Nonprofit organizations require dedicated accounting software that takes their stringent requirements for financial planning, budgeting, auditing, and reporting into account. Features like grant tracking, nonprofit financial reporting, and donation tracking are some of the most important things to look for in nonprofit accounting software. To help you choose a solution that fits your organization’s needs, we’ve picked the six best nonprofit accounting software:
- Aplos: Best overall accounting software for nonprofits with a website and donation form builder
- NonProfitPlus: Best for restricted funds accounting
- QuickBooks Online: Best customizable accounting software for Form 990 reporting
- QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit: Best for desktop accounting software for nonprofits
- Wave: Best free nonprofit accounting software for volunteer treasurers of very small nonprofits
- Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: Best nonprofit enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
Get 70% off QuickBooks for 3 months. Ends July 8th. |
|
We are driven by the Fit Small Business mission to provide you with the best answers to your small business questions—allowing you to choose the right accounting solution for your needs. Our meticulous evaluation process makes us a trustworthy source for accounting software insights. We don’t just scratch the surface; we immerse ourselves in every platform we review by exploring the features down to the finest nuances.
For our roundup of church accounting software, we created a special rubric that evaluates the features of our chosen providers, which gives our audience—churches and faith-based groups—an unbiased opinion about the software’s capabilities and fit for your organization.
Comparison of the Best Nonprofit Accounting Software
Which Nonprofit Accounting Software is Right for you?
Aplos: Best Overall Accounting Software for Nonprofits With a Website & Donation Form Builder
Pros
- Includes a built-in website builder that requires no coding
- Provides end-to-end solutions for event and donor management
- Creates unlimited donation forms
- Has bank integrations for easy import of transactions
- Accepts donations via text, which requires an additional fee
Cons
- Requires an additional fee for more than two users
- Doesn’t include built-in payroll
- Cannot be used to manage grants and volunteers
- Lacks invoice customization
- Has no mobile app
All plans include up to two users:
- Aplos Lite: $79 per month
- Aplos Core: $99 per month
- Aplos Advanced: Starts at 189 per month
- Enterprise: Custom priced
You can try Aplos for free for 15 days with no credit card required. New customers get 50% off for six months on all subscriptions.
Aplos is our overall best nonprofit accounting software because it has an outstanding set of general accounting features, and its key features are tailored to nonprofit operations. We consider it a powerful accounting application for medium-sized nonprofits because it provides end-to-end solutions for managing donors and members.
We recommend Aplos Core for its valuable features, such as fund accounting, donation tracking, and online giving forms. It is also ideal for faith-based organizations with few employees; see how it benefits churches in our evaluation of the best church accounting software. However, if you’re a smaller nonprofit that doesn’t need special nonprofit features, QuickBooks Online can be modified to your nonprofit’s needs.
NonProfitPlus: Best for Restricted Funds Accounting
Pros
- Has powerful donor management capability
- Can add as many users as needed
- Offers tools for managing restricted funds
Cons
- Doesn’t publish pricing on its website
- Lacks built-in tools for managing payroll
- Has a steep learning curve
Prices aren’t published on its website. You can sign up for a free product tour to see how it works.
We selected NonProfit+ by Acumatica as one of the best nonprofit accounting software because it allows users to manage donor contacts and track donation sources easily. It also lets you generate customized reports by activity and schedule emails to send out to donors.
It’s a good choice for nonprofits receiving restricted funds since it has a restricted fund management module, which allows you to define and restrict the uses of restricted donations. However, despite having the most comprehensive nonprofit features on our list, it lacks transparent pricing and can be difficult to use, so many small nonprofits may need to consider an alternative like Aplos.
QuickBooks Online: Best Customizable Accounting Software for Form 990 Reporting
Pros
- Lets you share data with your accountant easily
- Can be customized for nonprofit accounting
- Offers bookkeeping assistance via QuickBooks Live
Cons
- Lacks nonprofit-specific tools
- Requires additional fee to use payroll
- Has no accounting for restricted fund balance
- Simple Start: $30 per month for one user
- Essentials: $60 per month for three users
- Plus: $90 per month for five users (recommended for nonprofits)
- Advanced: $200 per month for 25 users
QuickBooks currently offers a 50% discount for the first three months or a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
As our best small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online is a versatile and flexible accounting solution that can adapt to a nonprofit—we have a guide on how to set up QuickBooks Online for nonprofits. Although it is primarily for for-profit organizations, you can customize it for nonprofit use by updating its chart of accounts. It also made our roundup because of its outstanding bookkeeping assistance available through QuickBooks Live.
We recommend the Plus plan because of the location and class tracking features, which can be used to monitor income and expense by program service, administrative, and fundraising purposes. However, Advanced is also an excellent choice if you require more than five users.
If you think modifying QuickBooks Online for nonprofits isn’t enough for your nonprofit accounting needs, QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit Edition is a better pick. Its nonprofit-specific edition comes with unique nonprofit forms and a built-in nonprofit chart of accounts.
QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit Edition: Best Desktop Accounting Software for Nonprofits
Pro
- Offers unlimited support, features updates, and security patches
- Supports Form 990 or Form 990-EZ
- Creates receipts and tracks pledges
- Has class tracking by program
Cons
- Requires installation and setup
- Is limited to five users
- Is expensive for small nonprofits
- Makes it difficult to share data with an external accountant
QuickBooks Premier Plus 2023 starts at $799 per year for one user. It can accommodate up to five users for $1,999 annually. If you need more than five users, you’ll need to upgrade to QuickBooks Enterprise Nonprofit Edition, which starts at $1,464 per year for up to 30 users.
QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit is a desktop program tailored to nonprofits. It can help users manage donations, grants, and encumbrances and compute the taxes to report on IRS Form 990. Since QuickBooks Desktop is now subscription-based, you can access the newest features while subscribed; in the old license-based version, you couldn’t update to the latest version until the license expires.
If you’re looking for cloud-based software, we recommend choosing QuickBooks Online for an all-around accounting solution or Aplos for its accounting functions plus nonprofit-specific features. However, it is possible to have QuickBooks Premier hosted, and there are a number of QuickBooks hosting services available.
Wave: Best Free Nonprofit Accounting Software for Volunteer Treasurers of Very Small Nonprofits
Pros
- Is easy to set up and use even for nonaccountants
- Has a free plan for nonprofits with single users
- Is ideal for simple nonprofit organizations
- Offers bookkeeping assistance via Wave Advisors
Cons
- Can add only one user in the free plan
- Has no live support in the free plan unless you purchase an add-on
- Is not a good fit for large nonprofits
- Lacks tools for managing restricted funds
- Can’t track expenses or revenue by program
You can choose from two plans:
- Starter: Free for a single user; has accounting and invoicing features
- Pro: $16 monthly or $170 annually for unlimited users; has additional features, including bank feeds, receipt capture, live chat and email support, and discounted credit card processing fees
Add-ons:
- Bookkeeping support: $149 monthly (Starter and Pro)
- Assisted payroll: $40 monthly for tax service states and $20 monthly for self-service states plus $6 monthly per employee
- Receipt scanning: $11 per month or $96 per year (Starter only; included in Pro)
Wave has no industry-specific features, but if you’re a volunteer treasurer for a small charity with one program service and one fund, the platform has a good set of features to streamline accounting for income and expenses. Nonprofits with multiple locations can even set up each location as a separate entity to segregate information—but Wave will be unable to help you combine the information when needed.
The platform is easy to use, even for novice accountants or treasurers, but you can seek personalized coaching from a Wave Advisor if necessary. However, unlike QuickBooks Online, Wave can’t separate income and expenses by classes to mimic fund or program service accounting. If you need to track activity for more than one fund or one service program, then you’re better off spending money on better software like QuickBooks Online.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: Best Nonprofit ERP Software
Pros
- Can track complicated grant requirements
- Has robust budgeting capabilities
- Provides unlimited tracking characteristics for in-depth reporting
- Integrates with other Blackbaud software packages
Cons
- Lacks features for managing donors
- Comes with a steep learning curve
- Has no upfront pricing
- Charges an additional fee for most of its modules
Prices aren’t published on the website, but you can contact the provider to request pricing information or a customized quote.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is comprehensive for tracking both simple and complex grant requirements. Since it’s a nonprofit ERP software, you can specify how your financial data looks on reports and break your accounting structure down to a very detailed level if required.
The program is also ideal for organizations that require consolidated reporting, thanks to its consolidation management module, which allows users to merge financial statements across multiple organizations. On the downside, it lacks transparent pricing, is complex, and requires a lot of training and support to get up to speed on the basic functionality. Aplos might be a simpler and more convenient alternative for nonprofits not leaning toward ERP functions.
How We Evaluated Nonprofit Accounting Software
We evaluated nonprofit accounting software in this guide using the following criteria:
10% of Overall Score
Accounting software programs for nonprofits come at different price points. That’s why we considered giving price a significant weight to give more credit to account software programs that deliver great nonprofit accounting features at an affordable price.
20% of Overall Score
- Online payments
- Payroll
- Double-entry accounting
- A/P and A/R management
- Mobile app functionality
20% of Overall Score
- Fund accounting
- Grant management
- Donation tracking and management
- Budget management
- Volunteer management
20% of Overall Score
20% of Overall Score
10% of Overall Score
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Fund accounting is a method of accounting that tracks and reports on the financial activity of specific funds or programs within an organization. It is essential for nonprofit accounting software because it allows organizations to stay compliant with grant requirements by keeping detailed records.
You should first evaluate your organization’s financial management needs and then consider the software provider’s features, cost, ease of use, and level of customer support.
Nonprofit accounting software helps organizations track donations and grants, manage budgets, and generate financial reports. It also saves time, reduces errors, and ensures compliance with nonprofit accounting standards.
Bottom Line
Aplos is our overall best nonprofit accounting software because of its versatility and flexibility in offering nonprofit- and accounting-specific features. QuickBooks Online is a good pick if you want a web-based accounting software that’s easy to share with an external bookkeeper. However, QuickBooks Premier Plus 2023 is our recommendation if you prefer desktop-based software with built-in nonprofit accounting features.
For small nonprofits that don’t need detailed accounting, we recommend Wave, which has a free plan and is our best choice for simple invoicing and accounting. If you’re looking for more nonprofit-focused software, go with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT or NonProfitPlus.