QuickBooks Premier NonProfit Edition

is it a better choice?

As you read this article, I have highlighted those reasons why the additional expense of  Premier NonProfit Edition should be considered.

QuickBooks Premier a more expensive version released by Intuit, includes all of QuickBooks Pro features plus has added remote access,  sales order tracking, and building inventory assemblies.  Compare QuickBooks Products here.  The nonprofit edition is the Premier edition with a customized set-up.    Most likely Nonprofits will not use the inventory assembly feature, but the staff and board may find accessing the books remotely a tremendous benefit.  If QuickBooks Pro is already in place, customized and utilized fairly consistently and remote access is not an issue, purchasing the premier version can wait.

The Nonprofit version of Premier includes all of Premier's new features plus has preprogrammed the customization process to fit a non-profit accounting environment. Therefore the staff have less opportunity to create havoc with the data file,  which reduces erroneous entries and reduces the use of incorrect transaction types to record an event.    Included with the software is a nonprofit menu option plus a  specialized navigator  using terminology for transactions that are regularly used by  nonprofits. A help menu has been included that offers answers to frequently ask questions about bookkeeping issues non-profits must face regularly..

Not much is required by the nonprofit to customize the QuickBooks NonProfit edition. A unified chart of accounts is created based on the filing requirements of the Form 990. For nonprofits upgrading from another version of QuickBooks, the newly created chart will automatically be made inactive. So there will need to be some re-categorizing, merging, and editing of the existing chart to conform to the new chart (We can help with this transition).    In QuickBooks Pro, jobs are used for grants and customers used for donors,  invoices are used to track current pledges for long term pledges.. The same functionality- Jobs, Customers, Invoices applies to QuckBooks Premier Nonprofit edition but the nonprofit edition has replaces field labels (customers) with label called Donor and uses  "Donor Pledges" on an invoice form.   These modifications can be done in QuickBooks Pro by someone who is computer literate, willing to read the manual with lots of free time needed to gain an understanding of how QuickBooks works behind the scenes.  The  sample company that come with the NonProfit editions includes sample nonprofit data that demonstrates  transaction types and provides reports that are most useful to Nonprofits. 

The sample file also demonstrates how classes can be used for multiple programs. (Classes are used for each program activity with one (or multiple classes set up to hold  common expenses to several or all programs. A handy tool providing totals need for journalizing monthly to allocate expense burden to the individual programs.  Sales orders available in the NonProfit Edition (not available in  Pro) may prove a handy tool for tracking long term pledges or for taking a reservation from members or donors, taking orders for product sales and for tracking service orders .

Detailed instructions and expert insights for nonprofits using QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit Editions

Running QuickBooks
 for Nonprofits
   By
 Kathy Ivens

$24

Learn to produce the reports you need with just a few clicks. Cut down the time you spend on the books by 50% by learning the set-up tricks and usage techniques to conquer the vast reporting requirements of NonProfits

• Manage donors, grants, and pledges

• Allocate expenses across multiple programs

• Post income and expenses by fund

• Design the right chart of accounts

Most of these specialized  Nonprofit reports  could be developed within the QuickBooks Pro version by someone familiar with the report development process using the "modify report" feature. But here in the Nonprofit edition the reports have been pre-designed and grouped together for easy access.

Many nonprofits have low overhead budgets providing few opportunities for hiring consultants to set-up and train on bookkeeping systems.  With pre-designed reports, sample companies, and the entire list menu renamed with terminology familiar to nonprofit staffers will significantly reduce the learning curve.  Staff who understand how to use the software mean less time your accountant will require making adjustments for financial reports.   With QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit Edition you will still need to set-up Donors, Grants, Vendors, Members, entering historical information from the beginning of the fiscal year, entering budget information and streamlining office procedures to match the efficiencies QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit edition has to offer.

Intuit has a few forms and reports geared toward church accounting (donations pledged sales receipt & list of donations for the year).  To download these specialized forms/reports go to
http://www.quickbooksgroup.com./webx/qblibrary/Forms/. 

Highly Recommended
Strategic Planning
for Non Profit
Organizations

$27

This comprehensive book/disk set  is an excellent guide to setting up and implementing a nonprofit strategic plan.

We found the Ministry Finance Team to be an excellent online resource for any nonprofit. If you are a novice to bookkeeping or brand new to nonprofit fund accounting this site provides definitions, how-tos, and options to customize and use QuickBooks to your special needs.  These experts  recommend setting up a 2nd QuickBooks file to track the pledged accounts receivable and recording the pledges within the main QuickBooks file when received.

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