Welcome To DonorChase!
Hi and welcome to the DonorChase blog. I hope to be posting monthly with the latest updates on charity related news, and updates on the DonorChase front.
DonorChase started two years ago as a method of keeping in control of charity income. Whilst there were many commercial offerings for credit control, none of them seemed to fit the bill for charities where personal contact is all important and where automated emails would harm more than help.
After spending years updating and sharing spreadsheets which were out of date almost as soon as they were shared, we created DonorChase and the response from the charities that we work with has been phenomenal.
There are many donors out there who are able to help in a small way every month – and by chasing them at the right time, you will gain their support. But every month that contact with them is pushed off or neglected – that month's income is lost. And so the chase is on!
Whilst we're not quite offering blood, toil, tears and sweat, DonorChase is not promising to automate your processes and pull in funds automatically. Fundraising doesn't work like that – it's about the personal contact and creating a mutual relationship. But DonorChase is going to target your efforts so that the right person in your team is contacting and following up donors at the right time.
Latest News
The big talk at the moment is the risk of private schools needing to charge VAT on fees. This will potentially have a huge impact on pupil numbers and related income. Two points that seem to have been slightly underdiscussed are:
- If the supply is vatable, then the input VAT will be reclaimable (surely??). So schools that up until now have been unable to reclaim VAT will now be able to do so. That's potentially a reasonable saving every year on the VAT currently not reclaimed on school supplies that are purchased with VAT. Where capital projects are involved, it will make a massive difference – a project of £1m with £200k of VAT currently being charged will save £200k.
- Schools will need to get their bookkeeping up to scratch and work out if their systems can handle VAT returns... if you're working off old desktop accounting software do check if it's still going to be able to do your VAT return for you.
Adapting to be compliant with VAT legislation is going to be a big ask. Schools will need to register for VAT with HMRC. Invoices will need to be VAT compliant, and records will need to be kept in line with HMRC guidelines.
And... to leave you with some questions. If your VAT quarter will end on 30th September and you raise invoices for the term on 1st September, will all of that VAT be payable to HMRC by the 7th November? How will cash flow be dealt with if parents pay off the invoice on a monthly basis with the final two instalments only being received after the VAT is paid to HMRC?
Happy chasing,
Yehuda
