Nonprofit accounting: Beginner guide + key financial statements

quicken for nonprofits

Receipts are digital, so there is less fumbling around with old paperwork. However, QuickBooks may offer discounts for nonprofits who sign up for QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Get in touch with the QuickBooks sales team directly to ask about discounts.

Compare nonprofit bookkeeping features: Runners-up

In particular, QuickBooks Premier allows you to select a nonprofit-industry edition, which will provide functionalities designed specifically for nonprofits. With this QuickBooks for nonprofits option, you’ll have access to all of the features included with Simple Start, as well as the ability to add up to three users, manage your nonprofit bills, and track employee time. QuickBooks Online is an accounting solution developed by Intuit and leveraged by organizations in all verticals, including nonprofits.

Configure Data Storage and Integrations

MoneyMinder offers additional services like bank integration and MyStore. Some organizations need help when it comes to donor management and donation tracking. So, if you’re relying on multiple spreadsheets or outdated databases, Sumac can be an affordable upgrade that can streamline how you work with your constituents. If you want to track donations and donor information, you’ll need to purchase additional software.

How do I set up an accounting system for a nonprofit?

Using our advanced review methodology, we ranked the top systems below. The platform is user-friendly, even for novice treasurers, and personalized coaching is available through a Wave Advisor if needed. 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.

The Best Nonprofit Software

  • 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.
  • In this review, the term “QuickBooks for Nonprofits” will refer to nonprofit editions of QuickBooks Premier.
  • By tracking categories, you know if funds are being allocated to the right projects based on donor intent.
  • Nonprofits don’t rely on the sale of products, goods and services to make money.
  • You can use QuickBooks Enterprise Nonprofit to track expenses and charitable donations, budget by program and compare to actuals, and create donor and grant reports.

Terms, conditions, pricing, features, service and support are subject to change without notice. Do you just need new software or do you need to hire a certified public accountant? Do you have adequate accounting staff or do you want to pick a software company that also offers staffing? Before you can compare software, talk to your finance team, analyze your existing capacity and get a clear picture of what you need.

Forbes Advisor selected these solutions based on features, pricing, reputation and more. Its Advanced Accounting plan has budgeting by fund, fixed asset tracking, income and expense allocation and project-specific reporting and is available for custom pricing. Organization s that support and manage multiple entities should contact Aplos to discuss its Enterprise plan, which is tailored to each customer. For example, if you’re looking for an accounting platform designed exclusively for nonprofit organizations, you might consider Aplos. 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.

Payroll services start at $20 per month and bookkeeping support starts at $149 per month. To process a transaction via credit card, you must pay a fee of at least 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction. For large-scale nonprofits with extensive accounting needs, the Enterprise plan offers the most advanced features. It is designed to help organizations with high volumes of transactions, reporting, and user management. This plan also includes a dedicated account team to help nonprofits scale. QuickBooks offers tailored plans to meet the diverse needs of nonprofit organizations, allowing them to choose the best option based on their size, financial management complexity, and required features.

Not all nonprofits need to report to the IRS, but the ones that do need to report where the money came from, how it was spent, and why it was spent. QuickBooks makes it easy to tag expenditures to fundraising, programs, or general admin so that you can report exactly how each dollar was spent for each program or fund across your organization. At the end of the year, all of your data is organized in one location to save you time when preparing IRS Form 990. With a comprehensive understanding of your needs, use a guide like this one to consider the various options and select the best choice for you.

We weigh in user comments and ensure that we agree or disagree with what other users have to say based on our understanding of the software. Aplos is our top alternative to Nonprofit+ for those who find the latter too complex for their needs. Aplos strikes a good balance between accounting and nonprofit features, making it an ideal choice quicken for nonprofits for the average user looking for simplicity without sacrificing functionality. Luckily for you, we’ve done the research so you don’t have to take the time out of your schedule. Financial Edge is a product released by Blackbaud, a leading software company that caters to nonprofits, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities.

quicken for nonprofits

Seamlessly organize financial statements and donor data with nonprofit accounting software. 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. If you’re looking for the best QuickBooks for nonprofits solution, you’re starting your accounting software search in a great place.

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