NONPROFIT ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL OPERATIONS
Financial Operations Built Around Your Organization
At Chicago Bookkeeping Solutions LLC, we specialize in nonprofit financial operations, from monthly bookkeeping and grant tracking to Form 990 filing and financial reporting. Every service is built for 501(c)(3) organizations operating in the real world: program-funded, audit-conscious, and mission-driven.
Monthly bookkeeping is the foundation. It establishes accurate books aligned with both your programs and your Form 990 reporting structure. Everything else—bill payment, budgeting, tax preparation, and grant reporting—builds on that foundation. Services are scoped to what your organization actually needs, not packaged around what sounds comprehensive.
CORE MONTHLY SERVICE
Reliable Financial Records Are the Foundation of Every Engagement
Every engagement begins with reliable monthly accounting: reconciliations, transaction review and classification, balance-sheet management, and financial operations reporting delivered through your client portal. Whether your organization is preparing a grant report, reviewing performance with the board, or approaching its annual Form 990, accurate and well-structured records are the foundation on which everything else depends.
ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT
Bill Payment & Invoicing
Outgoing bills and vendor payments managed through a secure approval workflow. Designed for nonprofits handling grant reimbursements, contractor invoices, or multi-approver payment processes.
Form 990 Preparation & Filing
Form 990 preparation and e-filing, including the Illinois AG990-IL where applicable. Because your books are structured to align with Form 990 reporting from the start, year-end filing becomes a natural extension of the work already completed, not a separate reconstruction project.
Budgeting & Forecasting
Funder-ready budgets, multi-scenario forecasts, and budget-to-actual reporting built around your programs and funding sources. Useful for grant applications, board presentations, and annual planning.
Custom Reporting
Board financial packets, program-level expense reports, and grant budget summaries tailored to your funders and governance requirements. Reporting is designed around the information leadership must understand and the obligations the organization must satisfy.
HOW FEES ARE DETERMINED
A Predictable Fee Based on the Work Required
Revenue-based pricing can create a budgeting problem for nonprofits. Revenue may change sharply when a grant is awarded even though the underlying accounting workload remains largely the same.
Our pricing begins with gross expenses rather than revenue because expenses more closely reflect the organization’s operational footprint: the programs it runs, the staff it supports, and the vendors and systems required to sustain the work.
Your monthly fee is calculated annually using the organization’s actual financial data, including gross expenses, average monthly transaction volume, the number of reconciled accounts, reporting requirements, funding complexity, and the services included in the engagement.
The fee remains stable each month and is reviewed annually as the organization’s operations and service needs change. Historical cleanup, implementation, and other one-time projects are scoped separately.
What This Means for Your Organization
No hourly billing for work included in the ongoing engagement.
A defined annual scope and predictable monthly expense.
- No midyear fee increase solely because revenue grows or a new grant is received.
- A fee based on the financial work the organization actually requires.
Your Tech Stack: Built for Modern Nonprofit Operations
Nonprofits need more than spreadsheets and scattered logins. We help implement and maintain a connected financial technology structure that supports the organization, simplifies compliance, and reduces unnecessary administrative work.
Core platforms may include QuickBooks Online, Melio, Givebutter, and the secure client portal. Each system is selected and configured around the organization’s actual workflows. Some tools may be managed directly by your team, while full-service support is available when the financial workflow is included within the engagement.
The right technology structure reduces duplicate entry, strengthens documentation, and removes the administrative bottleneck between leadership and reliable financial information.
QuickBooks Online Through TechSoup
Determining Whether the Relationship Is a Fit
Chicago Bookkeeping Solutions primarily works with small and midsize nonprofits that need an ongoing financial relationship rather than isolated transaction processing. The first conversation is used to understand the organization, its records, its reporting obligations, and the financial questions leadership is trying to answer.