Nonprofit Year-End: What to Tidy in October

October is the month to trade a little structure for a lot of calm later.

All month we are sharing practical steps you can pass to your team. Even if we are not managing your books, we want clean, reliable numbers across the sector.

Why this matters in October

Q4 is the final lap. Small routines now create faster closes, clearer board packets, and easier audit prep.

Quick diagnostic

Review your latest month for bank reconciliation, AR aging, AP aging, and undeposited or uncategorized items. Choose the first area that creates confusion and start there.

The tidy close playbook

1) Close timing gaps

Reconcile bank and cards. Clear undeposited funds. Assign an owner to each account and system.

2) Reduce noise in the general ledger

Consolidate rarely used accounts. Reclass miscellaneous items to the right program or admin category. Add a short memo where context helps.

3) Make AR and AP reflect reality

Apply payments. Write off truly uncollectible items with approval. Merge duplicate vendors and archive inactives.

4) Align grants with classes or tags

Map grants one to one with your accounting structure. Document each release with a brief memo.

5) Centralize support

Store receipts and contracts in a single permissioned folder. Add a short note to unusual entries that explains why they matter.

A one week cadence you can repeat

Monday reconcile. Tuesday AR and AP. Wednesday grants alignment. Thursday file support and notes. Friday create an open items list with owners and due dates. These are suggestions, but the magic is in creating a system that works for your organization and then following it every week, every month.

Copy ready checklist

[ ] Month closed and reconciled 

[ ] AR and AP reflect reality 

[ ] Grants tied out and releases documented 

[ ] Support centralized and unusuals noted 

[ ] Open items list with owners and dates