Fund accounting software programs are sophisticated software for
nonprofits that use/need fund accounting methods. They maintain separate
balance sheet data (assets, liabilities, fund balance) for each account.
Unless you need this level of accounting, you may find business
software suitable i.e. Quicken, Microsoft Money, Quickbooks or OneWrite Plus. (For more discussion of nonprofits' use of these packages, see http://www.idealist.org/npofaq/5/10.html. Also see the note below. -Ed.))
Some of
the following fund accounting software packages have not heard about the
meaning of "user friendly."
Whatever package you choose, be alert to complying to the regulations
being promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Statements 116 and 117 (effective 1/1/95) alter how nonprofits should
tabulate gifts and present their financial information in audited
statements.
Review articles on other sites:
- NPower NY has a page that discusses nonprofit accounting questions at http://www.npowerny.org/tools/accoutingfundraisingsoftware.htm.
- Idealware published a brief review of several nonprofit accounting packages:
http://www.idealware.org/articles/fgt_accounting.php
Below are some fund accounting software packages. These entries were supplied in the 1990s and have not been updated. No recommendations are made.
FundWare - 16 modules (General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Payable,
etc.) American Fundware (Denver, CO 800-551-4458 $695 - $2395 per
module. Average cost $995 per.
Tim Mills-Groninger, Associate Executive Director/Program Director,
Information Technology Resource Center [Mailto: [email protected]] added
in February 1995:
American Fundware, based in Denver, publishes some of the most respected
high-end fund accounting software in the country. Their target market is
NPOs w/ budgets over $750,000 and municipalities.
They run some very good users groups in the Chicago area, and are quite
well regarded here. I suggest giving them a call to see if there are any
user groups in your area.
Blackbaud (Charleston, SC 800-443-9441) http://www.blackbaud.com/
General Ledger 5.10, Payroll 5 plus others $2000 for single users.
Fund-Plus Cougar Mountain Software (Boise, ID 208-344-2540) General
Ledger, a spreadsheet-based report writer, automatic tracking of
encumbrances. $2000 single user, add $1000 for multi-user, add $150 for
add on modules.
Version 5.01 Echo Management Group (Center Conway, NH 800-635-8209)
General ledger, accounts payable, quick receivables, financial report
writing, budgeting. $4,500 single user, $6300 for multi-users.
Fund Accounting Software Series, Version 3.4 for small nonprofits and
Version 5.3 for larger nonprofits Executive Data Systems, Inc.
(Marietta, GA 800-272-3374) A Windows application. General Ledger, Donor
Records, Accounts Payable, and Payroll. $425 for first 3 single user.
Plus $425 for payroll.
Fund E-Z Fund E-Z Development Corp. (White Plains, NY 914-696-0900)
General Ledger plus other modules. Will work on 286's with 20MB HD. $980
for General Ledger single user plus $500 for multi-users.
Institutional Data Systems (New Rochelle, NY 914-632-2332 or
800-322-4371). Version 3.6 General Ledger with Budgets, Accounts
Receivable, Accounts Payable with Check Writing, Costs Allocations, 7
modules in all. $395 per module plus annual support.
Fund Accounting 4.0 Kenrick Technologies, Inc. (St. Louis, MO
800-659-2022) $1295 for general ledger single user, Network starts at
$995, and add on modules are $595 or more.
Micro Information Products (MIP), NonProfit Series- Windows based fund
accounting software- Pricing starts at $1,995-additional modules available.
Advantage NonProfit Series- fund accounting for mid-to large-size
organizations, utilizes Microsoft SQL Server 2000- Pricing starts at $5,790.
(Austin, TX - 800-647-3863, [email protected]) (11/9/00
If you are a small nonprofit with relatively simple financial reporting
needs, consider one of the small business packages as mentioned in the
first paragraph. Unless you have an accountant or experienced bookkeeper
using the packages listed here, you will most likely find them daunting.
Recommend you ask others in your local area what software they are
using. Then you will have someone to talk with when you have questions.
NOTE (11/9/00): There are many websites with more active discussions of accounting issues. One worth exploring is http://www.computercpa.com/. Its accounting software vendors page (http://www.computercpa.com/asw.html) includes more sources than are listed here.
This note was posted to NONPROFIT (http://www.rain.org/mailman/listinfo/nonprofit) on 10/15/02:
"Several months ago, I was evaluating accounting solutions and found that this was going to be another expensive software investment. However, I found out about a solution called 'Nonprofitbooks' that works with Quickbooks. We decided to go with it since the cost was less than $1000. Looking back, we are glad we chose Nonprofitbooks. We ended up saving thousands of dollars for a system that can handle all our requirements." (See http://www.nonprofitbooks.com/ -Ed.)
There is also a book that walks you through using QuickBooks for keeping accounts for a nonprofit organization. It's available through CompassPoint in San Francisco. See http://www4.compasspoint.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=380
First posted as part of the original Nonprofit FAQ in 1996; some updates have been made since. Revised 11/9/00, 10/18/02; 11/17/03; 10/23/06. -- PB
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