Non-profits operate with a mission-driven focus, relying on donor support, grants, and fundraising efforts. This unique financial structure requires an accounting system that can handle the complexity of managing multiple funding sources while maintaining transparency and compliance. The right accounting software can be a game-changer, allowing your organization to streamline its processes and stay focused on its mission.
Among the leading solutions, Salesforce integrated with Accounting Seed stands out as powerful platforms with the ability to transform your non-profit’s financial management. Let’s explore the top five features to look for when choosing accounting software for your non-profit, with a special focus on how Salesforce along with Accounting Seed meet these needs.
1. Fund Accounting and Segmentation
For non-profits, it’s crucial to track revenue and expenses by specific funding sources—whether they come from grants, donations, or other restricted funds. Fund accounting allows organizations to create segmented reports based on different funding streams, ensuring that each dollar is used as intended.
Salesforce: With the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, you can customize how you manage donor contributions and funding segments, offering a holistic view of how funds are allocated.
Accounting Seed: Built natively on the Salesforce platform, Accounting Seed supports fund accounting by allowing you to create and manage multiple accounts and sub-accounts, ensuring every grant, fund, or project is tracked separately.
Why it matters: Fund accounting ensures your non-profit stays compliant and properly allocates resources, allowing you to manage restricted funds effectively.
2. Grant and Donation Tracking
Non-profits need to manage grants and donations meticulously. You must track every grant’s reporting requirements, deadlines, and how the funds are spent. Likewise, donation tracking is vital to maintaining donor relationships, ensuring transparency, and accurately acknowledging contributions.
Salesforce: Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud integrates with fundraising tools, allowing you to track donor pledges, manage campaigns, and easily generate reports for grants. You can also monitor donor engagement in real-time.
Accounting Seed: With Accounting Seed’s integration into Salesforce, you can track donations and grant revenues down to individual line items, helping you stay on top of deadlines and reporting requirements.
Why it matters: Proper tracking of grants and donations is essential for long-term donor trust and compliance with grantor requirements, ensuring continuous support for your mission.
3. Customizable Reporting
Non-profits need to generate a variety of reports for stakeholders, from donors to boards and regulatory bodies. Having customizable reporting capabilities allows your organization to generate reports that suit different audiences while meeting legal compliance standards.
Salesforce: Salesforce offers highly customizable reporting tools, allowing non-profits to generate real-time dashboards, donor impact reports, and performance metrics. Its flexibility ensures that you can present the right data to the right audience at any time.
Accounting Seed: Accounting Seed provides pre-built templates for essential non-profit reports, including balance sheets, income statements, and fund allocation reports. Its integration with Salesforce lets you pull data effortlessly and format it for different stakeholders.
Why it matters: Being able to easily customize reports for different stakeholders helps build transparency, gain donor confidence, and ensure compliance with legal obligations such as IRS Form 990.
4. Budgeting and Forecasting Tools
Effective financial planning is key to any non-profit’s sustainability. Budgeting and forecasting tools help non-profits plan their financial future, allocate funds appropriately, and prepare for unforeseen financial challenges.
Salesforce: Salesforce’s budgeting tools can be customized to reflect project-based budgeting, grant allocation, or donor campaigns. You can forecast future revenue based on past trends and expected donations.
Accounting Seed: Accounting Seed allows you to create detailed budgets for different programs, campaigns, or departments. The forecasting tools provide insights into future financial health by analyzing historical trends and planned expenses.
Why it matters: With efficient budgeting and forecasting, your non-profit can ensure that funds are used strategically and can foresee potential cash flow gaps before they become problems.
5. Cloud Accessibility and Security
Many non-profits work with remote teams, volunteers, or board members who need access to real-time financial data from different locations. Ensuring that your accounting software is cloud-based and secure is crucial for collaboration and data protection.
Salesforce: Salesforce offers a robust cloud-based infrastructure with top-tier security features, including two-factor authentication and encryption. This ensures that your sensitive financial data is accessible yet secure.
Accounting Seed: Built on Salesforce’s platform, Accounting Seed benefits from the same cloud accessibility and security features. Users can access accounting information from anywhere, and role-based permissions ensure that only authorized individuals can view or edit sensitive data.
Why it matters: Cloud accessibility improves collaboration across your team, while robust security measures protect sensitive financial information from unauthorized access.
Why Salesforce with Accounting Seed are Ideal for Non-Profits
Both Salesforce and Accounting Seed provide non-profits with the flexibility, security, and functionality required to manage their finances effectively. Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud integrates seamlessly with Accounting Seed to offer a comprehensive solution tailored to the unique needs of non-profits. Whether you’re managing grants, donations, or budgeting for future projects, this duo of platforms ensures you stay compliant, organized, and transparent.
Choosing the right accounting software is critical for non-profits looking to streamline their financial processes and increase transparency. Prioritize features like fund accounting, grant tracking, customizable reporting, and cloud accessibility when making your selection. Salesforce and Accounting Seed together provide a powerful, flexible platform to meet all of these needs, helping your organization focus on what really matters—fulfilling its mission.