West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service

WYCAS Services

Good Practice Guides

We currently have a variety of Good Practice Guides available on a range of subjects relating to good financial management. All the guides are available free of charge to any voluntary/community organisation in West Yorkshire and can be obtained by sending in a request form.

Click here to access our request form.

NumberGood Practice Guide
1Dealing with cash* A detailed step by step guide to ensuring that your petty cash tin always balances! It also deals with what to do with cash income.
2Financial Procedures* A set of rules that your organisation can use as a model in order to prevent error and fraud.
3How to do a bank reconciliation* A bank reconciliation is an essential part of any good book-keeper's toolkit. This guide takes you through the process and also provides a blank reconciliation form.
4Book keeping* This guide is aimed at organisations who use manual books rather than a computerised accounts package. Example book-keeping sheets and authorisation forms are included in the guide
5Insurance for Voluntary & Community Groups Every voluntary organisation should consider what insurance it needs from the outset. This guide takes you through the different types of insurance that you should consider
6Quick books (accounting package) - A Starter Guide Quickbooks is an accounting package that many voluntary organisations use. This guide introduces you to the package and provides information on how to get started.
7Charity Registration It is a little-known fact that if an organisation has wholly charitable objectives and a turnover of more than £1000 it is legally obliged to apply to the Charity Commission for charitable status. This brief guide takes you through the benefits of registering
8Beginner's Start-up Guide to Excel Spreadsheets for Finance This guide introduces you to how to use a spreadsheet for finance; it is aimed at real beginners.
9The Role of the Treasurer If you have just taken over as treasurer and do not know what you are supposed to do, this is the guide for you. It also provides a checklist of financial tasks.
10Getting ready to have your Annual Accounts checked This guide helps to take the sweat out of getting things ready for your accountant at the end of the year. It includes a checklist of documents that the accountant may wish to see
11Gift Aid Guide
12 Becoming a Company. The accounting requirements for small charitable companies.
13 Reserves
14Expenses A guide to paying expenses to employees, volunteers and you management committee.
15QuickBooks Procedure Timetable A checklist and advice on jobs that you should be doing on QuickBooks, when they should be done and some things to look out for.
16Restricted Fund Accounting A guide to the difference between restricted and unrestricted funds and how you should distinguish between the two in the accounts.
17SAGE Line 50 - A starter guide An introduction to this accounts package and how to get started.
18QuickBooks - Basic Procedures A guide to regular bookkeeping jobs, reconciliations and creating budgets
19SAGE Line 50 - Advanced A guide looking at Customers, Invoicing, Suppliers and Budgets
20QuickBooks - Basic Procedures 2 A guide looking items and invoicing, receiving payments and reports and statements.
21VAT for small charities and voluntary organisations An introductory guide to VAT, looking at VAT categories, reliefs available and recovery of VAT.
22Money Management for Community Groups A guide to financial planning, control and management for smaller voluntary and community organisations covering budgeting, bookkeeping, financial rules and annual accounts. Available in Hard Copy Only.