Charities, charities, charities...they’re finally available in Surf Accounts Production! If you're a user of Relate Accounts Production or an accountant who offers services to charities, this is great news for you. It brings the total number of formats offered in Surf AP to ten. The list includes: 

• Sole traders  
• Partnerships   
• LLP’s  
• Companies   
• Schools   
• Farms   
• Charities   
• Industrial and Provident Society 
• Club 
• Credit Union 

Just to place the cherry on top, all entity types include FRS102, FRS Section 1A, and FRS105. Let’s get back to charities.  

The Charity format has proven to be a popular addition to Surf Accounts Production and based on your feedback we just knew there was a home for such a feature in our cloud accounts production platform. There are many time-saving aspects to the format, (especially if you previously used excel) so allows us to run through a couple of benefits that Surf’s users can now enjoy. 

Managing charity funds  

Managing the funds of a charity – a pretty crucial part of the job isn’t it? With Surf Accounts Production, creating and organising each fund can be a breeze. As you know, there are two types of funds: unrestricted funds which can be assigned for any charitable purpose, and restricted funds that are kept for a specific purpose. 

To manage your funds in Surf AP, simply, go to settings, click charity set up and funds, and you'll find the default Unrestricted General and Restricted funds, as well as any user-created funds. From there, you can easily choose to create, open, or delete funds, and even modify default fund descriptions. To create new funds, just click on "New" in the left corner. 

Activities  

Easily create your financial activity statement in Surf. The statement offers an analysis of the charity's activities that interest both the organisation and its accountant. It provides a quick insight to how the charity raises funds and uses them towards fulfilling its end goal. The activities can be analysed on many different things, including the services delivered, projects or programs initiated, or the specific objectives pursued. 

There are 12 main categories of Activities in Surf Accounts Production which fall under either Income or Expenditure. To create an Activity in Surf AP, go to Setting > Charity Setup > Activities. All 12 main Activities will exist here by default. All user created Activities will also show here. 

Compliance Database  

If you're looking for the option to customise your statements, then we can ensure you that you're on the right screen. By clicking Report Information in the compliance database, you can access over 70 customisable fields in the Directors' Report section. This allows you to edit the report to the requirements of your charity, ensuring a personalised touch. 

These user definable fields cover all ranges of items required in the report, for example: 

• Compliance Statement 
• Mission, Objectives, and Strategy 
• Structure, Governance and Management 
• Committee Details 
• Financial Review 
• 10 User Defined Additional Paragraphs 

Statement of Financial Activities  

You can easily edit your Statement of Financial Activities with the SoFA section in our compliance database. You can easily adjust one user definable line of text, allowing you to add an extra descriptive breakdown under Income from Charitable Activities. Just remember to remove the default text from the text box to ensure that the additional line appears on your SoFA. 

By using the new charity format, you'll save significant time producing your clients' financial statements. And this blog is just the tip of the iceberg! There are many more benefits to explore. For more details, check out our help page or catch up on our recent compliance webinar specifically focused on charities.  

Curious to see Surf Accounts Production in action? Schedule a free, one-to-one demo with one of our product experts. 

Related articles:

• Saying goodbye to Relate AP (and hello to Surf AP)
• Feature focus: The differences between Relate AP and Surf AP
• The secret to editing financial statements with ease