The new budget announced earlier also reminds us about what is happening in UK charities (some quite useful things we think) and so this article is on some news on how things are changing for charities in terms of gift aid and how to account for your charity too.
The budget brings some interesting news. In short the government are introducing some systems to make giving easier. This is fantastic news for charities and the recipients of charitable giving.
In 2013 starting in April of that year if you are a charity and you receive a donation of ten pounds or under you are in luck! In future charities won't have to get declarations from people for gift aid for those small donations. Instead we understand the charity will be able to apply for a type of 'gift aid' repayment without the usual donor declarations.
Unfortunately this will not be 'unlimited'. There will be a cap on how much charities can receive in these types of small donations but every little helps! It seems the cap will be five thousand pounds for each charity for a year and there will be some rules on who can receive this. Obviously there will be more information on the whole picture released as details are expanded and our coalition government is apparently going to talk with all relevant parties so watch this space!
We also hear that there will be a new online submission system so that a charity can log details for all things gift-aid. We understand that all of these changes will be taken forward in consultation with charities. It also seems that an important thrust of all of these systems is about reducing red tape. All of us will appreciate that.
You may have heard of SORP if you are a charity or have been inspired to start one. 'SORP' stands for 'Statement of Recommended Practice' and provides guidelines for how to account for charities. You can find several small business accounting programs suitable for charities. Some even offer free help on how to account for the type of transactions that charities need to make.
In the UK there are certain rules which must be followed if you are accounting for your charity. Depending on turnover differing tests are carried out by examiners. In some cases the examiner will need to be a member of an approved professional organisation. Depending on your turnover you may have to undergo a full audit. Please check with HMRC about all of these changes to make sure you are doing everything correctly! This article is as far as I know correct at the time of writing but you will need to make sure you are following the new guidelines by checking yourself or asking your accountant to help.
So in order to stay in full control of your charity you will almost certainly need the right small business accounting program and there are several on the market to choose from. Make sure the software you opt for can make transactions to reflect exactly what you need to do for your charity. If possible trial the software first to make sure your charity can use it to good effect.
The budget brings some interesting news. In short the government are introducing some systems to make giving easier. This is fantastic news for charities and the recipients of charitable giving.
In 2013 starting in April of that year if you are a charity and you receive a donation of ten pounds or under you are in luck! In future charities won't have to get declarations from people for gift aid for those small donations. Instead we understand the charity will be able to apply for a type of 'gift aid' repayment without the usual donor declarations.
Unfortunately this will not be 'unlimited'. There will be a cap on how much charities can receive in these types of small donations but every little helps! It seems the cap will be five thousand pounds for each charity for a year and there will be some rules on who can receive this. Obviously there will be more information on the whole picture released as details are expanded and our coalition government is apparently going to talk with all relevant parties so watch this space!
We also hear that there will be a new online submission system so that a charity can log details for all things gift-aid. We understand that all of these changes will be taken forward in consultation with charities. It also seems that an important thrust of all of these systems is about reducing red tape. All of us will appreciate that.
You may have heard of SORP if you are a charity or have been inspired to start one. 'SORP' stands for 'Statement of Recommended Practice' and provides guidelines for how to account for charities. You can find several small business accounting programs suitable for charities. Some even offer free help on how to account for the type of transactions that charities need to make.
In the UK there are certain rules which must be followed if you are accounting for your charity. Depending on turnover differing tests are carried out by examiners. In some cases the examiner will need to be a member of an approved professional organisation. Depending on your turnover you may have to undergo a full audit. Please check with HMRC about all of these changes to make sure you are doing everything correctly! This article is as far as I know correct at the time of writing but you will need to make sure you are following the new guidelines by checking yourself or asking your accountant to help.
So in order to stay in full control of your charity you will almost certainly need the right small business accounting program and there are several on the market to choose from. Make sure the software you opt for can make transactions to reflect exactly what you need to do for your charity. If possible trial the software first to make sure your charity can use it to good effect.
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