Program Report

The Program Report shows revenue and expenses for each program you operate, side by side, with a net figure for each. It's the view that answers "is this program sustaining itself, and how does it compare to our other programs?" — useful for board conversations, grant renewal applications, and year-end storytelling.

Most small nonprofits run more than one program, and the board rightly wants to know how each is doing. The Program Report is the fastest way to see per-program totals without having to mentally untangle the general ledger. It also feeds into grant reporting: if a funder asks how much you spent on a specific program during the reporting period, this report is the starting point.

NP Ledger models programs and projects as a two-level hierarchy: a Program is the big activity area (for example, "Youth Mentoring" or "Food Pantry"), and a Project is a specific initiative inside it (for example, "Summer Camp 2026" or "Weekend Backpacks"). Transactions are tagged at the project level, and the Program Report rolls those projects up into program-level totals.

• Programs and projects set up beyond the default "Unassigned" program
• Expense and revenue line items tagged with a project, so they can be attributed to a program

Running the report

1. Go to Reports > Program (in the sidebar).
2. Set the date range using the filter controls.
3. Optionally filter by fiscal year for a quick preset.
4. Optionally click through to a single program for a per-project breakdown.
5. Click "Apply" to generate the report.

Reading the report

For each program, the report shows:

• The program name as a section header
• Revenue — total revenue line items posted to projects under this program
• Expenses — total expense line items posted to projects under this program
• Net — revenue minus expenses for the period, shown when either value is non-zero

Programs with no activity in the selected window don't appear in the report body. If you haven't set up any custom programs, the report will tell you so and direct you to create them.

Exporting the report

1. Click "CSV" for a spreadsheet version — useful for board materials or grant reports.
2. Click "PDF" for a formatted handout.

• Every active program appears. If a program you expect to see is missing, no transactions tagged with its projects have posted in the window.
• Net figures tell a coherent story. A program that has always run at break-even suddenly running a large surplus (or deficit) may indicate a mis-tagged transaction or a timing issue with a grant.
• The "Unassigned" program isn't collecting transactions it shouldn't. If you're seeing significant activity under Unassigned, you're missing program tags on line items that should have been allocated to specific programs.

• Confusing Program with Fund. Programs answer what the money is for (youth mentoring, food pantry, arts education). Funds answer who imposed the restriction on the money (an unrestricted general fund, a grant-restricted fund, a board-designated fund). A single gift can sit in one fund and support one program — or multiple programs through allocation — and the two concepts are tracked separately in NP Ledger. The Program Report summarizes program activity; the Fund Transactions report summarizes fund activity.
• Expecting shared-cost allocation to happen automatically. If shared overhead like rent or executive director salary isn't allocated across programs at the transaction level, the Program Report won't reflect those shared costs in each program's expense total. The Statement of Functional Expenses is the right place to see the management-and-general split; the Program Report reflects whatever tagging you've applied on line items.
• Confusing program revenue with program service revenue. On the Statement of Activities, program service revenue is a specific category (exchange transactions where you deliver a service for a fee). On this report, "Revenue" just means all revenue tagged with a project under the program — which may include contributions, grants, and earned revenue together.