NGO Bookkeeper Job Responsibilities

The job responsibility of a NGO Bookkeeper is to track and record the financial data of a non-governmental organization. The average salary of a NGO bookkeeper is from $34,000 to $36,000 according to Salary.

The difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant is that a bookkeeper is primarily tasked with organizing receipts and other documents that verify financial data. The accountant, on the other hand focuses on interpreting the data and presenting the data in report format to NGO accountants, NGO managers and NGO funders.

Related job responsibilities

The key thing to remember is that bookkeepers simily track and record financial data. They don’t interpret it. They do, however, take proper steps to ensure that the data that they track on a daily, weekly, monthy and quarterly basis is backed by paper and/or computer documents.

NGO Bookkeeper Job Responsibilities

  • Documenting transaction details
  • Putting together financial reports
  • Fact-checking accounting data
  • Notify senior staff of any accounting errors
  • Calculate interest charges
  • Recording financial transactions and donations
  • Tracking payroll data

Years ago, bookkeepers relied upon ledgers and journals to record and track transactions. Today, they use computer software programs such as:

  • AccountEdge
  • FreshBooks
  • QuickBooks
  • Zoho Books
  • Sage 50cloud Accounting
  • OneUp
  • Kashoo
  • ZipBooks (free)

NGO Bookkeeping Job Responsibilities and Computer Tools

Unlike bookkeeping software for use by for-profit entities, software used by NGOs take into account the specific laws related to entities whose income, receipts, gifts, and donations are not taxable. NGOs that are tax exempt must use software that focuses on the funding received from grants, donations, gifts and contributions. As such, specialized bookkeeping software that records and tracks financial data has been created so that donors can see that the NGO has taken proper stewardship of the funds received. Additionally, the specialized bookkeeping and accounting software designed specifically for NGOs has built in compliance rules so that the NGO adheres to the various governmental regulations. T

While QuickBooks has developed bookkeeping software programs specifically for use by small businesses and NGOs, here is a list of other software programs used by NGOS:

  • NonprofitCore
  • MonkeyPod
  • Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
  • AccuFund Accounting Suite
  • Sage Intacct
  • NetSuite