QuickBooks for Nonprofits: Costs, Pros and Cons, Alternatives

You can determine whether these are one-time or regular experiences and choose how to raise funds for different accounting services for nonprofit organizations programs that don’t gain as much financial support. A budget and strategic plan will help plan for better use of these funds and others. All funds that come to your organization are restricted, unrestricted, or temporarily restricted. Bookkeepers must record these funds in a chart of accounts to better keep track.

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• Popular options include QuickBooks Nonprofit, Aplos, Sage Intacct, Wave, Xero, and Araize FastFund Accounting.
• On the plus side, it integrates with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge, a capable tool for donor management and fundraising.
• While many organizations start out managing their finances in a spreadsheet, a specialized accounting platform will become necessary as your nonprofit grows.
• Outsourcing a bookkeeper in the US is one of the most cost-effective ways to get your bookkeeping done by experienced and certified professionals.
• Different funding sources come with different nonprofit accounting requirements.
• Bookkeeping for nonprofits records every financial event—donations, grants, payroll, and program costs—so leaders can track resources and meet legal requirements.

We’ve reviewed the top platforms for organizations of various sizes and sectors, including education, faith-based, and healthcare. With this, you would have understood that accurate bookkeeping is very essential to secure more grants and more donors while maintaining the status of tax exemption. Without a financial system and robust bookkeeping services, non-profit organizations lose out on their credibility. We selected QuickBooks Online as the most user-friendly online accounting software for nonprofits on our list, even though it’s not exclusively designed for this sector. Its versatility shines in its adaptability to the unique requirements of small nonprofit organizations. Large nonprofits would likely be the most compatible with Blackbaud since it was created for nonprofits and has a large number of services.

Fully Staffed Accounting Team

• This is crucial for larger hospital systems to maintain accurate finances across several clinics and medical centers.
• Do you need to decide whether your non-profit should hire a bookkeeper or an accountant?
• Accurate bookkeeping for nonprofits is essential to demonstrate financial accountability, make informed decisions, maintain transparency with stakeholders, and fulfill legal requirements.
• Xero’s strength lies in its extensive integration capabilities with over 1,000 third-party apps.
• We help organizations succeed through nonprofit accounting, nonprofit HR, and fiscal sponsorship.
• Remember to provide transparent and detailed guidelines for compensation and include employee benefits—even if they are nonmonetary, such as flexible working hours and paid time off.

Documents like IRS Form 990 and more in the US need to be filled and this can be only done when the financial records are transparent. When there is non-compliance in adhering to these rules, there can be penalties, loss of the tax-exempt status of the organization and also damage to the reputation. You can easily track volunteer hours in relation to events, view reports by volunteers and events, evaluate events based on volunteer effort/time, and more.

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Access affordable, scalable, expert nonprofit accounting services by partnering with Jitasa. The lengthy, complex return requires specialized knowledge, and we recommend consulting non-profit bookkeeping professionals to help you prepare and file the form. For example, imagine your non-profit has a long-standing relationship with a local company. You might anticipate donations from the business each year; you should include the estimate in your annual budget. Your statement of activities should categorize revenues into restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted.

• Fortunately, we created ZipBooks to be a no-hassle accounting solution for busy foundation executives like yourself.
• You’ll need to record the car as an in-kind donation from the dealership, noting even details about the model and make of the vehicle.
• One of the most important tools for nonprofit bookkeeping is accounting software.
• With millions of nonprofits registered with the IRS, the demand for cost-effective, specialized solutions is significant.
• The purpose of grant tracking is to ensure that grant funds are properly managed, used according to the grantor’s specific conditions and requirements, and reported accurately.
• Accurate and timely bookkeeping practices will make the job of those tasked with budgeting much easier to tackle.

• Their responsibilities extend to budgeting, preparing for financial policies, and ensuring compliance.
• This initial step sets the foundation for all future tracking and reporting.
• It is a growing company that claims to be used by over 40,000 nonprofits.
• The more transactions your nonprofit makes, the more often you should reconcile your bank statements.
• Remember, responsible overhead spending builds capacity that ultimately expands your organization’s reach and impact.
• As a bookkeeper, it may be necessary to meet with your nonprofit’s accountant weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
• Bookkeeping for nonprofits is recording and analyzing financial transactions to ensure compliance with state and federal accounting rules.

Whether you use the basic QuickBooks Online or upgrade to the all-in-one QuickBooks Enterprise Nonprofit, you’ll be in good hands. These contributions assist NGOs to meet their operational costs and achieve their goals. For example, tax reporting can be an extremely complex process that must be taken care of error-free.

Adjustments may be necessary for bank fees, direct deposits, or unrecognized transactions. Current versions of Quickbooks must instead be customized to enable nonprofit-specific functionality. For organizations, this requires savvy Quickbooks experts capable of customizing the software to meet their organization’s particular needs.

On the plus side, it integrates with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge, a capable tool for donor management and fundraising. Are you a small nonprofit that wants to move beyond Google and Excel spreadsheets for tracking expenses? Or maybe you’re a growing nonprofit organization that deals with hundreds of donors and volunteers and needs a solution that will improve its efficiency.