Recording Pro Bono Contributions

Your nonprofit receives services provided free of charge / pro bono by companies (example: an agency built a website for one of your initiatives at no cost). You can record these services in your books even though no payment was made.

Due to a technical limitation, this module does not support generating a Tax Receipt, which you will need to produce manually. Feel free to submit a suggestion if you'd like to see this feature added.

Recording pro bono services in your books

Accessing the Voluntary Contribution in Kind entry page

Go to Accounting > Book entry > Voluntary Contribution.

On this page, you can record 3 types of transactions: in-kind donations, pro bono services, and volunteer time. By default, you land on the "In-kind donations" section. Navigate to the "Pro bono services" section.

Recording pro bono services

Fill in the required information:

Required fields

• Label: the name of your entry. Make it descriptive enough that you can identify it at a glance (e.g., Website redesign by Agency A);
• Date: the date the service was performed (use the end date if it spanned multiple days);
• Amount: the cost basis or fair market value of the service;

Optional fields

• Donor: the name of the pro bono contributor;
• Add a Tax Receipt: lets you attach a Tax Receipt if you issued one for this pro bono contribution;
• Free note: to add any additional details.

Finding your entry after saving

Once saved, you can find this entry at the bottom of your Profit and Loss statement.

How to value pro bono services

When it comes to valuation, nonprofits and foundations that solicit public support are generally required to disclose the value of Voluntary Contributions in Kind in their financial statements, distinguishing between volunteer time, pro bono services, and in-kind donations.

Several valuation methods are commonly recommended:

• If the contribution is made by a company, the value to use is the cost the company would have incurred to acquire, produce, or store the item or service;
• If the contribution is made by an individual, the value to use is the amount the donor estimates they would have received had they sold the item instead of donating it.

Source: Practical guide to the accounting valuation of volunteering - association.gouv

If your nonprofit is eligible to issue Tax Receipts, you may issue one for the assessed value of the contribution.

What journal entry is created when you save this record (advanced)

The entry uses class 8 accounts (off-balance-sheet accounts).