CPA and Accountant Tools

NP Ledger includes a dedicated dashboard and export package for CPAs and accountants. If your accountant or auditor needs access to your books, you can invite them with the Accountant role and point them to these tools.

When it's time for your annual audit or 990 filing, your CPA needs a specific set of documents: trial balance, general ledger, financial statements, bank reconciliations, and net asset details. Instead of exporting each report individually and emailing files back and forth, the PBC (Prepared by Client) Export bundles everything into a single ZIP download. This saves hours of back-and-forth and ensures your CPA gets consistent, complete data.

• The CPA Dashboard and PBC Export require a Standard plan or higher
• The user must have an Accountant role or higher (see Roles and Permissions)
• At least one fiscal year set up, with recorded transactions in it, so the reports have data to show

Accessing the CPA Dashboard

1. Click "CPA Dashboard" in the sidebar (near the top, just under your main Dashboard link). This link appears for users with the Accountant role, so the usual flow is to invite your accountant with that role and point them here.
2. Review the dashboard sections:
   • Trial Balance Summary: Total assets, liabilities, and net assets for the current fiscal year, with a balanced/unbalanced indicator
   • Fund Balances: All active funds with their current balances and restriction type. Overspent restricted funds are flagged.
   • Form 990 Filing Status: Whether a 990 worksheet exists for the most recent completed fiscal year, and its current state (not started, in progress, or complete)
   • Recent Adjusting Entries: The last 10 adjusting journal entries, with links to each transaction
   • Reconciliation Status: Last reconciled date and statement balance for each bank account

Downloading the PBC Export

The PBC Export generates a ZIP file organized into folders that match the standard audit request list.

1. Open the PBC Export from the CPA Dashboard. Click the PBC Export tile in the Quick Links row at the bottom of the dashboard. (It isn't a separate sidebar item.)
2. Select a fiscal year from the dropdown.
3. Choose what to include. Two optional sections are checked by default; uncheck either to leave it out:
   • Bank Reconciliation Reports adds a PDF for every completed reconciliation in the selected fiscal year.
   • Form 990 Worksheet adds the Form 990 worksheet PDF if one exists for that year.
4. Click "Generate & Download." The ZIP file downloads when it's ready (large packages with many reconciliations may take a moment).

What's in the ZIP

Tip: Share the ZIP with your CPA via a secure file-sharing method. The export contains financial data for the entire fiscal year.

Sharing the CPA Communication Letter

NP Ledger can generate a letter you can hand to your accountant that explains how the system handles fund accounting, with your organization's details already filled in.

1. Open the Getting Started guide. The quickest way in is the "Read the full guide" link on the Getting Started checklist on your dashboard.
2. Scroll to the "Resources" section and click CPA Communication Letter (PDF). The letter downloads as a PDF.

• The CPA Dashboard loads with current fiscal year data and all sections populated
• The PBC Export ZIP contains the expected folders and files
• Financial statement totals in the export match what you see in your regular reports

• Exporting before closing the period: The PBC export reflects whatever is currently posted. If you haven't finished entering transactions or making adjustments for the fiscal year, the export will be incomplete. Close the period first (see Closing an Accounting Period).
• Wrong fiscal year selected: Double-check the fiscal year in the dropdown before exporting. The ZIP filename includes the fiscal year for easy identification.
• Missing reconciliations: If the Bank Reconciliations folder is empty, it means no reconciliations were completed for that fiscal year's date range. Complete your reconciliations before exporting.

Accountant note: The PBC Export is designed to satisfy a standard audit request list for a small 501(c)(3). The trial balance and general ledger are computed from posted transactions only (drafts and voids excluded). Financial statements follow ASU 2016-14 presentation requirements, including the Statement of Functional Expenses with natural and functional classification. The net asset roll-forward separates activity by restriction class (without donor restrictions / with donor restrictions).