Walking Through the Setup Wizard

When you sign up for NP Ledger, the setup wizard walks you through creating your organization step by step. You'll name your organization, set up your chart of accounts, add bank accounts, create restricted funds, and optionally import existing data. The whole process takes about 5–10 minutes.

The setup wizard creates the foundation your books will be built on — your chart of accounts structure, fund categories, and bank accounts. Getting these right from the start saves time later. Don't worry if you're not sure about every detail: you can add, rename, or reorganize everything after setup.

• You need an NP Ledger account (sign up at the login page if you don't have one)
• Have your organization's basic info handy: name, EIN (optional), and fiscal year start month
• If migrating from another system, export your chart of accounts and contacts as CSV files beforehand

Step 1: Create your organization

1. Enter your organization name. This is the display name you and your team will see throughout NP Ledger.
2. Optionally fill in:
3. Legal name — your organization's formal legal name, if different from the display name
4. EIN — your Employer Identification Number (format: XX-XXXXXXX), used for Form 990 reporting
5. Mailing address — street, city, state, and ZIP, helpful for tax filings
6. Choose your currency — defaults to USD.
7. Select your fiscal year start month. Most nonprofits use July (July–June fiscal year) or January (calendar year). This determines how your accounting periods are organized.
8. Click Continue.

Tip: Not sure which fiscal year to pick? Many nonprofits use July–June because grant cycles often align with fiscal years that don't match the calendar year. If you're new, January–December (calendar year) is the simplest option.

Step 2: Set up your chart of accounts

The chart of accounts page has two tabs — you can switch between them without losing your place:

Tab 1: Use a template (recommended for most organizations)

1. Pick one of three templates:
2. Small Nonprofit — a general-purpose chart with about 25 accounts covering common categories like donations, grants, salaries, rent, and office supplies
3. Church / Ministry — tailored for faith-based organizations with accounts for tithes, offerings, missions, and building funds
4. Arts / Cultural — designed for theaters, museums, and arts organizations with accounts for ticket sales, artist fees, and production costs
5. Click Continue. The template creates your full chart of accounts instantly. You can customize it later.

Tab 2: Import from CSV (for migrations)

If you're moving from QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or another accounting tool:

1. Switch to the "Import from CSV" tab.
2. Upload your chart of accounts CSV. The system auto-detects common column names (Account, Name, Type, Code). Expand the instructions panel for export steps specific to your old system.
3. Review the preview. Each account shows its detected type (asset, liability, revenue, expense, etc.). If any types were guessed, they're flagged — you can correct them inline using the dropdown.
4. Click Import. Your accounts are created with the correct types and GL codes.

Step 3: Import contacts (optional)

1. Upload a contacts CSV with columns for name, email, phone, address, role (supporter, vendor, or both), and donor category (individual, corporate, foundation, government).
2. Review the preview — duplicate names are highlighted with a warning badge.
3. Click Import.

Tip: This step is optional. Click Skip for now if you'd rather add contacts later from the Supporters or Vendors pages.

Step 4: Add your bank accounts

1. Enter a name for each bank account (e.g., "Main Checking," "Savings").
2. Choose the account type: Checking, Savings, Cash, PayPal, Venmo, Mercury, Credit Card, or Other.
3. Optionally enter the institution name (e.g., "Chase Bank") and last 4 digits of the account number.
4. Click "Add another account" to add more, or use the quick-add buttons (Checking, Savings, PayPal, Venmo, Mercury) for common types.
5. Click Continue.

Each bank account automatically gets a matching ledger account in your chart of accounts.

Tip: You can skip this step and add bank accounts later, but having at least one makes it easier to record transactions right away.

Step 5: Set up restricted funds

NP Ledger automatically creates a General Fund for your unrestricted money. This step lets you add restricted funds if you need them.

1. Review the General Fund card — it's already created and ready to use.
2. Add restricted funds if you have grants, donor-restricted gifts, or pass-through donations that need separate tracking:
3. Enter a fund name (e.g., "Building Fund," "Youth Program Grant")
4. Choose a purpose:
   • For our programs — money restricted for your organization's use
   • Pass-through — money you're holding on behalf of another organization (automatically creates a liability account for tracking)
5. If "For our programs," choose a restriction type: purpose-restricted, time-restricted, or both
6. Click Continue.

Tip: If you're not sure whether you need restricted funds, skip this step. You can create funds at any time from the Funds page. Most small nonprofits start with just the General Fund.

Step 6: Import existing transactions (optional)

If you have transactions in a spreadsheet from your old system:

1. Click "Go to Spreadsheet Import" to open the import tool. This generates a personalized template with your accounts and funds pre-loaded as column options.
2. Or click Skip for now — you can use Spreadsheet Import anytime from the sidebar.

Tip: You need at least one bank account before importing transactions. If you skipped Step 4, go back and add one first.

Migrating from QuickBooks? If you import a QuickBooks General Ledger export that includes a Class column, the preview adds a Class → Fund mapping step. QuickBooks has no real funds, so many nonprofits track fund restrictions with Classes — this step maps each class to an NP Ledger fund (or creates one inline) so your history lands in the right funds instead of all going to the General Fund. See Mapping QuickBooks Classes to Funds.

Multi-year history with renumbered accounts? If your QuickBooks chart of accounts was renumbered or restructured over the years, the GL export carries each account's old code. The preview adds an Account Code Mapping step that lists every retired code that doesn't match your current accounts and lets you map each one to its current account — once. NP Ledger remembers the mapping and reuses it on every later import. See Mapping Historical Account Codes. On an import that needs both, resolve the account codes first, then the classes.

Step 7: Set opening balances (optional)

This step records the balance of each account as of your switchover date. It's most useful if you're migrating from another system, but you can set opening balances at any time.

1. Set your cutoff date — the date you're switching to NP Ledger, usually the start of your fiscal year.
2. Enter the balance for each balance sheet account (assets, liabilities, and net assets). You can find these numbers on the Trial Balance report from your previous system.
3. Check the balance indicator at the top — it shows whether your total assets equal your total liabilities plus net assets.
4. If balanced, click Continue.
5. If unbalanced, you have three options:
6. Fix now — add the difference to Net Assets
7. Fix later — park the difference in an Opening Balance Equity suspense account (you can resolve it later)
8. Go back — re-check your numbers

Accountant note: Opening balances create a journal entry dated as of the cutoff date with debits to asset accounts and credits to liability and net asset accounts. If an Opening Balance Equity suspense account is used, it should be resolved by reclassifying the balance to the correct net asset accounts before your first fiscal year close.

Step 8: Invite your team (optional)

1. Review the tips about inviting your team and enabling two-factor authentication.
2. Click Finish setup (or Skip for now if you're setting things up on your own).

Final: Review & go to dashboard

After the invite step, NP Ledger shows a Finish Setup summary that lists what you completed and what you skipped. Each skipped step has a Finish now deep link so you can come back later without losing your place. When you're happy with the summary, click Go to dashboard.

Note: If you used the Fix later option on the opening balances step, the dashboard shows a persistent banner reminding you to resolve the Opening Balance Equity suspense account. Click Resolve to jump back to the opening-balances wizard.

Look for the Getting Started checklist on your dashboard for guided next steps.

If you leave the wizard before finishing, you can pick up where you left off:

• Log in and visit the setup page — the wizard shows a checklist of completed and remaining steps
• Click the next incomplete step to resume from there
• Your previously entered data (organization, accounts, funds) is saved

• Your organization name and fiscal year appear correctly in the sidebar
• Your chart of accounts is visible at Accounting > Chart of Accounts
• Bank accounts appear in Bank & Cash
• Funds appear on the Funds page (at minimum, the General Fund)
• The Getting Started checklist appears on your dashboard

• Wrong fiscal year start month — You can change this later at Organization > Settings, but it's easier to get it right during setup. Check with your board or accountant if you're not sure.
• Skipping bank accounts — Without at least one bank account, you can't record most transactions. Add one even if you plan to set up bank feeds later. Skipped steps show up on the Finish Setup summary so you can come back to them.
• Importing an incompatible CSV — The chart of accounts import expects columns like Account, Name, and Type. If your export has a different format, check the instructions panel on the import page for your specific provider.
• Unbalanced opening balances — If your trial balance doesn't balance, double-check that you're using the same date and report from your old system. It's fine to use the "Fix later" option and resolve the difference after setup.