Finance at NFE
Finance at NFE
Owner: Aaron Tushabe · Last reviewed: 29 Oct 2026
This book is adapted from the Finance section of the GitLab Handbook (CC BY-SA 4.0), scaled down for a small team. As at GitLab, it describes what we do now, not what we hope to do. Anything not yet decided is marked PROPOSED or is a stub labelled Planned.
Nearly Free Energy (NFE) trades as Watt Works Foundation Limited. This page is the front door to NFE's money: who decides, where the numbers live, which rules apply, and where to go next.
Who does what
| Area (GitLab equivalent) | At NFE | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting and reporting | Books in ERPNext, monthly close | Aaron Tushabe |
| Review and second approval | Reviews the close; approves Aaron's spending | Hillary Arinda |
| Tax | EFRIS invoicing and the monthly VAT return | Aaron Tushabe (backup: to be named) |
| Tax review and year-end | VAT review, annual return, year-end adjustments | External accountant |
| Investor relations | Funders, grants and owner capital | Aaron Tushabe |
Where the numbers live
- ERPNext is the system of record for every figure: balances, invoices, fixed assets and profit and loss by site (cost centre). This book holds the rules, decisions and how-tos. It links to ERPNext and never copies balances.
- EFRIS and eTax (URA) hold fiscal invoices and filed returns.
- Nextcloud, Accounting folder holds source documents: receipts, bank statements, URA acknowledgements.
- Open Collective (opencollective.com/nfe) is history only. It was replaced by ERPNext in Oct 2026; see the migration record.
- TINs, bank account numbers, signatories and logins never go in the Library. They're in the password manager.
Financial year
1 July to 30 June, named for the year it ends: FY27 = 1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2027.
| Quarter | FY27 dates |
|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 Jul – 30 Sep 2026 |
| Q2 | 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026 |
| Q3 | 1 Jan – 31 Mar 2027 |
| Q4 | 1 Apr – 30 Jun 2027 |
Refresh this table each July, when the policy register below is reviewed.
Policy register
Policies are controlled: they change only with both owners' sign-off, recorded as a dated line on the page. Every other page in this book is a procedure that whoever does the work can edit.
| Policy | Owner | Status | Last reviewed | Next review | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed assets and depreciation policy | Aaron Tushabe | Approved |
29 Oct 2026 | Jul 2027 | What gets capitalised and how it's depreciated (URA rates) |
| Spending and approvals policy | Aaron Tushabe | Planned | – | – | Who approves what, quotes, receipts, no self-approval |
| Chart of accounts change control | Aaron Tushabe | Approved | 29 Oct 2026 | Jul 2027 | Who can add accounts and cost centres |
| Access Management Policy (Security) | – | Approved | see page | see page | Who gets access to ERPNext, EFRIS and eTax |
Where to send things
| You have… | Send it to |
|---|---|
| A supplier invoice or receipt | Aaron, in the Nextcloud Accounting inbox folder |
| A customer billing question | Aaron |
| A request to spend money | An owner, only once it's complete: the quote or receipt, the site (cost centre) and what it's for |
| A question about a rule in this book | Comment on the page |
Transparency
NFE works in the open (Transparency by Default). Finance pages in this book can be read by all contributors. Personal data and credentials stay out.
What's in this book
- Policies: the controlled rules for spending and capitalising money.
- Accounting: how the books are kept in ERPNext, the migration record, and the monthly and year-end close.
- Tax and URA: EFRIS invoicing, the monthly VAT return, and NFE's other URA obligations.
- Funding: funders, term sheets, grant applications, the capital target, and how owner and grant money is recorded.
About this book
Please improve it: edit any procedure page directly, or ask Claude to update it using the NFE Library skill. To change a policy, propose the change in a page comment and get both owners' sign-off.