The exemption stays safe
Every federal and state deadline tracked in one calendar, with reminders that reach a person.
Nonprofit
Compliance that protects the exemption you worked to get
Fund accounting, restricted grant tracking, Form 990 and the California filings that quietly cause more revocations than anything else.
Exemption is granted once and maintained forever
Most organisations that lose tax-exempt status do not lose it for anything dramatic. They lose it because three consecutive Form 990-series returns were not filed, or because the California Registry of Charities suspended their registration for a missed RRF-1.
Both are administrative, both are avoidable, and both are far harder to reverse than to prevent.
What we handle
Fund accounting that keeps restricted and unrestricted net assets genuinely separate, grant tracking that produces the reports funders require, and board-ready financial statements in the format a nonprofit board can actually read.
Plus the filings: Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N federally, Form 199 and RRF-1 in California, and the Form 1023 or 1023-EZ application for organisations that are still forming.
Included
What you get
501(c)(3) applications
Form 1023 or 1023-EZ prepared with the narrative, budget and governance documents the IRS expects.
Fund accounting
Restricted, temporarily restricted and unrestricted funds tracked properly rather than reconciled at year end.
Grant tracking & reporting
Expenditure by grant and by programme, in the format funders ask for.
Form 990 preparation
990, 990-EZ or 990-N, plus Schedule A public support testing — which catches organisations out more often than any other schedule.
California filings
Form 199 and the annual RRF-1 with the Registry of Charities, filed on time every year.
Board financial packages
Statements and commentary written to be understood by volunteers, not only by accountants.
Why it matters
What changes for you
Public support test monitored
We watch the five-year rolling calculation so a large gift does not quietly threaten public charity status.
Funders get what they ask for
Grant reporting produced from the accounting system rather than rebuilt by hand each time.
A 990 that reads well
Form 990 is a public document that donors read. We prepare it as a disclosure, not just a filing.
The process
How the engagement runs
01
Compliance review
Filing history, registration status and current accounting structure checked against requirements.
02
Structure the accounting
Funds, programmes and grants set up so reporting comes out of the system.
03
Monthly or quarterly close
Statements and board packages on a fixed schedule.
04
Annual filings
Form 990, Form 199 and RRF-1 prepared, reviewed with the board, and filed.
Questions
Nonprofit Accounting, answered
Still not sure? Ask us directly — the first conversation costs nothing and we will tell you honestly whether this is what you need.
One missed year is recoverable — file it, and request penalty abatement where reasonable cause exists. Three consecutive missed years triggers automatic revocation of exempt status, which requires a new exemption application to undo. If you are at one or two, act now.
In California, charities above a revenue threshold must have an audited financial statement filed with the Registry, and many grantmakers require one regardless of size. We prepare organisations for audit and work with the independent auditor, but we do not audit clients whose books we keep.
Yes. We prepare Form 1023 or 1023-EZ, including the activity narrative and projected budgets, and advise on the governance documents the IRS expects to see alongside them.
Related
Often needed alongside this
Bookkeeping & Monthly Close
Reconciled every month, closed on a schedule, and delivered with a short note explaining what changed. Not a shoebox reconstructed in March.
Learn more
Payroll & Worker Classification
Running payroll is the easy part. Staying on the right side of the EDD, wage orders, sick-leave accrual and worker classification is where employers actually get hurt.
Learn more
Individual & Business Tax Preparation
Every return we file is prepared by a licensed professional, reviewed by a second set of eyes, and walked through with you before it is signed. No surprises in April, no letters in October.
Learn more
Let’s talk about your nonprofit accounting.
A thirty-minute call, no charge, and a fixed quote before anything begins. If we are not the right firm for this, we will tell you that too.