In the past year, all of the Friends groups have faced many challenges. With the implementation of the new CSO reporting requirements and CSO agreements, Friends groups are faced with more administrative and bookkeeping tasks.
In addition to these tasks, many CSOs Board of Directors must devote time to managing membership fulfillment, maintaining organization records, producing new and relevant content for the membership, distributing newsletters, updating social media, volunteering in our beautiful Florida Parks, and much more.
CSOs may struggle in these areas because their volunteer board members may have full-time jobs and other commitments. This makes it challenging for board members to handle all the administrative work while also focusing on more important tasks like implementing programs or raising funds for their state parks.
Since May 2014, My Paper Pusher has handled all administrative and bookkeeping tasks for Friends of Florida State Parks, allowing our Board of Directors to dedicate their time to expanding the organization, increasing membership, raising funds for the parks, and increasing advocacy efforts for the parks.
Outsourcing tasks like administration and bookkeeping is a great first step to increasing the efficiency of an organization and allowing the Board to have more time to focus on its mission.
My Paper Pusher has offered a few tips to help you tackle administration and bookkeeping:
1. Create a system for handling your records by developing a process and who is responsible for each step of the process.
2. Create a filing system to ensure all your records are labeled and categorized to help your bookkeeper, administrator, and those requiring reports, such as funders find important information when needed. Creating an allocation sheet that lists your programs, accounts, events, and restricted funds can help create a uniform coding reference for each receipt or donation.
3. Create internal controls so there are checks and balances in the processes and systems that you create. For example, the same person opening the mail should not also deposit checks. The person writing checks should not also be reconciling the bank account. Another way to avoid conflicts of interest is to have your treasurer oversee your organizatinon’s financials and have another individual perform the bookkeeping tasks.
4. Perform bookkeeping tasks on a regular basis so that data entry and reconciliations do not pile up and become burdensome. This also provides regular financial information to the Board of Directors.
5. Use technology to drive efficiencies. Investigate cost-effective donor management and accounting software that can help optimize the time of staff and board members. Software like QuickBooks and Wild Apricot can be affordable, and they can simplify administration and bookkeeping.
You can learn more about My Paper Pusher by visiting their website here, and you can get regular accounting, administration, and nonprofit tips and updates by following their Facebook or LinkedIn sites.
