Nonprofit
Nonprofit organizations require accounting software that is specific to the nonprofit industry and the regulations that exist within this niche. Since nonprofit organizations range from trade associations and religious organizations to social, education, and government agencies, selecting the correct nonprofit software is dependent on matching the nonprofit’s unique functional requirements to available ERP and accounting solutions.
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.
The below 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 |
Panorama’s ERP 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 facilitate a successful ERP selection project and measurable business improvements.
Recent Articles and News Related to Nonprofit Software
- Fairtrade International Trades Legacy Processes for NetSuite Cloud
- ERP for NGOs
- UNIT4 Meets the New Global Demands of a Competitive Non-Profit Sector Economy
- Consona Highlights TechSoup’s CRM Success
- CDC Software Agrees to Acquire a Provider of SaaS Registration Solutions
- CDC Software Announces Major New Versions of CDC Public and Not-For-Profit Sector Cloud-Based Enterprise Solutions
- Sage Nonprofit Online Community Debuts as Hub for Not-for-Profit Knowledge Sharing
- Sage Sponsors Online Fundraising Contest for Nonprofit Organizations
- Industry Growth and Specialization Spur Increase in Sage MIP Fund Accounting Business Partners
- Grace Fellowship Church Moves to Cloud Financial Management from Intacct
- Epicor® and Village Green Global Announce Strategic Alliance to Help Organizations Address the Sustainability Challenge
- UNIT4 Advances Non-Profit Sector Leadership with $2M+ ERP Deal
- Girl Scouts of the USA Works To Standardize Councils on a Single Sage Financial Management System
- CDC Software Acquires iDC, a Leading Cloud-based ERP Solution for Government and Not-for-Profit Markets
- Microsoft Announces Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Nonprofits and NGOs
- Sage North America Expands HR Management Software Choices for Nonprofit and Government Organizations
- Sage North America Executives To Present on Web Tactics, Moves Management at 2010 CASE District IV Conference
- CDC Software Acquires computility, a Cloud-Based SaaS Solution to Be Added to Its CDC gomembers Platform for the Not-for Profit Market
- CDC Software Signs Term Sheets to Acquire Two More SaaS Offerings For its CDC gomembers On Demand Platform
- Sage MIP Fund Accounting Wins Fourth Consecutive Campbell Award
- Enterprise Software Focus: Government and Nonprofit ERP Solutions
