Articles and guides for charity teams

What VAT is for charities, why they are not simply exempt, the reliefs you can claim, and when reclaiming is possible, for trustees and finance teams.

What the Charities SORP is, who has to follow it, how accruals accounting differs from receipts and payments, and what the framework requires of charity accounts.

Trustee guide to 2026 SORP focus: clearer narrative disclosure, reserves clarity, fund-note consistency, and practical preparation steps before year-end.

UK trustee guide to charitable trading boundaries: primary purpose income, small trading exemptions, subsidiary triggers, and board checks for tax and risk.

Step-by-step UK guide to business rates relief for charity premises: mandatory and discretionary relief, evidence packs, council decisions, and appeal routes.

A practical framework for charity financial resilience: setting reserves from your own risk, managing cash flow, and stress-testing income before a shock hits.

Strategic guide for UK charities balancing annual fund and restricted appeals using cashflow resilience, donor behaviour, and programme funding risk.

The financial literacy trustees genuinely need, the questions they must answer, and the patterns that signal a charity board out of its depth on the numbers.

Most charity reserves policies are boilerplate trustees signed and forgot. The structure, evidence and review rhythm that turn the policy into a working tool.