The problem
The Charity Commission says the annual return must be submitted within 10 months of the end of the financial year: a 31 March year end means 31 January. A return made after that shows as late on the public register. A small charity also has its own dates: 2 Gift Aid claims, the independent examination, insurance renewal and the AGM, about 6 dates a year. With trustees changing at each AGM, those dates often live in one person's head.
What the AI does
The primary record stays with the trustees: every date goes first in the trustees' diary or minutes, with a named trustee responsible and a second trustee who checks it. This use case adds a second line of defense. Put each date in a shared Google Calendar, then build two Zapier automations that start a set time before an event starts, one at 60 days and one at 14 days, and send an email through Gmail to the chair, treasurer and secretary. The emails are a prompt to check the real record, not proof that the return was filed or the claim was made.
A worked example
A befriending charity in Lancaster with income of about $53,200£40,000€47,600A$76,800C$75,200 a 31 March year end and 6 trustees. The secretary keeps the dates in the trustees' diary and adds a calendar event and two Zapier emails for each.
Before
6 key dates a year held in the secretary's head and one diary, with the annual return due 31 January
After
Each date in the trustees' diary, checked by a second trustee, plus 12 reminder emails a year to 3 trustees
What it's worth
The value here isn't monetary: it is a second line of defense behind the trustees' own diary, so the monthly value is set at nil. 6 dates with 2 reminders each is 12 emails a year, about 1 task a month, well within Zapier's Free plan of 100 tasks a month with two-step automations.
How to set it up
- List every date first in the trustees' diary or minutes, with a named trustee responsible and a second trustee who checks the list.
- Work out the annual return deadline from your financial year end (10 months after it) and add it, plus Gift Aid claim dates, the examiner's booking and insurance renewal.
- Create a shared Google Calendar with one event per date, titled clearly, for example 'Annual return due: treasurer'.
- In Zapier, build one automation that starts 60 days before an event starts and emails the chair, treasurer and secretary through Gmail, and a second at 14 days.
- Test with a dummy event, then check at every trustees' meeting that a reminder still arrives and the calendar matches the diary.
What goes wrong
- Automations can fail silently: a disconnected Google account stops the emails with no warning. Check a test reminder arrives every few months.
- If the financial year end changes, the deadline moves. Update the diary first and the calendar second.
- A reminder isn't a filing. The return is made in the charity's Charity Commission account, and the trustees remain responsible for it.
- When trustees change at the AGM, hand over the calendar and Zapier account, not just the diary.