How to Use QuickBooks for Nonprofits in 2024

Nonprofits juggle many priorities, and staying on top of finances is key to success. Without appropriately managing your finances, you won't be able to run your nonprofit organization, including projects and programs to extend your mission impact.

QuickBooks helps nonprofits manage donations, income, and expenses efficiently. With its impressive feature set and user-friendly design, you keep finances on track and cost-controlled without taking time away from your mission.

Read on to understand QuickBooks for nonprofits, including its features, pros, cons, and pricing. Find the five best popular alternatives for QuickBooks inside.

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Table of contents 

What is QuickBooks for nonprofits

3 best QuickBooks products for nonprofits and their pricing

5 best QuickBooks features for nonprofits

Pros and cons of QuickBooks for nonprofits

5 best alternatives of QuickBooks for nonprofits

Concluding thoughts on using QuickBooks for nonprofits

FAQs on QuickBooks for nonprofits

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What is QuickBooks for nonprofits

QuickBooks, an accounting software created by Intuit, offers comprehensive financial management tools for various organizations, including nonprofits. While it offers general features like expense tracking, income management, billing, and invoicing, QuickBooks provides specialized functionality to meet the unique needs of nonprofit organizations.

At its core is fund accounting, a critical system that allows organizations to meticulously track and allocate donations according to donor wishes. This approach helps organizations manage funds in line with donor restrictions, thereby maintaining trust and support.

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3 best QuickBooks products for nonprofits and their pricing

QuickBooks offers various accounting tools, both on desktop and online. Here’s a breakdown of the different versions tailored to meet the specific needs of nonprofits: 

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1. QuickBooks Desktop 

QuickBooks Desktop is an accounting solution that is installed and accessed through a computer. Its offline capability ensures users can access financial data without an internet connection. 

This makes it more reliable and gives you more control. Nonprofits can choose between two main versions, Premier and Enterprise, each offering scalable features to accommodate varying organizational needs.

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Pricing 

Through QuickBooks Intuit: 

• QuickBooks Premier: $220/month for a 1-year plan with four users
• QuickBooks Enterprise: $180/ month for 40 users

Through TechSoup: 

• $20 for QuickBooks Premier 2021 (desktop, includes nonprofit edition, one user)
• $42 for QuickBooks Premier 2021 (desktop, includes nonprofit edition, three users)

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Note: Starting with the Premier 2022 version, QuickBooks now uses a subscription model for its premier products. TechSoup doesn't currently offer pricing for QuickBooks Premier 2022. The base price also doesn't include extra features like payroll or other apps, so you'll need to pay more for these add-ons if you want them.

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2. QuickBooks Online Plus 

QuickBooks Online Plus is a cloud-based solution that is perfect for small nonprofits that offer goods or services like community health clinics and community theaters. With features including a mobile app and automated workflows, you can track sales, revenue, and inventory no matter where you are. 

The platform also supports project tracking, allowing you to track project profitability and divide resources effectively. 

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Pricing 

• Through QuickBooks Intuit: $27/month 
• Through TechSoup: $80/month (5 users, 1-year subscription)

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3. QuickBooks Online Advanced

QuickBooks Online Advanced is designed for larger or growing nonprofits with more robust analytics and automation needs. You get the same perks of mobile access as QuickBooks Online, with extra features that enhance speed and make accounting easier. 

These include custom reports and user permissions, priority support, self-paced online training, and greater user capacity. 

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Pricing 

• Through QuickBooks Intuit: $60/month 
• Through TechSoup: $170/month (25 users, 1-year subscription)

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5 best QuickBooks features for nonprofit organizations

1. Financial reporting 

With QuickBooks for Nonprofits, access financial data from various sources in one place, streamlining reporting and saving time. It offers a wide range of pre-built financial reports covering various financial aspects.

These include annual balance sheets, cash flow statements, functional expense reports, grant and fund reporting, and more. Users can change these existing reports or create new ones from scratch to meet specific needs.

The software offers custom report creation tailored to board members and grant funders. These reports can be easily shared via email or attachments, helping you clearly communicate financial performance.

QuickBooks also allows you to generate reports for specific data ranges to track and watch your performance over time. You can pull this data into Excel or other formats for detailed analysis. 

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2. Fund accounting 

QuickBooks allows nonprofits to track and allocate funds from various sources separately, ensuring compliance with donor restrictions and organizational requirements.

Each fund is treated as a separate entity with its own revenue sources and expenditures, providing a clear view of how it's being utilized. 

For instance, a nonprofit may receive donations earmarked for specific purposes like building projects or specific community programs. QuickBooks' fund accounting software ensures that these restricted funds are not co-mingled with general operating funds, maintaining donor trust and compliance with donor stipulations.  

The platform even lets you upload grant budgets and create invoices, which is particularly helpful for recording grant funding. 

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3. Budgeting and forecasting

QuickBooks accounting solutions empower nonprofits with user-friendly tools to help them effectively manage their financial resources. 

You can create detailed budgets that align with your strategic goals and track financial performance against these budgets in real-time. 

Place budgetary limits for different accounts, programs, or projects, ensuring funds are allocated appropriately and expenses are controlled. Set alerts and reminders to help you stay on top of your budgeting goals. 

QuickBooks allows for the creation of several budget scenarios, helping you forecast future financial outcomes based on different assumptions or potential changes in funding. This capability allows you to proactively adjust your strategies and make informed decisions. 

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4. Donor management

QuickBooks is designed to help nonprofits efficiently manage their donor relationships and track contributions.

The solution stores donor information—such as donation history, contact details, and preferences—in one easily accessible format and centralized location.  You can collect donations from different sources and automate payment processing. The QuickBooks mobile app lets users record transactions directly through their mobile devices. 

With QuickBooks, donations can be categorized by campaign, event, or fund, securing valuable insights into campaign effectiveness. QuickBooks offers customizable donation receipts, which are crucial for maintaining donor engagement and ensuring compliance with tax regulations. 

Using QuickBooks for donor management comes with a significant cost. The QuickBooks Advanced version, which includes features tailored for nonprofit organizations such as donor management, costs $200 per month.

By using Zeffy’s 100% free donor management software, you can manage donors without incurring any fees. By choosing Zeffy over QuickBooks, nonprofits save $2,400 annually on donor management, freeing up more funds for their mission.

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5. Staff and volunteer management 

QuickBooks for nonprofits makes it easy to manage volunteers and staff. The software offers tools to keep track of employee information, such as roles, contact details, and time-off requests. QuickBooks comes with payroll features that help you pay staff in a timely and accurate manner. 

You can also use the solution to track volunteer hours and contributions to various projects or events. The software also provides tools for monitoring attendance, performance, and training, ensuring that staff and volunteers are well-managed and engaged. 

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Pros of using QuickBooks for nonprofits

1. Lots of automation 

QuickBooks automates routine tasks such as invoicing, bill payments, payroll processing, and bank reconciliations. Automated reminders and alerts further help your organization to stay on top of dates and financial obligations. You can also schedule reports for executive leaders and board members to run whenever you prefer.

The tool makes financial management less burdensome by allowing you to set up recurring transactions and automatic expense categorization. QuickBooks Online automated workflows help your nonprofit save valuable time, leaving more room to focus on mission-critical activities. 

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2. User-friendly interface

When starting out with your nonprofit, you often don't have the money to have a dedicated accounting staff and rely on volunteers to keep track of and manage expenses.

QuickBooks is a user-friendly platform with intuitive tools and tons of resources to make onboarding and training easy. You can create user keys for anyone working on your finances and personalize access levels for each member.

With QuickBooks Online, your members can manage finances remotely, providing flexibility for nonprofits with a remote team. 

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3. Tax filing help

QuickBooks for nonprofits streamlines the process of submitting IRS Form 990 to maintain tax-exempt nonprofit status. 

Centralizing financial data and providing customizable reports reduces the time and resources required to gather necessary information. It is also helpful to conduct your annual due diligence as an employer by filling out individual W-2s and 1099s for your organization's employees and contractors.

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4. Integration capabilities 

Another great benefit of QuickBooks for nonprofits is that it plays nicely with other tools. While accounting software is robust, it can only assist with certain aspects of nonprofit responsibilities. A nonprofit needs to do much more than collect donations and record them.

QuickBooks integrates with various third-party applications like donor management systems, fundraising platforms, CRM software, and project management tools. This integration centralizes financial data and streamlines operations. It also reduces manual data transfers and the risk of errors.

For instance, donations processed through a fundraising platform get automatically recorded in QuickBooks. Working in sync with your CRM, it offers comprehensive insights into donor interactions and contributions to enhance donor management. 

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5. Offer nonprofit discounts 

A major benefit of QuickBooks for nonprofits is that it offers nonprofit discounts on its website. Currently, you can access 70% off QuickBooks for three months and a 30-day free trial and product demo.

The platform also provides discounted QuickBooks licenses for eligible nonprofits through TechSoup. A one-year subscription for 25 users costs $170, as opposed to $200 from the Intuit website. To qualify, you must have secured an official 501(c)(3) status and fulfill other criteria listed by the platform.

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Cons of using QuickBooks for nonprofits

1. Cost increases 

One major drawback of using QuickBooks is its cost. While discounts can help with basic accounting costs, advanced features like payroll are often available only as add-ons with more expensive plans.

This pricing structure can potentially make QuickBooks pricier than some alternative accounting solutions such as Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks. It's crucial for nonprofits to carefully assess their specific needs and compare costs across different options before selecting a QuickBooks product or any other accounting software.

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2. Limited donor management functionality 

QuickBooks donor management capabilities are useful but have notable limitations for nonprofits. It lacks depth in tracking donor preferences, giving history, and interactions. QuickBooks falls short in monitoring non-monetary donor engagement, like volunteer hours or event participation. 

The solution doesn't provide advanced features like segmenting donors based on donations, detailed donor-specific reports, or analyzing donor trends over time. QuickBooks also lacks integrated tools for donor outreach or marketing campaigns. 

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3. Customization challenges 

While QuickBooks integrates with several tools, setting up and managing them is complex. You will need technical expertise to understand the process and ensure a smooth flow of data across tools. 

Customizing financial reports and other features for nonprofits often requires additional tools or software, potentially increasing complexity and cost.

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5 best alternatives of QuickBooks for nonprofits

1. Aplos Accounting: Best for smaller nonprofits 
2. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: Best for large organizations
3. Quicken: Best for volunteer-run nonprofits 
4. Sage Intacct: Best for managing large, global nonprofit financials
5. Wave Accounting: Best for free basic accounting tools

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1. Aplos Accounting: Best for smaller nonprofits

‍Aplos is an excellent alternative for nonprofits and faith-based charities. The software is designed to help organizations of every size, shape, and mission seamlessly run their finances and operations. 

With its specific reports on campaigns, pledged tracking, donations by donors, and more, secure comprehensive insights into your donors and contributions.

Some more features of Aplos accounting software include:

• Track grant funds across projects
• Budgeting by funds or tags
• Fund accounting
• Integrated online giving tools
• Bank reconciliation
• Email marketing and event registration

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Pricing

15-day free trial available 

• Lite: $59.25/month
• Core: $74.25/month
• Advanced: Upon request 

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2. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: Best for large organizations

Financial Edge NXT by Blackbaud is cloud-based fund accounting software designed for larger nonprofits. Its intuitive workflows and automated routine tasks, including budgeting and report creation, can save your organization a lot of time. 

A centralized dashboard offers simple-to-understand visual representations of your financial performance. Financial Edge NXT covers all the advanced features you would expect from enterprise-level software, plus some:

• Grant accounting and administration 
• Flexible report presentation options
• General ledger management
• Audit trail and role-based security 
• Fixed asset management
• Project accounting 

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Pricing 

Available on demand. It provides a custom demo and quote based on your nonprofit’s needs.

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3. Quicken: Best for volunteer-run nonprofits 

Quicken stands out as user-friendly accounting software ideal for volunteer-run organizations. Its intuitive interface makes basic accounting tasks accessible, even for those without bookkeeping experience. 

It supports basic accounting functions, such as fund allocation based on donor restrictions, expense tracking, and receipt creation. You can also create checks to pay bills and expenses using the platform.

Some features of Quicken are:

• Projected cash flow reports
• Bank account reconciliation
• Bill payment and check writing
• Investment tracking
• Donor contribution recording
• Tax preparation help

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Pricing 

• Quicken Simplifi: $2/month 
• Quicken Classic: $5.49/month (Deluxe version) and $5.99 /month (Premier version)

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4. Sage Intacct: Best for managing large, global nonprofit financials

Unlike other accounting solutions, Sage Intacct excels in managing intricate financial situations, making it highly suitable for larger, multi-site nonprofit organizations.

It combines financial data from multiple global branches into a single platform, handling different currencies and local tax codes automatically.

You can track transactions between branches to improve donor-dollar traceability and reporting with everything in one place. Its real-time analytics tool offers critical insights for practical resource and program planning.

Some features of Sage Intacct include:

• Multi-currency functionality 
• Grant tracking and billing 
• Payroll management 
• Time and expense management 
• Sales and use tax calculations 
• Project costing and billing 

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Pricing 

Sage Intacct has a 30-day free trial, and pricing is available on demand.

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5. Wave Accounting: Best for free basic accounting tools

Wave's strength lies in its invoicing and receipt scanning abilities, which allow you to send automated payment reminders and customized and branded invoices. 

Its basic financial reporting tools provide enough insights for smaller nonprofits to keep track of their financial health. With Wave, you can easily manage receipts, record transactions, and reconcile accounts.

Some of the features of Wave accounting include:

• Income and expense tracking
• Multi-currency support
• Customizable chart of accounts
• Journal transactions
• Collaborator access
• Data export capabilities

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Pricing

• Starter plan: free
• Pro plan: $16/month 

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Concluding thoughts on using QuickBooks for nonprofits

With nonprofits relying on donations and grants to fund their operations, QuickBooks offers an easy and effective way to track and manage funds for better allocation. Its features, like financial reporting, bookkeeping, and invoicing ensure financial transparency.

Thanks to TechSoup, you can access QuickBooks products at reduced costs – for a one-year, pay only $170 instead of $200.

Zeffy is more than just donor management - it's a comprehensive, 100% free fundraising platform. It includes tools for online donations, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising, all without fees. 

Integrating QuickBooks with Zeffy’s 100% free donor management software helps you minimize expenses. 

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FAQs on QuickBooks for nonprofits