The Nonprofit Bookkeeper
The Nonprofit Bookkeeper shines a light on purpose-driven organisations — from charities and social enterprises to impact-led businesses. Hosted by Aishat, a finance and operations expert, this show blends practical financial tips, real-life stories, and strategic guidance for founders, funders, and changemakers. Expect solo episodes, expert guests, and honest conversations about money, mission, and making a difference.
2026 Trustee Week: What Does a New Trustee Learn That Isn't in the Welcome Pack?
A trustee induction can explain responsibilities, policies and procedures. But does it prepare someone for how a board really works?
In this final episode of our Trustees' Week series, we explore the unwritten rules of board culture, the importance of relationships, and why welcoming new trustees means more than helping them fit in.
Featuring reflections from Jane Rich (The Fore), Katherine Shepherdson (Hertfordshire Dyslexic Association), Jonathan Jelley MBE (Peterborough CVS) and Kahvan Bryan (Young Trustees Movement).
We close the series by reflecting on what helps boards move from surviving to thriving.
...
2026 Trustee Week - Day 4: Should Trustees Be Out of Pocket?
Trustees give their time freely to support charities. But should they also be expected to cover the costs of volunteering?
From travel and parking to childcare and other caring responsibilities, the costs of trusteeship can add up. And while a charity may have an expenses policy, that doesn't necessarily mean trustees feel comfortable making a claim.
In Day 4 of The Nonprofit Bookkeeper's Trustees' Week series, Aishat explores how trustee expenses connect to financial accessibility, board culture and good governance.
With perspectives shared by Kahvan Bryan, Kathryn Shepherson, Jane Rich and Jonathan Jelley MBE...
2026 Trustee Week - Day 3: When There Isn't One Right Answer: Trustee Judgement in Practice
What happens when trustees disagree on a difficult decision, and there isn't an obvious right answer?
In Day 3 of our Trustees' Week series, we explore how boards balance competing priorities, challenge constructively and make decisions when every option carries some risk.
Featuring insights from Kathryn Shepherdson, Jane Rich (The Fore), Jonathan Jelley MBE and Kahvan Bryan (Young Trustees Network), we consider the importance of hearing different perspectives, understanding the decision-making process, recording the reasons behind decisions and knowing when to revisit them.
Free Trustees' Week resources: https://www.bancservices.co.uk/
...
2026 Trustee Week - Day 2: When Everyone Knows, But Nobody Has Written It Down
What happens when an experienced trustee steps down and takes years of organisational knowledge with them?
In Day 2 of our Trustees' Week series, we explore how boards can become dependent on knowledge held by individual trustees, why recording decisions isn't always enough, and how succession planning can help preserve valuable experience.
Featuring reflections from Jane Rich (The Fore), Kahvan Bryan (Young Trustees Movement) and Kathryn Shepherdson (Hertfordshire Dyslexic Association).
A question for your board: If one of your most experienced trustees left tomorrow, what knowledge would leave with them?
Visit bancservices...
2026 Trustee Week - Day 1: If You Can't See It, You Can't Manage It
Receiving information at a board meeting isn't the same as understanding what's happening in a charity.
In this first episode of my 2026 Trustees' Week series, we explore what meaningful visibility looks like, why accurate financial reports don't always tell the full story, and what trustees need to know to make informed decisions.
With insights from Kathryn Shepherdson (Hertfordshire Dyslexic Association), Jonathan Jelley MBE (Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services) and Kahvan Bryan (Young Trustees Movement), we consider the importance of clear reporting, curiosity and asking questions.
Free resource: Download the Trustee Visibility Check from...
When the Budget Stops Being True: Why reporting against budget isn't always enough
A budget may have been perfectly reasonable when it was approved, but what happens when the assumptions behind it no longer reflect reality?
In this episode, Aishat explores why reporting against the original budget isn't always enough to support good financial decisions.
We unpack the difference between budgets, reforecasts and revised budgets; why some charities retain their original budget throughout the year while others undertake a formal mid-year review; and how each approach can help management and trustees understand their financial position.
The conversation also considers what happens when ambitious income targets don't...
The Decisions Behind the Numbers
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
The numbers may be accurate, but what do they actually tell us?
An underspend could be a genuine saving — or simply delayed expenditure. A healthy bank balance may not all be available to spend. And a programme that looks expensive may partly reflect how costs have been allocated.
In this episode, Aish...
2026 Small Charities Week – Day 7: What Financially Resilient Small Charities Do Differently
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
What makes a financially resilient charity?
It isn't necessarily a large finance team, sophisticated systems, or substantial reserves.
After more than 25 years working in charity finance, Aishat has seen small charities with...
2026 Small Charities Week – Day 6: The Financial Conversations Small Charity Boards Avoid
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Most trustees don't join a board because they love finance.
They join because they care about a cause, a community, and making a difference.
Yet every board makes financial decisions.
The...
2026 Small Charities Week: Day 5 - How Small Charities Can Build Reserves Without Feeling Guilty
🎁 Download your free Day 5 resource: Building Reserves: A Small Charity Action Plan here
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Most charity leaders agree that reserves are important.
The real challenge is knowing how to build them when funding is tight, demand is increasing, and every pound already feels committed.
In this episode, Aishat moves...
2026 Small Charities Week: Day 4 - Restricted Funds: Looking Beyond the Bank Balance
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Many charity leaders, trustees, and managers have experienced the same conversation:
"We've got money in the bank. Why can't we spend it?"
While restricted and unrestricted funds are often presented as an ac...
2026 Small Charities Week: Day 3 - When One Person Is Holding All the Financial Knowledge
🎁 Download your free Day 3 resource: Finance Resilience Checklist here
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Many small charities rely heavily on one trusted individual to manage the finances.
They know the bookkeeping system, the banking, the payroll, the grant reporting, the passwords, the deadlines, and often the history behind every financial decision.
The probl...
2026 Small Charities Week – Day 2: Cashflow Pressure Doesn't Always Mean Failure
🎁 Download your free Day 2 resource: Cashflow Warning Signs Checklist here
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Cashflow is one of the most common sources of stress for charity leaders, trustees, and finance staff.
A delayed grant payment, an upcoming payroll run, or a lower-than-expected bank balance can quickly create anxiety. But does cashflow pressure automatically mean a chari...
2026 Small Charity Week – Day 1: Strong Finance Without a Big Finance Team
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Small charities are often expected to meet the same financial standards as much larger organisations, but without the same resources, systems, or staffing.
In this opening episode of Small Charities Week 2026, Aishat explores what good finan...
What Trustees Should Expect From Management Accounts. And What They Shouldn't
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
In this episode, Aishat explores what management accounts are really designed to do, why they matter for good governance, and how trustees can use them to support better decision-making. She discusses the difference between receiving information and creating understanding, the role of judgement in financial oversight, and why asking the right questions often matters more th...
Reporting by Activity: Does Your Reporting Reflect How You Operate?
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
In this episode, Aishat explores a question many charities are quietly wrestling with as discussions around the updated Charity SORP continue:
Should charities continue reporting expenditure under one broad “charitable activities” heading, or is it time to break reporting down by programme, service area, or activity?
This is not simply a techni...
Where Are Your Reserves, Really? Looking Beyond the Headline Figure
Pick up a copy of my newly published interactive, activity-based resource designed to help build confidence with charity finance terminology:: Charity Finance A–Z: A Creative Crossword & Colouring Book
Or explore the glossary-style guide: Charity Finance from A - Z
Reserves are often expressed as months of expenditure, which can feel reassuring — but the reality is often more nuanced. A charity may report healthy reserves and still experience periods where cash feels tight or flexibility feels limited.
This episode explores why reserves do not always match the bank balance, particularly in larger or more...
Two Years In: Reflections on Governance, Finance and Decision-Making
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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This episode marks two years of the podcast with a quiet reflection on what has emerged through conversations with trustees, CEOs and charity leaders.
Across organisations of different sizes, some themes continue to appear and at the same time, there are encouraging shifts.
This episode explores how governance conversations are evolving, why...
Why Reserves Don’t Appear on the Face of Charity Accounts
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In this episode, I respond to a question I hear often in boardrooms when presenting final accounts:
“Why aren’t the reserves shown on the face of the accounts?”
It’s a fair question, and a healthy one.
But answering it requires translating between governance thinking and accounting structure, so that wha...
Two Numbers, Two Stories: Cash vs Surplus
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“We’ve got money in the bank, so why are you saying we’re tight?”
This episode tackles one of the most common (and costly) misunderstandings in charity finance: confusing cash with surplus.
In calm, plain English, Aishat explains why these two numbers often tell very different stories; and how mixing them up can l...
Budgets Aren’t Control Tools. They’re Navigation Tools
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In this episode, Aishat reframes one of the most misunderstood tools in charity finance: the budget.
Too often, boards treat budgets as fixed rules; something to stick to perfectly or apologise for when reality doesn’t cooperate. But real life doesn’t behave like a spreadsheet.
This conversation explores why budgets are bett...
SORP 2026: What Trustees of Small Charities Need to Know
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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SORP 2026 is now published, and while it’s often described as a technical accounting update, its biggest implications for small charities are about clarity, explanation, and good governance, not technical detail.
In this episode, Aishat speaks directly to trustees of small charities, particularly those without finance backgrounds or in-house finance teams. The focus is on...
Financial Accountability and Legacy: Leaving the Charity Stronger Than You Found It (Money Matters for Boards)
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In this final episode of our special Trustees Week series, Aishat wraps up the week by exploring what financial stewardship truly means - legacy. It’s not just about clean audits or balanced budgets. It’s about leaving behind clarity, transparency, and systems that make sense long after you’ve stepped down.
Aishat explains how ac...
Restricted, Unrestricted and Reserves: What Trustees Need to Get Right (Money Matters for Boards)
🎁Download: Your Trustees Fund and Reserves Explainer Pack
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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It’s Day 4 of our Trustee Week series, Money Matters for Boards!
So far, we’ve explored how money connects to mission, how to read the numbers, and how budgets can tell your charity’s story.
Today, we’re tackling one of the trickie...
Budgets That Tell the Right Story: Shaping the Numbers Behind Your Mission (Money Matters for Boards)
🎁Download: The Trustee's Budget Review Checklist
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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Welcome to Day 3 of Money Matters for Boards, the Trustees’ Week series on The Nonprofit Bookkeeper. In this episode, Aishat moves from reading numbers to shaping them; because a good budget isn’t just about maths, it’s about meaning.
Too often, budgets are approved in the final...
Trustees and the Numbers: How to Stay on Top Without Getting Lost (Money Matters for Boards)
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
Check out ExpensePlus and sign up for a month's free trial and 10% off your first year's subscription, using my referral link http://expenseplus.co.uk/r/AI-BANC
In this hands-on episode of The Nonprofit Bookkeeper, Aishat takes trustees beyond spreadsheets and into the stories behind the numbers.
Too often, charity boards approve reports without truly understanding them, missing early signs of financial stress. Ais...
Money and Mission: Why Finance Is Everyone’s Responsibility (Money Matters for Boards)
🎁Download your free Money and Mission One Pager
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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This week the focus is on Money Matters for Boards - short solo episodes designed to help trustees lead with confidence, clarity, and calm in all things finance.
In today’s episode, Aishat starts at the heart of every charity: the connection between money and m...
Not Broke, Just Boxed In: What to Do When All Your Funds Are Restricted
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You’ve got money in the bank — but you can’t touch most of it. Sound familiar? In this episode, Aishat breaks down the real challenge behind restricted funds and the feeling of being cash-rich but control-poor.
She explains restricted, unrestricted, and designated funds in plain English and shares how small charities can create breath...
We Can’t Keep Guessing: Why Real-Time Numbers Matter for Small Charities
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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Too many small charities make decisions with phrases like “We think we’re okay” instead of clear, up-to-date numbers.
In this episode, Aishat explores why real-time finance isn’t a luxury - it’s essential for small organisations. From the hidden costs of guessing to practical steps any team can take, this is a guide to m...
Values-Based Budgeting for Nonprofits: Reflecting Your Community Needs, Not Just Your Funders
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In this episode of The Nonprofit Bookkeeper, Aishat breaks down the hidden power of your nonprofit budget; not just as a financial plan, but as a statement of your values. Too many community-based organisations build budgets that speak the language of funders, not the reality of the people they serve.
This episode walks you...
Is your charity built to last or just built to deliver the next project?
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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In this solo episode, Aishat shares a powerful sustainability check-in for community-led charities that are constantly delivering but rarely have space to breathe.
With honest questions and practical reflection points, this episode is for anyone who feels stuck in “project-to-project” mode and wants to shift towards long-term sustainability.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Reserves aren...Income that Fits: What Works (and Doesn’t) for Community-Based Charities
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In this episode of The Nonprofit Bookkeeper, I’m breaking down the income models we hear about all the time (trading, donations, venue hire, partnerships) and frankly talking about what fits and what doesn’t.
If your organisation is stretched thin trying to chase every funding opportunity, or you’ve been told to “diversify your inc...
Audit Panic? How to Be Ready Even If You're a One-Person Finance Team
🎁Download Audit Prep Checklist for Small Charities
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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We’re more than halfway through the year, and if your charity has a December year-end, now’s the time to start thinking about how you’ll close the year and who’s going to audit it.
In this episode, Aishat shares how to prepare for your au...
3 Numbers Every Charity CEO Should Track Monthly
🎁Download The Charity CEO's Finance Cheat Sheet
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Feeling unsure when you look at your charity’s finances? You’re not alone, but you can lead with confidence without being a finance expert. In this episode, Aishat breaks down the three essential numbers every charity CEO should track monthly; and the powerful questions to ask your fi...
Confession of a Nonprofit Bookkeeper: The Quiet Wins, the Messy Bits, and What I’ve Learned
🎁Only available till 27 June is this week’s free #SmallCharityWeek resources
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
Check out ExpensePlus and sign up for a month's free trial and 10% off your first year's subscription, using my referral link http://expenseplus.co.uk/r/AI-BANC
In this special Small Charity Week episode, Aishat opens the ledger and gets honest about life behind the spreadsheets. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of managing finances in the non-profit sector, emphasizing the importance of communication, the human aspect of bookkeeping, and the n...
The Treasurer Isn’t Enough: Shared Financial Responsibility for Charity Boards
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It’s easy to breathe a sigh of relief when there’s a treasurer on the board, someone who “gets the numbers.” But what happens when the rest of the trustees mentally check out? In this episode of The Nonprofit Bookkeeper, host Aishat Idris explores the risks of over-relying on your treasurer and why financial oversight must be...
How to Talk Finance with Non-Finance People
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
Check out ExpensePlus and sign up for a month's free trial and 10% off your first year's subscription, using my referral link http://expenseplus.co.uk/r/AI-BANC
In this episode, Aishat explores one of the most overlooked skills in charity leadership: translating finance into plain English.
Whether you're a finance lead, CEO, or trustee, you'll walk away with practical tips on how to mak...
Ethical FX for Charities: Transforming International Payments with Robert Hayward of GoodFX
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
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In this insightful episode, Aishat engages with Rob Hayward, the visionary behind GoodFX, a B Corp-certified financial institution. They delve into the genesis of GoodFX, its mission to repurpose FX costs for charitable causes, and the broader implications of ethical finance in today's world. Rob sheds light on the disparities in the financial sector, the challenges...
Budgeting Through a Funding Crisis: How to Lead with Clarity When the Money’s Tight
🎁 Resource update: This download has been retired. Visit BAnC Services for our latest charity finance resources.
Grab your copy of my book Charity Finance from A - Z
Check out ExpensePlus and sign up for a month's free trial and 10% off your first year's subscription, using my referral link http://expenseplus.co.uk/r/AI-BANC
In this episode, walks through a clear, five-step budgeting response framework to help protect your organisation’s mission, people, and financial future when funding feels uncertain. So, whether your major grant has fallen through, donations are dipping, or opera...
Why Financial Planning Is Non-Negotiable for Nonprofits Right Now
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In this episode of The Nonprofit Bookkeeper, Aisha breaks down why financial planning isn’t just for large charities with big teams—it's a lifeline for small nonprofits and social enterprises navigating funding cuts, rising costs, and uncertainty.
Whether you’re a solo founder, stretched team, or trustee wearing multiple hats, this episode will help y...
