Understanding the Dashboard

The dashboard is your home base in NP Ledger. It shows your cash position, fund balances, recent transactions, and any items that need your attention -- all in one place.

Your dashboard is designed to answer the question every nonprofit leader asks: "How are we doing financially right now?" Instead of running reports, you can check your dashboard for a quick snapshot of cash on hand, fund balances, and anything that needs action.

• You should have at least one transaction recorded to see meaningful data (see Quick Entry)
• An empty dashboard shows guided setup cards to help you get started

This page is a guided tour of your dashboard sections rather than a linear task flow.

Alerts and action items

1. Check the top of the dashboard for any alert banners. These include overdue Form 990 filings, giving statement reminders, auto-revocation risk warnings, and failed donation recordings. Each alert includes a link to fix the issue.

Quick Entry shortcuts

1. Use the Quick Entry cards at the top to jump straight into recording a transaction. The four options -- Record Payment, Record Donation, Record Revenue, and Record In-Kind -- take you directly to Quick Entry with that type pre-selected.

Cash and fund balances

1. Review your Cash Position. This shows your total cash across all bank accounts at a glance.
2. Check Runway. This tells you roughly how many days of operating cash you have based on your recent spending, with a status badge (Healthy, Caution, or Low).
3. Review Bank & Cash. This shows each bank account and its current balance in NP Ledger. Click "View all" to see the full list.
4. Review Fund Balances. Each fund shows its current balance. Restricted funds (money that can only be spent on a specific purpose) appear alongside unrestricted funds. The total represents your net assets -- what your organization has after accounting for all obligations.

Activity and trends

1. Check Year-to-Date Giving to compare this year's donations to last year at the same point, plus a projected annual total.
2. See your Top Donors This Year ranked by total giving in the current fiscal year (your fiscal year is the 12-month period your organization uses for financial reporting).
3. Check Recurring Revenue to see your recurring giving patterns and monthly recurring revenue.

Upcoming deadlines

1. Review Upcoming Deadlines for any approaching due dates, including filing deadlines and compliance tasks. Items are badged by urgency.

Recent activity

1. Scan Recent Transactions to see the last posted transactions at a glance, including date, type, amount, and description.

• Fund balances should match what you expect based on recent activity
• If you just recorded a transaction, it should appear in Recent Transactions
• Any alert banners at the top deserve attention before they become urgent

• Confusing bank balance with fund balance -- Bank balances show cash in each account. Fund balances show how that money is categorized by purpose. They answer different questions.
• Ignoring alert banners -- Alerts about Form 990 filings, giving statements, or failed donation recordings have real compliance consequences. Address them before they become urgent.
• Empty dashboard panic -- A blank dashboard just means you haven't recorded any transactions yet. Use the Quick Entry cards or the guided setup prompts to get started.