Best Nonprofit Accounting Software of 2024

And if you own a larger nonprofit with multiple ongoing projects, Aplos’s customized solutions start at $189 a month. Using the QuickBooks Online Advanced plan, your nonprofit can keep a close eye on each project’s cash flow via the Cash Flow Dashboard. 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. QuickBooks isn’t free for nonprofits, but significant discounts are available.

• Additional users can be added for a discounted price compared with the initial user.
• Accounting software that is designed for for-profit companies can be customized for nonprofits’ needs.
• Also track outgoing funds, such as salaries, wages and other business expenses, and break them down by month.
• This capability is crucial for nonprofits that rely heavily on grants and must ensure compliance with funders’ reporting requirements.

Aplos

Nonprofit accounting focuses on accountability and mission fulfillment rather than profitability. Key differences include fund accounting for restricted donations, unique financial statements like the statement of activities, and specialized tax reporting. Nonprofits must track program-specific expenses and demonstrate proper use of funds to maintain donor trust and tax-exempt status. Fund accounting is a method of accounting that tracks and reports on the financial activity of specific funds or programs within an organization. It is essential for nonprofit accounting software because it allows organizations to stay compliant with grant requirements by keeping detailed records.

Legal compliance

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. To choose our picks for the best accounting software for non-profits, our team of finance and non-profit experts meticulously researched both spaces. We attended live demonstrations of leading accounting software platforms and took the time to test them out for ourselves. We examined pricing and plans to find the platforms that offered the most value per dollar for non-profit organizations. We also tested core accounting software features like expense reimbursement, payment processing, payroll management and financial reporting.

Serenic Navigator can sort data by department, award or fund, date range or more. Xledger allows you to view all essential accounting functions and financials within a centralized dashboard. Xero’s dashboard displays your nonprofit’s payables and receivables, as well as account balances. Her work has been featured by business brands such as Adobe, WorkFusion, AT&T, SEMRush, Fit Small Business, USA Today Blueprint, Content Marketing Institute, Towards Data Science and Business2Community. You can eliminate repetitive tasks that run up labor costs such as sending recurring invoices to contractors, sending payment reminders, categorizing transactions and auto-charging cards for recurring transactions.

Zoho Books services

But with the right nonprofit accounting software, you can change everything. A solid tool can help you streamline your processes, save time, and ensure your finances are clear and under control. We included Fund EZ because it provides specialized functionalities tailored to the complexities of grant and program reporting.

Integrations include third-party banks, Gusto Payroll, Shopify, Microsoft Outlook, Stripe, Mailchimp, and best accounting software for nonprofits more. Wave’s dashboard is simple to read, making it easy to use even for people with limited accounting experience. ZipBooks displays essential financial information through a simple dashboard.

However, unlike QuickBooks Online, Wave cannot separate income and expenses by classes to simulate fund or program service accounting as required for Form 990. If you’re required to file Form 990, investing in a more robust solution like QuickBooks Online would be a better fit. Quicken is a personal finance management software developed by Intuit, offering tools for budgeting, expense tracking, and investment management.

Standout features include tracking restricted funds to ensure you don’t spend your nonprofit’s donations improperly. It also offers services like expense tracking, reporting tools, and time tracking to help manage your nonprofit. You can also use its invoicing tools and payment acceptance service to get paid if you provide work or a service for someone else.

NetSuite’s cloud-based Social Impact software includes fund accounting, inventory management, and even ecommerce support. 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.

Integrations with over 1,000 third-party apps, such as Infoodle and Gusto, boosts Xero’s functionality. Standout features include precise tracking and management of multiple funds to ensure financial transparency. Its advanced fund accounting capabilities allow nonprofits to manage multiple funds with ease. Plus, the software offers built-in compliance tracking to ensure adherence to regulatory standards, enhancing organizational credibility.

Your nonprofit accounting software should accommodate your nonprofit today and down the road if it grows. Have a list of all these systems and an assessment of whether you’re considering changing any of them so that you can select accounting software that integrates with them. Many of Sage’s most compelling tools are focused on inventory management and creating quotes, which is not relevant for most nonprofits. Still, the software provides the functionality that most small or medium-sized organizations will need, starting at just $10 per month. He has a CPA license in the Philippines and a BS in Accountancy graduate at Silliman University. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is comprehensive for tracking both simple and complex grant requirements.

To cite one example, QuickBooks offers extensive templates for reports and it’s simple to designate the ones you use repeatedly so they pop up with a few clicks. These reports weren’t just time-savers, they were among the most well-designed and useful of any we explored. Whenever you’re working with important data, such as financial information or donor contact info, it’s important to consider security. You don’t want malicious actors to steal financial or personal information.Before deciding on a software provider, check to make sure that the vendor is reputable and that it uses proper security measures. Also, be sure to take some steps of your own, such as using a unique, complex password. FastFund Accounting is a good option for government agencies and municipalities.

Pricing is not readily available on Cougar Mountain’s website, so you have to contact the company to book a demo or get a price quote. To use the product, you have to reach out to sales to get a customized plan that suits your budget and needs. Either way, you’ll find a good Quickbooks for nonprofit plan for your business. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. As you look for accounting software, you may encounter technical terms that seem over your head.

We also gathered customer reviews and compared user feedback to see how it stacked up against our testing experience. Standout features include unlimited invoicing, enabling nonprofits to efficiently manage donor contributions and fundraising efforts. Its expense tracking and categorization features help organizations monitor spending and maintain financial transparency. Additionally, ZipBooks provides real-time financial reporting, allowing nonprofits to generate up-to-date balance sheets and income statements for informed decision-making. Nonprofit accounting software is a type of nonprofit software designed to meet the unique reporting, fundraising, and compliance needs of nonprofit organizations. As opposed to a general-purpose accounting solution, this software helps nonprofit organizations (NPOs) manage fund sources and further their organization’s mission by properly using available funds.