission.
All our team members are based in Canada (Ontario, Alberta and BC).
You can email your bookkeeper at any time, and they’ll respond within a few hours.
You can also set up a phone call or a virtual meeting by emailing them first.
All our lead bookkeepers have a college diploma in bookkeeping and at least ten years of bookkeeping experience. If junior bookkeepers work on your file, they are always supervised by a senior bookkeeper, a team leader and an oversight accountant.
Common challenges for Canadian non-profits include managing restricted and unrestricted funds effectively, handling in-kind donations to reflect true financial standing and grant tracking and reporting.
We can help you deal with all these issues proactively.
Yes, of course. We calculate and file the taxes for you.
We will not PAY your taxes on your behalf. However, we can calculate these taxes, but you’ll have to pay them yourself.
No, we can’t file these tax returns for you. You’ll need an accounting firm for that and we can help you find a good one if you don’t already have one.
Yes, we use several services including WagePoint, Knit People and Quickbooks Payroll to manage your payroll. You can enter the payroll hours. The software will pay your remittances automatically. T4s and ROE will automatically be submitted to the CRA.
However, we aren’t responsible for late payments which might occur because of insufficient funds in your account or you not approving the transactions on time.
Yes. Plooto is a bill payment app which works well with Xero, another software we use. That’s why we prefer Plooto for this purpose. If you receive more than half a dozen invoices that need manual payments, the Plooto service can save you time and money vs. checks or email transfer.
We generally don't do bookkeeping for non-Canadian firms. We do serve Canadian clients with US entities.