Nonprofit – Page 2 – Beck & Company

To Telecommute or Not to Telecommute? Telecommuting May Drive Productivity for Non-Profits

Telecommuting may call to mind images of pajama-clad workers surfing the net, but new information indicates that offering telecommuting as an option for non-profit workers increases employee productivity.

BizTech magazine reports that remote employees tend to work 20 percent more than on-site employees. They typically clock more than 40 hours per workweek, too.

Mobile technology has revolutionized how many companies view their workforce. Onsite workers clocking an average 40-hour workweek seem to be a remnant of our country’s industrial past, when workers punched a timecard and were paid hourly. Today’s workforce is more likely to seek flexibility in working hours and a better work-life balance, but are willing to work longer hours in exchange for that flexibility.

Currently, 45 percent of nonprofits offer some type of telecommuting policy. The benefit to employee productivity is enormous. Telecommuting employees are 20 percent more likely to work longer hours when engaged in projects from home, and will easily clock more than 40 hours when working on creative projects.

Nonprofits seeking to enact telecommuting-friendly policies need to understand the potential technology and budgetary ramifications. The technology needed to support a mobile workforce includes cloud-based applications, which can be easily accessed from any Internet browser, mobile phones, and laptops.

Some nonprofits have a ‘bring your own device’ policy, allowing workers to use their own smartphones, tablets and laptops to access company data, but with that policy comes a price. Nonprofits who allow workers to use their own devices to work on company systems must have higher security protocols in place to prevent accidental data breaches, viruses and malware from corrupting important systems and inadvertently sharing sensitive donor information, such as credit card numbers.

Telecommuting Employees Are Happier

Studies show that telecommuting employees are generally happier and more satisfied with their jobs than their onsite coworkers. Satisfied employees tend to stay in their jobs longer, leading to reduced turnover and greater productivity.

TinyPulse, an employment survey startup, assessed 509 full time remote employees and data from over 200,000 other employees to create a portrait of the happiness and satisfaction of remote workers.

Remote or telecommuting employees ranked their happiness and job satisfaction much higher than their onsite coworkers. The only drawback to telecommuting they noted was a decrease in coworker relationships and a feeling of connection with coworkers. For some, this was a drawback. For those who are tired of office politics, it may be a benefit.

The Future of Nonprofit Employee Productivity

By 2018, it is projected that more than 2.5 million nonprofits will embrace mobile workforce management solutions. This reflects a 21 percent increase over today’s numbers. With that growing use of mobile technology, specific steps should be considered by nonprofit managers.

Create a structured telecommuting policy for employees. A written policy sets a common understanding of what is allowed (and what isn’t), and also provides a good recruiting benefit when attracting talent to your organization.
Update your software and systems with cloud-based solutions that are easily accessed via mobile devices.
Discuss security issues with your IT staff or consultants now. Make sure that sensitive data, such as donor lists, accounting and fund data, and employee data is protected with the best security you can install. Close the barn door before the proverbial horse escapes, not after.

The future seems to be one in which work, however it is defined, can be conducted just as easily from the bleachers at a child’s Little League game to an office downtown. Higher job satisfaction, flexible work arrangements, and personal investment into a nonprofit’s mission are all benefits for employees working at nonprofits. When employee productivity increases too, it’s a win-win for both employees and their organizations.

An upcoming webinar will be discussing how the demands on nonprofit finance teams have continued to increase. Also, how you must create greater levels of transparency and visibility, enhance the governance of the organization, and strengthen decision-making and strategic focus – all while improving productivity. Click here to register for the Survival Guide for Nonprofit Finance Teams Webinar On Thursday, June 3rd at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET.

Beck & Company provides nonprofit accounting and consulting services nationwide. Founded in 1987, our staff of CPAs and seasoned nonprofit experts can help you with audits, tax compliance and more. Please call us at 703-834-0776 for an appointment today.

Are You Keeping Too Much Nonprofit Documentation?

4 Document Management Steps You Should Follow

Last week, we talked about the importance of document retention for nonprofit compliance, especially as it relates to donor gifts. This week, let’s take a look at the importance of purging documents and data. When your nonprofit organization is required to keep documents, it can be easy to just keep everything. Has your data storage grown exponentially over the past few years? Has your organization become a pack rat, hanging onto records and data you don’t really need? As electronic storage capacity has increased and gotten cheaper, it is much easier to hold on to information. While it may seem that the cost to store data is cheap, it can be more expensive than you think. These hidden costs are why having an Information Governance plan is so important.

The hidden costs of too much data

Information Governance encompasses document management as well as information security, compliance, business intelligence and big data. It attempts to find the balance point between extracting value from data and reducing the potential risk of data. While the cost of storage may be minimal, it can cost exponentially more if there is ever a reason to do e-discovery for legal or compliance reasons. When there is a legal action of some sort, auditors or regulators or the FBI can secure the data on an organization’s servers and workstations and sift through it all. A study by the RAND Corporation, Where the Money Goes, estimates that e-discovery costs average $18,000 per gigabyte.

4 ways to manage the risk

There are steps that you can take to minimize your risk.

If you don’t need it, delete it. Yes, this can take time, but every piece of unneeded information not only costs money to store, but it is a liability. Think of all of those emails in your inbox that also have attached documents.
Purge unnecessary email and information. You are liable for constituent and customer data. If a customer is subject to legal action that requires e-discovery, and you have received related customer data, your systems are open for discovery as well.
Classify information. You should classify all information that you are storing. For example, if an email string is discussing sensitive organizational data such as constituent personal information, that email should be clearly marked as confidential. This is legal protection.
Make document management policies and follow them. It can be easy to ignore the document archiving process—the task is complete and you move on. However, creating a document management strategy is important for your long-term success, efficiency and compliance.

One way to gain valuable wisdom in matters that impact your organization is to contact Beck & Company Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors. We want to use our many years of professional expertise to help your organization succeed. Contact us today for more information about our nonprofit services. We can assist you in implementing policies that save you money and let you focus on your mission.

Are You Keeping the Right Nonprofit Documentation?

I admit that Post-it^® note sheets that adhere to virtually any surface are now my substitute of choice for retention. – Candice Bergen

While the humorous quote about Post-it^® notes from Candice Bergen probably brings a smile to your face at the thought of Post-it^® notes sufficing for record retention, the subject of which documents should be kept and for what length of time is one that is worthy of discussion for nonprofit organizations.

Donations Records

One area of note is donor gift documentation. It is a complex topic as shown by the several IRS publications that focus solely on this area. Nonprofit organizations that rely on donor gifts must be in compliance with the strict regulations regarding donations. The compliance rules and procedures allow the organizations to avoid penalties and retain their tax-exempt status.

The tricky part is that there are different regulations for the various donations. Donations can be in the form of money, vehicles, inventory, and investments, among other forms of gifts. For some organizations, there can be a basic type of donation that is usually received. However, when an organization continues to grow and gain more donors, the donations might take on a different look. An organization might normally receive monetary gifts, then one day a donor might show up with a vehicle donation, or there could be that donor who wants to donate a large tract of land.

These are real dilemmas for a nonprofit organization. It is wise to know not only what documentation you need to keep but also what documentation needs to go to the donor. Most donation documentation needs to be retained for ten years.

Who’s Who List

Nonprofit organizations also have special documentation requirements for detailing every relationship, whether that is

“disqualified” persons or those with conflict of interest—anyone who exercises control over the organization’s activities as well as member of that person’s family and owned entities,
related organizations or
donor advised funds—a distribution from a fund that results in excess benefits to specific people that can influence an excise tax on the recipient.

Other areas requiring retained documentation include:

Financial Records: Generally, financial records such as ledgers and schedules, bank statements and checks should be retained for ten years.
Conflict of Interest Policies: While the IRS does not require a written conflict of interest policy, they strongly recommend one.
Compensation Reviews: It is important to maintain documentation on compensation for all trustees, directors and employees. You need to have proof of proper compensation levels.
Public Inspection and Distribution of Form 990 and 990 T: Each annual information return needs to be available for three years.
Written Disclosure: Records disclosures are required when a donor receives goods or services in exchange for a single payment exceeding $75.
Employee Personnel Records: Employee personnel records should be kept for seven years after termination.
Volunteer Records: Volunteer records should be retained for three years.

Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of documentation and their retention requirements. As always, consult IRS regulations that are currently in effect or work with a nonprofit consultant who can help you maintain compliance.

Having clear documentation polices are critical to maintaining regulatory compliance and ensuring your nonprofit’s reputation. Lack of proper documentation can result in fines and penalties, temporarily restricted endowment funds and even removal of your nonprofit status. Don’t take that chance; stay up to date on documentation rules and implement practices that comply with them.

When you need professional expertise, contact Beck & Company. We have spent years learning the rules and regulations for nonprofit organizations and we work hard to stay apprised of all changes. We want to use our professional expertise to not only make your organization run more smoothly but also to help you succeed. Contact us today for a consultation.

Tips for Effective Nonprofit Social Media Programs

Using social media for a nonprofit organization offers untold opportunities to connect with and engage your community. While email and websites are important marketing channels, social media is the area of greatest growth for nonprofits. Facebook and Twitter are the preferred networks while nearly every other type of social media is used in some way by some organization. While most non-profits participate in social media in order to drive donations, there are many other reasons to invest in this area. In fact, last week, we talked about the importance of communicating your vision and mission and social media can be a great avenue to do this.

Social media provides a cheaper, faster and more effective way to get your story out whether that story is going to donors, volunteers or those you seek to serve. It helps your stakeholders to more easily share your story with their friends and acquaintances thereby building your community of supporters. To be successful in your social media program, follow these tips:

Social Media Tips for Success

Be consistent. Your social media should be used consistently year round—not just for a specific event. Social media can be used to build and nurture the relationship throughout the year.
Be visual. People react to visual media whether that is a moving photograph or humorous video. Sometimes it is easier to tell your organization’s story through pictures than with only words. It also emphasizes the importance of having a great design in your materials and website.
Tell your story. Don’t just post great photographs. Use visuals to tell the story of your mission. It is important that your story connects with people and causes them to take action.
Involve your volunteers. Your volunteers may be the most powerful venue for sharing your message. When they share on behalf of your nonprofit, your message goes further. Include this task as part of the volunteer job. In fact, creating volunteer social community managers who get the word out when you have content to share could have an enormous impact.
Be social. There’s a reason it’s called “social” media. Don’t just put out content, but interact with the people. Ask questions and respond to them. Express appreciation and show that you care.
Be balanced. Don’t just shout your message. Social media is about conversation. So besides announcing your own events and asking for donations, share other information as well. Share content from related organizations and recognize your supporters, volunteers and employees.

Many nonprofit software programs include social media in order to increase collaboration both within the organization and without. Beck & Company, Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors, can help you choose the best technology for your organization. We are an accounting and consulting firm delivering specialized expertise, creative thinking, and unsurpassed service to ensure that our clients’ endeavors flourish. Ultimately we want to see your nonprofit reach its goals and we would love to help you. Contact us to learn more about our specific nonprofit services.

To learn more about collaboration tools to streamline communication and coordination across departments, locations and practice areas and other ways to improve operational efficiency, join our webinar: Transforming Financial Management in Nonprofit Healthcare, Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. Learn more and register here.

Motivate Nonprofit Stakeholders with a Strong Vision and Mission Statement

Are you using your nonprofit organization’s vision and mission statement to motivate your stakeholders? Employees, volunteers and donors should all know your vision and be working together to attain it. Likewise, an effective mission statement, properly communicated, should help your organization stay focused on the goal.

Why are Vision and Mission Statements Important for Nonprofits?

A nonprofit organization needs both vision and mission statements to inspire, define and communicate to its stakeholders. Clear, agreed-upon goals are a characteristic of successful organizations. Without vision and mission statements, nonprofits may be wasting time chasing after unrelated goals.

A vision statement for nonprofit organizations should be more than just empty words. Instead it should draw a picture of what the world will look like if your organization’s purpose is fulfilled. When you have a strong vision statement it should motivate employees, volunteers and donors to strive for a common purpose.

The mission statement for nonprofits lays out how your organization is going to make your vision happen. Without the “how”, your nonprofit vision is just words. Your mission statement should serve as a motivator, but in addition, it should provide clear direction on how employees, volunteers and donors are a part of fulfilling your purpose.

A simple way to explain the difference between a vision and mission statement is that a vision statement is why the organization exists and the mission statement is how your organization is going to make that vision happen. Jack Welch said, “You’ve got to eat while you dream. You’ve got to deliver on short-range commitments, while you develop a long-range strategy and vision and implement it. The success of doing both walking and chewing gum, if you will. Getting it done in the short-range, and delivering a long-range plan, and executing on that.”

How to Create a Vision Statement

If you don’t have an effective nonprofit vision, it’s time to make one. If you do have a vision, is it effective? Consider these these questions in creating or revising your vision.

Does your vision inspire enthusiasm and commitment?
Is your vision unique to your organization? Does it reflect your values?
Is your vision ambitious enough to be a worthy goal?
Is your vision future oriented?

How to Create a Mission Statement

Your mission statement should clearly state the business of your nonprofit. It should be concise and short and address these questions:

Who is your organization—your name and type of agency?
What does your organization do?
Who are the beneficiaries of your services?
Where do you provide your services?
What are your values—the beliefs you hold in common and endeavor to put into practice?

Communication is Vital for Success

Your vision and mission statements can only motivate and guide your stakeholders if they are communicated well. The vast majority of nonprofit employees and volunteers cannot state their organizations purpose. When your vision and mission are clear and articulate, they are memorable, understood and supported by the entire organization. Not only should they be communicated to your internal organization, but they should be broadcast to your constituents and potential donors as well. Consider a broad marketing plan that may include social media, posters, brochures, web pages and advertisements to promote understanding and motivation.

Beck & Company, Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors, wants to be your partner in accomplishing your vision and mission. One way we do that is to provide convenient, easily accessible, monthly webinars for your organization. This month, take a look at this webinar, Financial Reporting—Is Your Nonprofit Seeing the Full Picture? In this live presentation on Thursday, May 11, 2016, you will learn ways to provide clear, accurate information on budgets, grants, outcomes and more to your stakeholders. Register here.

Contact Beck & Company today for a nonprofit business planning consultation. We want to put our many years of professional expertise to work for your organization.

Nonprofit Accounting Best Practices: Automating your Processes

We have come to our final blog in this series on nonprofit accounting best practices. Thus far, we have reviewed some key areas that we hope you’ll put into your plans as you prepare for future growth. This week’s focus is nothing short of critical to the flow and infrastructure health of your organization, automating your processes.

As nonprofits, we focus on expanding programs and services, reducing costs, increasing return on mission, and strengthening donor loyalty – all of which is good stewardship. That’s really what automation of processes is all about: doing more and creating greater impact with less.

We started this series talking about outcome measures. It’s pretty clear from funder prioritization and requirements that monitoring, measuring, and sharing key metrics are critical. But this requires efficiency and automation of processes. If you want to ensure high program efficiency metrics, you have to create the productivity savings, via automation, to reduce the proportional costs of overhead to program investment.

Here’s a specific example – let’s say you want to improve internal controls and reduce the inefficiencies of your manual purchasing system. By utilizing automated workflows in a best in class fund accounting solution, you will save time, paper, and frustration. Automated purchasing workflows will give you notification (on any device) that you have a pending electronic purchasing requisition or PO for approval. As you approve vendor payments, you can drill right into the original document to see the invoice. Payments are point and click. Reporting and visibility are instant.

Another example might be your audit. Is it taking too long and costing too much? In an automated environment, you can create a dashboard for your auditors that give them view only access to key reports and documents – right from their office. They can drill right into the source documents and you save travel, delays, and costs.

When you begin identifying your goals, priorities, and strategies, select some best practices to implement in your organization. It’s extremely helpful to define, track and measure results so that you can identify your savings and efficiency gains. Get familiar with the technology tools available to help you increase stewardship while decreasing costs.

Questions or comments regarding automating your processes? Please reach out to us. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BeckCPAs).

At Beck & Company we specialize in not-for-profit accounting and auditing. We understand the unique challenge of balancing the needs of your various stakeholders – contributors, members and your board, too. We have experience serving not-for-profit organizations such as unions, homeowner’s associations, religious organizations, charities, and social service organizations. If you have any questions regarding the filing of your form 990 we are here to help. Contact us today for more information.

Nonprofit Accounting Best Practices: Scaling for Growth and Impact

For several years now, we have seen the demands for nonprofit services increase rapidly, oftentimes exceeding capacity. Nonprofit organizations are focused on meeting the needs of their constituency while increasing impact. Some of the challenges get raised when organizations are planning to effectively scale for growth and impact. With the ever changing and growing needs, how are nonprofits adapting?

We’re seeing more mergers between nonprofits as well as new partnerships and collaborations. Some of these partnerships are with social enterprise organizations, some with other nonprofits, and others with community entities. With increased competition for funding and donors, nonprofits are learning to partner, narrow the focus of their mission, and adopt critical tools to ensure mission success and growth.

While growing to broaden the scope of your mission is a very good thing, it also brings new challenges. You have multiple funding streams, demand for deeper visibility, more grantor requirements, and increased compliance and reporting requirements. You may add new locations, programs or initiatives. It’s vital to plan for your growth and your expansion beyond the startup mode. Most nonprofit organizations start out utilizing small business tools to manage the organization. Once growth and expansion starts to kicks in, nonprofit orgs begin to experience the pains and limitations of ‘startup’ tools and resources.

In our last two posts, we shared information with you related to outcome measures and funding diversity. These two areas are critical as you plan and prepare for growth. Once you start tracking and measuring outcomes and increasing the diversity of your funding – you will quickly see the need for a best in class financial management solution – that will allow you to leverage modern technology to strengthen your visibility, transparency, automation, efficiency – and of course – your stewardship.

As your organization starts to thrive and grow, don’t think it will just happen on its own. Plan and build your strategy to accommodate the growth in a sustainable way. Nonprofits need the leverage and benefits that modern, best in class fund accounting affords. Whether through automation and visibility, or transparency and reporting – make sure that you equip your nonprofit with the tools that will allow it to thrive, grow, and maximize impact.

Questions or comments regarding scaling for impact and growth? Please reach out to us. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BeckCPAs). Check back next week for the final post in our series, where we will focus on automating your processes.

Nonprofit Accounting Best Practices: Fund Diversification

We are continuing on in our Nonprofit Accounting Best Practices series. As you prepare for the future, sustainable funding is a critical part of your plan. Some organizations get comfortable to the more traditional types of funding such as philanthropy which has proven to not be a sustainable method. Most growing nonprofit organizations need a true funding strategy that is wide in scope including sustainable forms of funding.

Whatever your current process is, you will probably be planning for expanded services. Most nonprofit organizations see an increase in the demand for services while facing increased competition for funding. In this environment, you need the support, credibility, and visibility with the community, funders, and constituents. Strong nonprofit accounting and financial management is key and includes performance and outcome reporting. You also need more to bring stability and sustainability – while allowing you to scale for growth. By diversifying your funding streams, you strengthen sustainability while expanding your influence and impact by partnering with new and diverse resources that you may not have considered previously. We are going to start with some basic information to help you get started and navigate the world of social finance. As with most things, balance is key to successfully diversifying your funding.

Social Finance is an approach to mobilizing private capital that delivers a social dividend and an economic return to achieve social and environmental goals. It creates opportunities for investors to finance projects that benefit society and for community organizations to access new sources of funds. Social finance is fairly broad in its definition, but we will give you a thumbnail of a few of the most interesting ‘instruments’ included in the social finance realm.

Impact Investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds – with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Impact investments are made with an expected return of capital as well as a return on capital, and most importantly, a commitment to measure and report the social and environmental performance and progress of the underlying investments. Global Impact Investing Network says it well: “Impact investing has the potential to unlock significant sums of private investment capital to complement public resources and philanthropy in addressing pressing global challenges.”

Program Related Investments (PRI) are defined as investments made by foundations to support charitable activities that involve the potential return of capital within an established time frame. PRIs include financing methods commonly associated with banks or other private investors, such as loans, loan guarantees, linked deposits, and even equity investments in charitable organizations, or in commercial ventures for charitable purposes. For the recipient, the primary benefit of PRIs is access to capital at lower rates than may otherwise be available. For the funder, the principal benefit is that the repayment or return of equity can be recycled for another charitable purpose. PRIs are valued as a means of leveraging philanthropic dollars.

Social Enterprise’s standard definition is applying commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, rather than maximizing profits for external shareholders. Nonprofits are starting to leverage this strategy as they seek to create earned income to increase their sustainability and funding strength. NESC has published a great report on Social Enterprise’s Expanding Position in the Nonprofit Landscape. Social Enterprise activities offer nonprofit organizations the opportunity to generate earned income which in turn will provide consistent cash flow to further the mission of the organization. Social Enterprise activities can enhance the brand/reputation of the organization. A direct benefit of Social Enterprise activities for nonprofit organizations, can be the enhancement of management.

The world of social finance and funding is expanding at a fast pace. New funding resources are being developed often to help nonprofits ensure mission success. In the beginning stages of your funding and growth planning, be sure to seek out the best fit in the multitude of new funding opportunities, and incorporate it into your fiscal plan and performance goals. We also encourage you to remember to track and report your funding diversity as your donors and constituents need to be aware of this information.

Do you have questions? Please reach out to us. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BeckCPAs). Check back next week for the next post in our series, where we will focus on scaling for growth and impact.

Nonprofit Accounting Best Practices: Outcome Measures

We are launching a multi-blog series, Nonprofit Accounting Best Practices, that hones in on trends and best practices for strengthening the condition and sustainability of your nonprofit organization. To help simplify and focus your planning, we plan to cover the best practices for everything from outcome measures to competition for funding. We are starting with what we think is one of the most pressing topics, outcome measures. Be sure to check back the following weeks as we cover funding flexibility, scalability, and automation.

Measuring and reporting outcomes is a huge topic in the nonprofit sector. Donors and constituents are more engaged than ever, and they have higher expectations, increased awareness, and greater visibility. Add to that the significant number of for-profit professionals moving into the nonprofit world, bringing their best practices with them. So we find ourselves in a dynamic environment where we are expected to change, measure, adapt, and change again.

Let’s start by defining outcome measures. These metrics are powerful, essential tools for demonstrating accountability and transparency for an organization. Outcome measures provide a real time assessment of what the organization defines as success or expected performance. This insight and visibility allows proactive management that can help ensure program performance and mission success.

Outcome metrics come in a variety of forms. They may be activity-based programs that involve the amount of meals served, number of immunizations given, or the level of targeted reading level improvement. Outcome metrics can also be capacity based and measure overall progress or performance across an organization. This could be mapped through fundraising, memberships, volunteers, and event participation. The metrics can also be based on a mission’s long term success or expected lifetime impact.

Why are outcome measures so important?

Nonprofit organizations are experiencing more competition for funding than ever before. Donors and grantors have higher expectations. Often, gifts and grants come with stipulations for performance because the givers want to ensure that their dollars are getting the greatest possible return on investment. Government funding, as well, has strengthened compliance reporting and performance expectations. Implementing strategic outcome measures not only helps you meet compliance requirements, but also strengthens your reputation while assuring current and prospective donors that your organization is efficient, proactive, a good steward, and of course – able to do what you say you can do.

Your constituents, donors, volunteers, employees and community need to see success to support and sustain the vision and mission of your organization. Charity evaluators have embraced outcome reporting and will be rating nonprofits based not only on financial reporting and analysis, but also on their tracking and reporting of outcomes. This dramatically raises the standard for all nonprofit organizations. Outcome metrics are an enormous part of improving overall visibility and performance.

The key is not to get too overwhelmed with the details and start with the basics based on your vision and mission. Utilize external resources to get started quickly and easily. Consistent progress is what wins the day. Balance your approach with both program outcomes and financial/operational performance. While measuring and reporting outcomes may require extra effort now, the interest and engagement that this expectation brings is a great thing in the long term for the nonprofit community – as it will bring significant benefits to organizations, donors, constituents, and communities.

A little unsure of where and how to get started? There are many resources available; some of our recommendations are:

We also encourage you to attend an upcoming webinar, “Outcome Measures: Metrics that Matter for Nonprofits” to learn what is driving forward-thinking nonprofits to place a strong emphasis on outcome measures in 2016—and why they are using the Intacct cloud-based financial management solution to make it happen.

Have additional questions or comments regarding outcome metrics for nonprofits? Please reach out to us. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BeckCPAs). Check back next week for the next post in our series, where we will focus on funding diversity.

Accomplishing your Goals with Automation Best Practices

Nonprofit organizations are generally focused on bettering their programs and services, increasing efficiency, decreasing costs, strengthening donor loyalty, and pursuing their overall mission. All of which are good and show wise stewardship within the organization. One way to ensure you are maximizing these efforts is through the automation of processes. Ultimately – through automation, accomplishing more with less; leading to greater impact of your nonprofit.

One of the ways to accomplish this, as we’ve talked about before, is through outcome measures. As your organization seeks to find financial support in today’s increasingly competitive environment, having an accurate display of your financial outcomes can play a key factor in winning grants and donations. Providing these reports, efficiently and accurately requires automation of processes. Through automation your organization can increase productivity and reduce overhead costs.

Automation through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution such as Intact ERP Software, can help by automating processes, improving oversight and controls and increasing accuracy and compliance. This will lead to your finance department running more efficiently, while allowing other departments within the organization to use the best tools for their part of the job.

In addition, automation can drive performance and growth. For instance, financial managers are expected to provide information – valuable information – to run their business better. Through automation you can easily dig deeper into your organizations financials in order to understand the true dynamics of your business. This provides visibility into both your financial and operating data so you make better long-term and more strategic decisions.

Another thing to consider is the time you are spending on your annual audit. Are you losing out on valuable time manually searching for information and compiling reports? In an automated environment, you can provide your audit team with access to reports and documentation which allows them to view the information needed to analyze your financials.

Keep these best practices in mind as you delve into 2016. Here at Beck & Co CPA’s we are committed to helping our customers achieve success. We want to help you increase efficiency, decrease costs, strengthen donor loyalty, and pursue your overall mission. Contact us to learn more about our services and solutions.