Large and small non-profit organizations face many of the same challenges that for-profit companies and businesses grapple with every day. Employees come and go. Recruitment engines turn on and off. Leaders transition in and out of roles. And competition pops up, looking for its own slice of pie.

At the same time, non-profit organizations have their own unique considerations, including things like:

  • Managing volunteers
  • Seeking federal, state, foundation and private donations and funding
  • Allocating and reporting funding resources appropriately

Payroll and Time & Attendance

Then there are payroll expenses to consider. These typically account for the largest expense that all organizations must manage. And, when you consider that many nonprofits operate on shoestring budgets, it’s essential that funds goes toward helping organizations fulfill their missions, and bring their programs to fruition.

  • From a compliance standpoint, non-profit organizations must account for every penny, and ensure that they are allocating funds correctly across projects, programs, inventory, and salaries.
  • When organizations overlook or cut corners in how they account for employee hours, it can leave them exposed to compliance-related issues. This can trigger an audit, or even force organizations into paying back certain funds.

Keep reading to learn more about how time & attendance factors into the operational concerns of non-profit organizations.

Icon Time’s time & attendance solutions can help non-profit organizations keep track of how their employees and volunteers spend their time while serving your organization’s mission. Learn more about the automated solutions that make up Icon Time’s TotalPass suite of time clocks and solutions.

Discover our family of time & attendance solutions

Time Tracking for Non-Profit Organizations

Non-profit executives, employees, volunteers and board members spend countless hours, on the clock or volunteering, doing everything possible to help mission-driven organizations maximize their funding.

  • In some cases, certain funders and funding opportunities go toward general operations, which can include salaries.
  • In other cases, funding is tied to a specific project or program. While this funding can also go to employee salaries, employees must account for the hours they dedicate to a specific project or program, throughout the duration of the funding period.

These concerns—payroll going out, and funding coming in—can create something of a storm that affects an organization from the top down. And, when salaried or hourly employees don’t account for their time accurately, or hand in incomplete timesheets, this storm can intensify pretty quickly.

One way to avoid issues: make sure your time & attendance solution makes it easy to switch job codes.

For non-profits, having the right time & attendance system includes easily switching project codes that coincide with allocation worksheets. That’s because a number of regulations require non-profit organizations to demonstrate the sources of funds they receive, as well as how they use them:

  • Typically, different programs have multiple funding sources.
  • To stay wage & labor compliant, nonprofits must demonstrate how much time staff members spend on every project.
  • If an organization isn’t compliant in the way it tracks projects, it could lead to an audit, or payback issues.

Icon Time’s TotalPass suite of time clocks help non-profit organizations stay compliant, with features that function the way non-profit organizations need them to.

Demonstrate and report where activities occur.

Different solutions in the TotalPass suite of products can make it easier for an organization’s financial department to know which funding source they should charge for certain time. This can be especially useful in organizations that rely on warehousing products and donations, food pantries, and situations that involve delivering goods and services throughout the community.

  • Employees and volunteers can punch in different job codes to align with specific funding sources.
  • Staff members can add new job codes when necessary, and manage these types of changes in real time.

Make sure your time & attendance system documents employee time properly.

For any non-profit organization, salaried and hourly employees are a huge resource. Even if your organization has hundreds or thousands of volunteers, your employees are vital to daily operations, program management, and fundraising events. They can also be an extension of your mission among community members.

  • Non-compliant timesheets are one of the main reasons that non-profit organizations get flagged for audits.
  • In managing these critical tasks and others, your time & attendance solution can make it easier for your employees to be meticulous about how they track their time.

When compliance issues feel like a constantly moving target, having a flexible, easy-to-administer time & attendance solution is key. Icon Time TotalPass solutions can help create peace-of-mind when it comes to documenting the way employees and volunteers track their time, making sure that it aligns with the requirements of various funding sources.

Non-profit organizations are always on the lookout for new ways to control costs, and streamline the way they manage their employees and volunteers. With Icon Time’s family of time & attendance products, your non-profit organizations can ensure that you’re only paying for what you need.

Talk to a representative