What to Look for in Non Profit Financial Software - Computers - Software

Those who work in accounting for non profits have to make the most of each dollar every day. To do that they have to find the tools, strategies and tactics that empower their organizations to focus maximum resources on accomplishing their missions, increasing efficiency and productivity across all departments and, ultimately, delivering required reports with the consistency, accuracy and timeliness necessary to reinforce their funders continued confidence.

Non profit financial software built with specific requirements for accounting for non profits has unique capabilities not found in more general purpose solutions. Special features found in nonprofit accounting software help organizations better manage budgets and grants and improve reporting.

The most fundamental elements to search for when comparing non profit financial software offerings include a single point of access to all financials in real-time with automatically balanced funds and fund classes to keep projects on track and within budget. The ability to allocate expenses in real-time is key, because it increases data accuracy and timely completion of reporting, in addition to identifying and avoiding budget overruns.

Non profit accounting software at a minimum should provide the ability to handle budgeting and forecasting, core financials, fixed assets, inventory, purchase requisitions and purchase orders. A fully integrated solution provides the transparency and accountability required for awarded funding, grants, programs and projects. A solution that mirrors all of a non profits business processes across departments and funding organizations will be the most effective.

Not all non profit financial software solutions on the market today can handle the mission-critical financial management and business operations required by international non-government organizations (NGOs). For example, non profit accounting software that can provide multiple currency and multiple language capabilities is essential for organizations with global locations who work in remote areas of the world. NGOs need non profit financial software that can be deployed as a centralized solution with remote access or as a completely decentralized model, allowing organizations to operate in multiple countries where the network environments may not be ideal. This empowers employees to have access to accurate and meaningful financials, and strengthens confidence in the integrity of the data, making it easier to provide the right reports at the right time.

With the right non profit accounting software in place, accounting for non profits can be simplified through web-based portals, user-defined budget rules, workflow processes and full integration with Microsoft Office. A workflow process to enable a paperless approval system can be used to electronically sign-off on purchase requisitions and expense reports, allowing users to focus on completing projects on time. Easy access to financial data saves time across the organization from accountants and grants administrators to development managers and volunteers allowing proactive tracking of expenditures against user-defined budget rules. Updates showing progress against award and grant milestones can easily be made in the non profit accounting software, to increase accuracy and accountability throughout a project.

Those involved in accounting for non profits should look for all of these features and benefits from a non profit financial software system to make more confident decisions based on the most accurate information possible.

iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software