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Nonprofit Chart of Accounts Template
A starter chart with 60 accounts, each mapped to where it lands on the Form 990, plus a shared-cost allocation worksheet. Built on the two net asset classes that have applied since 2018 — not the three most templates still use.
Download Excel Template →
+ Structure Guide PDF
Format: Excel + PDF
Accounts: 60
PDF Pages: 2
Updated: September 2026
XLS+PDF
Chart of Accounts Pack
3 tabs + 2 pages · ~155 KB · 100% free · No signup required
What’s Inside the Template
A chart of accounts is not a list of categories. It is the shape of every report you will ever produce. Get the structure right once and your board packet, your audit, and your Form 990 all fall out of it. Get it wrong and you rebuild the same numbers by hand, every month, indefinitely.
Excel · 3 Tabs
The Chart Itself
- 60 accounts across seven numbered ranges
- Type and normal balance for each
- Restriction tracking column
- Form 990 part mapped per account
- Notes on what each account is really for
- Numbering gaps so you can add later
Excel · Tab 2
Allocation Worksheet
- Shared costs listed with a defensible basis
- Program / M&G / fundraising percentage columns
- A column for where the basis is documented
- Square footage, headcount, time study
- Fill once, review annually
- Answers the question auditors ask
PDF · 2 Pages
Structure Guide
- Why the numbering ranges are what they are
- Two net asset classes, and the retired terms
- Why board-designated is not restricted
- Tracking restriction without doubling the chart
- Four accounts small organizations miss
- How to adopt it without breaking the year
The Four Decisions That Matter More Than the Account List
Anyone can hand you sixty account names. The value is in four structural choices — and most templates get at least one of them wrong.
Decision 1
2 classes
Net assets, done correctly
FASB ASU 2016-14 replaced three classes with two: without donor restrictions and with donor restrictions, effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. If a chart still says “unrestricted” or “temporarily restricted,” it is using language retired years ago — and auditors notice.
Decision 2
1 account
Restriction is a dimension, not a duplicate
The common mistake is parallel accounts — “Contributions” and “Restricted Contributions” side by side. That doubles the chart and still does not tell you what remains restricted. Keep one account and track restriction separately, with classes, funds or tags.
Decision 3
3 ways
Every expense splits three ways
Form 990 Part IX requires program services, management and general, and fundraising. If the chart is not built for that split, someone reconstructs it by hand every spring. Build it in now and Part IX becomes a report rather than a project.
Decision 4
10 gaps
Number by tens, on purpose
Accounts are numbered with gaps so adding 6120 next year is trivial. Renumbering a live chart is not — every historical report quietly changes meaning, and comparisons across years stop being trustworthy.
Four Accounts Small Organizations Usually Miss
These four are absent from most small-nonprofit charts, and each one causes a specific, recurring problem.
1
1100 · Undeposited Funds
Must clear to zero at year end. A balance sitting here means deposits were recorded twice, or not at all — and it is one of the first things a reviewer checks.
2
2200 · Refundable Advances
Conditional grant money you have received but not yet earned. It is a liability. Recording it as revenue overstates your year and understates next year’s.
3
4210 · Direct Benefit Costs
The dinner at your gala. It reduces the contribution portion of a ticket and drives the quid pro quo disclosure required for payments over $75.
4
4900 · Released from Restriction
The most frequently skipped entry in small-nonprofit bookkeeping. Without it, restricted balances only ever grow, and your available cash looks smaller than it actually is.
Who This Template Is For
NP
New Organizations
Setting up books for the first time, and better off starting correctly than migrating later.
BK
Bookkeepers
Inheriting a chart that grew by accident, with duplicate accounts and no allocation logic.
ED
Executive Directors
Tired of financial reports that cannot answer the question the board actually asked.
TR
Treasurers
Preparing for a first audit and discovering the books were never built for one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really free?
Yes. No email address, no signup, no gate. Download either file directly.
How many net asset classes should a nonprofit have?
Two. FASB ASU 2016-14 replaced the previous three-class model with net assets without donor restrictions and net assets with donor restrictions, effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The older terms — unrestricted, temporarily restricted, and permanently restricted — should no longer appear on your statements.
Are board-designated funds restricted?
No. A board setting money aside is a management decision, not a donor restriction, and the same board can undesignate it. Board-designated amounts belong as a sub-account under net assets without donor restrictions, never under net assets with donor restrictions.
Should I create separate accounts for restricted revenue?
Generally no. Parallel accounts double the size of your chart and still do not show what remains restricted. Keep one revenue account and track restriction as a separate dimension using classes, funds, or tags, then use a released-from-restriction account when conditions are met.
How do I split expenses for Form 990?
Form 990 Part IX requires expenses reported across program services, management and general, and fundraising. Direct costs go where they belong. Shared costs need a documented basis — square footage for rent, headcount for insurance and technology, a time study or reviewed estimate for salaries. Write the basis down; being unable to explain how you decided is the part that is not defensible.
Can I change my chart of accounts mid-year?
You can, but it makes year-over-year comparison painful. Change it at the start of a fiscal year where possible, map old accounts to new ones in writing before migrating, keep that mapping with your year-end file, and make retired accounts inactive rather than deleting them so history stays intact.
How many accounts should we have?
Fewer than you think. A chart of sixty accounts that everyone uses correctly is worth more than two hundred that people guess at. Start small, and add an account only when you have twice needed a number the chart could not give you.
Related Resources
Want the chart set up properly the first time?
Rebuilding a chart of accounts is the kind of work that is much cheaper to do once, correctly, than to unwind after two years of reports. We set up and maintain books for small and mid-size 501(c)(3) organizations.
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