Towne Bookkeeping

Author: Nicole

  • How to Track AGLC Casino and Gaming Funds in Your Books

    For many Alberta non-profit organization, casino funds can make a big difference. A successful casino event may leave your organization with a significant amount of money to support your programs and services.

    But AGLC casino and gaming funds are restricted funds. They cannot be spent like regular operating cash. Your organization can only spend the money according to the approved use of proceeds, and you need to be able to prove where the money went.

    The goal is not to be afraid of spending casino funds. The goal is to track them properly from the beginning, so your organization can be ready when the reporting deadline comes.

    Here are practical bookkeeping tips to keep your AGLC casino funds organized.

    Review your AGLC approval letter/document

    Before spending any casino funds, your board and leadership team should review the AGLC approval letter or document together.

    This document is your roadmap so everyone should be familiar with it and spend in alignment with it. Your reporting must follow the approved uses listed for your organization.

    If your organization wants to use casino funds for something that is not on the approved list, contact AGLC and request approval before spending the money.

    Use a separate bank account

    Keep gaming funds in the proper bank account and avoid mixing them with regular operating funds. AGLC’s audit information says auditors look for evidence that gaming funds were deposited into the gaming bank account and spent according to the approved use of proceeds.

    Be sure to save every bank statement for the separate account. If you receive paper statements, keep the originals with your bookkeeping records and make copies for your AGLC report. Electronic statements are even better because they are easier to save, search, and share.

    Track spending by class

    If you use bookkeeping or accounting software, classes can make AGLC reporting much easier.

    For example, you can set up a class called Casino/Gaming Funds, then use sub-classes for each approved category, such as:

    • Casino/Gaming Funds
      • Accounting Fees
      • Administrative Expenses
      • Program Expenses
      • Etc.

    This allows you to categorize expenses normally while also tracking them for your AGLC report. At reporting time, you can run an expense report filtered by class and use it to prepare your itemized spending list.

    Watch category limits

    Some approved uses have limits. For example, groups may use a maximum cumulative total of 30% of gaming proceeds for administrative expenses.

    That means you need to track not only where the money went, but also how much has been spent in each category.

    Keep proof of payment

    AGLC wants financial reports to include copies of bank statements, cancelled cheques, invoices, and receipts.

    So, keep invoices and receipts, but also keep cheque stubs, e-transfer confirmations, transfer records, and any other proof showing when and how the expense was paid.

    For paper files, make a separate copy of each expense paid with gaming funds. For electronic files, save everything in a clearly labelled folder or attach it to the expense in your bookkeeping software. This makes it easy to provide all the backup documentation your report will require when the times comes to submit it.

    Correct discrepancies

    If you find a discrepancy in the reconciliation when you are completing your report, correct the discrepancy when you submit the report to AGLC and show documentation that you have done so.

    AGLC reporting is much easier when your books are organized from the beginning.

    If your organization needs support tracking casino funds or preparing your AGLC report, contact Towne Bookkeeping. We can help you keep the books clear, organized, and ready to report.

  • My First 3 Months Using Wave (And Why I’m Impressed)

    First, I want to applaud the marketing team over at Intuit. They’ve done an amazing job positioning QuickBooks Online as the number one choice for bookkeeping software for small businesses. And to be fair, it’s powerful and widely used.

    But there’s an issue I’ve watched play out over and over. Business owners sign up at a promo rate, find out it’s much harder to use than they think, and before they know it, the regular price kicks in. They think in frustration, “Why am I paying for expensive software I can barely use?”

    Recently, a new client decided to try Wave, which meant I got to use it hands-on for the first time. After three months inside Wave, here’s what stood out, and why I’d genuinely recommend it for many small business owners.

    First: Pricing (Canada)

    Let’s talk dollars, because that’s usually the first question.

    • Wave: Free Starter plan, and Wave Pro is $25 CAD/month (at the time of writing).
    • QuickBooks Online: Plans typically range from $30 to $220 CAD/month. The most comparable tier to Wave is $110/month.

    If your bookkeeping needs are fairly straightforward, that price difference adds up fast.

    Yes, Wave can handle “normal” small business books

    Here’s the simple answer most people want: For many small businesses, Wave does the job just as well as QuickBooks Online does. You can invoice, accept payments, track income and expenses, reconcile bank accounts, and run the reports you need to understand how the business is doing.

    Both also offer auto-importing bank transactions and digital receipt capture, but Wave offers these features at a better price point.

    Ease of use: Wave is built for business owners (not just bookkeepers)

    Wave’s interface is just beautiful. It has a modern font, pleasing colours, and an intuitive left-side menu. The wording is more “business owner friendly” than “bookkeeper jargon.”

    QuickBooks Online has recently been rolling out interface changes, and I’ll just say it politely: a lot of bookkeepers spend more time clicking around than we’d like. The new menu is non-intuitive, and the only thing that keeps me sane these days is the Bookmarks menu I manually set up for each client.

    Particularly for first-time users, Wave is easier to use.

    Invoices: Wave makes you look polished with almost no effort

    This surprised me (in a good way).

    When we uploaded the client’s logo, Wave automatically pulled colours from it and applied a matching colour scheme to the invoice. The result looked clean and professional in seconds without any design work.

    QuickBooks Online has limited default invoice layouts, and customization options can feel restrictive if you want a more modern look. The only way around this is a custom-designed invoice template with coding to make it work in QuickBooks. It would be very difficult for an average user to achieve this, so most users are stuck with less polished invoices out of the box.

    If you care about looking legit when you bill, Wave allows you to do that with almost no effort.

    Reports: Wave understands presentation

    QuickBooks Online reporting is strong, especially when the chart of accounts is well set up. But the layout has a basic font, minimal visual formatting, and the logo slapped on the upper left corner like a misaligned stamp.

    But Wave reports are genuinely easier on the eyes. Modern font, nice spacing, shading, and excellent logo placement. The reports look modern and presentable out of the gate. For many owners, that matters, because if the reports are easier to read, you’re more likely to actually review them.

    Also notable: Wave lets you switch between “Summary” and “Detail” repots with one click, while QuickBooks Online usually requires running two separate reports.

    Bottom line

    I’m not here to bash QuickBooks Online. It’s still my go-to for many clients, and it’s often the better fit when things get more complex (inventory, deeper integrations, larger teams, heavier reporting needs, etc.).

    But if you’re a small business owner with standard bookkeeping needs, Wave is a better-value option, and it’s priced in a way that doesn’t punish you for simply wanting your books up to date.

    Want help choosing between Wave and QuickBooks Online?

    If you’re not sure what fits your business, we can help. Reach out and let’s talk.

  • How Churches Can Prevent Bookkeeper Theft

    A tough reminder from Nova Scotia: a former church bookkeeper received house arrest after stealing more than $225,000 from two Catholic parishes over several years.

    Sadly, this isn’t rare. Most church and nonprofit fraud is committed by trusted insiders who touch money daily. They have the keys to the books and the bank, but little oversight.

    It usually takes a few years for them to get caught, and by then the damage to the organization is heavy, both financially and reputationally. After all, donors give to a mission, not to fund a bookkeeper’s lifestyle!

    The good news is that three simple guardrails can help prevent this from happening:

    1. Segregate duties: No one person should receive money, enter it in the books, and reconcile the bank.
    2. Dual approvals: Require two signatures for cheques or two approvals for digital payments.
    3. Second set of eyes: Make it a policy to examine the financial records regularly and independently from the bookkeeper, such as a yearly independent review.

    Canadian churches and nonprofits: If you want to protect your mission with better bookkeeping, read more about our services or request a 15-minute consultation.