Selecting accounting software can be a difficult task for nonprofits. A decision concerning which tool is right for your organization needs to be based on many factors including budget, compatibility with existing software, the size of your organizations, and its accounting needs. This webinar introduces nonprofit leaders to a valuable software selection process that will help ensure the accounting software you select meets your organizational needs.

1. What You Need to Consider Before Selecting
Accounting Software for Your Nonprofit Organization
Rebeka Mazzone, CPA
February 16, 2011
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3. Today’s Speaker
Rebeka Mazzone, CPA
Director, Rhode Island Region
Accounting Management Solutions
Hosting: Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
Assisting with chat questions: April Hunt, Nonprofitwebinars.com

4. What You Need to Consider Before Selecting
Accounting Software for Your Nonprofit Organization
Rebeka Mazzone, CPA
Director, Rhode Island Region

5. Objectives
• Understand various software
options and prices
• Learn the key considerations
before making a decision
• Walk away with a basic idea
of where to start
5

6. Software Selection Process
My view of the World:
• Start with the end in mind
• GIGO
• Consider the user(s)
• Pay to have custom reports designed
• Training, training, training

7. Software Selection Process
1.Internal decisions and needs
2.Outline specific functionality and features
3.Sketch out chart of Accounts
4.Demo Software Packages
5.Submit requirements to vendors (RFP)
6.Decision Process
7.Training
8.Data Migration and Implementation
9.Training
10.Plan for the unexpected!
11.Training

8. Internal Decisions and Needs
• Understand your organization’s mission and
strategic goals
• Create internal project team of key decision
makers and key software users.
• Decide on a timeline
• Identify all areas of the organization that will be
affected

9. Internal Decisions and Needs, cont’d
• Ensure you have the resources to support the
selection
• Decide on budget, and how flexible that budget
is
• Understand other costs

10. Implementation Plan
• A plan is key to a successful implementation
• Make sure plan is thorough, specific, and flexible
• A typical implementation plan should define:
• Dates and deadlines
• Roles of consultants, vendor, executives, trainers, end users, etc.
• Key milestones
• Steps of a typical implementation plan:
• Design basic structure and process workflows
• Data conversion and migration
• Build and test
• Training and support

11. Outline Specific Functionality and
Features
• Software
• Functionality and features
• Ability to meet unique needs
• Ease of use – who are the users?
• Ease of installation and maintenance
• Ease of customizing software and reports
• Ease of integrating software with other software packages

12. Outline Specific Functionality and
Features, cont’d
• Vendor
• Financial Stability
• Knowledge of industry and commitment to market
• Customer support and service
• How does that support work? Is it through a reseller or
third party, or is it through the vendor directly?
• Recommendations and references from users
• Services available – consulting, customizations, etc.

13. Outline Specific Functionality and Features, cont’d
•Number of Users
•Multiple Net Asset Tracking
•Grant and Endowment Allocations
(endowment, grants)
•Deferred revenue
•Automate processes – report
generation, posting, purchasing,
invoices, bank reconciliations
•Paperless
•IT Support
•Other systems (donor, tickets,
registration, housing, payroll) 13

14. Sketch Out Chart of Accounts
• The ultimate goal should be to keep reporting
in the software – nothing in Excel!
• Draw an organizational chart of departments,
programs within departments, and grants
funding programs
• Understand how reporting works in the
software

15. Organigation
Segment 1 Department
1
Department
2
Segment 2 Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
Grant 1 Grant 2 Grant 3 Grant 4
15

16. Sketch Out Chart of Accounts
• Questions to ask yourselves during design
• What reports are needed?
• What level of detail?
• What reports are required GAAP, State Reports, etc.
• What reports are you currently creating in Excel? Why?
• Do you need to track restrictions?
• What other cost centers, departments, locations, etc. do you need to
track?
• Do you require any self-balancing accounts?
• Do you need to track, and report on, endowments and unitization?

17. Demo Software Packages
•Limit to 4 Demos
•4 Tier’s of Products – My Personal Opinion, not fact!
Examples Purchase Price Size of Pros/Cons
(Double for Organization
•Off the shelf – up to $1MImplementation)
-
Off the Shelf Peachtree, $300-1,000 Up to $1M Easy to learn and
Quickbooks manage, limited
controls
Entry Level FastFund, MIP $1,000-3,500 Up to $5M good controls,
Modular more complex to
learn
Modular Financial Edge, $8,000-25,000 $1M + Ability to
GP, SL, MIP, ($2,500-5,000 per customize, good
AccuFund module) controls, more
complex to learn
Highly PeopleSoft, SAP $50,000-250,000 Large, complex, Highly
Customized Multi-location, customizable,
$100M+ very expensive to
manage, more
complex to learn 17

18. Submit Requirements to Vendors
• Request for Proposal
• Overview of Organization
• Outline specific requirements
• Be specific with deadlines and due dates
• Be specific with next steps, for vendors and for your
organization

19. Decision Process
• Remember that you are not just buying software. You
are investing in the future of the organization, and there
are lots of aspects to consider.
• Training Costs
• Maintenance
• Reporting
• Efficiencies and Return-On-Investment metrics
• Make sure you are comfortable with all aspects of the
options.
• Vendor
• Software and Hardware
• Support
• Think back to the strategic goals outlined in the

20. Decision Process
• Price and Cost Considerations:
• Think of one-time costs and recurring costs
• Is there additional hardware that needs to be purchased?
• Also consider the value of time saved from gaining efficiencies that
you may have outlined in your goals and requirements
• Is financing available for any part of the project?
• Understand additional costs down the road
• How much would an additional user cost later?
• How much would an additional module cost later?
• What kind of services would I need to implement another user or
module down the road?

21. Data Conversion and Migration
• Determine timing of data conversion – start of
fiscal year, halfway point, after auditors finalize
their work, etc.
• Determine how much data is vitally necessary
• How often would you or other users go back and look at a
previous year’s worth of data?
• What kinds of year-over-year comparative reporting do
you need?
• Could you leave the old software on a standalone
computer for access to history?
• Understand the timeline for data conversion
• Understand the vendor/reseller’s levels of data

22. Data Conversion and Migration
• Understand the quality of your current data
• Clean up the current data as well as possible
• Many times, the current data is inconsistent to the point
that starting over with beginning balances makes the
most sense.
• Understand the structure of your current data
• How are the tables arranged?
• How would these tables be mapped to a new database?
• Can exports be created simply and imported to build the
new database, or would a conversion program need to be
built to pull data from underlying tables?
• This information will be necessary in
discussions with the vendor/reseller in

23. Training
• Staff MUST be trained on proper use of the
system
• Training is needed for end users upon Go-Live
• Training will also be needed on an ongoing
basis

24. Contact Information
• Rebeka Mazzone, CPA
Director – Rhode Island Region
Accounting Management Solutions, Inc
One Richmond Square, Suite 124C
Providence, RI 02906
Phone: 401-374-3222
401-374-
E-mail: rmazzone@amsolutions.net
24

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