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Operations

Project Accounting for NGOs & CSR

Project accounting for NGOs — fund-wise bookkeeping, FCRA vs local fund segregation, CSR utilisation certificate, donor-specific fund tracking, annual consolidated accounts, and Form 10BD reconciliation.

Reviewed by CA Harun Raaj, ICAI Reg. No. 238303·Last reviewed:
Discuss with usTypical timelineProject Accounting for NGOs & CSR

Project accounting for NGOs — fund-wise bookkeeping, FCRA vs local fund segregation, CSR utilisation certificate, donor-specific fund tracking, annual consolidated accounts, and Form 10BD reconciliation.

What is included
  • • Fund-wise bookkeeping — every project tracked separately
  • • FCRA vs local fund segregation in the books
  • • CA utilisation certificates for CSR and grant receipts
  • • Donor-specific fund tracking and reporting
  • • Annual consolidated accounts and balance sheet by fund
Documents required
  • • Certificate of Incorporation
  • • Entity PAN Card
  • • MOA & AOA
  • • Trust Deed / Society Rules / Memorandum
  • • Registration Certificate (12A / 80G / Section 8)
Government fees

See the fee table below for the statutory filing charge and common delay logic.

Legal basis
  • • FCRA 2010 (fund segregation)
  • • Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014 (utilisation certificate)
  • • Section 80G(5)(viii) (Form 10BD reconciliation)
  • • Sections 11-13 of the Income-tax Act 1961 (income application)
Not included in this service
  • ✕The statutory audit itself — we hand over clean books, the audit is separate
  • ✕The FC-4 / 10BD filings — separate compliance engagements
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Process

How the service works

The workflow is built to be predictable: document collection, legal review, filing, and post-filing follow-through.

Step 1Set up

Set up the fund chart

We structure the chart of accounts fund-wise — donor, project, FCRA vs local, CSR vs grant.

Step 2Book

Run the books monthly

We maintain the books month to month, with project-wise income and expenditure and the FCRA segregation intact.

Step 3Certify

Produce utilisation certificates

We draft the CA utilisation certificates donors and CSR partners require, tied to the fund’s actual books.

Step 4Reconcile

Reconcile to compliance

We reconcile the books to Form 10BD (donors) and FC-4 (foreign contribution) and close the year with consolidated accounts.

AEO summary

NGO money comes tagged — donor, project, FCRA or local, CSR or grant. We run fund-wise books that keep every rupee traceable, produce the CA utilisation certificates donors ask for, and reconcile to Form 10BD and FC-4.

Restricted money, segregated books

NGO accounting is fund accounting in practice: each fund carries its own restriction, its own reporting, and its own certificate. FCRA funds must be segregated from local funds by law; CSR funds carry utilisation obligations to corporate partners; grant funds carry donor-specific reporting.

The books are the single source of truth for every one of those obligations — the annual audit, the FC-4, the 10BD, the utilisation certificates, and the donor reports.

  • • Fund-wise chart of accounts
  • • FCRA vs local segregation maintained
  • • Project-wise income and expenditure

Certificates from the books, not from memory

A utilisation certificate is only as good as the books behind it. When the money is tracked fund-wise through the year, the certificate writes itself; when it is not, the certificate is a guess with a stamp.

We run the books so every certificate, donor report, and compliance filing is an extraction from reconciled records.

  • • CA utilisation certificates per fund
  • • Donor-specific reporting built in
  • • Annual consolidated accounts by fund

Government fees

Fee breakdown

ItemFeeNotes
Books and accountingNilNo government fee applies; the professional fee covers the bookkeeping and reporting engagement.

Timeline

Typical turnaround

Typical timeline usually means a ongoing / monthly turnaround, assuming documents are complete and any board or shareholder approvals are already in place.

Pricing note

There is no fixed government fee profile until the engagement scope is confirmed; the professional fee is quoted after the document review.

Related services

Keep the company moving

School & Trust Accounting

The education counterpart — fee income, corpus, and 85% application tracking

FCRA Annual Return — FC-4

The annual return drawn from the segregated books

Form 10BD & 10BE

Donor statements reconciled to the fund-wise books

CSR Compliance for NGOs

Form CSR-1 registration and utilisation certificates

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why fund-wise accounting for NGOs?
NGO money arrives restricted — donor X funds project Y, FCRA funds must stay segregated from local funds, CSR funds carry utilisation obligations. Fund-wise books keep each restriction visible and provable; pooled books fail every donor report and audit.
What is an FCRA segregation?
Foreign contribution received under FCRA must be accounted for separately from local funds — receipt, utilisation, and balance — and reconciled to the designated FCRA account. The books must show the segregation at every level.
How does this connect to Form 10BD and FC-4?
The donor statement (Form 10BD) and the FCRA annual return (FC-4) are both drawn from the books. When the books are fund-wise and reconciled, both filings are extraction exercises rather than reconstructions.
What should you send us before we start?
The entity registration documents and PAN, the bank statements, the list of funds and donors, the project list, and the previous year’s accounts and audit report. That is enough for us to set up the fund chart.

Canonical reference: https://www.pvtltd.co/services/project-accounting-ngo

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