QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise for Nonprofits

From funding specific projects to just keeping the lights on, Advanced helps you see where your donations are allocated. And with QuickBooks Premier, you also have the option to purchase the software at a nonprofit discounted rate through the Intuit Donor Program with TechSoup. Plus, with QuickBooks Online, you’ll be able to take advantage of the platform’s robust feature set, flexibility, and accessibility that all kinds of business owners find useful. First, regardless of which of the four different versions of QuickBooks Online you choose, you can set up your account as a nonprofit, which will allow you to change the normal settings to make them specific to your industry. The most important of these settings to double-check is the company type.

Key features of nonprofit accounting software

They’re too big for small-scale solutions but not large enough for enterprise-level software. Fortunately, customizable NPO accounting software can hit that sweet spot. In addition to the functionality described above, you’ll need extra features. For example, if you receive any money from grants and need to allocate expenditures to them appropriately, you’ll want to ensure your software has fund accounting functionality.

• With all of this functionality, the Advanced plan will cost $180 per month, with the current discount for the first three months of your subscription bringing the monthly price down to $90.
• If you like QuickBooks’ features and setup but don’t need a solution as expensive or comprehensive as QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, pricing for QuickBooks Online starts at $30 per month.
• Instead, they rely on donations, grants and other profit-free income streams, which means nonprofit software should help you accept, record and track donations.
• You can also connect a bank account and FreshBooks will generate spending reports.

How We Evaluated Nonprofit Accounting Software

Nonprofits are held to high standards when it comes to making their financial data readily available to their donors and board members (not to mention the IRS). The cost for unlimited customers, vendors and job applicants is $499 per Portal plan per month. QuickBooks Online can be used in a nonprofit setting, but you’ll want to make sure your staff can put up with the “for-profit language” of the program. The dashboard mentions profit and loss, sales, and other terms not commonly used in nonprofit environments. Keep in mind that financial reporting should be accurate and consistent and reflect the true nature of the organization’s operations. Taking care of overhead before seeking out donors for a nonprofit demonstrates financial responsibility and a commitment to efficiency—important decision-making factors for potential donors.

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We looked into the accounting software’s overall features and the quality of user experience. We also gave heavy consideration to the popularity of the software among nonprofit organizations, as this will have a large impact on your ability to find assistance when problems arise. Nonprofits with less than $50,000 in gross receipts can file Form 990-N instead of Form 990, which means they don’t have to separate expenses into administrative, program service, and fundraising. Wave’s basic accounting features will work great for these small nonprofits. Wave doesn’t offer industry-specific features, but small nonprofits most likely won’t need them.

Other features you may want to consider include whether the software has a mobile app, how good its customer service is and how well it does with accounts receivable (A/R) and financial reporting. The best nonprofit accounting software should include all the core accounting features and functionality all businesses need, such as the ability to send invoices and track spending. It should also offer nonprofit-specific accounting functionality, such as the ability to receive donations, manage restricted funds and file Form 990.

Why QuickBooks is Essential for Nonprofits

A nonprofit organization can successfully use certain QuickBooks products from Intuit. The solution can support tracking budgets by programs or funds, donor management, grant management, financial reporting, bank reconciliations, and more. Larger nonprofit organizations need enterprise-level software with advanced accounting features and large donor management databases. This level of organization will want to ensure board members have full clarity of the organization’s finances through proper bookkeeping, cash management, and reporting. Forecasts will be far more important in predicting the health of your organization in the following year.

Nonprofit accounting solutions will help streamline your tax preparation and filing process. You’ll want to ensure your business is staying compliant and up to date with the latest IRS tax regulations, including IRS Form 990, which federal tax-exempt organizations require. We also like AccuFund’s modular structure, which helps organizations tailor the system to their specific workflows by selecting a few modules and adding more as their needs evolve​​. This flexibility is further enhanced by the option for either cloud-based or on-premise deployment to best fit nonprofit schools’ infrastructures and operations. We also like its grants management module, which streamlines the entire process from application through reporting. However, one drawback to AccuFund is that it can be difficult to export data to Excel, specifically budgets.

This version of QuickBooks Online offers the accounting features and functionality nonprofits need, including the ability to manage nonprofit finances, file Form 990 and file taxes. Next, make a list of the features your organization needs to properly track, report and manage its funds and taxes. Such features may include the ability to track and allocate quicken for nonprofits restricted funds, process payroll and pull reports to aid you in filing your 990 form. Now, reference your list of considered providers and the plans you can afford. Find the provider and plan that most closely matches the list of features your organization needs. Xero’s highly customizable and in-depth reporting tools make Xero stand out.

Investopedia launched in 1999 and has helped readers find the best accounting software for nonprofits since 2020. Nonprofits, in particular, follow a specific type of accrual accounting called “fund accounting,” which tracks expenses and income in separate funds or accounts representing specific revenue sources like donations or grants. It also helps nonprofits measure their financial performance against their charitable goals. Financial Edge NXT by Blackbaud is a cloud-based fund accounting solution. Like all of Blackbaud’s products, it was designed specifically for nonprofits. Customization starts at $179 a month if you need advanced accounting solutions.

In our view, Enterprise offers more power and functionality than Premier. Like Premier, it includes industry-specific editions, but now with both cloud-hosted and desktop versions available. We appreciate that QuickBooks provides businesses the flexibility to either access Enterprise remotely via cloud hosting or stick with the traditional desktop setup. Nonprofit+ is the only software in this category to earn perfect marks in nonprofit accounting. It stands out for its nonprofit-specific features, offering a wide range of tools like fund accounting, grant management, and member management. While Aplos is our top overall pick, you may want to consider QuickBooks Enterprise Nonprofit Edition as an alternative.