10 Best Fund Accounting Software for Nonprofits 2024 Reviews, Pricing
Managing the financial aspects of these (like reporting, budgeting, and compliance) can be complex and time-consuming. They must always demonstrate proper stewardship of resources, providing timely reports to stakeholders, including board members, donors, and regulatory bodies. You should first evaluate your organization’s financial management needs and then consider the software provider’s features, cost, ease of use, and level of customer support. The platform is easy to use, even for novice accountants or treasurers, but you can seek personalized coaching from a Wave Advisor if necessary. However, unlike QuickBooks Online, Wave can’t separate income and expenses by classes to mimic fund or program service accounting.
- This software shines for medium-sized organizations, packed with features like donor and event management, CRM, and a website builder tailored for online fundraising.
- Look for anything that can help your staff learn and navigate the software more effectively.
- Financial Edge is a cloud-based program, so you can use it from any laptop.
- Integrating those apps with your accounting software can cut down on the time you spend doing manual data entry.
- Many of Sage’s most compelling tools are focused on inventory management and creating quotes, which is not relevant for most nonprofits.
Additionally, its basic financial reporting tools provide sufficient insights for small organizations to keep track of their financial health. We selected QuickBooks Online as the most user-friendly online accounting software for nonprofits on our list, even though it’s not exclusively designed for this sector. Its versatility shines in its adaptability to the unique requirements of small nonprofit organizations. We chose Aplos as the top accounting software for nonprofits, recognizing its specialized design for nonprofit and church management. This software shines for medium-sized organizations, packed with features like donor and event management, CRM, and a website builder tailored for online fundraising.
It has the capabilities to handle all your accounting needs, including generating accounting reports, bank reconciliations, and generating data to complete your Form 990. Nonprofit solutions have revolutionized best accounting software for nonprofits the way nonprofits manage their finances. This type of technology provides the necessary features and tools to streamline operations, maintain compliance, generate reports, and foster collaboration.
Zoho Books Accounting Software: Best for Very Small Organizations
Once you are officially tax-exempt, you don’t have to pay federal income taxes and even property and sales taxes. Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in driving positive change, addressing societal needs, and making the world a better place. However, managing the financial aspects of these organizations can be a challenging and complex undertaking. Word of mouth is always one of the most powerful forms of marketing and if everyone around you is using a system that works for them, there’s a strong possibility it will work for you as well. Nonprofits must establish internal controls to safeguard assets, prevent fraud, and ensure the accuracy of financial controls. Segregation of duties, review processes, and regular financial reconciliations are essential components of effective internal controls.
Additionally, take a look at this list of small business accounting software that lists 15 of the best options on the market today. We particularly appreciate its dynamic CRM, which efficiently tracks and engages with members and donors. Aplos also offers us over 70 types of financial reports, making organizational performance assessment straightforward. Although it offers customizable reports, the parameters cannot be saved and have to be applied repeatedly.
The best accounting software programs all provide similar features, so when considering which one is best for your business, you need to consider which features are the most important to your situation. This will help you decide which accounting software meets your needs best. Other features you may want to consider include whether the software has a mobile app, how good its customer service is and how well it does with accounts receivable (A/R) and financial reporting. Nonprofit accounting software is a type of nonprofit software designed to meet the unique reporting, fundraising, and compliance needs of nonprofit organizations. QuickBooks gives nonprofits the ability to perform basic nonprofit accounting functions.
Best Accounting Software for Nonprofits
Unlike many other options, Sage’s dashboard can’t be customized to include only the information and features that you need. If your accounting staff gets overwhelmed by technology, this could be a problem. However, Sage does offer some of the best help guides, which may help them bridge the gap. Wave is missing a few key features that other paid services have but none are essential, particularly for a smaller organization. Let’s say you’ve just been elected treasurer of a very small organization ― perhaps a parent-teacher association or a community sports team.
Indeed, several of the leading accounting software providers offer specific products that are designed for small organizations. It includes volunteer management tools, allowing you to track volunteer hours and create reports by volunteer or event. Araize offers two other programs you can purchase separately or bundle with the accounting program. With FastFund Fundraising, you can create detailed donor profiles, track cash, pledges, and in-kind gifts, and create customized donor receipts.
It also features a detailed donor database with customizable profiles, segmentation tools, and integration with email providers for personalized communication. Aplos accepts a wide range of payment methods, including credit/debit cards and ACH electronic checks. Its bank account integration ensures seamless payment deposit and reconciliation, with competitive transaction fees and volume discounts ideal for smaller, budget-conscious organizations.
This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all software companies or all available software companies offers. Additionally, you can generate all kinds of financial reports and even share those reports with board members, donors, and volunteers. At Unloop, we believe in combining cutting-edge technology with the expertise of skilled bookkeepers and accountants. By leveraging automated data entry and bookkeeping, we free up time for our professionals to focus on in-depth analysis and provide valuable insights for your ecommerce business.
Nonprofit accounting features enable NPOs to fully manage their sources of funding fully, ensuring every dollar and donor is accounted for while their accounts are accurate through proper bank reconciliation. This includes the financial management of online donations from crowdfunding or foreign sources, which must be reported along with an NPO’s main funding. It provides no native apps for accepting payments, but Xero integrates with tons of third party apps that help nonprofits fundraise, accept payments, and manage donors. Xero also integrates with Xero Me for payroll, Xero Expenses for employee reimbursement, and Xero Projects for project management and cost/time tracking.
Why We Chose Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
With a comprehensive understanding of your needs, use a guide like this one to consider the various options and select the best choice for you. If you’re intimidated by setting it up on your own, consider their $249 coaching option, which includes two hours of live support followed by 30 days of email support. This seemed to us like a reasonable price to set the system up efficiently and maximize its utility for your staff. If you have a larger financial team, QuickBooks becomes a bit more expensive, charging $100 per month for unlimited users.
Accounting provides nonprofits with the information and tools to effectively manage their financial resources. It allows companies to track expenses, income, and assets, ensuring that resources are used efficiently and in accordance with the company’s objectives and mission. In this article, we define nonprofit accounting, examine its importance, and look at a variety of nonprofit accounting solutions (including strengths and weaknesses) to fit every business size and shape. We looked into the accounting software’s overall features and the quality of user experience. We also gave heavy consideration to the popularity of the software among nonprofit organizations, as this will have a large impact on your ability to find assistance when problems arise.
