As a nonprofit organization, if you are wondering whether free accounting software is effective, then I’ve got good news for you. Yep! Being free doesn’t mean it comes without the features. Many feature rich software are available for free.
The catch is that you can use them only up to a certain limit. After that, you have to upgrade it or buy the premium version. Before getting yourself swamped with options investing in one like ZipBooks which is free for nonprofits and packed with features is well worth it.
Aplos
Nonprofit organizations and churches will find a dedicated nonprofit accounting, fundraising, and donor management system with Aplos. They offer a free, 15-day trial of their direct double-entry software that handles accounting, budgeting, and true-fund accounting. You’ll have complete control over your contributions management with statements and reporting.
Track individual donors through bulk donation uploads and online transactions. Aplos will integrate with 3rd-party donor management apps like Kindful and Bloomerang to keep your donor lists up to date, and you can add donor relation capabilities for a monthly fee. Manage donations on your organization’s website with recurring or one-time debit/credit card transactions.
Aplos even offers support for multiple organizations with roll-up reporting, including outstanding tasks. Free support is available for all subscribers M-F from 8-4. If you want an even better reason to try Aplos, they currently offer a QuickBooks buyback program where they’ll pay $300 to cancel your QuickBooks subscription for Aplos.
Cougar Mountain
Nonprofit Accounting Software Overview
With their extensive and scalable accounting software, Cougar Mountain helps nonprofits save time and money.
Users can create custom reports and modify existing reports if needed.
Other features include integrated modules, one-step backups, and bank reconciliation.
Why We Love this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Cougar Mountain’s “pay-as-you-go” pricing makes it easy for smaller nonprofits to manage their accounting needs.
Pricing of this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Cougar Mountain has three packages based on nonprofit size and capacity.
Learn more about Cougar Mountain
Fund E-Z
Nonprofit Accounting Software Overview
For over 20 years, Fund E-Z has provided superior customer service to nonprofits of all shapes and sizes.
Their comprehensive nonprofit accounting software has features such as automatic backups, crash protection, auditing features, and more!
Why We Love this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Fund E-Z is extremely simple to set up and use.
Pricing of this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Call Fund E-Z or visit their website for a quote and to place an order.
GMS
Nonprofit Accounting Software Overview
For over 30 years, GMS has been a leading accounting and financial management solution for nonprofit organizations.
Their software is designed to meet the highly specialized needs of nonprofit organizations accounting for contracts and grants.
Organizations that use GMS will be compliant with FASB 116 and 117, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requirements that all nonprofits must follow.
Why We Love this Nonprofit Accounting Software
GMS has been in business for over three decades, making them an authority on nonprofit accounting software.
Pricing of this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Visit GMS’s website for a quote for your nonprofit’s specific needs.
NonprofitPlus
Nonprofit Accounting Software Overview
NonprofitPlus’s accounting software is built for nonprofits looking to get a handle on fund accounting and management, budget checking, grant management, and board management.
Features of their software include reporting and budget checking, management of restricted funds, flexible deployment and licensing, and scalability.
Why We Love this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Each package comes with functional customizations and built-in security features.
Pricing of this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Go to NonprofitPlus’s website for a quote for your organization.
OneNFP Financials
Nonprofit Accounting Software Overview
OneNFP Financials is simple, familiar, and accessible to everyone in a nonprofit organization.
OneNFP Financials leverages Microsoft charity pricing so that nonprofits get the most modern solutions at the most reasonable prices.
The software is powered by Microsoft Dynamics, which means that all of your nonprofit’s information is stored in the Microsoft Cloud.
Why We Love this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Since most of your nonprofit’s staff will be familiar with Microsoft’s products, using OneNFP Financials is a natural and easy next step for your accounting software needs.
Pricing of this Nonprofit Accounting Software
No price details are listed on OneNFP Financials’s site, but they do take advantage of Microsoft’s charity program and pass on the savings to their nonprofit clients.
Quickbooks
Intuit Quickbooks is probably the best known accounting software on the market. Although it offers some nonprofit-specific tools, but the program was built mainly for small businesses.
Use the Quickbooks class tracking feature for compliance. Recurring billing sends invoices or receipts to donors automatically. Send your end-of-year donation summary letters with account summaries.
Quickbooks will sync with all your accounts including bank and credit cards, which helps you track all of your accounts in one place. Your online funds transfer apps will also integrate (e.g. Square, PayPal, Method:Donor) and automatically log outside donations that don’t come directly to your bank account. Get Pricing
Sage 50
Sage offers accounting software for businesses of all sizes, and this is their under-50-users version. While it’s a powerful accounting tool, there’s nothing particularly nonprofit-friendly about it, other than its adjacent CRM and reporting features.
The program itself runs through a desktop client, but you can also access it online for mobile accounting. Features include tab-based navigation, workflow visualizations, reporting, and in-app support documents to help you through setting up the product. Repeat invoicing is available, which is useful for your recurring donations. Build custom income, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Sage’s support documents are quite complicated, so this tool is not for the untrained bookkeeper. As with several of the options on this list, you’ll need some accounting background or a consultant to set it up properly.Get Pricing
Intacct
Intacct is a powerful ERP that’s also suitable for nonprofit organizations, especially those that need reporting for multiple organizations under a single plan. This software is unique on this list in that its design is also appropriate for complex philanthropic organizations that supply funding and grants to other organizations.
Intacct’s features include dashboards, reporting, and funds allocation automation built into the system. It also supports project-based accounting that attributes revenue directly to project-specific accounts.Get Pricing
Serenic Navigator
Nonprofit Accounting Software Overview
Serenic Navigator allows nonprofits to budget, track, and report on expenses and track expenditures against user-defined budgets.
The software helps users automatically balance funds and allocate expenses.
Serenic Navigator is also designed to meet nonprofits’ budget, fundraising, donor, and grant management processes.
Why We Love this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Serenic Navigator is built upon the stable and scalable foundation of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.
Pricing of this Nonprofit Accounting Software
Visit Serenic Navigator’s site to request a quote for your nonprofit.
FUND E-Z
FUND E-Z built three separate products with nonprofit needs in mind: fundraising, accounting, and Medicaid. The accounting software includes account charting and different options for your funding source like grants, donations, sites, and departments. Use filters and segmentation to build granular reports and split your transactions across segments.
Secure your data with automatic backups and roll-back protection for all accounts.
Extra features include bank reconciliation, budgeting, and direct/indirect funds allocation. The companion fundraising software includes custom donor fields for your segmented reporting and matching gift functions to organize corporate matching programs. This software will also help you with your fundraising campaigns through email and letter tracking, as well as household or individual donor mailings.
FUND E-Z offers a customized price quote based on your organization’s needs, and there are paid online training classes to help you get setup.
Abila MIP Fund Accounting
Abila offers several different accounting systems, including a dedicated non-profit version. Because of its sheer number of features, this software is not for beginners. You’ll want to have an accountant or bookkeeper on-hand to help.
Abila comes hosted in the cloud or on-premise, depending on your security needs. You can track your financials, report internally and externally, and update your systems based on your organization’s changing needs. Print checks and forms from the Abila online catalog. Special features for FASB and GASB compliance come standard.
Of the options listed here, Abila’s system best prepares your organization for tax requirements and audits. It also offers core HR features, association management, and CRM with certain products.
. Sunrise by Lendio
Besides regular accounting features, Sunrise by Lendio also offers additional functions, like branded invoicing, profit and loss reports, tax options and automatic bank reconciliation. They also help businesses set up automatic payment plans and card payments. The base software is free and users who require more advanced functions and support from a professional bookkeeper can choose premium plans starting from $149 per month.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to use, solid user experience | Missing time- and project-tracking functionality |
| Base software is free | Minimalist reports |
| Sales form functionality | Mobile apps less intuitive |
| Branded invoicing | |
| Quote/estimate reports | |
| Sales tax functionality | |
| Hybrid sales tax functionality |
Who it’s best for: Small businesses
Related: Accounting Terms: Accrued Expenses vs. Accounts Payable
4. Holded
Holded has all functions that small and medium businesses regularly need, like basic accounting, invoicing, inventory tracking and automatic bank connectivity. It is free to use in its basic form, but adding more advanced features will cost you $10 per month.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Base software is free | Restricted to basic functions |
| Adept at basic accounting and inventory | Missing multinational support |
| Automatic bank account integration | |
| Easy to use | |
| Solid customer support | |
| All-in-one business management software | |
| Hybrid sales tax functionality |
Who it’s best for: Small and medium businesses
ZipBooks
ZipBooks is very user-friendly, as its color-coded interface is easy to pick up even by those who are completely new to accounting software. Besides regular bookkeeping features, it also offers easy-to-implement automation for billing and issuing payment reminders, significantly reducing the time needed to operate it. Its main version is free; adding advanced features costs $15 per month.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | Limited functionality in free plan |
| Nice user design | Mobile app is lacking, not for mobile user |
| Basic package is free | |
| Auto-billing and payment reminders | |
| No maximum on number of invoices or clients | |
| All-in-one business management software | |
| Hybrid sales tax functionality |
Who it’s best for: Small and medium businesses, freelancers
Conclusion
Nonprofits face different challenges than for-profit companies do. Even if your organization is small, there are still potential tax issues. If you want to ensure that your nonprofit continues to be both successful and tax-exempt, the best solution is to consider free accounting software for nonprofits. We got your back on this one!