As someone who dedicates their days to running a non-profit organization, you know the art of juggling programs, effective fundraising to fund those programs, and the administrative work that goes into making it all happen.
You understand that in order to run a successful organization, secure funding, and keep the programs running, you need a knowledgeable finance team, strong internal controls, and procedures in place.
Accounting, especially non-profit accounting, can be tedious and time-consuming. Fortunately, we live in the 21st Century where technology is available to minimize manual work, streamline controls, and centralize communication. Modernizing finance is a key to the future success of the non-profit organization.
What Does Modernized Finance Look Like?
Imagine this:
Fewer dedicated admin staff and more time available for program work
Approval processes that don’t require passing a folder along the chain or falling apart when someone takes a vacation day
Communications that happen where they make the most sense, not in disconnected emails - discussions about payments that live with their respective bills and document approvals on the document
Processes that happen continuously instead of in a rush at the end of the month
Internal controls set within each system and enforced by restricted users’ roles
Paperless processes allow shared documents and eliminate filing and scanning
Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it? All these are the benefits you can gain by modernizing your finance through technology.
Core Technology and its Benefits
We understand the importance of using the right technology, so we’ve put together some of the best tools for automating your processes. Below is the list of the core technology that has been vetted by our team:
Payments - Bill.com
Electronic payments
Fewer vendor inquiries “where’s my payment?” they can see the status
Fewer lost/uncashed checks to track and re-issue
Audit
Auditors can review invoices, approvals, and payments directly, no more pulling and scanning documents
Security
Enforce segregation of duties by assigning roles for who can add vendors, approve, and issue payments
Efficiency
Recurring payments can be automated to spend less time on routine tasks
Timesheets - TSheets
Monitor time tracking in real-time, approve on payroll day without effort to collect, assemble and submit
Mobile-friendly options so employees are more likely to track time even if they’re not in the office all-day
Receipt capture - Dext
Employees submit receipts immediately - forward from email or take a picture with a mobile device
Rules allow you to assign accounts once and reduce the drudgery of coding recurring expenses manually
No manual entry, just review and publish to your accounting system
No more ticking off the statement, receipts are matched to bank/credit card transactions
Request missing receipts with a few clicks, use JotForm to have the client submit missing receipts form directly to Dext
Document storage - Box, Google Drive, DropBox
Enable shared review, approval without moving the file
Control access without involving IT
Allow colleagues to upload your requested documents right to your file system without going through email
Utilize version control to eliminate tracking multiple versions of a file
Accounting systems - QuickBooks Desktop, Online
Tutorials, how-to - Loom, Clickup, Scribe. These are great options for documenting your processes in writing and by recording instructional videos.
As you implement these tools, you’ll begin seeing the benefits of a modernized financial system.
Remote Environment
The world is shifting to a higher demand for remote work. With modernized finances, your team is given the option to work from anywhere in the world.
Cloud-based systems are the driving force behind this shift and come with many benefits. Here are a few:
Flexibility for your staff to work from anywhere at any time (do you want to visit a family for an extended period of time, live abroad for a few months, work from a cabin? It is possible!)
Minimal disruptions to processes when staff are traveling
Reduced IT complexity and on-site hardware
Access to powerful tools and asynchronous collaboration
Secure documents and less need to send files through email
Interested in Modernizing Your Finances?
Taking a modern approach to your finances is becoming more common and for a good reason. There are huge benefits to leaning on automation and it’s likely your non-profit organization can be strengthened with proper implementation.
Need help to modernize your finance department? We’ll be happy to help!
Fill out this form and will we contact you to schedule a meeting.
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