This past year may have been the breakthrough year for artificial intelligence (AI). It seems as if you couldn't turn on the news or visit your favorite website without stories breathlessly touting the latest AI innovation. While it may appear like AI is new, it's not entirely new; the technology behind the latest surge of AI-based products has been on the market for several years, quietly improving automation and saving nonprofits time, money, and resources.
According to a survey from Smartsheet, 40% of workers surveyed say that they spend at least a quarter of the work week on repetitive tasks. That same survey cites three productivity killers that can be eliminated through automation. Respondents cited data collection (55%), approvals (36%), and updates (32%) as areas that could easily be automated and thus eliminate human error, improve efficiency, and reduce wasted time.
Now consider how much nonprofits spend on human resources to handle these tasks and what might happen if such funds could be allocated differently. According to the Better Business Bureau’s Standards for Charity Accountability, program expenses should comprise 65% of total budget allocation, while fundraising and donor support comprise no more than 35%.
With the costs of overhead and salaries constantly rising and added pressures on donors reducing the amount of donations to many organizations, smart nonprofits seek ways in which to improve efficiencies. Tasks that can be automated free up hours, which can be used for other tasks. Workers who may be spending an hour a day collecting data, routing financial approvals, or updating program areas may now have more time to work on actual mission-driven activities that support the work undertaken by the nonprofit. Nonprofit automation can do this – and more.
APIs Link Software Components and Facilitate Communications
APIs provide a way for different software components or systems to communicate and interact with each other, allowing them to share data and functionality. They define a standardized set of rules and protocols that developers must follow when interacting with a particular software component or service. This standardization makes it easier for developers to understand how to use the API.
APIs also enable the exchange of data between different applications, services, or platforms. This data exchange can occur in various formats, such as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) or XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and play a crucial role in enabling third-party developers to create applications or services that can interact with existing platforms or services. This is common in the development of plugins, extensions, or integrations.
Nonprofits Can Benefit From APIs
One way in which nonprofits can create more robust automated systems is through the selective, strategic use of APIs. By choosing APIs that meet your organization’s objectives and goals, you can build more automation into your current systems to automate processes and save time with minimal costs.
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) can play a crucial role in creating a fuller and more robust HR (Human Resources) solution by enabling seamless integration with various services, systems, and data sources. Here are some ways APIs can enhance and extend the capabilities of an HR solution:
Leveraging Nonprofit Automation Technologies
Many industries have found effective ways to leverage AI and other automation tools to boost productivity and profits. Nonprofits can tap into these tools and activities, too, using them to save time on repetitive tasks.
Marketing and Donor Relations
Another area in which automation can be used as a powerful time-saving ally is in marketing and donor relations. AI-powered tools can be employed for personalized donor marketing, ad targeting, and content optimization. They can also be used to generate thank you emails and letters, reminder notices, and similar content matched to the donor lists.
Accounting and Finance
Repetitive and mundane tasks are prevalent in nonprofit accounting and finance offices. Identifying critical tasks that can be handled by AI can make life so much easier and efficient for your team. AccuFund Automation Workbench serves as a prime illustration of how nonprofit organizations can leverage automation to optimize their processes and boost productivity. Within AccuFund Automation Workbench, users can automatically validate internal controls, allocate expenses, trigger alerts, send text messages, generate Accounts Receivable invoices, perform account reconciliations, manage budget distributions, and more.
This powerful tool retrieves data from other AccuFund modules, using it for calculations, alerts, updates, and beyond. The module also has the capability to integrate data from multiple modules to execute various tasks. Additionally, AccuFund Automation Workbench can integrate seamlessly via API with other software systems, including CRM, Case Management, Travel Management, Recruitment, etc. It efficiently manages data mapping, retrieval, and automatic posting to streamline processes further.
Strategic Use of APIs to Further Automate Processes
In the accounting and finance example above, we mention APIs. API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a set of protocols, tools, and definitions that allow different software applications to communicate with each other.
Integration with Payroll Systems
API integration with payroll systems allows HR solutions to automatically sync employee data, salary information, and tax details. This reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and ensures payroll accuracy.
Nonprofits can use HR systems integrated with their main platform to help manage timecards, payments, taxes, and more. In some cases, AI can complement and extend the capabilities of your HR system.
Employee Benefits Management
Are you using a third-party benefits manager? APIs can connect HR solutions with benefits management platforms to provide employees with real-time information about their benefits, enrollments, and policy changes. This ensures that HR systems are always up to date with the latest benefits data.
Communication and Collaboration Tools
Another area in which APIs can be used by nonprofits to improve automation and productivity is using communication tools (e.g., Slack and Microsoft Teams). These can enhance internal communication or even be extended to the public. For example, you may add a public-facing Slack channel or Telegram channel to your organization to share updates on activities. Additional communication tools, such as social media channels and platforms, can also be linked through APIs to automated posting platforms, which can share pre-written social media posts throughout the day. Such automation frees up precious time for team members yet keeps the public connected to your organization through their favorite social media platform.
15 Tasks Every Nonprofit Can Automate
One area in which automation can really boost productivity is accounting and finance. Using systems like AccuFund Automation Workbench and a variety of APIs and additional software, your organization can automate one or more of the following 15 tasks. If each of these tasks saves just one hour a day of time for your accounting team, that’s an astonishing boost to productivity. Using AccuFund or another system, you can:
1. Scan receipts, expenses, and more into systems using automated tools.
2. Help automate the approval processes for expenses, ensuring compliance with organizational policies and reducing the time spent on manual approvals.
3. Automatically generate and send invoices for memberships, donations, or services. This reduces the need for manual invoicing and accelerates the payment collection process.
4. Set up automated reminders for overdue payments, helping improve cash flow and reducing the need for manual follow-ups.
5. Integrate with bank feeds to import transaction data automatically, simplifying the reconciliation process and reducing the risk of errors.
6. Use automation to create rules for matching transactions, speeding up the reconciliation process by automatically categorizing and reconciling common transactions.
7. Automate the import of financial data for budgeting and forecasting purposes.
8. Create automation schedules for financial reports, ensuring that key stakeholders receive timely and accurate financial information without the need for manual generation.
9. Build dashboards that automatically update with real-time financial data, providing a quick overview of key performance indicators.
10. Track grant funds, monitor spending, and generate reports for compliance purposes.
11. Establish rules for automatic fund allocations, ensuring that contributions and expenses are correctly attributed to specific funds or programs.
12. Utilize automated payroll systems that calculate salaries, deductions, and taxes accurately, reducing errors associated with manual calculations.
13. Schedule direct deposit processing and payroll tax filing to streamline these critical tasks.
14. Use automation to generate and send donation acknowledgment emails or letters, saving time on manual acknowledgment processes.
15. Through APIs, integrate multiple AccuFund modules or other sources of information, such as General Ledger, Human Resources, Accounts Payable, and much more – automation that can tap into these areas are all within the AccuFund Automation Workbench.
Implementing automation in these areas can significantly enhance the efficiency of nonprofit accounting and finance operations, allowing organizations to focus more on their mission and less on routine administrative tasks.
What would you do with one more hour in your day? Think about it when you sit down at your desk tomorrow. Whether you're involved with operations, management, human resources, marketing, or accounting, time is precious. The more time that automation can save you, the more time you have to focus on mission-critical tasks.
Related Materials
Mastering Workflow in Nonprofits. White Paper
Nonprofit Trend: In-House Payroll. White Paper
AccuFund Nonprofit Accounting