Accounting software for
associations
Member administration and bookkeeping in one package. Collect membership fees automatically, match transactions directly to invoices, keep your audit committee up to date.
Accounting software that understands associations
Most associations work with two separate systems: a member administration for names and addresses, and an accounting program for the numbers. The board has to make the connection itself — who paid which membership fee, which invoice belongs to which bank statement, which members are still outstanding. That takes time and regularly goes wrong.
Ledenboek solves this by combining member administration and bookkeeping in a single environment. A member automatically receives a membership invoice, pays it by iDEAL or direct debit, and bank statements are matched against the open invoices. Anyone who needs more than a cash book switches on the general ledger: the balance sheet and the statement of income and expenses then follow from the same data, without a second administration to keep. The treasurer always sees the current position, the audit committee has real-time access.
Whether you are a sports club with seasonal fees, a choir with monthly contributions or a neighbourhood association that collects occasionally — Ledenboek's accounting software for associations adapts to your structure.
What is included in the accounting package?
Collect membership fees automatically
Set your fee cycle (annually, semi-annually, monthly) and Ledenboek sends invoices automatically. Payment via iDEAL or SEPA direct debit.
Send and match invoices
Besides membership fees, you can create invoices for one-off items (tournament, subscription, donation). Every invoice is linked to a member — no more stray amounts.
Match bank statements
Read in bank statements as MT940 or CAMT files. Transactions are automatically matched to invoices and labelled by category.
General ledger, balance sheet and journal entries
A chart of accounts, journals, manual entries and money in transit, with a balance sheet and a statement of income and expenses drawn from the same figures. Switch it on when you need it, leave it off when a cash book is enough.
Audit committee always up to date
Audit committee members have their own access, see all transactions, add comments and sign off digitally for the discharge.
Annual figures and forecast
Generate a complete annual report for the general meeting in one click. Including charts, comparisons with last year and a forecast for the coming year.
Association bookkeeping, all the way to the general ledger
Many associations do fine with a cash book: money in, money out, and an overview at the end of the year. If your treasurer works in the bookkeeping itself, they want more. So it is in there now, and it stays off until you switch it on.
The chart of accounts you already have
Every label you use on bank transactions gets its own ledger account, with a number and a type. You set nothing up again; labelling is bookkeeping.
Journals and entries
Bank, cash, sales, purchases and the general journal, each with two sides that match. From an entry you click straight through to the bank transaction or the invoice it came from.
Manual entries and money in transit
You post a correction or a reservation by hand, without inventing a bank transaction. Money on its way, from the payment provider or between your own accounts, sits in transit until it lands.
Balance sheet and statement of income and expenses
Assets, liabilities and equity side by side, and the result for the year. That is exactly what Dutch law asks of a board, and what a public benefit organisation has to publish.
Adopting the financial year
The result to equity or to the reserve fund, the items that sit in the wrong year along with it, and then fixed. If something changes later, the screen says so, with the account and the amount.
Taking it to your accountant
An audit file (XAF) with the chart of accounts, the opening balance and every entry, or the journal as csv. Standard formats, so you are tied neither to us nor to one bookkeeping package.
Everything here is derived from the invoices, payments and bank transactions that are already there. So no second administration to keep, and the general ledger cannot drift away from the bank.
Why accounting software built for associations?
Generic accounting does not fit associations
Packages such as Exact, Twinfield or Moneybird are built for businesses invoicing individual clients by the hour. An association works differently: you have hundreds of members paying the same fee, often at a fixed moment in the year. A general accounting program can handle that, but you are constantly fiddling with customer records, recurring invoices and categories. An accounting package for associations takes this as its starting point.
The board are volunteers
The treasurer of an association usually does this work on the side, often without an accounting background. That is why Ledenboek is explicitly designed to be understandable without a course. You sort bank transactions with labels, the way you are used to; anyone who switches on the general ledger sees that every label has its own ledger account. Double-entry bookkeeping sits underneath, not in your work.
Let members manage their own affairs
Through the member portal, members see their own invoices and payment history, update their address details and register for events. That saves the board an enormous amount of manual work — and the data stays current without anyone having to check it.
Connect directly to your accountant
Many associations have an external accountant for the annual accounts. You give them an audit file (XAF), the Dutch exchange format every accountant knows, containing the chart of accounts, the opening balance and every entry. If they prefer a table, take the journal as csv. That ties you to no package at all.
Simple accounting software, even if you are not an accountant
Most treasurers of an association are not accountants. They do it next to their job, often because nobody else wanted to. Simple accounting software therefore starts from what they already do, which is checking who has paid and what has left the account.
In Ledenboek every incoming payment shows straight away which member and which invoice it belongs to, because the program makes that match itself. Whatever is left you give a label, such as Hall rent or Canteen, and that is all. At the end of the year the annual figures for the members' meeting come out of it without retyping anything.
If the association grows, or a treasurer arrives who wants it exact, you switch on the general ledger. It builds itself from the same labels and entries. So you start simple and never have to move to another package later.
From Excel to an accounting package
Most associations start with a spreadsheet, and for a club of thirty members that works fine. The bottleneck rarely comes from the number of members, but from the number of actions around them: who has paid, who needs a reminder, which amount belongs to which member, and where last year's version is.
The telling moment is the change of board. A departing treasurer takes the logic of their own spreadsheet with them: the formulas, the colour codes, the agreements that are written down nowhere. The successor starts half from scratch. An accounting package for associations solves this because the way of working lives in the system and not in the head of one volunteer.
Switching starts with your existing file. You upload your Excel file, first see a preview of what will be imported and which column ends up where, and only then save. You can calmly do it over.
The financial year of an association
An association's bookkeeping follows a fixed cycle. Where a business invoices all year round, an association's work comes in a few peaks. Ledenboek is built around that.
The membership fee round
One moment when almost all your revenue comes in. You generate the invoices in a single action for all members or for a group, and payments come in via iDEAL or direct debit. Anyone who does not pay automatically receives a reminder, so you do not have to keep a list for that. Read more on the page about collecting membership fees.
Throughout the year: the bank
Bank statements come in via MT940 or CAMT and are automatically matched to outstanding invoices. What remains you label by category, and those labels later form the basis of your annual figures and your budget. Reversals and chargebacks are recognised, so a failed direct debit does not quietly fall through the cracks.
The audit committee
A few weeks before the general meeting, the audit committee wants access. They get their own login with insight into the finances only, not into the rest of the member records. They add comments to transactions that raise questions and sign off digitally. The result is a signed report you add to the meeting documents.
The general meeting
You generate the annual report in a single action, including the comparison with last year and a forecast for the coming year. That last part is exactly what a general meeting wants to know when a fee increase is on the table: what happens if we do nothing.
Also for foundations and homeowners' associations
An accounting program for foundations has essentially the same needs as an association package. A foundation has no members, but it does have a board, a bank account, invoices, donors and annual accounts that must be justified. That side works the same: you record contacts the way an association records members, and the audit committee feature and annual figures are just as useful.
For a homeowners' association (VvE) things are different, because almost everything is tied to the apartment rather than the person. For that there are dedicated features: units with ownership shares, a contribution per owner proportional to the size, earmarked funds so you can see what is freely spendable and what is not, a reserve fund with a long-term maintenance plan, and voting at the owners' meeting weighted by ownership share.
Read more on the page about VvE management, including a calculator for the reserve fund.
Get started in three steps
No lengthy implementation, no consultant needed. An active board member sets up the basics in an afternoon.
- 1 Create an account — free 30-day trial, no credit card required. Fill in the name of your association.
- 2 Import your members and fees — upload an Excel file with your member list. Set your fee amounts (or varying per member).
- 3 Read in your bank statements, and switch on the general ledger if you want it: payments are matched to invoices automatically. The general ledger stays off until you switch it on; after that it builds itself from what is already there.
Frequently asked questions about accounting for associations
What is an accounting package for associations?
An accounting package for associations is software with which a board keeps the association's financial administration: collecting membership fees, sending invoices, processing bank statements and producing annual figures. Unlike general accounting programs, an association accounting package takes into account specific processes such as fee cycles, audit committee reviews and the relationship between members and invoices.
What is the difference between an accounting program for associations and for businesses?
General accounting programs such as Exact, Twinfield or Moneybird are designed for businesses with clients and hourly invoices. Associations work differently: membership fees are periodic and equal for groups of members, members must be able to register themselves, the board consists of volunteers and the audit committee reviews afterwards. An association accounting package like Ledenboek combines these patterns with a member administration.
Can I keep using my current accountant?
Yes. You give your accountant an audit file (XAF), the Dutch standard format for a financial administration, containing the chart of accounts, the opening balance and every entry. Any common package or accountant can read that file. If you prefer a table, download the journal as csv, or the annual figures as Excel.
What does an accounting package for an association cost?
With Ledenboek you start with 30 days free with full functionality: member administration, membership fees, direct debit, bank statement import and the bookkeeping with general ledger and balance sheet. After that you choose a subscription that fits the size of your association. See the pricing on the homepage.
Does Ledenboek also handle the member administration?
Yes. At its core, Ledenboek is a member administration with the bookkeeping integrated on top. That is precisely the heart of the story: one place where members, fees, invoices and bank statements come together.
Is there a free accounting program for associations?
Free accounting programs exist, and for a small association with a few dozen members a spreadsheet can last a long time. What you keep doing yourself with free solutions is matching payments to members, sending reminders and compiling the annual figures. As soon as that costs more than a few hours a year, paid software becomes cheaper than the time it saves. Ledenboek has no free plan, but it does offer a 30-day trial with everything included.
Does this also work for a foundation?
Yes. A foundation has no members but does have a board, a bank account, invoices and annual accounts, and that side works the same. You record donors or contacts the way an association records members. The audit committee feature and the annual figures are just as useful for a foundation.
Is there also accounting for a homeowners' association (VvE)?
Yes. For a homeowners' association there are dedicated features: units with ownership shares, a contribution per owner proportional to the size, earmarked funds, a reserve fund with a long-term maintenance plan and voting weighted by ownership share. See the page about VvE management.
Does my association have to file VAT returns?
Many associations fall under an exemption, for example sports clubs and associations that only collect membership fees. As soon as you structurally generate revenue with a canteen, sponsorship or sales, VAT liability may arise. Ledenboek does not file VAT returns itself: it does keep the VAT per invoice and per ledger account, and you file the return yourself or through your accountant. If in doubt, check with an accountant; the rules around associations have exceptions.
Can I switch from Excel?
Yes, that is the most common switch. You upload your existing Excel file and first see a preview of what will be imported and which column ends up where, before anything is saved. Most boards get through this in half an hour.
Does Ledenboek have a real general ledger and a balance sheet?
Yes. Alongside membership fees, invoices and bank transactions there is a full set of books: a chart of accounts, journals, manual entries, money in transit, a trial balance, and a balance sheet with a statement of income and expenses. The module is off by default; an association that is happy with its cash book notices nothing. Switch it on and the ledger builds itself from the data already there.
Do I need to know double-entry bookkeeping to use this?
No. You sort bank transactions with labels, the way you are used to, and every label belongs to a ledger account. The double entry happens underneath. Those who want to see it can; those who do not, leave the module off and work with membership fees, invoices and annual figures.
Can I take my administration to another package?
Yes, in two ways. For your accountant or another bookkeeping program you download an audit file (XAF), the Dutch standard format, containing the chart of accounts, the opening balance and every entry. For yourself you make a backup: one file with everything belonging to your association in it, attachments included, which you can keep and also restore. Your data is yours, not ours.
How does the audit committee review work?
Audit committee members get their own access with insight into the finances only, so without the rest of the member administration. They review all transactions and invoices, add comments where something is unclear and sign off digitally for the discharge. The result is a signed PDF report for the general meeting.
Can members pay their fees in instalments?
You set the fee cycle to annual, semi-annual, quarterly or monthly, and it can differ per group of members. With direct debit, the amount is then collected per period. You can also set a different amount per member, for example for youth members, family members or honorary members.
Further reading
- Collecting membership fees: how direct debit, reminders and payment links work.
- All features: the complete overview, from committees to events.
- Choosing a member administration: what to look for when comparing packages.
- Comparison with ClubCollect: including worked examples and when they are the better choice.
- Why a member administration system: ten reasons, for when you still need to convince the board.