ERP Solutions for Nonprofit Organizations

The only constant among Nonprofits is that they do not operate for profit! Some Nonprofits require Fund Accounting or Donor Management, while others do not. For some nonprofits, the least important software is their general ledger and financials — while for others, the financials and budgeting & planning are their most important applications. Still, others have complex donor management and reporting requirements. And even others need help implementing the back office admin necessary to keep all of their programs running.

ERP Advisors Group has worked in all of these and many other scenarios. Our past nonprofit experience will help us get your organization the best software package, preserving more of your organization’s bottom line for its mission-driven programs.

Download the free "Nonprofit Factsheet".

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ERP Help for Nonprofits

ERP Advisors Group will help your nonprofit organization to define requirements, set your software strategy, provide a roadmap, conduct a diligent vendor selection process and stay on to manage the entire implementation.

Develop Your ERP Strategy

We will define your needs and wants as well as how you would ideally use new automated solutions across your organization.

Select Your New Software

We will guide you through selecting the best-fit, most cost-effective business applications, and implementation partners.

Implementation Project Management

After finalizing your software and services contracts, EAG stays with you to oversee your implementation until you successfully go live. We will oversee integrations, data migration, change management, budgets, design and configuration, walkthroughs, training, testing, and go-live cutover, and will provide executive and project sponsor support throughout the duration of your project.

Data Migration

We assist with all components of data migration: extraction, cleansing, transformation, and loading into your new system to ensure you have complete confidence in the accuracy of your data at go live.

Why Nonprofits Upgrade Their ERP Software

Surveys across all of our nonprofit clients reveal the most common reasons why they need new ERP to automate their organization:

Difficult for organization leaders to deploy and monitor the funding of their activities.
Applications used for donor analytics lack optimized donation tracking and collections, thus, the organization could be missing out on potential donations.
Inefficient and ineffective budget reporting, disabling your team's ability to meet their goals and adequately understand their budgetary limitations.
Donor portal user interface is difficult to use, potentially deterring returning donors.

Department heads are unable to track the movement of funds in real time, affecting the budget and bottom line.
Legacy software has not been properly optimized resulting in frequent bugs, difficult grant reporting, user lockouts, and an inability to drill down on information.
Inputs are different throughout the organization causing data discrepancies.
Difficult for employees to find donor contact information and related donor notes, limiting the success of donor interactions.

Types of Nonprofit Clients

Foundations and Donor-Advised Funds
Faith-Based
Associations
Fiscally- Sponsored Programs
Humanitarian Assistance
Fire Departments
Endowments
Fee-for-Service
Insurance

Nonprofit-Specific Applications

Donor Management
Grants Management
Fund Accounting
Multi-Company Accounting
Multi-Currency Accounting
Budgeting
Financial Reporting and Analysis
Inventory Management
Program Management
Human Resources and Payroll

We were able to get far more done with the help of EAG than we would have on our own. And EAG gave us tremendous advice on how to negotiate the agreement with our new vendor. I don’t think we would have had a successful launch without that help — it was critical.

John Passauer

iDE Global

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Why You Should Hire ERP Advisors Group

We are 100% independent ERP consultants, and we never take commissions or payments from any vendors. Combining our objectivity with our white-glove selection process, you will be absolutely certain that you are selecting the right software and implementation resources.

"We look at people that we're going to work with as team members, and we're going to treat you like a team member. It is not just a business deal, and we are going to get to know you, and you get to know us, not just what we do, but how we do it. We want long-term partners, which is what we got from EAG."

- Bill Lloyd, CFO, Every Nation Churches & Ministries

Resource-Constrained

Our rapidly-growing mid-market nonprofits are already very busy with their day jobs and do not have time to become ERP experts. Though your key people still have to devote some time to an ERP initiative, hiring an ERP consultant frees them up to focus on the important ERP decisions while keeping their focus on your organization's mission.

Complex Business Processes

The more complex your organization, the more likely for difficulty when selecting and implementing software. ERP Advisors Group will help you uncover your true needs and will only vet the most viable options for your size, requirements, resources and strategy.

Best Practices for Your Industry

We will create your requirements document and demonstration script with industry-standard best practices in mind for your type of nonprofit, all while retaining what is unique to your organization.

Change Management

Many clients hire us to help when they suspect there will be a business case for new software. ERP Advisors Group helps stakeholders buy into what is best for the organization by getting their input at multiple stages throughout the Needs Analysis, Selection and Implementation.

Vendor Demonstrations

A frequent complaint we hear from prospects who tried to select software on their own is feeling confused about the software's capabilities. We get vendors to show your nonprofit requirements during their product demonstrations. This ensures you feel confident about selecting the best solutions that can meet your needs.

Contract Negotiations

We negotiate tens of millions of dollars of deals every year for our clients. We provide contracts review on all terms and conditions, including software and services, and every agreement embedded throughout the contract. Our clients receive price protection for many years to come on their purchases. While we don't guarantee it in writing, we normally save our fees on this step alone, saving more money for your mission-driven activities. Check out our Guide to Contract Negotiations.

Benefits to Upgrading Your ERP Software

ERP Advisors Group's Needs Analysis will uncover the benefits your company would realize with an ERP upgrade. Some of the most common benefits your nonprofit will realize include:

New ERP software provides high and low-level 360 views of donors, grant recipients, participants, relationships, etc.
Applicant information retention for future fundraising and recipient touch points.
Accurate tracking and use of donor analytics.
Ability to quickly and easily see the full view of steps taken in the fundraising cycle, including all history of donor relationships.
Automation of purchasing processes and detailed framework for cost visibility.

ERP software offers simplified workflows allowing for more time and effort spent on the core grant application processes.
Provide an easy-to-understand front end for key stakeholders.
Full visibility of budget to actual information at a push of a button.

Schedule a Free Consultation Today!

When you contact ERP Advisors Group for a consultation, you will be greeted by an experienced member of the team who understands the reasons why CFOs, Controllers, and Directors of IT are considering new software. You will NOT be meeting with an entry-level salesperson.

Your complimentary consultation can provide you with guidance that you cannot find just by searching the internet.

What you can expect from your consultation:

A one-on-one discussion with a senior sales executive who will provide timing and costs about EAG's consulting options.
Factsheets, booklets, and other detailed resources for independent research.
A tailored approach to your specific ERP needs.

I wanted objectivity and I wanted someone who could do the research, or had done the research, and had that legacy. I wanted consultants who had the experience to be able to say, “these are the ten players in the market that focus on your organization size, scope, and budget.” ERP Advisors Group was able to do that perfectly.

Kevin Mann

Denver Rescue Mission

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions we get from nonprofits.

What functionality should I look for in an ERP for my nonprofit organization?

The nonprofit category is vast and can include as wide a variety of industries and operational requirements as for-profit businesses. Some nonprofits may have manufacturing or construction components, while others focus on financial services or strategic government initiatives. No two nonprofits are the same, but they do share some common software requirements.

For one, many need some sort of Constituent Management solution to help maintain relationships across their community, including donors, stakeholders, and volunteers. Constituent Management often encompasses the entirety of their needs, while other solutions like Donor Management, Donation Management, or Grant Management can deliver the more specific needs of nonprofits within a single, specialized solution.

While there are some ERP products built for nonprofit organizations that have these solutions built in natively, most prominent ERP platforms require an additional module or bolt-on application to provide these capabilities. There are ecosystems across the market dedicated to delivering a full nonprofit technology stack. Additionally, many vendors, value-added resellers, and independent software vendors in the nonprofit space have developed strong APIs to ensure seamless integration between commonly used systems or configurations. But you need to thoroughly document and understand your needs in order to determine which strategy will best fit your needs.

EAG PRO TIP: Many vendors have nonprofit preferred pricing; however, you still need to know where to look and which levers to pull during the negotiation process to get the best deal. Consider this in addition to how an ERP will meet your functionality requirements.

Will the ERP be able to handle our deeply nuanced accounting requirements?

Nonprofits have extremely specific accounting standards that need to be met, especially if they work with any government entities or receive government funding. Whether you are answering to GASB or other non-profit specific accounting standards, you need an ERP that can meet those demands and ensure compliance.

Most ERPs address basic GASB standards out-of-the-box but will need some configuration and potential customization to comply with ALL requirements, especially when you have specific operational nuances to address (i.e., leasing, fund accounting, grant management, disclosures, designations, etc.). An advisor can work alongside your implementation partner to ensure the system is properly configured to meet your needs.

What level of effort will be required for a successful implementation?

Nonprofits are mission-focused, resulting in limited resources for process improvement projects like ERP. Implementations take significant time, energy, and resources to achieve success. But it is almost always worth it in the long term because a new system will reduce inefficiencies and ultimately free up more money for the mission.

Nonprofit clients often rely on advisors and consultants to help shoulder the burdens of major ERP projects. However, even with guidance, someone needs to take full responsibility for the project internally. Some will go as far as hiring someone just to manage internal digital transformation efforts alongside the advisors handling technical nuances. Unfortunately, ERP projects are never “hands-off” and require a committed, knowledgeable resource to translate requirements, test the system, get things done, advocate for Subject Matter Experts, and more. We encourage clients to wait until the time and resources are free to dedicate themselves to the project.

Nonprofit ERP Vendors

We regularly vet the top, most viable Nonprofit ERP systems.

ERP Advisors Group will help you not only define your nonprofit requirements but more importantly, we will bake in the best practices for your type of nonprofit into your Request for Information and Demonstration Script.

We conduct dozens of selections every year, equating to tens of millions of dollars in software and services sales. With our wide-ranging knowledge of nonprofits, we will help you find the right nonprofit ERP for you, AND the right professional services company to implement it.

"Everybody we've met with at EAG was good to work with. I think that's important; I think personality-wise, matching your client to your delivery person is good practice. I would definitely use ERP Advisors Group for this process in the future."

- Bob Lay, CFO, AWWA