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Financial management software
Charity Accounting Software and not-for-profit finance management built for UK organisations
Access Financials is the charity accounting software purpose-built for UK registered charities, CIOs, hospices, housing associations, students' unions and social enterprises, not adapted from a generic accounting package. It handles fund accounting, SOFA reporting to SORP requirements, Gift Aid management with HMRC submission, restricted and unrestricted fund tracking, and Charity Commission compliance natively, with no add-ons required. Over 1,000 UK charities use it; Church Mission Society saved 200 hours per month after switching from Sage and Raiser's Edge, and City Lit saved £50,000 per year in finance team time. Unlike Sage or Xero, it does not require workarounds to separate restricted and unrestricted income.
- Track fund accounting no spreadsheets
- Generate SOFA and funder reports in minutes, not days
- Reclaim every penny of Gift Aid, integrated with HMRC submission
- Prove overhead efficiency to any funder, on demand
- Connect CRM, payroll and finance: one version of truth
- Bank reconciliation, invoice capture and expense scanning handled automatically
£k
p.a. saved, City Lit
hrs
saved monthly, Church Mission Society
£k
Gift Aid recoverable at £500k donations
+
UK charities & not-for-profit organisations
%
reduction in nominal code complexity
10,000+ Not For Profit professionals use our charity financial management software
Every capability UK charities need from Fund accounting to Trustee reporting
Unlike generic accounting software, Access is built around the way not-for-profit finance actually works: multiple income streams, fund accounting, funder accountability and mission-driven cost control.
One-click SOFA generation. Restricted fund breach prevention alerts. Direct Charity Commission return mapping. Built-in Gift Aid automation (R68 compliant). Complete audit trails for every transaction.
Multi-Dimensional Fund Management
Unlimited restricted, unrestricted and designated funds tracked separately. Multi-dimensional reporting (Fund x Project x Cost Centre). Automated allocation rules. Controlled inter-fund transfers. Real-time fund balance monitoring.
Transform Board Reporting
Live KPI dashboards with Trustee access. Automated reserves monitoring against policy. 13-week rolling cash flow forecasts. Multi-entity consolidation in minutes. Integrated narrative and financial reporting.
Month-End in Days, Not Weeks
Automated bank reconciliation with direct feeds. Batch processing for hundreds of transactions. Automated accruals and recurring journals. Exception reporting focus. Workflow automation for routine tasks.
Integrated Planning and Analysis
Multi-year budgeting across income streams. Rolling forecasts based on actuals. Cost allocation modelling. Activity-based sustainability monitoring. Unlimited scenario overlays for board what-ifs.
Empower Your Entire Finance Team
Self-service reporting for budget holders. Mobile approvals for remote working. Controlled data entry for project managers. Two-way Excel integration. Unlimited read-only users for Trustees.
Connected Finance and Operational Systems
Native integration with Access Charity CRM, PaySuite and Expense Management. Automated data flows from donation processing and CRM directly into financial records. Single source of truth across all revenue streams.
AI-Powered Financial Intelligence
Evo Copilot brings AI assistance to charity finance: intelligent alerts about budget variances, automated invoice coding suggestions and predictive cash flow analysis. Ask natural language questions about your finances and receive instant insights.
From spreadsheets to modern charity accounting
Here’s the difference modern charity accounting makes.
Plan Type
Month-end close
10+ days
3-4 days
Fund accounting
Monthly spreadsheet updates
Real-time breach prevention
SOFA preparation
2 days
30 minutes
Trustee reports
3 days
2 hours
Audit preparation
6-8 weeks
2 weeks
Multi-entity consolidation
5 days
2 hours
Grant reporting
Days compiling from multiple sources
Hours with integrated reporting
Charity finance software needs to handle what commercial accounting software cannot
Fund accounting, Trustee governance and mission-driven reporting are unique to the not-for-profit sector. Access is built around them. Click any challenge to see how.
Charity finance software and not-for-profit financial management tools, all in one place
Pick what you need. Add more as you grow. Every product integrates natively with no third-party connectors and no rekeying.
Finance & Accounting
Spend Control
Access Reporting & Analytics
Charity reporting software that generates SOFA, funder reports and board packs directly from live data — no manual assembly. Real-time dashboards give Trustees current fund balances at any point. Unlimited read-only users included. GDPR compliant, UK data centres, HMRC-recognised digital tax submission.
- SOFA & funder reports generated automatically from live data
- Hundreds of ready-made reports plus custom report designer
- Unlimited read-only users: Trustees see live data
- GDPR compliant: UK data centres
- Secure Excel integration: two-way
Access Assets
Fixed asset management for UK charities. Depreciation runs automatically in batch and posts directly to the nominal ledger. FRS 102, IFRS and UK GAAP compliance is built in, not retrofitted. Unlimited users, mobile barcode scanning and a full audit trail included from day one.
- Automated depreciation: batch processing in seconds
- GL reconciliation: auto-posted to nominal ledger
- FRS 102 / IFRS / UK GAAP: purpose-built, not retrofitted
- Mobile barcode & QR scanning: field operations included
- Unlimited users: no per-seat pricing
Access Purchase & Sales Automation
Invoice and purchase order automation for UK charities. Supplier invoices arrive by email and are read, sense-checked and routed for approval without anyone touching them. The system learns supplier formats over time, improving accuracy with every cycle. Reduces invoice admin by 80-90%. SOC2 compliant.
- Invoice automation: email in, data extracted, auto-routed for approval
- Sales order automation: customer POs processed automatically
- 80-95% removal of manual sales order input
- Straight-through processing to Access Financials
- SOC2 compliant, SAML 2.0 + 2FA security
Access Evolve
The full not-for-profit ERP platform from Access. Finance, HR, Project Accounting and CRM in one connected suite, with Evo Copilot acting as an intelligent assistant across every module — answering questions, surfacing anomalies and drafting reports so your team spends less time on process and more on mission. Start with Grow, scale to Advance.
- Grow: core finance + HR essentials
- Expand: adds Project Accounting, Forecasting, Consolidations
- Advance: adds CRM, Benchmarking, full intelligent automation suite
- Evo Copilot: answers finance questions, flags anomalies, drafts reports
- AI Bank Reconciliation + Accounts Payable Automation included
Does Access Charity CRM integrate with Access Financials for unified charity management?
Yes. Access Charity CRM integrates natively with Access Financials — eliminating the manual rekeying of donor data between systems. CRM income figures match finance figures: one version of truth. Church Mission Society saved 200 hours per month after replacing their disconnected Sage and Raiser's Edge setup with Access.
- Native integrations with Access Charity CRM, PaySuite and Expense Management
- External system connectivity for donor management platforms, fundraising tools and grant tracking software
- Automated data flows from donation processing and CRM directly into financial records
- Gift Aid reclaims generated automatically from integrated donor records
- Single source of truth across all revenue streams and fund management
- Complete audit trails maintained across all integrated systems for Charity Commission compliance
Access Charity CRM
Donor data flows directly into finance. Gift Aid reclaims generated automatically. CRM and finance always in sync.
Access PaySuite
Payment processing integrated with finance. Direct Debit, card payments and Gift Aid all reconciled automatically.
Access Expense
Staff expenses allocated to the correct fund and cost centre automatically. No rekeying between expense and finance systems.
Open Banking
Bank feeds connected directly. AI bank reconciliation matches and posts transactions automatically. No manual import.
Not-for-profit financial management software for every type of UK organisation
Access Financials is the leading not-for-profit accounting software for UK organisations. Whether you are a registered charity, a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), a housing association, a hospice, a students' union or a social enterprise, the platform adapts to your structure, your funders and your reporting obligations.
Unlike generic accounting packages, Access is built around the way not-for-profit finance actually works: multiple income streams, fund accounting, Trustee governance and mission-driven cost control.
- Registered charities: SOFA, Gift Aid, Charity Commission compliance
- Hospices & hospital charities: clinical and non-clinical fund tracking
- Housing associations: multi-entity, project accounting, compliance
- Students' unions: trading income, membership, grant management
- Social enterprises: mixed income, impact reporting, overhead ratio
- Grant-giving foundations: 150+ grants, multi-currency, 10+ countries
Hospices & Hospital Charities
Fund accounting for clinical and non-clinical grants. Multi-site purchase controls. Payroll integration for care staff. FRS 102 compliance.
Education Charities & Students' Unions
Mixed trading and grant income. Membership management. SOFA reporting. City Lit, an adult education charity, saved £50k p.a. and eliminated year-end guesswork with Access.
International Grant-Giving Charities
Multi-currency (9+ currencies), multi-country (10+), 150+ grants managed simultaneously. The Access Foundation manages £2m+ in annual grants across 10 countries in one system.
Care & Social Care Charities
Care rostering integrated with payroll. Donor CRM integrated with finance. Cost per beneficiary visible by programme. National Autistic Society uses Access to prove programme efficiency to funders.
Switching from Sage, Xero, iplicit or a standalone tool? Here is what changes.
Access wins on charity-specific capability, native integration and total cost of ownership. All comparison data sourced from publicly available vendor websites.
| Feature | Access Financials | Sage | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund accounting | Fund accounting tracked as a separate cost centre. Funder report generated at the click of a button. Committed costs visible within the fund, not just actuals | Requires workarounds | Xero has none built in |
| SOFA reporting built in | SOFA produced automatically from the ledger. No manual assembly. Trustees see fund balances in real time | Requires manual assembly | Requires manual assembly |
| Gift Aid management integrated | Gift Aid declarations and membership forms accessible directly in the system. Fundraisers can view and act without involving finance | Sage 50 includes Gift Aid tracking; manual HMRC submission required. Sage Intacct requires third-party integration | Requires a third-party add-on |
| Multi-entity consolidation | Multi-entity consolidation included. Manage multiple entities, currencies, and cost centres in one instance, no extra tool required | Extra cost | Extra cost |
| Solution approach | Access Purpose-built | Sage Workarounds | Xero Add-ons required |
| Feature | Access CashForecaster | Float | Futrli |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only tool with adirect native connectorto Access ERP | Direct connector to Access Financials and Dimensions 3.0. Zero setup fees. Live in days, no middleware, no CSV exports, no data gaps | Requires Xero/QB/Sage | Requires Xero/QB/Sage |
| Automatedlive rolling forecast | Automated 13-week rolling forecast updated directly from live Access ERP data. Always current, never stale on board day | Requires manual refresh or build | Requires manual refresh or build |
| Unlimited scenarios | Unlimited scenario overlays included at every tier. Answer board what-if questions live in the meeting, not next week | LImited to 2-8 | — |
| Automated variance loop | Every published forecast compared to actuals automatically. Variance explained after every cycle, no manual investigation required | Requires manual investigation | Requires manual investigation |
| Price | Access from £2,400/yr | Float from £480/yr | Futrli from £480/yr |
| Feature | Access Collect | Chaser | Kolleno |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct API to Access ERP | Direct API to Access Financials and Dimensions 3.0. Data always synced, no manual exports, no reconciliation gaps | Uses third-party connectors | Uses third-party connectors |
| Live in hours | Live in hours. Save £1,000–£5,000 in setup costs. Single vendor support, one team for Finance and AR | Hours for standard integrations | LIve in 10-14 days |
| Promise-to-pay tracking included | Full promise-to-pay tracking included. Convert vague promises into trackable commitments. Catch broken promises immediately | Tracks expected date only | — |
| Customer portal included | Customer portal included (coming soon). No additional fees, part of the standard plan | Charges additional fees | Includes customer portal |
| Price | Access from £2,800/yr | Chaser from £6,468/yr | Kolleno from £4,898/yr |
| Feature | Access Assets | FMIS | Asset Panda |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited users included | Unlimited users at every tier. No per-user cost, every finance and operations team member included at no extra charge | Charges per user | Limited seats |
| Automated GL reconciliation | Depreciation calculated and posted directly to the nominal ledger automatically. Exception-based review, not asset-by-asset. Run across the entire register in seconds | GL reconciliation included | Export-only |
| FRS 102 / UK GAAP purpose-built | Purpose-built for FRS 102, IFRS, and UK GAAP. Complete audit trail, rated essential by 93% of finance teams. Statutory reporting and movement schedules included | UK GAAP / FRS 102 supported | Has no UK compliance |
| Mobile and barcode scanning included from launch | Barcode and QR scanning included from day one. Mobile app for maintenance and operations teams. Photo attachments and condition notes logged against the asset record | Separate module | Mobile and barcode included |
| Users | Access Unlimited users | FMIS Base + per-user | Asset Panda 5-10 min seats |
Still comparing finance software options?
Discover how leading finance systems compare across features, scalability, automation, and reporting capabilities to find the right fit for your organisation.
UK charities using Access: what changed, in their own words
Charity accounting software that works the way your organisation does
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Common questions about charity accounting software and not-for-profit finance management
What is the best accounting software for UK charities?
Access Financials is the best accounting software for UK charities. It is purpose-built for the not-for-profit sector with native fund tracking, SOFA reporting, Gift Aid management and Charity Commission compliance, not added on. Unlike Sage or Xero, it does not require workarounds to handle restricted and unrestricted income and expenditure.
What is the best not-for-profit accounting software?
Access Financials is the best not-for-profit accounting software for UK organisations. It handles fund management, SOFA reporting, Gift Aid, multi-entity consolidation and funder report automation in a single integrated platform. For a complete not-for-profit ERP, Access Evolve combines finance, HR, project accounting and CRM.
What ERP works for UK charities and nonprofit organisations?
Access Evolve is the ERP purpose-built for UK charities and not-for-profit organisations. It combines finance, HR, project accounting, CRM and intelligent automation tools in one connected platform. Available in three tiers: Grow, Expand and Advance, so charities can start with what they need and scale as they grow.
Does Access Charity CRM integrate with Access Financials?
Yes. Access Charity CRM integrates natively with Access Financials. Donor data flows directly into finance with no rekeying. Gift Aid reclaims are generated automatically from donor records. CRM income figures match finance figures: one version of truth. Church Mission Society saved 200 hours per month after replacing their disconnected Sage and Raiser's Edge setup with Access.
Which finance systems are tailored for hospices and hospital charities?
Access Financials is tailored for hospices and hospital charities. It handles fund tracking for clinical and non-clinical grants, SOFA reporting, multi-site purchase controls, payroll integration for care staff, and Charity Commission compliance. It also supports FRS 102 and UK GAAP for charitable incorporated organisations.
What features help charities with UK accounting?
The key features charities need for UK accounting are: fund tracking, SOFA reporting, Gift Aid management, multi-entity consolidation, purchase order controls with full audit trail, funder report automation, and Charity Commission compliance. Access Financials includes all of these natively, with no add-ons required.
How can small charities manage their finances using cloud accounting?
Small charities can manage their finances using Access Cloud Accounting, a cloud-native solution requiring no IT infrastructure. It provides fund accounting, SOFA reporting, bank feeds, Gift Aid tracking and HMRC submission, accessible from anywhere. Access CashForecaster adds automated cash flow forecasting from £2,400/yr.
Can Access track restricted and unrestricted funds separately?
Yes. Restricted and unrestricted fund tracking is a core feature of Access Financials, not an add-on. Each restricted fund is tracked as a separate cost centre. Committed costs are visible within the fund, not just actuals. Church Mission Society reduced their nominal codes from 23,000 to 400, saving 200 hours per month.
Does Access produce SOFA reports automatically?
Yes. Access Financials generates the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) directly from live data, with no manual assembly required. Board packs and funder reports are produced on demand, not built over 3-5 days from raw exports. City Lit saved £50,000 per year in finance team time after implementing Access.
How does Access handle Gift Aid for charities?
Access records Gift Aid declarations at the point of donation and integrates them directly with the finance system. It calculates and tracks eligible donations, ensuring charities reclaim the full 25p per £1 donated. At £500,000 in eligible donations, that is £125,000 that would otherwise remain with HMRC unclaimed.
Can Access replace Sage for a charity?
Yes. Access Financials is a direct replacement for Sage in charity environments. It provides native fund tracking, SOFA reporting and Gift Aid management that Sage requires workarounds to achieve. Church Mission Society moved from Sage to Access and saved 200 hours per month and £50,000 per year.
What is charity statutory accounts software?
Charity statutory accounts software automates the production of statutory financial statements required by the Charity Commission, including the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA), balance sheet and notes to the accounts. Access Financials produces these directly from live data, with HMRC-recognised digital tax submission and full audit trail built in.