Funds
Most charities need only the general fund. Add a fund for money given for one purpose, or capital held on terms.
Bank accounts and cash
Balance on the first day of the year, from the statement.
Last year's figures
Copy the totals from last year's accounts, or open last year's backup file.
Headings in the accounts
Rename a heading, or add one. Headings with nothing in them are left off the accounts.
Paste or open a bank statement
Download the statement from online banking as a CSV file. Nothing leaves this device.
Statement file
Entries
Recently deleted
Bank and cash at the year end
Type each statement's balance on the last day to check the cash book against it.
Signing
Earlier copies
Copies kept when accounts were replaced, deleted or before an import. Each page keeps its 40 most recent.
From cash book to signed accounts
Set the year and any restricted or endowment funds, then add each payment and receipt, or paste the bank's CSV export and tick the lines to add. Each entry goes under one of the lines the Scottish regulations list, in a fund and an account. The Accounts tab lays them out as OSCR's work pack: section A receipts and payments in four fund columns with transfers and the surplus for the year, section B statement of balances, and section C notes, with last year's figures.
It runs the work pack's checks: every row cross-adds, transfers total zero, and opening cash plus the surplus equals the bank and cash balances in every fund column. It also ties note C2 to the grants line and each account to its statement. Open the example: a community hall with a kitchen grant, a hall fabric fund and a founders' fund.
The rules in Scotland
| Scottish charities | Rule |
|---|---|
| Receipts and payments allowed (not companies) | gross income under £250,000 |
| Independent examination | every charity, whatever its income |
| Audit of fully accrued accounts | £1 million or more for years beginning on or after 1 Jan 2026 (£500,000 before), or assets over £3.26 million |
| Due at OSCR | within 9 months of the year end |
| Published on the Register | in full, for accounts sent from 9 March 2026 |
Sources: OSCR receipts and payments work pack, Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 as amended by SSI 2025/341, OSCR Register changes.
Questions treasurers ask
Can our charity prepare receipts and payments accounts?
Yes, if it is not a company and its gross income is under £250,000, unless its constitution asks for fully accrued accounts. The 2026 changes in England and Wales did not change this Scottish limit.
Do the accounts need an independent examination?
Yes. Every Scottish charity preparing receipts and payments accounts has them independently examined, whatever its income, by someone independent with the right skills. An audit is only needed if your constitution or the trustees ask for one.
When are they due?
Within 9 months of the year end. Send them to OSCR with the annual return through OSCR Online, together with the trustees' annual report and the independent examiner's report.
Will OSCR publish our accounts?
Yes. Accounts sent to OSCR from 9 March 2026 are published in full on the Scottish Charity Register, without redactions, so check names and personal details before you send them.
What is the difference between expendable and permanent endowment?
Both are capital given on terms. Expendable endowment can be spent in the circumstances its terms allow; permanent endowment can never be spent. Interest and dividends they earn go in the unrestricted or restricted column.
What goes in the notes?
The nature and purpose of each fund, grants paid, any pay to trustees or people connected to them (or a statement that there was none), trustee expenses, transactions with trustees, and anything else a reader needs.
We are registered in England and Wales too. Which layout?
This one. The Charity Commission says its CC16a format is not suitable for filing with OSCR, and it accepts accounts laid out in the format OSCR requires.
Is money we collect for another body part of our income?
No. OSCR's guidance leaves out income collected for and passed on to a third party, such as the part of a membership fee passed to a parent body or a collection for another charity, and asks for a note under other information. Use the headings Collected for another body and Passed on to the other body. Anything still held at the year end is owed to that body.
Is this accounting advice?
No. It lays out the figures you enter in OSCR's format and checks that they add up. The trustees are responsible for the accounts and approve them; ask your independent examiner about anything unusual.