Blog

The first rule of VAT for charities – assume nothing!
Guest post by Les Howard of vatadvice.org It is often said that the first rule of VAT is to assume nothing! In the charity sector, this is...

7 inspirational stories our world needs more of
While I’m passionate about charities and the important work they do, it’s specifically newly established, small and medium-size charities that I’m...

Rising Girl, the story so far…
Guest Post by Emb Hashmi, Award winning Journalist at BBC , Podcast Host and Social Entrepreneur. Rising Girl started its journey as a short...

Engaging sponsors for your small UK charity
There are two types of sponsors that every charity needs to engage if they are to thrive. The first are sponsors who give money so the charity has...

What makes a good annual report for your small UK charity?
Time to prepare your annual accounts and annual report? See it as a promotional opportunity for your charity. Here are seven steps to making your...

How to form the most effective board for your charity
“Charities are the eyes, ears and conscience of society. They mobilise, they provide, they inspire, they advocate and they unite.”[1] Charities...

What you can learn from EmployabilityUK’s digital transformation
There’s no denying that lockdown has hit us hard. According to research from the Institute of Fundraising, 92% of charities reported a fall in...

Why every charity needs to embrace cloud-based accounting
Finance should never be a standalone function. Its primary purpose is to support the whole charity – not just to manage the accounts, but to provide...

Are internal financial controls stressing you out?
Are internal financial controls stressing you out?

Fail to plan, plan to fail
I remember one Christmas my husband wrote a project plan for Christmas Dinner. Me, my parents and my husband's parents all laughed at this - a...
Annual Reports – friend or foe?
If your charity has a March year-end then soon it will be the time of the year that you dread…yes, it will be time to prepare your charities annual...

2019 Review
So here it is...my review of 2019. Like many others, I thought it would be good to use numbers but without the explanation behind them, you may not...

Vinyl Management
I was really excited to read that the Charity Finance Group (CFG) have launched a toolkit for charities around improving record management. Yes it...
October Update: The one when it’s better late than never!
October was an exciting month for me as I moved out of my office at home and into new offices at Bolton Arena. When I set up Beyond Profit in 2017...

Good governance in minutes
Trustees must act in the best interest of the charity. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate this is through minute taking.