Nonprofit Software

Nonprofit organizations require accounting software that is specific to the nonprofit industry and the regulations that exist within this niche. Selecting the correct nonprofit software depends on matching the nonprofit’s unique functional requirements to available ERP and accounting solutions. Nonprofit organizations range from trade associations and religious organizations to education, social and government agencies.

Nonprofit Software Functional Requirements

  • Fund accounting software
  • Strong budgeting and account allocation
  • Advanced reporting and auditing
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Direct marketing
  • Constituent and donor management
  • Project management for events and fundraising
  • Education administration and certification management
  • Membership tracking and fee processing

As we have discovered in our experience with more than 150 ERP solutions, each ERP software package has its strengths and weaknesses. We track our extensive selection and implementation experience with various enterprise systems in our proprietary ERP Solutions Database. Below is a summary of a small sub-set of data from that database, which our project teams use to help clients select the right ERP software for their organizations.

This table identifies the generalized functional strengths of each of the listed ERP solutions for the nonprofit sector. Our ERP software selection process leverages more detailed information from our database to conduct a more thorough assessment of software fit with each client’s business requirements.

ERP Software for Nonprofits

Nonprofit Software Functionality Glovia IFS Intuitive Harris Data Sage Infor SSA Lawson Microsoft Navision
With
Serenic Navigator		 Sage Adonix Epicor
Standard ERP Functionality
Document Management Medium High High Medium High High Medium High High High
General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable High High High High High High High High High High
Purchase Orders High High High High High High High High High High
Human Resources Management (HR) High High High High High High High High
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Medium High High Medium High High High High High High
Transaction Audit Trails High High High High High High High High High High
General Requirements
Flexible Reporting and Ad Hoc Report Writer High High High Medium High High High High High High
Support Crystal Reports High High High High High High High High High
Ease of Data Migration High High High High High High High High High High
Inter-departmental Communication and Visibility High High High High High High High High High High
Business Workflow Management High High High High High High High High High High
Integration Tools High High High Medium High High High High High High
Functional Specific Requirements
Fundraising High High High High High High High High High High
Accounting and Finance Management High High Medium Medium High High High High High Medium
Inventory Management, Warehouse Management, Shipping/Receiving Low High High Low High High High High High High
Mail Center High High High High High High High Medium High High
Gift Processing Medium High High High High High High High Medium High
Purchasing High High Low Medium High High High High High High
Other Key Factors
Ease of ERP Implementation High High High High High High High High High High
Vendor Support High High High High High High High High High High
Return on Investment (ROI) High High High High High High High High High High
Vendor Stability Medium High Medium Medium High High High High High High
Support High-end Database that Supports High-Volume Transactions High High High High High High High High High High
.NET Environment (Preferred) High High High Medium High High High High High High
IT and End-user Training High High High High High High High High High High
Flexible and Robust Help System High High High High High High High High High High

Disclaimer: For illustrative purposes only. Assessment for your unique needs may vary based on specific business processes and requirements. You will want to develop more detailed requirements as part of your software evaluation and selection process.

Panorama’s ERP consultants provide a complete service offering that can assist your organization throughout the process of ERP selection, ERP implementation and organizational change management.

Our consultants are aware of the potential pitfalls of ERP selection projects and can help hedge against project cost overruns, software that is misaligned with business needs, and lack of return on investment. The ERP team has industry-specific expertise that helps achieve measurable business improvements.

Panorama’s nonprofit clients include Disabled American Veterans and Focus on the Family.

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