Restricted and unrestricted funds mixed
Grant income and general funds recorded in one ledger, so the organisation cannot show what is actually available to spend.
NGOs & Donor-Funded Organisations
NGOs and donor-funded organisations
NGOs, foundations, associations and programmes where every naira must be traceable to a purpose.
Who this is written for: Executive directors, finance managers, programme managers, trustees and grant administrators.
How this sector actually operates
Donor-funded organisations operate under a different financial discipline from commercial businesses. Money arrives restricted to a purpose, must be spent within a period, must be reported in a prescribed format, and must survive verification. The organisation's credibility — and its ability to win the next grant — depends on whether its records can demonstrate that. Commercial accounting systems, used without adaptation, routinely fail this test.
The problems we address in this sector
These are the issues that recur. They are described as sector problems, not as claims about clients we have worked with.
Grant reporting assembled manually
Donor reports built in spreadsheets from ledger exports each quarter — slow, error-prone and impossible to verify quickly.
Budget versus actual not by grant
Spend against grant budget is unknown until the donor asks, at which point reallocation may no longer be possible.
Cost allocation not documented
Shared costs apportioned across grants on a basis nobody has written down, which is exactly what a verification will challenge.
Multi-currency handling
Foreign currency grants, exchange movements and the difference between budget rate and actual rate are not tracked properly.
Procurement without evidence
Donor procurement rules require quotations, approvals and documentation that a standard purchase process does not produce.
Audit findings that recur
The same finding appears each year because the underlying process was never changed.
The work that follows
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Fund accounting structure
A ledger and dimension structure that separates restricted from unrestricted funds and tracks each grant, project and donor as a distinct reporting unit.
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Grant budget control
Budget by grant and budget line, with spend tracked against it in real time and thresholds that trigger action before a line is exceeded.
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Donor reporting
Reports produced directly from the ledger in each donor's required format, so reporting is a run rather than a rebuild.
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Cost allocation policy
A documented allocation basis for shared and overhead costs, applied consistently and defensible on verification.
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Multi-currency management
Recording grants, expenditure and exchange movements properly, and reconciling budget rate to actual rate for donor reporting.
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Procurement and documentation controls
Procurement thresholds, quotation requirements, approval routing and an audit-ready file for each transaction above threshold.
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Grant compliance calendar
Reporting deadlines, audit dates, tranche requests and narrative submissions tracked with responsibility assigned.
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Audit and verification readiness
Preparing the file, schedules and explanations required for donor verification and audit, and addressing recurring findings at source.
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Systems configuration
Configuring the platform for fund, project and donor dimensions, restricted fund control, approval workflows and the reporting described above.
The reporting pack we would build
Reporting is where sector knowledge shows. A generic management pack tells every business the same thing; a useful one reflects how your sector makes money and where it loses it.
- Grant-by-grant budget against actual by budget line
- Fund balance by restricted and unrestricted fund
- Donor financial reports in required format
- Cost allocation applied by grant with the basis shown
- Multi-currency position and exchange movement
- Procurement compliance exceptions
- Commitments and pipeline against confirmed funding
Platforms and services for this sector
Platforms commonly used in this sector
Services we apply here
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is not data entry. Done properly it is the discipline that turns daily transactions into numbers a managing director can rely on. We run t…
Service detailERP & Accounting Software Implementation
Most businesses do not fail with software because they bought the wrong product. They fail because nobody designed how the business would run inside i…
Service detailAudit & Assurance
Assurance work is about giving an independent view — to a board, a lender, a donor or management — that the numbers and the controls behind them hold …
Service detailBusiness Process Improvement
Software only automates the process you give it. If the process is unclear, undocumented and dependent on individuals, the system simply records the c…
Service detailStatutory and technical considerations
Registered trustees and incorporated organisations have filing obligations in Nigeria in addition to donor requirements, and tax treatment of grant income, project income and commercial activity differs. We confirm the applicable obligations for the organisation's registration type and the treatment applicable to each income stream, and we document it so the position is consistent year to year.
We do not publish rates, thresholds or deadlines on this website, because a figure that is out of date is more damaging than no figure at all. Where specific figures matter, they are given in an engagement against the position in force at that date.
Questions we are asked in this sector
Will donors accept your reports?
Agreed-upon procedures and control reviews are commonly requested by donors and funders, and we scope the report to their required format and wording. Confirm the exact requirement with the funder before we start, so there is no argument afterwards.
Do you already work with ngos & donor-funded organisations businesses?
This page describes the operating problems and reporting needs we understand in this sector, and the work that follows from them. It is not a claim about named clients. If you want references in your sector, ask us directly and we will tell you honestly what we can provide.
Do we need an ERP, or is accounting software enough?
It depends on whether your reporting relies on operational data — stock, jobs, production, projects, grants. If it does, accounting software will leave you assembling that data by hand every month, and an ERP is usually the cheaper option over three years. Use the solution finder for a preliminary view, then let us assess it properly.
Can you work with the system we already use?
Usually, yes. We review the configuration and the processes around it first, because many problems described as software problems are configuration or process problems. Where a rebuild is genuinely needed we will say so.
How long before we see a difference?
Some things are quick — a daily reconciliation routine, a proper aged receivables report, an approval framework. Others take a full cycle or two, particularly where data has to be corrected first. We set expectations in the scope rather than promising a timeline we cannot control.
What do you need from us to start?
A named person who can make decisions, access to the records and the systems, and time from the people who do the work. Implementation and process work fail on availability more often than on anything else.
Let’s build a stronger financial foundation for your business.
Tell us what you are dealing with. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, what it would involve and what it would cost.