The 6 Best Accounting Software for Nonprofits

Completely web-based, the app makes it easy for users to access their data wherever they may be. Nonprofits stand to benefit from the numerous features that accompany the tool. By automating bookkeeping and accounting processes, A2X makes it easier for non-profit organizations to monitor their finances. Automated transaction recording also helps organizations keep closer track of every expense and improve financial transparency. Nonprofit solutions have revolutionized the way nonprofits manage their finances.

  1. It allows you to monitor all transactions while being able to generate and send out invoices in different currencies and languages.
  2. Pricing is usually determined by how sophisticated the software is and the features your organization needs.
  3. The paid version starts at $79 per month for organizations managing up to 1,000 records.
  4. You’ll want to ensure your business is staying compliant and up to date with the latest IRS tax regulations, including IRS Form 990 which is required by federal tax-exempt organizations.
  5. A free version of the app can also be availed by those who need only its basic features.
  6. Sage Intacct also offers free seminars to help nonprofit organizers get off the ground, which is particularly useful for nonprofits struggling to make ends meet after COVID-19.

As our best small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online is a versatile and flexible accounting solution that can adapt to a nonprofit—we have a guide on how to set up QuickBooks Online for nonprofits. Although it is primarily for for-profit organizations, you can customize it for nonprofit use by updating its chart of accounts. It also made our roundup because of its outstanding bookkeeping assistance available through QuickBooks Live. We recommend Aplos Core for its valuable features, such as fund accounting, donation tracking, and online giving forms. It is also ideal for faith-based organizations with few employees; see how it benefits churches in our evaluation of the best church accounting software.

Standout features include a variety of related services like IT and HR services that make it easy to get all your admin help from one place. The accounting tool in particular has reporting tools, core fund accounting, grant and award management, and easy-to-use budgeting tools. While having a dedicated accountant or bookkeeper—or several—on-staff is ideal, that’s not always possible for new or growing organizations. The right accounting software can help nonprofit organizations meet these standards even if they have a lean staff, so they can reach their financial objectives and minimize their costs. For small organizations like churches or community organizations, we selected ACCOUNTS as the best accounting software.

Large Nonprofits

Reporting tools help you create a spending roadmap so you don’t overextend your cash flow. Finally, the software’s CRM helps you get to know and retain donors via targeted engagement to keep your cash flow healthy. Fund accounting systems are for organizations prioritizing transparent and ethical financial management. Our guide showcases the top platforms on the market for nonprofit and government organizations.

Visit our support hub

Nonprofit accounting solutions provide organizations of all sizes the tools they need to manage income and expenses efficiently. As nonprofits are subject to federal audits, it’s important to accurately record all of an organization’s financial details. Therefore, these systems track an organization’s donations, grants, expenses, assets and transactions. Their focus in on maintaining a healthy balance between receiving donations and spending funds on welfare activities. Larger nonprofit organizations will need enterprise level software with advanced accounting features with large donor management databases. This level of organization will want to ensure board members have full clarity of the organization’s finances through proper bookkeeping, cash management, and reporting.

EveryAction Platform

Not all nonprofits need to report to the IRS, but the ones that do need to report where the money came from, how it was spent, and why it was spent. QuickBooks makes it easy to tag expenditures to fundraising, programs, or general admin so that you can report exactly how each dollar was spent for each program or fund across your organization. At the end of the year, all of your data is organized in one location to save you time when preparing IRS Form 990. FreeAgent even has a neat dashboard that lets you know the status of your charity’s finances at a glance. With this, every time you launch the application, you know immediately where you stand regarding your cashflow. In that regard, the platform has a powerful function that helps you stem your organization’s expenses.

If you do not yet have one, you can take your pick from the best donor management software. QuickBooks Online is designed for use by growing businesses and freelancers but can be configured for nonprofits. The software has become the go-to tool for many nonprofits for their accounting needs mainly because of its ease-of-use and integrations with popular third-party programs. Using the platform eliminates the need for nonprofits to invest in costly fund accounting systems, very ideal, indeed, if you are on a tight budget. The solution effectively mimics the functions of business accounting systems; all it takes is some tweaking.

If the software can work wonders for businesses, nonprofits will find it a boon that can help them resolve their accounting headaches. All-in-one document gateway Rossum is a platform built to help teams collect their documents in a secure and unified inbox for easier processing. It comes equipped with self-learning AI technology and cognitive data capture to make it easy to record transaction information. What best accounting software for nonprofits makes this document management tool unique is that it has a highly configurable interface that allows users to use it for accounts payable processes. If you are a growing nonprofit looking to streamline your accounts payable process, AvidXchange can be an excellent solution. It is a cloud-based software with modern automation features such as OCR technology that can reduce manual data entry and human error.

Prior to editing this publication, Simon spent years working in, and running his own, investor relations agency, servicing public companies that wanted to reach and connect deeper with their shareholder base. Simon’s experience includes constructing comprehensive budgets for IR activities, consulting CEOs & executive teams on best practices for the public markets, and facilitating compliant communications training. If you want more financial management insight and advice, sign up for our newsletter to get resources and advice from leading experts. A trial period can give you a chance to figure out their learning curve and make sure they offer the features you need. Integrations include third-party banks, Gusto payroll, Shopify, Microsoft Outlook, Stripe, Mailchimp, and more. Integrations include many services, including Gusto, WePay, Church Community Builder, Bloomerang, PayPal, Sage Payroll, and more.

Apart from that, you can bar the use of cash-on-hand or petty cash unless you have given authorization through a document signed via the application. Bill.com offers three monthly plans ranging from $39/user/month to $69/user/month as well as an Enterprise plan available by quote. All subscriptions are priced depending on the features that a user requires. For instance, the solution enables businesses to automate approvals for more productive workflows. Managers can set approval rights to users based on custom rules to ensure that workflows are properly followed and company budgets and expenses are properly distributed. Paychex comes with robust payroll tax service tools that allow you to simplify tax administration.

To start, a fund is a unit of financial organization with a self-balancing set of accounts designed to record cash and other assets together with related balances and liabilities. Fund accounting software provides the automated ability to create financial statements and balance sheets for each fund. Picking the right nonprofit accounting software depends on your organization’s accounting needs.

All of them need help with accounts payable, bookkeeping, fundraising tools, and more. Nonprofit accounting refers to a specific set of accounting rules and practices used by nonprofits to track, record, and report their financial activities. Since QuickBooks was also made for non-accountants, it’s easy for first-time nonprofit bookkeepers to get a handle on nonprofit finances.

Instantly create reports as needed to keep stakeholders in the loop, or to prepare for the annual IRS filing. Nonprofits can generate more than their share of paper trail or digital forms, but Yooz is designed to handle all of them. It can work with any format of scanned images and files from any operating environment, https://simple-accounting.org/ from PDFs to JPGs. All of this helps to demonstrate an organization’s mission-related activities. It’s important to balance the benefit of using a free tool with the additional effort that is typically involved. Some also offer other unique functions, such as the ability to connect and communicate with volunteers.

It does have a vast suite of modules that can be pretty complicated, but it has user-friendly features like intuitive dashboards and one-click functionality to compensate. With flexible communication tools and a superb fundraising integration, the platform is a great cloud-based accounting solution for large nonprofits that need massive funding. Basically, if you want to streamline your accounting processes and manage volunteers without hassle, Aplos is an excellent choice. DONATION Standard is the local program that costs $99/year with unlimited support, access without internet, and up to 100,000 donors. The DONATION OnDemand is the cloud-based program that allows for 5 users at a time (instead of 1) and is available on Windows and Mac.

There are also all-in-one, fully integrated options with a suite of functionality to manage your nonprofit inside and out. Many nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers to help with their accounting. Sync your nonprofit accounting software with apps to help fundraise on the go and efficiently manage donations. And because it harnesses the power of the cloud, you can access your accounting information even from the field. Xero integrates seamlessly with many business apps so that you get to enjoy additional functionalities in a single solution.

We included user reviews in our evaluation to incorporate actual user feedback. We look at user review websites and assess all the positive and negative comments about the software. We weigh in user comments and ensure that we agree or disagree with what other users have to say based on our understanding of the software. If you’re interested in text-to-donate capabilities, you can upgrade to Aplos Core at $139 a month. And if you own a larger nonprofit with multiple ongoing projects, Aplos’s customized solutions start at $189 a month.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *