Capability template for finance and accounting
Restricted gift rollforward
The finance lead gets a working schedule for one named restricted fund: opening balance, recorded gifts, coded expenditure and closing balance, with every unresolved difference listed from the gift agreement summary and the ledger detail. Nothing is posted.
Listed under
Add it to a workflow in the Fully Powered Planner, beside the teams and roles that will run it. Book a fit call
The outcome
When someone asks what happened in a restricted fund this period, the finance lead has the answer on one schedule. It starts from the balance that was last reconciled, adds the gifts the ledger recorded, takes off the spending coded to the fund, shows any transfers, and ends at a closing balance that is compared with the ledger. Where the two do not agree, the schedule says by how much and which part of the gap comes from the opening balance and which from the movement.
The rest of the page is the work only a person can finish. Every gift with no agreement behind it, every expense on an account the fund coding does not cover, every possible duplicate and every transfer is listed with its reference, its amount and the person who can answer. The template does not decide what a fund may be spent on, and it reads no gift agreement itself: it works from a short summary of each agreement that the finance lead has already written.
Who starts the work, and when
A bookkeeper or grants accountant starts it when finance needs to explain one restricted fund, usually at month end, before a funder report or when a program lead asks how much of a gift is left. The finance lead reviews the schedule, settles each listed difference and decides every classification and every entry. Development helps with gifts that arrive without an agreement reference.
What they supply
- The fund, its code and the period.
- A summary of each gift agreement for the fund: reference, donor, the use as the finance lead states it, start and end dates and the amount stated.
- The fund coding the finance lead has approved, account by account.
- The ledger detail for the fund and period, as an export.
- The prior reconciled balance, and the ledger balances at the start and end of the period.
What comes out
A working schedule in a fixed order: the stated uses as supplied, the rollforward with its difference, gifts by agreement, expenditure by the finance lead's coding, transfers, the numbered list of unresolved differences, the rows left out and a row count that proves every row in the export was placed or set aside.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. Cedar Row Youth Arts is an invented small nonprofit. The donors, the account names, the references and every figure below are invented. First come the inputs the bookkeeper supplied, in full, then the schedule the capability returned.
The inputs
SETTINGS
Fund: Studio Access Fund Fund code: SAF
Period: 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-31 Currency: USD
Finance lead role: Finance Lead Run date: 2026-11-09
GIFT AGREEMENT SUMMARY (written by the Finance Lead)
Agreement ref | Donor | Fund | Stated use | Start date | End date | Amount stated
AG-01 | Foundation A | SAF | Free studio sessions and materials for young people from low-income households | 2026-01-01 | 2026-12-31 | 60000.00
AG-02 | Donor B | SAF | Teaching-artist fees for the Saturday sessions | 2026-07-01 | 2027-06-30 | 24000.00
AG-03 | Donor C | SAF | Art supplies for the access program | 2026-10-01 | | 2000.00
APPROVED FUND CODING (approved by the Finance Lead)
Account | Account name | Status
6100 | Teaching-artist fees | Within stated use
6200 | Art supplies | Within stated use
6300 | Studio rent | Confirm
6400 | Marketing and printing | Outside stated use
LEDGER DETAIL (export, run 2026-11-09; amounts increase the fund when positive)
Date | Reference | Description | Account | Fund | Entry type | Amount | Agreement ref
2026-10-02 | GL-5101 | Gift, Foundation A, instalment 3 | 4100 | SAF | Gift | 5000.00 | AG-01
2026-10-05 | GL-5107 | Gift, Donor B, instalment | 4100 | SAF | Gift | 2000.00 | AG-02
2026-10-06 | GL-5110 | Saturday session teaching fees | 6100 | SAF | Expense | -2400.00 |
2026-10-09 | GL-5112 | Gift, Donor C | 4100 | SAF | Gift | 1500.00 | AG-03
2026-10-12 | GL-5120 | Gift, Donor D | 4100 | SAF | Gift | 250.00 |
2026-10-13 | GL-5118 | Clay and paper order | 6200 | SAF | Expense | -860.50 |
2026-10-13 | GL-5119 | Clay and paper order | 6200 | SAF | Expense | -860.50 |
2026-10-14 | GL-5116 | Gala tickets | 4200 | GEN | Gift | 900.00 |
2026-10-15 | GL-5122 | Studio rent, October | 6300 | SAF | Expense | -1800.00 |
2026-10-19 | GL-5127 | Flyers for open day | 6400 | SAF | Expense | -340.00 |
2026-10-21 | GL-5133 | Gift, Donor C, second gift | 4100 | SAF | Gift | 800.00 | AG-03
2026-10-23 | GL-5136 | Software subscription | 7200 | SAF | Expense | -65.00 |
2026-10-27 | GL-5140 | Clay and paper order, refund | 6200 | SAF | Expense | 120.00 |
2026-10-28 | GL-5142 | Transfer to General Fund, per treasurer note | 9100 | SAF | Transfer | -500.00 |
2026-11-02 | GL-5150 | Gift, Donor C | 4100 | SAF | Gift | 300.00 | AG-03
BALANCES
Prior reconciled balance, SAF, at 2026-09-30: 41250.00, reconciled by the Bookkeeper
Ledger balance, SAF, at the start of the period: 41350.00
Ledger balance, SAF, at 2026-10-31: 44244.00
The output
RESTRICTED GIFT ROLLFORWARD: Studio Access Fund (SAF), 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-31
For: Finance Lead. Working schedule. Nothing has been posted, coded or changed. Amounts in USD; an increase in the fund is positive.
Prepared: 2026-11-09, from the agreement summary (3 agreements), the fund coding (4 accounts), the ledger detail (15 rows) and the balances supplied.
Stated use, as supplied (not interpreted):
AG-01, Foundation A: "Free studio sessions and materials for young people from low-income households". Dates 2026-01-01 to 2026-12-31. Amount stated 60,000.00.
AG-02, Donor B: "Teaching-artist fees for the Saturday sessions". Dates 2026-07-01 to 2027-06-30. Amount stated 24,000.00.
AG-03, Donor C: "Art supplies for the access program". Dates 2026-10-01 to no end stated. Amount stated 2,000.00.
Rollforward:
Opening balance, prior reconciled at 2026-09-30 by the Bookkeeper: 41,250.00
Gifts recorded (5): +9,550.00
Expenditure (7): -6,206.00
Transfers and adjustments (1): -500.00
Computed closing balance: 44,094.00
Ledger balance at 2026-10-31: 44,244.00
Difference, ledger less computed: +150.00. Opening difference +100.00 (ledger balance at the start of the period 41,350.00 less prior reconciled 41,250.00). Movement difference +50.00 (the ledger moved 2,894.00; the detail rows total 2,844.00).
Gifts recorded, by agreement:
AG-01: 1 gift, 5,000.00. GL-5101. Inside the agreement's dates.
AG-02: 1 gift, 2,000.00. GL-5107. Inside the agreement's dates.
AG-03: 2 gifts, 2,300.00. GL-5112, GL-5133. Inside the agreement's dates.
No agreement reference: 1 gift, 250.00. GL-5120.
Total gifts: 9,550.00.
Expenditure, by the finance lead's coding:
Within stated use: 4 rows, -4,001.00. Teaching-artist fees (6100): -2,400.00 (GL-5110). Art supplies (6200): -1,601.00 (GL-5118, GL-5119, GL-5140).
Outside stated use: 1 row, -340.00. Marketing and printing (6400): -340.00 (GL-5127).
To confirm: 1 row, -1,800.00. Studio rent (6300): -1,800.00 (GL-5122).
Account not in the coding table: 1 row, -65.00. Account 7200: -65.00 (GL-5136).
Total expenditure: -6,206.00.
Transfers and adjustments:
GL-5142, 2026-10-28, Transfer to General Fund, per treasurer note: -500.00.
Unresolved differences: 10
1. Opening difference, +100.00. The ledger balance at the start of the period is 41,350.00; the prior reconciled balance is 41,250.00. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
2. Movement difference, +50.00. The ledger moved 2,894.00 in the period; the detail rows in the schedule total 2,844.00. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
3. Gifts above the amount stated. AG-03: GL-5112 (1,500.00) and GL-5133 (800.00) total 2,300.00 in this period; the summary states 2,000.00, an excess of 300.00. Earlier receipts are not known. Who can answer: Development. The Finance Lead decides.
4. Possible duplicate. GL-5118 and GL-5119: same date, account, description and amount (-860.50 each). Both are kept in the totals. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
5. Gift with no agreement reference. GL-5120, Gift, Donor D, 250.00. Who can answer: Development. The Finance Lead decides.
6. Account status "Confirm". GL-5122, Studio rent, October, account 6300, -1,800.00. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
7. Account status "Outside stated use". GL-5127, Flyers for open day, account 6400, -340.00. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
8. Account not in the coding table. GL-5136, Software subscription, account 7200, -65.00. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
9. Expense with a positive amount. GL-5140, Clay and paper order, refund, account 6200, +120.00. Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
10. Transfer. GL-5142, 2026-10-28, -500.00, "per treasurer note". Who can answer: the Bookkeeper. The Finance Lead decides.
Rows left out of the totals: 2
GL-5116, 2026-10-14, 900.00: fund GEN, not SAF.
GL-5150, 2026-11-02, 300.00: dated after the period end.
Row check: 15 rows read = 13 placed in the schedule + 2 left out.
Draft for the Finance Lead's review. The finance lead confirms every classification, the permitted use and any entry. Nothing has been posted or changed.
Where it fits
- Nonprofits, where donors give for a stated purpose and the funder or board expects the books to show it.
- Education, for schools and foundations that hold endowed or program-restricted funds.
- Healthcare, for community clinics and hospital foundations with gifts given for a named purpose.
- Finance and accounting, which owns the ledger, the coding and the close.
- Established businesses, for organizations with a ledger and a routine already in place.
- Growth & scaling, when restricted gifts multiply faster than one person can track them.
It is not bank reconciliation preparation, which matches a bank statement to the books, and it is not journal entry preparation, which proposes entries. It proposes none.
What has to change for your company
Keep a summary of each agreement, in your own terms, with the fund. Approve the fund coding account by account, with a status for each, and decide who may change it. Name who answers gift questions and who answers expense questions. Decide which entry types your ledger uses for gifts, expenses, transfers and adjustments, and how it signs amounts. Agree how often the schedule is prepared and where the prior reconciled balance is kept.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026; the record is published with it, lists the ambiguities it met, and lists the small edits made afterward that have not been run again. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on a past period whose answer you already know, with cases written in advance: a gift with no agreement reference, a gift dated before its agreement began, an expense on an account missing from the coding, a possible duplicate and a ledger balance that does not agree. The finance lead checks every figure against the ledger before anything is relied on.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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