Every year, plenty of new charities get started in Aotearoa New Zealand. Most start small, and many stay that way. There are already some excellent detailed guides to registering a charity. This isn't intended to replace them. Instead, this guide will walk you through some of the big decisions you'll need to make, point you […]
Treasurers can sometimes be hard to recruit. The role can be seen as undesirable, time-consuming, or something that requires a particular set of financial skills that are hard to find. We don’t necessarily agree with all of that. A good treasurer doesn’t need to be an accountant, and the role shouldn’t have to become a […]
Someone asked this exact question in one of our Being a Good Treasurer webinars recently: What’s the difference between a bookkeeper, an accountant, and a treasurer? It’s a good question, because the three often get bundled together. Small charities sometimes hire an accountant when what they really need is bookkeeping help, or expect their volunteer […]
Receiving a warning that your charity’s annual return is overdue can feel alarming - particularly if you are a volunteer who has inherited the treasurer role or discovered that something was missed before you arrived. Don't panic! An overdue notice does mean your charity has fallen behind on one of its legal obligations. But it […]
Lots of small charities and non-profits use Xero - and for good reason. It is one of the best-known accounting systems in Aotearoa New Zealand, and plenty of treasurers, bookkeepers and accountants already know how to use it. But Xero is mainly built for businesses. Unless it has been set up carefully for your organisation, […]
A simple treasurer report helps your board or committee understand what is happening with the money, what decisions are needed, and what financial or reporting tasks are coming up. Example: Open simple board and committee finance report example > Templates: Open a Google Drive template (File -> Make a Copy to edit it) Download a […]
A cash book is a simple way of keeping track of the money your organisation receives and spends. At its most basic, a cash book is a record of the transactions in your bank account. If your organisation uses petty cash, it can also record the cash you receive and spend outside your bank account. […]
Fundholding is when one organisation holds money on behalf of another group, project, or kaupapa. It is also sometimes called fiscal sponsorship, auspicing, umbrella-ing, or being under an umbrella organisation. The terms are used slightly differently in different places, but the basic idea is usually the same: an established organisation receives and manages funds for […]
Learn what counts as an asset for a small non-profit, when purchases should be recorded as significant assets, and how Tier 4 charities should think about vehicles, equipment, shares and term deposits.
If your organisation has a credit card or debit card, accidental personal purchases can happen surprisingly easily. Maybe Paywave was enabled and the wrong card tapped before you realised.Maybe your personal and organisation cards look almost identical.Maybe your browser or Shopify saved the organisation’s card online and you clicked through too quickly. These mistakes are […]
If you’ve ever read an audit report, you’ve probably seen a line like: “The financial statements present fairly, in all material respects…” Or when preparing your annual statements, you might be asked to: These terms sound technical — but the ideas behind them are actually pretty simple. This guide breaks them down in plain English. […]
At the end of the financial year (31 March), sending donation receipts to your supporters is more than just admin. It’s one of the simplest, but important, ways to acknowledge their contribution. Timely donation receipts can make the difference in who a donor chooses to support. It might seem like a small and frustrating administrative […]
Most of us naturally think about money the same way we manage our personal bank account: What’s in the account right now? What’s about to go out? That’s cash-based accounting — it’s exactly what it sounds like. Cash accounting: what you see is what you get Cash accounting records transactions on the day money moves. […]
It’s one of the most common things we hear from small charities and incorporated societies: “We’re over $60,000 a year now — so we have to register for GST, right?” Not necessarily. There’s a long-standing bit of “community wisdom” that if your organisation earns or spends more than $60,000 a year, you must register for […]
This is one of the most common questions I get from volunteer treasurers. “If someone is a contractor, can I put them under Employee Remuneration and Related Costs in the XRB report?” Usually, the question isn’t really about accounting. There’s often a concern that including contractor costs under “employee” might imply an employment relationship — […]
The XRB sets the categories that registered charities and incorporated societies must use when reporting publicly. Other non-profits can also choose to use this standard, unless they’re required to report under a different framework. At first glance, these categories can feel confusing. Some match everyday language — like donations and grants — while others don’t. […]
Working capital is an accounting term, but it answers a very practical question: How long could your organisation keep operating if no new money came in from today? At Good Numbers, that’s how we think about working capital.You can express it as: For most small charities, the months view is far more helpful. The definition […]
This is a common and very reasonable question we hear from charities and community groups. Many organisations assume that because their annual return has been accepted by Charities Services, their financial statements must also be approved. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how the system works. Accepted ≠ reviewed Each year, nearly 30,000 charities in Aotearoa file […]
With the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 now in force, most societies that re-register must prepare annual financial statements that meet the External Reporting Board (XRB) standards. This change brings Incorporated Societies into alignment with the reporting framework already used by registered charities. If you want to see the official Companies Office overview, you’ll find […]
When you’re running a small charity or community group, it can be hard to figure out what financial support you actually need. Terms like bookkeeping, accounting, review and audit get thrown around a lot — and sometimes even used interchangeably. To make things more confusing, some professionals can do multiple tasks. For example, many accountants […]
Running a community organisation, charity, or small non-profit comes with a lot of responsibility — especially around finances. At Good Numbers, we’ve created simple, practical financial tools designed specifically for small charities and non-profits with straightforward finances who want to do more themselves. But we know our tools won't work for everyone. Sometimes your situation […]
Getting started with financial reporting can feel like a big task, especially with all the new terms and requirements. But don't worry, you're in the right place. This guide is designed to break down "Tier 4" reporting into simple, manageable steps. The great news is that the Tier 4 standard is specifically designed for smaller […]
Your financial year is the 12-month period your organisation uses to track money coming in and going out, and to prepare your annual financial statements. It’s the timeframe that everything in your year-end report is based on. It does not need to match the calendar year. Your financial year is whatever 12-month period your organisation […]
(sometimes called “Current Year”) When you prepare your year-end financial statements, you’ll usually see two columns side by side: These columns help anyone reading your statements understand how your organisation’s finances have changed over time. Here’s how it works. Summary (TL/DR) What “This Year” Means This Year is the financial year you are currently reporting […]
Overview: What this statement is trying to achieve The aim of the Statement of Cash Received and Cash Paid is simple: Take every transaction from your bank accounts for the financial year, assign each one to an official XRB category, then total up the amounts for each category. These categories are part of the Tier […]
This guide gives you the tips and tricks to make opening a bank account as easy as possible. Note - this guide has been updated as of August 2026: Visit the updated guide Background:As many in the sector know, opening a bank account for a charity or nonprofit can be anything but straightforward. Bank staff […]
Every year, all registered charities must file an annual return with Charities Services (Ngā Ratonga Kaupapa Atawhai). This keeps your organisation’s details up to date and ensures you stay registered. Charities that don’t file their annual return are removed from the Charities Register, so it’s important not to miss this step. Your annual return is […]
If you are an ASB or BNZ customer, you may only see your personal accounts listed when connecting via Akahu. Unfortunately, your organisation's accounts may not appear. This happens because ASB and BNZ use separate mobile apps for personal banking and for business or organisation banking. Akahu (and therefore Good Numbers) can only access the […]
Akahu provides an easy, seamless, and secure way for Good Numbers to retrieve your transaction information directly from your bank. However, if you choose not to use Akahu or can't for some reason, you can also manually upload your bank transactions in the QIF format (Quicken Interchange Format). This guide provides instructions on retrieving QIF […]
We’ve just released a new way for small charities to prepare their financial statements — a self-service tool that’s fast, secure, and simple to use. Here’s a quick look at how it works. Step 1: Start on the Good Numbers homepageHead to the Good Numbers website and open the self-service tool. Step 2: Enter your […]
What are transactions with close relationships (sometimes called related party transactions)? These are important to disclose in financial statements when someone who helps make decisions about how money is spent also receives money or benefits from the organisation. In many cases, paying someone who is connected to the organisation is totally fine and often part […]
A Statement of Service Performance (SSP) is a short section of your financial statements that explains what your organisation actually did during the year. Key concept: What Is a Financial Year? It focuses on your activities and achievements, not just your income and expenses. Think of it as the story behind the numbers: who you […]
