Set up QuickBooks Online for your charity
Organizational setupTools · about 30 min · Charity owners and treasurers/admins (after IRS recognition)
The nonprofit QuickBooks Online offer comes through TechSoup, which requires 501(c)(3) status.
QuickBooks Online is the charity’s bookkeeping home — and a primary benefit you get through TechSoup at the nonprofit rate.
Clean books from day one make your Form 990, board reporting, and Candid profile far easier later.
Clean books from day one
Set QuickBooks up for nonprofit accounting from the start — a sensible chart of accounts and fund/class tracking — so income and restricted funds are recorded correctly. Fixing messy books later is far harder than starting clean.
- 1
Claim QuickBooks Online via TechSoup
Get the nonprofit offer through TechSoup (see the TechSoup guide) rather than paying retail. Create the company using the charity’s name and email.
- 2
Configure it for a nonprofit
In settings, choose the Nonprofit profile so terminology and reports fit (donors, funds, statements). Set up a simple chart of accounts and use classes/projects to track restricted funds and programs.
- 3
Connect the bank and secure access
Connect the charity’s bank/credit accounts for an automatic transaction feed, and protect the QuickBooks login with MFA (see the MFA guide). Give each person the least access they need.
Store statements and receipts in the charity’s shared drive (see the cloud-storage guides) so bookkeeping records are backed up and shareable.
Common questions
How do I get the nonprofit price?
Through TechSoup — QuickBooks Online is one of its primary benefits. Validate on TechSoup first (see that guide), then claim QuickBooks at the nonprofit rate instead of paying retail.
Why QuickBooks Online instead of the desktop version?
Online means your books are accessible to your treasurer and FFC from anywhere, backed up automatically, and easy to grant least-privilege access to — no single computer holds the only copy.
Next setup guides
Stuck on any step? Text Clarke Moyer at (520) 222-8104 — every step is meant to be simple, so if something doesn't match what you see, ask.