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. For example, Sale of goods or services (commercial) might cover what you’d normally call bar sales or merchandise.
Many accounting packages allow you to create unlimited categories for things like different types of donations or event income. While this can seem helpful, it often creates extra work at year end when you need to map everything back to the required XRB categories.
That’s why Good Numbers uses the XRB categories exactly as set out below. When you want to track something more specific — such as how a particular grant was spent — we provide other ways to do that without complicating your reporting.
To make things even clearer, we use colour coding throughout the app:
It's one way Good Numbers are making finance easier to understand for nonprofit organisations.
Money in:
| Category | Examples | Explaination |
| Donations, koha, bequests and other fundraising | raffle proceeds, cash koha at an event, bequest from a supporter. | Cash received from general giving or fundraising activities. |
| General grants received | a council community grant, a foundation grant for general operations. | Grants given for overall support, without a requirement to deliver specific services. |
| Service delivery grants/contracts | funding to run 10 youth workshops; contract to deliver counselling hours. | Funding received to deliver agreed services, programmes or outputs. |
| Membership fees and subscriptions | annual club fees, subscriptions to join a community group. | Fees paid by members in exchange for membership benefits. |
| Sale of goods or services (commercial activities) | selling merchandise, running a bar or café, ticket sales for a show. | Cash earned from activities run on commercial terms. |
| Interest or dividends received | interest from a savings account, dividends from shares. | Earnings from bank accounts or investments. |
| Other cash received | insurance payouts, small one-off reimbursements, incidental income. | Anything received in cash that doesn’t fit another category. |
Other money in:
These categories are only used for special types of money coming in – usually when selling investments, selling assets, or taking out a loan.
| Category | Examples | Explaination |
| Sale of investments | selling shares or managed funds. | Cash received from selling investments. |
| Sale of other assets | selling a laptop, sound system, or second-hand equipment. | Cash from selling organisational assets. |
| Cash received from loans and borrowings | drawing down on a loan, receiving an advance from a board member. | Cash borrowed from a bank or other lender. |
Payments:
| Category | Examples | Explaination |
| Fundraising costs | buying raffle prizes, venue hire for a fundraiser. | Costs of running fundraising activities. |
| Employee remuneration and other related costs | payroll for a coordinator, payment to a freelance tutor. | Wages, salaries, contractor payments, and related employment costs. See: Including contractor costs under Employee Remuneration and Related Costs? |
| Volunteer related costs | petrol vouchers, food during volunteer events. | Expenses paid to support volunteers to do their roles. |
| Costs related to sale of goods or services (commercial activities) | buying bar stock, purchasing materials for merchandise. | Costs for activities run on commercial terms. |
| Other costs related to delivery of entity objectives | rent, IT, insurance, printing, supplies, professional services. It could also include costs related to your Board of Trustees/Committee, | All other operational or administrative spending. |
| Grants and donations paid | a hardship payment to a family, a donation to another charity. | Cash your organisation gives to others — organisations or individuals. |
| Other cash paid | bank fees, minor miscellaneous expenses. | Any cash paid that doesn’t fit a specific payment category. |
Other payments:
These categories are only used for special types of money going out – usually when buying investments or assets, or when repaying a loan.
| Category | Examples | Explaination |
| Purchase of investments | purchasing shares or managed funds. | Cash used to buy investments. |
| Purchase of other assets | buying a laptop, sound system, office furniture. | Cash used to buy assets that will be used for longer than one year. |
| Repayment of loans and borrowings | loan instalments, repaying money borrowed from a trustee. | Cash used to repay debt. |
Balancing Movements:
These are categories used for internal purposes or to record things such as GST and income tax. These can generally be both money in and payments, so are treated a little bit differently from the other categories above.
Note: You won't often use these categories.
| Category | Examples | Explaination |
| Transfers between accounts | Moving money from one account to another. | Transfers between bank accounts, term deposits, etc within Good Numbers App. |
| Income tax paid or refunded | Tax paid on interest earned on a savings account or term deposit. | Income Tax from IRD that has been paid out or refunded. |
| GST paid and received | GST portion of a purchase from Bunnings. GST refund from IRD. | All GST movements for your organisation. |
Ask Duncan anything — big or small. He’ll get back to you ASAP, and your questions will help improve the information here for everyone.
