The 6 Best Nonprofit Accounting Software in 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
Nonprofit organizations require dedicated accounting software that takes into account their stringent requirements for financial planning, budgeting, auditing, and reporting. 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
- 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 treasurers of very small nonprofits
- Nonprofit+: Best for nonprofits relying on numerous small donations for support
- Blackbaud: Best for nonprofits relying on large grants for support
Comparison of Best Nonprofit Accounting Software
Software | Monthly Pricing | Number of Users | Nonprofit Tools & Features | Nonprofit Financial Statements | Bookkeeping Assistance | Default Nonprofit Chart of Accounts | Accounts Receivable (A/R), Accounts Payable (A/P) & Banking | Budgeting | Track Expenses by Program |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$79 to $189-plus | 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
$30 to $200 | 1 to 25 | ✕ | Customization Required | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
$799 to $1,999 | 1 to 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Free | Unlimited | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
Contact Sales | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Contact Sales | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
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
- 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
- Invoices aren’t customizable
- No mobile app
Aplos Pricing
All plans include up to two users:
- Aplos Lite: $79 per month
- Aplos Core: $139 per month
- Aplos Core + Advanced Accounting: Starts at $189 per month
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.
The Fundraising Center screen on Aplos
- Online donations and fundraisers: Aplos can help you create forms to accept donations online and during fundraising events. It also has a dedicated portal where donors can view and track their donations and update payment details.
- Recurring donations: If some of your members donate regularly or through tithes, you can set up recurring donations to make it easy to schedule donations, print out statements, and update payment information.
- Website builder: One of the most unique features of Aplos is its website builder, which is best for nonprofits that host fundraising events and use websites for registration and donations.
Aplos is our choice for the 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 the Advanced Accounting package for its valuable features, such as fixed asset tracking and income and expense allocation. It is also ideal for faith-based organizations with few employees. See how Aplos benefits churches in our evaluation of the best church accounting software.
QuickBooks Online: Best Customizable Accounting Software for Form 990 Reporting
Pros
- Share data easily with your accountant
- Can customize QuickBooks Online to mirror 990 reporting requirements
- Offers bookkeeping assistance via QuickBooks Live
- Comprehensive mobile app
Cons
- No nonprofit-specific tools
- Requires additional fee to use payroll
- Simple Start is limited to one user
- No accounting for restricted fund balance
QuickBooks Online Pricing
- Simple Start: $30 per month with one user included
- Essentials: $55 per month with three users included
- Plus: $85 per month with five users included (recommended for nonprofits)
- Advanced: $200 per month with 25 users included
QuickBooks currently offers a 50% discount for the first three months or a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
Customizing QuickBooks Online as a Nonprofit in Advanced Settings
- Assisted bookkeeping option: Through QuickBooks Live, you can access an expert QuickBooks bookkeeper to help you organize your books, classify transactions, and analyze your financial statements. Given that nonprofits follow different accounting standards than for-profit organizations, you’ll need someone who understands and practices nonprofit accounting.
- ProAdvisors: It is very easy to find a local bookkeeper that can help you with your QuickBooks Online account. They can even log directly into your account to review what you’ve done and make corrections. Read our guide on how to find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
- Location and class tracking: Your nonprofit can use location and class tracking to segregate activity by fund and by program service. You can also add customized tags to transactions for further tracking. See our article on customizing QuickBooks Online for nonprofits.
- Outstanding inventory features: If your nonprofit sells goods, QuickBooks Online can help you keep track of inventory levels efficiently and calculate your cost of goods sold (COGS), so there’s no need to get another third-party app just for inventory tracking.
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. It also made our list because of its outstanding bookkeeping assistance available through QuickBooks Live.
Although it is primarily for for-profit organizations, you can customize it for nonprofit use by updating its chart of accounts. We highly recommend the Plus plan because of the location and class tracking features. However, Advanced is also an excellent choice if you require more than five users.
QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit Edition: Best Desktop Accounting Software for Nonprofits
Pro
- Integrated payroll available for a fee
- Unlimited support, features updates, and security patches
- Supports Form 990 or Form 990-EZ
- Creates receipts and tracks pledges
- Class tracking by program
Cons
- Requires installation and setup
- Limited to five users
- Expensive for small nonprofits
- Difficult to share with an external accountant
QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit Edition Pricing
QuickBooks Premier Plus 2023 starts at $799 per year for one user. It can accommodate up to five users for $1,999.
Assigning Expenses by Class in QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit Edition
- Nonprofit chart of accounts: Unlike QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit gives you, by default, a nonprofit chart of accounts. These accounts are compliant with nonprofit accounting standards for classifying assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and equity.
- Industry-specific reports: This version of QuickBooks can generate nonprofit reports and financial statements like the statement of activities, statement of financial position, statement of functional expenses, and statement of cash flows. You can also generate special reports like donor list summary, contribution report, and advanced reporting tools.
- Unlimited customer support and product updates: With the new subscription-based feature for QuickBooks Premier plans, users can get unlimited support and product updates at zero cost.
QuickBooks Premier Plus Nonprofit is a desktop software 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 web-based software, we recommend choosing QuickBooks Online for an all-around accounting solution or Aplos for its accounting functions plus nonprofit-specific features.
Wave: Best Free Nonprofit Accounting Software for Treasurers of Very Small Nonprofits
Pros
- Easy to use even for nonaccountants
- Completely free forever
- Ideal for simple nonprofit organizations
- Bookkeeping assistance available via Wave Advisors
Cons
- Lacks specialized features and reports for nonprofits
- Not a good fit for large nonprofits
- No tools for managing restricted funds
- Can’t track expenses or revenue by program
Wave Pricing
The accounting and invoicing features are free, while credit card and bank processing are charged per transaction:
- 2.9% plus 60 cents per non-AMEX transaction
- 3.4% plus 60 cents per AMEX transaction
- 1% fee for bank transactions but minimum of $1
Payroll Assistance:
- $40 per month plus $6 per employee or independent contractor for users living in tax service states; fee includes payroll filing and payroll tax calculation
- $20 per month plus $6 per employee or independent contractor for users living in the remaining 36 states; fee includes only payroll taxes computation
Modifying Chart of Accounts in Wave
- Free accounting and invoicing: Wave is free forever for accounting and invoicing. You can use it if you’re organizing short-term or small nonprofit events and projects needing basic income and expense tracking.
- Payroll tax assistance: Wave gives tax filing assistance and calculation for tax service states―Florida, New York, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, California, Indiana, Virginia, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin―and payroll tax calculation for the rest of the states, which are self-service states.
Wave has no industry-specific features, but if you’re a volunteer treasurer for a small charity with one program service and one fund, it has a good set of features to streamline accounting for donations, tax receipts, and payroll. Nonprofits with multiple locations can even set up each location as a separate entity to segregate information—but it won’t be able 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, it 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.
NonProfit+: Best for Nonprofits Relying on Numerous Small Donations for Support
Pros
- Extensive list of useful modules
- Powerful donor management capability
- Can add as many users as needed
- Offers tools for managing restricted funds
Cons
- Prices aren’t shown on website
- No built-in tools for managing payroll
- Steep learning curve
NonProfit+ Pricing
Prices aren’t provided on its website. You can sign up for a free product tour to see how it works.
Encumbrance Accounting Module in NonProfit+
- Grant and donation management: Grants and donations often come with conditions as to how they’ll be used. NonProfit+ can help you manage these grants and donations based on the donor-imposed conditions through a dedicated module.
- Intercompany accounting: If you have a nonprofit with several organizations, NonProfit+ is great accounting software for consolidating financial statements.
- Board management: NonProfit+ administrators can grant board members access to the software. This feature enables board members to view grants and donations in real-time without having to ask for a report.
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 terrific choice for nonprofits receiving restricted funds since it has a restricted fund management module that 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 is complicated, so many small nonprofits may need to consider an alternative like Aplos.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: Best for Nonprofits Relying on Large Grants for Support
Pros
- Can track complicated grant requirements
- Robust budgeting capabilities
- Unlimited tracking characteristics for in-depth reporting
- Integrates with other Blackbaud software packages
Cons
- No features for managing donors
- Steep learning curve
- No upfront pricing
- Most of the modules are available for an additional fee
Blackbaud Pricing
Prices are unavailable, but you can contact the provider to request pricing information or a customized quote.
Blackbaud Dashboard
- Grant management: You can accept and track grants as well as manage grants based on the conditions set by the board or the grantor.
- Budgeting: Managing your nonprofit assets starts with budgeting. Financial Edge NXT allows you to create unlimited budgeting scenarios, create department budgets, consolidate department budgets to an operating budget, and implement rollover budgets.
- Accounting: Aside from nonprofit features, it offers competent accounting functions like creating purchase orders (POs), invoices, and bills.
If you’re currently relying on major foundation or government grants for funding, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is comprehensive enough to track both simple and complex grant requirements. With it, 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.
How We Evaluated Nonprofit Accounting Software
In evaluating the nonprofit accounting software on this list, we developed five criteria to determine the applicability of the accounting software to nonprofit accounting. Each criterion has an assigned weight and subcriteria to further break down the software’s capability to handle the specific accounting and nonprofit features that we like to see.
20% 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.
30% of Overall Score
These features include basic accounting functions that can be found in for-profit accounting software. We considered the software’s ability to offer the accounting functions necessary to keep nonprofit books and transactions organized and properly reported. These are:
- Online payments
- Payroll
- Double-entry accounting
- A/P and A/R management
- Mobile app functionality
30% of Overall Score
We checked for features that help nonprofits manage their activities and comply with nonprofit reporting. Moreover, we looked for specific modules and functions that are present only for the use of nonprofit organizations, like:
- Fund accounting
- Grant management
- Donation tracking and management
- Budget management
- Volunteer management
10% of Overall Score
The ability to use nonprofit accounting software easily is our key factor here. We gave high scores to accounting software programs that are easy to understand, even for non-bookkeepers or CPAs. Aside from that, we also included access to customer support, assisted bookkeeping options, payroll integration within the app, and online payment integration within the app. Being cloud-based is a big plus in our evaluation.
10% of Overall Score
We looked into the accounting software’s overall features and the quality of user experience. We also gave heavy consideration to the popularity of the software among nonprofit organizations, as this will have a large impact on your ability to find assistance when problems arise.
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 by keeping detailed records.
You should first evaluate your organization’s financial management needs and then consider the 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 pick for overall best nonprofit accounting software because of its versatility and flexibility in offering nonprofit-specific and accounting-specific features. QuickBooks Online is our best Aplos alternative 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 nonprofit accounting features
For small nonprofits that don’t need detailed accounting, we recommended Wave, which is free and the best choice for simple invoicing and accounting. If you’re looking for more nonprofit-focused software, go with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT or NonProfit+.