Charity accounting

Based on your answers, you should prepare fully accrued accounts. Fully accrued accounts record all the transactions of the charity in the financial year and include income which a charity is due to receive and expenses which are due to be met.  Fully accrued accounts must be prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (the SORP).  They are required for charities with a gross income of £250,000 or more, or if specified by the charity’s governing document or other legislative requirements or trustees. 

See our guidance with more information about how to prepare fully accrued accounts: 

After reading the guidance, you should be able to prepare your accounts and annual information in the correct format. 

Annual reporting information should be sent to us through our online service, OSCR Online. You must complete an online annual return every year, within 9 months of your charity’s financial year-end date, to send us this information. 

As part of the online annual return, you will be asked questions about your charity, its finances and how the charity is run. All the questions should be straightforward to answer for anyone who has a good understanding of how the charity operates. You should also upload your required annual accounts, Trustees’ Annual Report and external scrutiny report. 

Find more information on how to do this here: 

Based on your answers, you can prepare receipts and payments accounts. Receipts and payments accounts are created using a simple form of accounting that summarises all monies received and paid via the bank and in cash by the charity during its financial year, along with a statement of balances at the financial year-end. They are suitable for most small non-company charities with a gross annual income under £250,000 and where there is no requirement within the charity’s governing document or by funders or the charity trustees to prepare fully accrued accounts. 

See our guidance with more information about how to prepare receipts and payments accounts: 

After reading the guidance, you should be able to prepare your accounts and annual information in the correct format. 

Annual reporting information should be sent to us through our online service, OSCR Online. You must complete an online annual return every year, within 9 months of your charity’s financial year-end date, to send us this information. 

As part of the online annual return, you will be asked questions about your charity, its finances and how the charity is run. All the questions should be straightforward to answer for anyone who has a good understanding of how the charity operates. You should also upload your required annual accounts, Trustees’ Annual Report and external scrutiny report. 

Find more information on how to do this here: