Best Accounting Software For Nonprofits

Form 990 is a tax form that tax-exempt organizations—which include most nonprofits—must submit to the IRS every year. The form details your organization and its aims, and shows where your funds came from and were distributed during the tax year. Unlike individual and small-business end-of-year tax forms, Form 990 is available for the public to view. First, find out which considered software offers a free trial or a version you can use to try the software before buying. Narrow your list down of considered software to the ones you can afford. Fund accounting, also known as fund-based accounting, is the accounting system nonprofits use to keep their books and track funds.

Zoho Books

With everything consolidated, you can track inter-entity transactions to improve reporting and donor-dollar traceability. In addition, as you build new global entities, you can seamlessly add them to the software. Unfortunately, there aren’t many free nonprofit-specific accounting software options. (Nonprofit Treasurer, our favorite free option, recently closed its doors.) If you’re looking for fully featured free accounting software, though, your best bet is Wave Accounting.

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.

Is QuickBooks good for nonprofits?

With no payroll tools, Quicken allows solo-run nonprofits that rely on volunteers to perform basic business accounting, such as allocating funds based on donor intent to different categories or budgets. In addition, they can track expenses and capture receipts to simplify tax filings and report to donors the nonprofits’ overhead-versus-project costs. Unlike most software for nonprofits, NonProfitPlus includes inventory management, which is crucial if you stock merchandise (like T-shirts and mugs) to raise money or reward donors. On the other hand, NonProfitPlus doesn’t list any pricing on its site—as with Sage Intacct, you have to get in touch with a representative for a quote.

NetSuite

• But even with its extensive accounting features, QuickBooks’s nonprofit software still doesn’t have as many nonprofit-specific features as Sage Intacct and Aplos.
• If you’re interested in text-to-donate capabilities, you can upgrade to Aplos Core at $139 a month.
• It’s also on the pricier end of accounting software that wasn’t built for nonprofits.

The best accounting software for nonprofits should offer nonprofit-specific features like fund-based accounting, donation tracking, and Form 990 generation. For nonprofits, that often means basic financial reports (including donor- and board-facing financial reports), a chart of accounts to help you track finances, and basic budgeting to keep your nonprofit up and running. Intuit QuickBooks offers several plans, ranging from $35 to $235 per month ($17.50 to $117.50 per month for the first three months during the current promotion).

• With no payroll tools, Quicken allows solo-run nonprofits that rely on volunteers to perform basic business accounting, such as allocating funds based on donor intent to different categories or budgets.
• While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe.
• The best accounting software for nonprofits should offer nonprofit-specific features like fund-based accounting, donation tracking, and Form 990 generation.
• With the right bookkeeping software on your side, you’ll be able to make the most of your donations and reach people who support your cause.

Nonprofit accounting software runner-ups

In contrast, nonprofit accounting centers on tracking funds, including responsible oversight of fund management. Fund accounting software’s primary goal is to show you and your shareholders, namely board members and donors, exactly where their money is going. Next, make a list of the features your organization needs to properly track, report and manage its funds and taxes.

Best for In-Depth and Customizable Reporting

Plan differences revolve around the number of users, customization options, inventory management, automations and expense tracking. You have to pay an extra fee for payroll services, starting at $45 per month. QuickBooks gives nonprofits the ability to perform basic nonprofit accounting functions. All Xero plans offer reporting, payment acceptance, file storage, contact management, tax calculations and the ability to connect Xero to a bank account. Its $15 per month plan (75 cents per month for the first three months during the current promotion) offers invoicing and quotes tools, bill tracking for five bills, bank and Xero syncing and 30-day cash flow snapshots. Its $42 and $78 plans ($2.10 and $3.90 per month, respectively, for the first three months during the current promotion) add bulk transaction reconciliation, higher bill pay limits, project tracking and analytics.

Its free accounting tools offer income and expense tracking, reports (such as overdue invoice reports) and a reporting dashboard. Finally, its banking tools allow you to automate bookkeeping, receive instant payments and deposit checks via a mobile app. NetSuite, which was purchased by Oracle a few years ago, offers a wide range of accounting, CRM, and ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions for dozens of industries—including nonprofits. NetSuite’s cloud-based Social Impact software includes fund accounting, inventory management, and even ecommerce support. Unfortunately, while Aplos’s nonprofit features stand out, its accounting features are more limited.

Zoho Books’s thorough best accounting software for nonprofit organizations reporting features include expense reports that simplify transparency and fund tracking. Zoho Books excels at collaboration—you can delegate as many tasks as you need to other organization members. (While users are limited by plan, you can add additional users to any plan for $2.50 per month per user.) Like Sage Intacct, Zoho Books uses automated workflows to streamline data entry and consolidate redundant tasks.

Best Accounting Software For Nonprofits

Once you know the time employees spend on a project, you can allocate project funds to those employees. You can also connect a bank account and FreshBooks will generate spending reports. When choosing nonprofit accounting software, consider whether you can afford it, if it includes the features you will need to perform essential nonprofit accounting actions, and if you can upgrade to more advanced features as you grow. You can also consolidate the financials of multiple global entities into one platform, then connect business management software such as Salesforce. You can consolidate across multiple currencies and local tax codes automatically and in minutes.

But if you want to accept donations (which you undoubtedly do) you can’t just sign up for Zoho Books. Zoho Checkout is free as long as you accept only 50 donations—ever, not per month. Clients that need unlimited donations in multiple currencies will need to add a $9 a month Zoho Checkout plan to their existing Zoho Books plan. If you’re searching for accounting software that’s user-friendly, full of smart features, and scales with your business, Quickbooks is a great option. 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. Finding the right software for your nonprofit helps determine its success, so make sure to snag those free trials and test-drive different options.

Unfortunately, NetSuite’s site is pretty sparse, and it’s definitely on the pricier side of accounting software (third parties estimate it starts at around $499 a month). Still, since Oracle NetSuite focuses on ERP and CRM software, it’s a better fit for midsize to large nonprofits with a bigger budget for accounting. However, Sage Intacct is definitely on the pricy end of the nonprofit software spectrum. 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.