Congratulations, donors are finally coming in, donations are finally piling up, and your nonprofit organization is starting to take its place. You can finally do good in the world as you want, but first, some papers need pushing and calculations to be made.
Your excel sheets have been fine so far, but it’s getting more challenging to organize all these data this way. It would help if you had something more efficient and dedicated to accounting.
It would be best if you had accounting software. Thankfully, nonprofit accounting software (sometimes called fund accounting software ) is a thing. We’re here to show you some of the best nonprofit accounting software to help you and your organization.
Best Accounting Software for nonprofits
- Financial Edge by Blackbaud
- Aplos
- Araize FastFund Accounting
- NonProfitPlus Accounting Suite
- QuickBooks
- Sage Intacct
- Zoho Books with Nonprofit Modules
- ZarMoney
Let’s dive into our list of the best nonprofit accounting software.
Table of Contents
Financial Edge by Blackbaud
Blackbaud was founded in 1981, and since then, it has become one of the household names in the world of nonprofit accounting. Considering their experience, it’s no wonder how popular their solutions are and how good they are.
Financial Edge is cloud-based accounting software for small and mid-sized nonprofits currently being used by over 5,000 nonprofit organizations. The app’s popularity should come as no surprise, considering the wealth of features it offers.
Those capabilities and features are also presented in a nice-looking package with a beautifully designed and well-organized interface that is the secret to utilizing the software to its full potential.
Financial Edge’s accounting features include Accounts receivable, Accounts payable, Charts of Accounts, Bank Reconciliation, invoicing, budgeting, revenue, expenses tracking, and even project management.
It doesn’t stop there, as it also offers payroll and vendor management for a truly all-in-one accounting solution for your nonprofit.
Pricing
Blackbaud doesn’t currently offer a fixed pricing scheme, so you need to contact Blackbaud to estimate your nonprofit organization.
URL: https://www.blackbaud.com/products/blackbaud-financial-edge-nxt
Aplos
Aplos is also a cloud-based nonprofit accounting software that offers all the essential features you can find in any accounting software. Aplos also has a modern interface that is pleasing to look at, but most importantly, it makes using the software more efficient. It gives you all the necessary information you need to learn at a glance.
The fund accounting software is straightforward, making it perfect for nonprofits as it requires no training to use, so you can set it up and start using it immediately.
The nonprofit accounting software offers plenty of features such as Activity tracking accounts payable and receivable, activity tracking, asset management, bank reconciliation, donor management, budgeting and forecasting, and general ledger.
However, Aplos falls short in payroll, as it doesn’t offer payroll features.
Pricing
- Starting – costs $49/mo. – offers up to 500 contacts, access to support, and a maximum of 2 users.
- Growing – Costs $79/mo. – offers up to 2,000 contacts, access to support, integrations, and a maximum of 5 users
- Established – Costs $199/mo. Offers up to 5,000 contacts, access to support, integrations, and a maximum of 10 users.
- Thriving: Quote-based – for those that need more than 10 users and 5,000 contacts. Of course, support and integrations are included.
- Advanced Accounting – Starts $199/mo. You get full access plus advanced features such as Budget by tags, automating transaction entries, and fixed asset tracking.
You can get a 15-day free trial for the fixed plans without registering your credit card, and for the two other plans (Thriving and Advanced Accounting), you can request a demo from their pricing page here.
Araize FastFund Accounting
Araize FastFund was built from the ground up to be the perfect software for nonprofits, mainly because it was designed by CPAs who specialize in auditing nonprofits. In addition, Araize offers training modules, both free and paid, for registered users to get them acquainted with the software and help them get the most out of it.
If you are looking for something that’s dedicated only to you, you can go for the private training option, but this one will cost you a bit ($100 per hour)
What does Araize offer? It offers all of the basic accounting features you expect and more. Some features include budgeting, financial statements, customizable, compliant reports, audit trails, check printing, cash disbursements, and custom filters. Going for the premium version will also get accounts receivable/payable and cost allocations.
Unfortunately, there are no payroll or fundraising features built into the application, but Araize offers separate applications for those, but of course, these come at an additional cost.
Pricing:
- Standard Edition: Costs $38/mo. For one user. Gives you all the essential features.
- Premium Version: Costs $85/mo. You get all the features of the standard edition plus accounts receivable/payable and cost allocations.
You can add up to four more users for an extra $30 per month. A 30-day free trial and support are available for all plans.
NonProfitPlus Accounting Suite
NonProfitPlus is exactly what its name makes you think it is: It’s an accounting suite for nonprofits and a bit more. The software offers all the basic and advanced features that you will be reluctant to find anywhere else: volunteer tracking and board management.
The user interface is not as modern-looking or sleek as other options on this list, but it is functional and efficient. If you are familiar with Microsoft products, you will know your way around this solution with no problems.
NonProfitPlus is an excellent option for nonprofit organizations looking for functional software to complete the work efficiently.
The features include payable accounts, receivable accounts, activity tracking, asset management, general ledger, purchasing and receiving, donor management, budgeting and forecasting, compliance management, and more.
Pricing:
NonProfitPlus doesn’t have fixed pricing plans; unfortunately, they offer no free trial.
URL: https://www.nonprofitplus.net/software/nonprofit-accounting-suite/
Intuit QuickBooks
QuickBooks by Intuit needs no introduction, so we will not give it one. However, you need to know how you can use such a comprehensive and complete system for nonprofits, and there are two answers to this question.
First, you can use QuickBooks for your nonprofit as you would use for any other organization, or you can go a step further and combine QuickBooks online with Sumac.
Sumac is an accounting solution that offers many features, such as event tracking, donation management, invoicing, time tracking, email marketing, and more.
Here’s the thing, QuickBooks online, on its own, is great, stable software, but one that doesn’t offer many features compared to others on this list when compared in the same price range. However, by combining QuickBooks and Sumac, you can open up a whole new world for a fraction of the cost, and it’s all thanks to the sweet integration between the two.
If you want something similar to QuickBooks, feel free to check out the best QuickBooks Alternatives here.
Pricing:
QuickBooks Online offers three pricing plans:
- Simple Start: Costs $20/mo – offers basic income and expense tracking, estimates, reporting, invoicing, and receipts. It is limited to one user.
- Essential: Costs $40/mo. – Offers the features you get with the previous plans but adds time tracking and bill management—maximum of 3 users.
- Plus: It costs $70/mo. – Offers all the features of the essential plan but adds inventory tracking, project profitability tracking, and 1099 contractors management—maximum of 5 users.
Of course, you get app integrations, access to support, and receipt capture with all plans. In addition, you can learn more about pricing.
URL: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/global/
Sage Intacct
Intacct offers a comprehensive system with a friendly, colorful interface that makes it simple to use the program. The software focuses on the user experience without sacrificing functionality. It’s pretty simple to use but still offers plenty of training material for those new to the field, and you can always access their helpful support if you need it.
Intacct’s features include Accounts payable/receivable, asset management, general ledger, purchasing and receiving, compliance management, and partnership accounting.
One thing that Sage lacks is payroll management, and it doesn’t offer explicit donation management features.
Sage Intacct Pricing:
Pricing is also Quote-based, but they do offer a free trial.
URL: https://www.sageintacct.com/
Zoho Books plus Nonprofit Modules
Zoho is a viral cloud-based family of applications that any business can use. We are considering Zoho Books, Zoho’s web-based accounting software that offers all the basic features you need, such as invoicing, financial reporting, bills, bank reconciliation, and many more.
However, Zoho on its own is not the best for nonprofits, but with a couple of additions, it can be just perfect. These two additions are donor management and a volunteer portal.
Adding these two modules or add-ons to Zoho will give you many more features: donation management, contact management, volunteer tracking and management, event planning, event registration, and many more.
Zoho Books Pricing:
The two modules we’ve mentioned are free, so you don’t need to worry about that. As for Zoho Books, it offers three pricing plans:
- Basic: Costs $9/mo. And offers up to 50 contacts, 1 user and 1 accountant, and 5 automated workflows. You get all the basic accounting features such as invoicing and expense tracking.
- Standard: Costs $19/mo. And offers up to 500 contacts, 2 users and 1 accountant, and 10 Workflow. It also adds extra features, such as vendor credits, bills, and purchase approval.
- Professional: Costs $29/mo. And offers unlimited contacts, 10 users, and 10 workflows. It also adds extra features such as Sales and Purchase orders, a custom domain, and inventory management.
URL: https://www.zoho.com/books/accounting-for-non-profits/
ZarMoney
ZarMoney is a flexible accounting software perfect for web professionals and freelancers. The best part is, it accepts payments through PayPal and Stripe. So, no matter which corner of your client’s world, you can get paid quickly and securely.
Prepare professional quotes and send them to potential clients. When the client accepts, convert it to an invoice and email the bill promptly. Then, allow your clients to pay online by clicking the “Pay Now” button on the invoice.
The online system tracks your bills. You’re alerted when the payment is made and when it’s overdue. You can stay on top of your financials through the Income Statement, Trial Balance, and Balance Sheet. Also, get your hands on data-driven reports to learn how profitable your venture is. ZarMoney also automatically calculates and files your taxes, so you spend as little time bookkeeping as possible.
ZarMoney Pricing:
$15/month for a single user and $20/month for small businesses with two users.
URL: https://www.zarmoney.com/
Final Thoughts
Whether you have business experience or don’t, there are many things to consider before choosing the right nonprofit accounting software. There are x questions that you need to answer to be able to choose the right accounting software for your business:
- How easy is the software to use? Does it need any training? If so, are the training materials available and/or offered for free?
- Is it cloud-based, or does it need to be installed on-premise?
- What features does the business need, including any special features?
- What integrations does it need to have?
- Security and support options do the software offer
There is no Free nonprofit accounting software.
Yes, unfortunately, this is true. However, there is plenty of low-cost accounting software such as those you can find in this list of best accounting software for small businesses. In this list, you will also find Wave accounting, an entirely free solution, and we think it could be an excellent software for nonprofits.
We hope you enjoyed this article. If so, you might enjoy these resources:
- 9 Best HR Software for Nonprofits
- 9 Best Accounting Software for Mac Users
- 11 Best Project Management Software for Nonprofits
And that’s it for now! These have been 8 of the best accounting software for nonprofits.
