Who doesn’t love the last-minute scramble to find lacking invoices or observe down uncashed checks so you’ll be able to end your month-end shut?
A very good reconciliation course of retains your monetary information correct and updated. However with out the precise programs, this course of may be mind-numbingly time-consuming and susceptible to errors. By integrating fundraising and finance programs, info flows simply from reward information to journal entries, saving time, lowering the danger of fraud, and simplifying audits.
Right here’s how a related fundraising and finance system can simplify reconciliation for nonprofit organizations, and what it might appear like in apply.
Why Is Reconciliation So Difficult?
Reconciliation is the method of matching monetary information from completely different sources, reminiscent of reward information, invoices, and financial institution feeds, to make sure consistency and accuracy. If items aren’t reconciled to the precise program—or any program—it’s troublesome to ensure you are adhering to donor intent.
For nonprofit organizations, reconciliation usually entails matching invoices to financial institution information, formatting information in Excel, and making certain that contributions are accurately recorded in each the fundraising and accounting programs. The reconciliation course of could cause complications for a wide range of causes, together with:
Handbook Processes
Many nonprofits nonetheless depend on handbook processes for information entry and matching information. This not solely will increase the danger of human error but in addition requires vital effort and time.
Duplication of Efforts
Typically, the identical information must be entered into a number of programs, resulting in duplication of efforts and growing the chance of discrepancies.
Compromised Audit Path
With no clear and constant audit path, it may be difficult to hint transactions and be sure that all funds are accounted for. This could complicate audits, scale back transparency, and open the door to fraud.
Time-Consuming
Growth groups can spend 30-40 hours per thirty days getting items into the CRM and getting ready information, whereas finance groups might spend 8-12 hours per thirty days matching information and posting to the final ledger. Simply think about what you can do when you had been capable of reduce that point in half.
How a Related Fundraising and Fund Accounting System Simplifies Reconciliation
Integrating fundraising and finance programs can tackle most of the challenges related to reconciliation.
Much less Handbook Information Entry
By connecting fundraising and finance programs, you enter information as soon as and it’s robotically shared between programs. This reduces the necessity for handbook information entry, minimizes errors, and ensures extra correct information. You don’t must decipher the place the funds must go when your programs are related.
Automated Transactions
You’ll be able to simply automate transactions so you may get contributions into the system shortly and simply, dashing up the method of going from funding to disbursement. The faster you may get funds into your system, the sooner they can be utilized to help your mission. And the automation additionally minimizes the burden in your workers.
Clear Paper Path
A related system gives a transparent paper path from the preliminary reward settlement to the paid bill. This makes it simpler to hint transactions and ensures transparency.
Systematized Inner Controls
Whenever you join your fundraising and finance programs, the programs go information straight to every facet with out the necessity for reformatting or manipulating spreadsheets. The programs basically mirror one another and there’s a pure place for contributions to land in your fund accounting system. This ensures consistency and helps preserve inside controls.
What a Related Reconciliation Course of Seems Like
With a related system, the reconciliation course of turns into far more streamlined and environment friendly. Right here’s what it appears to be like like in apply:
Seamless Information Movement:
Information flows seamlessly from the event group to the finance group. Contributions are entered as soon as within the fundraising CRM—reminiscent of Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®—and are then “pushed” into the accounting system—reminiscent of Blackbaud Monetary Edge NXT®. This creates a single supply of fact that everybody can entry.
Empowered Groups
Everybody within the group has entry to the data they want. This builds belief throughout groups as a result of everybody can see that funds are used for his or her meant goal.
Constant Consumer Interface
A constant consumer interface throughout programs makes it simpler for workers to make use of the expertise and reduces the training curve.
Automated Processes
Routinely batch recurring items so that they stream on to finance, eliminating handbook processes and making certain that nobody unintentionally misses recurring funding.
Streamlined Data Sharing
With a related fundraising and finance system, your workers all through the group has extra full info on how and when funds are getting used. Everyone seems to be on the identical web page concerning the aim of the funds—and may simply keep there. That readability makes month- and year-end processes extra environment friendly. There’s nothing worse than discovering an error after funds have been used and expensed.
Improved Audit Path
With related programs, the audit path is obvious and constant. For instance, clicking on the undertaking ID in Monetary Edge NXT from a journal entry that was pushed from Raiser’s Edge NXT will establish the matching report within the fundraising system. This makes it simpler to trace transactions and ensures that every one funds are accounted for.
Getting Began with a Related Fundraising and Fund Accounting System
A related fundraising and finance system can considerably simplify reconciliation for nonprofit organizations. By lowering handbook information entry, automating transactions, and offering a transparent paper path, these programs save time, scale back the danger of fraud, and make audits simpler. Because of this, nonprofit organizations can focus extra on their mission and fewer on administrative duties. For those who’re trying to streamline your reconciliation processes, think about implementing a related fundraising and finance system right now.
See a related system in motion with a product tour that includes Raiser’s Edge NXT and Monetary Edge NXT.
