We’re always looking for ways to make AccuFund easier for you to use – creating features that let you complete tasks fast and get to the information you need more quickly so that you can turn your attention to more important matters.

At our last user group meeting we shared 10 ways AccuFund can make routine tasks easier to execute.  What follows is a brief description. You may also download a handy tip sheet to have on hand for when you need to perform these tasks http://www.accufund.com/pdf15/10ThingsTipsheet.pdf .

10. Identifying signed on users.

Your license agreement designates a certain number

Do you ever wish you could spend more time in Excel?  We didn't think so. 

What you don't need is another spreadsheet.  What you do need is a nonprofit systems that provides the reports your nonprofit or government organization needs. We hope you enjoy the video!

The good news is you have multiple grants funding your mission.  The bad news is tracking and reporting on grant budgets can make anyone’s head spin – especially if grants cover multiple fiscal years and you’re using spreadsheets for tracking and reporting for your nonprofit.

Difficulties creep in when trying to match the grant year reporting with your fiscal year reporting.  Or the anticipated spending was either accelerated or delayed.  Perhaps you hired staff based on the grant and those candidates were found and hired faster than you had anticipated.  Or participant enrollment was slower than anticipated.  These and many

To watch the video Click Here

To watch the video Click Here

When Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District replaced their accounting software system with AccuFund Online hosted solution, they immediately gained 750 hours a year time savings.  On average, Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District creates 125 purchase orders each month.  They estimate AccuFund Online saves them about a half hour for each one.  That's 62.5 hours saved each month, or 750 hours per year - that's over 18 weeks!

But that was only a start to the efficiencies gained from making the move to AccuFund Online, you can read the full story here.   

Rancho SimiRecreation and Park District

Your staff is on edge.  You’re exhausted and stressed.  The only thing you can think about is getting through month-end.  

If that sounds familiar, read on, because while it’s not unusual for us to come across nonprofit accountants who experience the professional equivalent of going under house arrest during period-end closes; it is completely unnecessary.

Painful closings are a symptom of inadequate accounting systems.  Inadequate systems make your life harder, not easier. 

Beyond the monthly pain inflicted by inadequate accounting systems, the time chewed up by closing activities delays critical fund information getting into the hands of your organization’s

It may not be at the top of your priority list but regular system reviews are key when it comes to ensuring that you are getting the most out of your investment.

Your financial systems are the bedrock of responsible stewardship and organizational transparency.  In addition, access to financial data when evaluating grants, applying for new grants, determining fundraising campaign effectiveness, tracking operational expenses, etc., is critical to serving your constituents now and in the future.

We recommend an annual system review.  Just as you budget and plan for each new year, it makes sense to evaluate how your accounting

Implementing best practices is the gift that keeps on giving.  Best practices incorporated into the workflow of your nonprofit system helps you work smarter and usually faster that makeshift manual activities.

When best practices are combined with automation and offer a significant savings in time and money – that’s the best possible scenario, and going paperless is an activity that delivers each of those benefits.

We saw such positive results with clients that we recently conducted a series of webcasts showcasing ways nonprofits could benefit from going paperless.  You can view a recording of the presentation here.

So what’s

Nonprofits have more choices than they did a few years ago when it comes to operational software.  If you are shopping for new accounting software there’s a new consideration beyond features and functions:  is the best choice a cloud solution, a hosted solution or an on-premise solution?

• On-premise is the traditional method of housing your software.  You license a solution that is installed on a server that resides physically within your organization. 
• A hosted solution means that you license the software and it resides on a “host” server that resides in a facility operated by the hosting service company.
• A

Savvy donors want to make sure their gifts are being used properly and that the organizations they choose to champion are fiscally responsible and transparent.  GAAP compliance allows not only donors, but also creditors and other stakeholders, to view financial data in a format that is consistent from organization to organization.  

When it comes to GAAP Expense Rules, there are three things nonprofit organizations should be aware of when creating financial reports:

1. Expense should be reported as a decrease in unrestricted net assets
2. Expenses should be reported gross and not netted against revenue (investment expenses would be an exception)

Cloud Computing is at the top of the list for almost all organizations looking for their next fund accounting and donor management and fundraising systems – and for good reason. Cloud computing is the most revolutionary technology development since application software (once only available for mainframe computers) became available for personal computers and landed on the desktops of end users.

There are several hugely compelling aspects to cloud computing – in many cases it comes with:

• a lower cost of ownership
• significantly faster implementation
• full feature sets
• hassle-free upgrades
• enhanced security, up time, and disaster recovery
• can be available anytime,