Choosing a finance software provider in the NFP sector
Britain’s 163,000 not for profits are vital to wider society, and they meet needs that often slip through the cracks in state-sponsored or private sector organisations. From the delivery of important services to community and regional activism, this sector is hugely important in many ways. But how can software be used to best effect in this sector – and what should an NFP leader look out for when selecting a finance software package?
Supporter management
Not for profits usually rely on a mixture of individual generosity and institutional assistance from major grant-giving organisations. However, in an environment where resources are short and time is scarce, it’s surprisingly easy for an organisation to lose sight of who has provided what support. By using a software package that helps finance leaders in not for profits to see at a glance who has done what and track the charity’s relationship with them over time, you’ll never again forget to thank a donor or identify actionable patterns in who is donating when.
Keep an eye on spending
When a not for profit chooses a software provider, it’s important to ensure that the software aligns with their overall strategic goals. There are few charities out there that aren’t looking to control spending in some way: whether you’re under a significant budget squeeze or you’re simply looking to prevent future budget overruns, expenditure always needs to be kept in check. By picking a software package that brings together spending information from all departments of your charity into a centralised location, you’ll be able to easily see where any budget black holes are emerging – and present a data-backed plan (which has a single version of the truth) for fixing the problem.
Data entry
If you don’t have data on your side, then it’s likely that you’ll find it more and more difficult to find the insights that you need. However, for many not for profits, this is a catch-22 situation: data is needed to make informed strategic choices, yet it takes a lot of staff time to find, accumulate and enter. Instead, a software provider that can automatically analyse everything from bank accounts to membership subscription levels can help a charity move forward quickly and easily, and without time drags.
As a not for profit, you’ve got responsibilities in all sorts of directions. However, the main responsibility, first and foremost, is to the sustainability of your organisation – otherwise, it will not be able to operate in the future, and your beneficiaries may unnecessarily lose out as a consequence. To keep sustainability levels as high as possible, then, it’s vital to ensure that you have a data-fuelled software operation in place that lets you see the true picture of your charity’s finances, trajectories and performance.
