Why I use Google Workspace
A plain-English look at why I use Google Workspace, and how a proper email address and shared folders could make life easier for your charity or community group.
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Operations
A Tenner and Three Bits of ID
Since 1 September, being supervised no longer gets your weekly helpers out of a barred list check. The check is free for volunteers. Here’s what it really costs, where to get one and which ID to bring.
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The ‘My Head Only’ Manual
I’ve been a trustee of the same charity for twenty-two years. I’m still the only one who knows where anything is. Here’s how to fix that before it’s chosen for you.
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The 9-Month Trap
A company secretary quietly redirected every director’s post to his own front door, then stopped opening it. The company got struck off. The bank froze the account the day they went to pay staff wages. This is what happens when one person is the only line of defence between your charity and Companies House.
The Insurance Gamble
Insurance is the budget line everyone cuts first when money’s tight. Here’s why that’s the one gamble that can cost you your charity, and potentially your own home.
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The Laptop That Killed the Charity
Most grassroots organisations have that one ancient laptop everyone’s terrified to replace, because everything’s on there. This happened to a charity local to me, and it was almost the death knell. Here’s what actually stops it taking your charity down with it.
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The Paper Accounts Trap
Right, let’s talk about the administrative mistake that could get your charity fined: The Paper Accounts Trap.
The moment the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) takes full effect, the UK is saying goodbye to paper or scanned accounts for most entities filed at Companies House. If your charity is incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee (which most are), your Treasurer needs to stop relying on Excel and PDFs and migrate to a software-only submission immediately. The new mandate requires digital tagging (XBRL) that simply cannot be done manually. Ignoring this is the digital equivalent of submitting your accounts handwritten on a napkin. It’s a fundamental compliance failure, and it will result in your submission being rejected and fined.
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The Most Basic Fail: The Non-Negotiable Necessity of DBS Checks
DBS checks are not optional. In Week 3 of The Art of Stupidity, we confront “The Most Basic Fail”: risking your beneficiaries by cutting corners on safeguarding. Discover why ‘cost’ is a lie, why outdated checks are useless, and get your 4-step action plan – including the crucial DBS Update Service – to protect your charity from moral negligence and catastrophic safeguarding breaches.
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The Unverified Trustee
Is your charity a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee? Then your trustees are company directors, and they must verify their identity with Companies House. Ignore this mandatory new compliance, and you’re looking at criminal offences, disqualification, and fines. Week 1 of The Art of Stupidity delivers a vital 5-step action plan to save your charity from a legal disaster.
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