Nonprofit Accounting Software
Get the best nonprofit accounting software for your organization. Compare product reviews, pricing below. Read our buyer’s guide for more help.
Nonprofit Accounting Software Buyer’s Guide
Nonprofit accounting software contains industry-specific functionality developed to meet the accounting needs of the nonprofit sector. As opposed to a general-purpose accounting solution, nonprofit accounting software helps nonprofit organizations (NPOs) manage fund sources and further their organization’s mission by properly using available funds. For NPOs, using a tailor-made solution to account for donors and donations, fundraising operations, gifts, membership and other sources of funding is crucial to staying organized.
This guide offers information on the following topics:
Most Common Features
Nonprofit accounting software allows nonprofits to accurately manage the complex accounting needs for organizations of any size. Rather than depending on a general-purpose accounting solution, many organizations prefer using nonprofit accounting software for three industry-specific functions: accounting, fundraising, and donor management. Here’s a breakdown of the ways many of these functions meet the needs of an NPO:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Accounting | NPOs are responsible for keeping detailed records of their donations, funding sources, and earnings. Without meticulous recordkeeping, NPOs can be subject to audits, fines or other legal consequences. Nonprofit accounting software enables NPOs to fully manage their sources of funding, ensuring every dollar and donor is accounted for. This includes the management of online donations or foreign sources, which must be reported along with an NPO’s main funding. |
| Reporting | Earning and expense reports can be developed and compiled to fully account for an organization’s funding, complete with detailed filtering options using transaction codes. Reports can be exported in different formats, including CSVs, Microsoft Excel files, and PDFs, for use across many departments. |
| Fundraising | Nonprofit accounting software helps coordinate one of an NPO’s most essential functions: fundraising. No matter the size of your organization, fundraising functions can help keep track of donations, connect with donors, and maximize outreach and marketing campaigns. |
| Campaign management | Campaign management tools enable fundraising campaigns to execute highly targeted digital marketing plans. Campaign management tools utilize donor information to allow NPOs to utilize online donation forms. Tools that enable the creation of custom campaigns also allow NPOs to link together online donations and physical donations in a single system. |
| Campaign reporting | Detailed fundraising and donor analytics enable NPOs to put together custom reports to account for donations, grants, pledges and other sources of funding. Data-driven analysis lets NPOs measure fundraising performance, donor retention, and historical fundraising campaign success, painting a broad picture of the organization’s overall fundraising effectiveness. |
| Donation management | Nonprofit accounting software tracks donations and pledges from donors and fundraising campaigns. Donation management tools allow NPOs to measure and anticipate inbound donations, recurring donations, corporate donations, matched gifts, individual giving and any other source of contributions. |
| Grant management | From start to finish, nonprofit accounting software can keep track of an application’s status. When grants are awarded, funds can automatically be distributed to designated departments. |
Popular Software
- Blackbaud’s Financial Edge NXT (shown above) is one example of a nonprofit accounting software. The cloud-based accounting solution allows nonprofits to assemble detailed financial reporting, monitor and track the success of grants and programs and produce robust fundraising campaigns.
- Abila MIP Fund Accounting (shown above) has become a household name for nonprofit accounting and fund accounting alike. The solution was originally developed by Micro Information Products (or MIP) back in the early 80’s as a fund accounting tool. As the solution grew into a complete Nonprofit series, it was acquired by Sage in 2001 to be their answer to an increased demand for a nonprofit product. After undergoing a few name changes (Sage MIP Fund Accounting, Sage 100 Fund Accounting), it was finally acquired by Accel-KKR in 2013 and became what we know today: Abila MIP Fund Accounting.
Buying Trends
Our recent fund accounting buyer trends report found the reasons NPOs buy nonprofit accounting software and their most desired features. By analyzing over 500 notes from discussions with NPOs of all sizes, we identified key purchasing trends to help NPOs make the best purchasing decision:
- 37 percent of surveyed NPOs are replacing aging or dating systems – a statistic eight points higher than for general accounting software and 16 points higher than any other software category. For many NPOs, tight budgets and a “make do with what you have” mentality keeps organizations using software solutions and equipment that are well past their prime. Some NPOs continue to rely on applications that are nearly 30 years old.
- 21 percent of buyers are seeking better features, including mobile and online fundraising capabilities. Modern nonprofit accounting software can help build custom fundraising campaigns that can account for all online giving and manage digital and mobile donations, which can’t be easily integrated with many legacy systems.
- 23 percent of NPOs would like to move to a cloud-based software solution. Cloud software enables organizations to keep all of their online and accessible through any web browser while reducing costs. Because cloud solutions are offered on a subscription basis, the software allows for lower upfront pricing and a predictable ongoing cost structure that enables better long-term budgeting.
Pain Points
Though all NPOs are different, many that rely on similar software solutions encounter the same pain points. Here are some common bottlenecks to efficiency in nonprofit accounting software:
- Organizations often attempt to make regular, for-profit accounting software work for their nonprofit organization. Though general-purpose accounting software is often less expensive than industry-specific solutions, NPOs must work harder to make general solutions fit their unique needs. This results in organizations trying to make square pegs fit in round holes, relying on patchworks of solutions and following online tutorials to make general-purpose software work for the NPO.
- Unless you’re a power user or an accountant, accounting software can be difficult to use. Most end-users lack accounting experience, especially at smaller volunteer-run nonprofits that “do the books.” Many cloud-based nonprofit accounting software solutions are far more user-friendly than their previous counterparts, enabling users to tap into easy-to-use web-based interfaces to carry out their accounting work.
Can Quickbooks Work?
Quickbooks previously offered an industry-specific version of their software built for nonprofits. However, as software solutions have migrated into the cloud, Quickbooks no longer offers a specific standalone piece of nonprofit accounting software. Current versions of Quickbooks must instead be customized to enable nonprofit-specific functionality. For organizations, this requires savvy Quickbooks experts who are capable of customizing the software to meet their organization’s particular need. Many NPOs instead look to adopt new nonprofit accounting software solutions that work out of the box.
