Your guide to using QuickBooks for non-profits
There are more than 1.5 million non-profits in the United States. The non-profit sector has the burden of working to keep overhead low and so that more funds can go to their organization’s needs.
Technology and software, such as QuickBooks, can help non-profits increase efficiency and make the mandatory reporting required by the IRS easier.
If you are a non-profit director or fundraiser, read on to learn tips and tricks for harnessing the power of using QuickBooks for nonprofits.
One of the benefits of QuickBooks is that it doesn’t have to be forced into fitting into the non-profit community. There are two types of QuickBooks, one for-profit company and one for non-for profit companies. You can, however, modify the for-profit company edition to meat the non-profit needs.
QuickBooks as many integrations and reports that can be used to optimize its use.
Accounting support
Accounting is a time-consuming task that can be expensive for many non-profits. QuickBooks is easy to use and does not require a degree in accounting to use. Most online banking systems have the ability to download transaction data and directly import it into QuickBooks. This creates time savings and prevents dangerous data entry errors.
In addition, there are many great courses that you can take to increase your knowledge of basic bookkeeping and accounting. The reports that are created in QuickBooks can be used to keep your non-profit on track with their stated budget.
Maintain IRS compliance
One of the biggest challenges for non-profits is meeting the IRS reporting compliance. The rules set up by the IRS are not designed to be punitive, but to ensure that tax-exempt status is not abused. Unfortunately, this equates to significant IRS reporting requirements.
QuickBooks as the ability to track expenditures and report them in the format required by the IRS. The sooner you use QuickBooks to set up your non-profit the easier reporting will be.
Track and report individual donations
All non-profits must be able to accurately track their donations and grants. Donations can be difficult because of the various sizes of donations and the larger number of people who donate. Accurate tracking, however, is important for budget and IRS reporting.
QuickBooks also integrates with many popular fundraising platforms like Kindful and Donor Perfect to automatically input individual donations.
Track and report for grant donations
Most grant organizations also require detailed reporting. Good news, QuickBooks can do that too, providing the level of detail that is required by the grantee. This will ensure that you stay in compliance and set you up for receiving future grants.
The reporting function of QuickBooks can also pull reports for boards, staff, and even the general public. Being able to quickly generate different reports to meet all of these needs allows you to spend more time getting new funds.
Integration with relationship management tools
For non-profits, tracking donations is only one piece of the puzzle. Successful non-profits must develop long-term relationships with their large and small donors alike. QuickBooks have the ability to integrate with donor relationship software to help manage those relationships.
Knowing which donors give how much, and at what time of year can be key to ensuring consistent cash flow into your organization. You can integrate QuickBooks directly into the relationship manager so you can track all information in realtime.
Benefits of online, cloud-based software
Many non-profits use part-time staff to ensure their mission is met in the most streamlined manner available. In today’s modern world, this means working remotely. Because QuickBooks is cloud-based software, employees can log in and enter data, integrate new donors, or pull necessary grant data from anywhere.
This includes integrating with the cloud-based software via an iPhone or Android device. Simply download the free QuickBooks application and login with your company’s credentials. As long as there is internet service your staff, volunteers, and donors can access you anytime and anywhere.
Harness the power of automation
In most organizations, there are activities that must be repeated. These activities take up time and resources. The ability to automate them is the key to success and allowing your team to focus on the work that matters to them.
QuickBooks can help do that, data entry is not the only thing, that is a thing of the past. According to Forbes, non-profits can benefit from streamlining receipt tracking which can be done via the mobile app; donor tracking and prospect list management through integration with relationship management software; as well as program and project management
Above are just a few of the tips and tricks associated with QuickBooks. Take the time to learn which version of QuickBooks works for you then customize for your unique non-profit’s needs.
With some support and online classes, you can ensure that you are spending less time on accounting and donor tracking and more time meeting the mission of your organization.
If you are having trouble determining your needs or want a team of supporters behind your non-profit, learn more about us. We specialize in helping non-profits use QuickBooks to its fullest.
Do you need help with your QuickBooks accounts?
Using QuickBooks for nonprofits is more than just typing data into the software. To fully utilize the software you need a team of experts to help. This is where we come in, not only can we find you the best QuickBooks price, but we can help you set it up so that it provides you and your accounting team all the information they need to function ideally.
We look to the future to ensure the system created today will work as your non-profit grows. Our strength lies in our ability to understand your core transactions help you optimize them so you can see your financial situation from multiple perspectives.
Fourlane has won numerous awards including Intuit’s QuickBooks Solution Provider of the Year award every year since 2010. Contact us and let us show you how we can help.
