Boards watch. Leaders steer.
Compass gives your board a clear view of its governance duties. Cadence gives your leadership team the weekly picture. Both are built on your own numbers, checked before anyone sees them.
The board and the leadership team never share a screen. One link joins them: the dates both must meet.
A dashboard shows what happened. An instrument tells you where you are heading.
Pilots and ship captains read instruments because an instrument answers three questions fast. Every view we build is organised around them.
Position
Where the organisation stands today against its duties, its budget and its plan.
Bearing
What is due next, what is off course, and who needs to act before the date arrives.
Drift
How far each number has moved since the last reading, and the reason, in plain words.
Two instruments, two jobs.
Good governance keeps oversight and management apart.Compass
Are we meeting our duties, and where are we exposed?
- Read by Chair, directors, committees
- Rhythm Quarterly brief, instant alerts
- Never shows Daily operations
- Legal standing and filings
- Financial oversight
- Risk, conduct and policy
- Board effectiveness
- Strategy, impact and fundraising
Cadence
What do we need to do this week to land the year?
- Read by Executive director, senior team
- Rhythm Weekly or monthly
- Never shows Director declarations
- Unrestricted cash, in days
- Revenue against budget, year to date
- Year-end range
- Donor retention
- Major gifts, weighted
- Board actions due
One link, by design. The open board actions and the 90 day compliance calendar appear in both instruments, so the board and the leadership team work from the same dates. Cadence feeds Compass. Compass never reaches into Cadence.
Start with 12 indicators. Grow to 46.
Standard build or managed.The library holds 46 governance indicators drawn from Canada Revenue Agency guidance, federal and Ontario nonprofit corporate law, and published sector practice. Most boards do not need all of them on day one.
| Size | What it covers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Core, 12 indicators | Legal standing and filings. What every board must be able to answer for. | Charity information return filed on time. Corporate annual return filed. Directors list complete and signed. Books and records kept in Canada. Donation receipts complete and accurate. |
| Plus, 20 indicators | Core, plus the early-warning checks. Financial and risk indicators that catch problems sooner. | Unrestricted cash on hand, in days. Board approved the financial statements. Conflict of interest declarations. Directors and officers insurance in place. Changes notified to the regulator. |
| Full, 46 indicators | The whole picture. Adds board effectiveness and strategy. | Board attendance and quorum. Skills matrix and succession plan. Annual board evaluation. Program outcomes against targets. Executive director review completed. |
Keep your CRM. Stop reading board numbers inside it.
Same numbers, two ways to read them.Your CRM is where records are entered. It was built for the people who enter them. A director or a senior leader needs a view that is clear, current and checked before they see it.
| Typical CRM dashboard | Compass and Cadence | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Staff who enter, search and filter records | One reader at a time, the board or the leadership team |
| Look | Default charts and dense grids few directors open | Designed for the reader, with a clear next step |
| Trust | Totals can differ between reports, with no explanation | Source, as-of date and a data-health flag on every number |
| Freshness | A snapshot someone must refresh, so old data can look current | Refreshed on a schedule we agree, live where your systems allow, date always visible |
| Errors | Missing or mis-coded records flow straight into charts | Reconciled to your finance records before release, exceptions flagged and never hidden |
| Effort | Every new view needs someone who can build reports | We set it up and keep it running |
These are the common complaints, not a verdict on any one product. Many come from how a CRM was set up, and a well-kept CRM is the best source we can read from. We connect to it. We do not replace it.
Buy it once, or let us run it.
Pricing on request.| Offering | Standard, buy once | Managed, we run it |
|---|---|---|
| Compass | Core 12 build, delivered with a guide your team updates | Core 12, Plus 20 or Full 46, indicators tuned to your organisation, quarterly board brief |
| Cadence | Ten standard tiles on your data | Tiles tailored to your programs, weekly or monthly refresh, leadership brief |
| The Year-End Forecast | Snapshot report with three scenarios | Quarterly or monthly outlook, scenario updates, watch list |
| Studio | Custom visual layer on top of your existing systems | Maintained and extended as your questions change |
There are four ways in, from a single report to a standing partnership: Snapshot, Quarterly, Monthly managed and Partner. Start anywhere and move up when the value is clear. Pricing is set after a short conversation about your size and needs.
Numbers you can check.
- Primary sourcesRules and benchmarks come from the regulator or the original publisher, linked on the indicator.
- AI explores, humans decideAI helps us find patterns and draft. Humans decide what the numbers mean before you see it.
- Sources on every numberEach figure carries its source and its as-of date.
- Results, not recordsWe hold indicator results, not your donor lists or directors’ personal details.
Also built on this method.
Foundations
Compass for Foundations puts giving, grantee checks, investments and trustee duties into one brief for the board of a foundation.
Revenue forecast
The Year-End Forecast gives three year-end scenarios and the donors and prospects who can close the gap.
See it on your own numbers.
Bring one set of figures, such as last year’s revenue and this year to date. We will walk you through how your own instrument would look.
Compass indicators reflect published guidance from the Canada Revenue Agency, Corporations Canada and Ontario sources. Rules change and differ by province, so confirm requirements with your own counsel. This page and the instruments are information tools. They are not legal, accounting or investment advice. The organisation, dates and figures in the instrument previews are fictional samples.