A 2013 survey asked 100 key personnel within UK-based charities and other not-for-profit organisations, with a turnover of more than £2million, their thoughts on current system pain points and the most desirable features when looking for a new system.

THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT FINANCE SOFTWARE SURVEYHow finance software solutions are perceived by charities and other not-for-profit organisations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ACCESS VISITWWW.THEACCESSGROUP.COM/NFP

EXPECTATIONSWhat are the top 3 features you would expect from a new finance solution?

PAIN POINTSAre you experiencing any problems from your existing software package?

TOP 3 FACTORSWhat are the top 3 most important factors you look for when looking at new software suppliers?

INTEGRATIONIs integration between your finance solution and your CRM system important to your organisation?

Integration was common theme throughout the research, with 56% of not-for-profit organisations surveyed citing that integration between their finance solution and CRM software was important.

30% of people felt that a lack of integration with 3rd party applications was a draw back of their current software solution and furthermore, nearly three quarters (71%) of people placed “integration with existing o�ce systems” in their top 3 expected features from a new finance software solution too.

Many not-for-profit organisations cited that their current finance software solutions simply don’t provide the su�cient reporting functions for their needs.

Time consuming reporting (14%) and a lack of management information/KPI reporting (19%) were highlighted as current pain points, whilst 47 out of 100 of not-for-profit professionals placed reporting and KPI monitoring in their top 3 expected features from a new finance software solution.

In di�cult economic times, cost is at the forefront of leaders’ minds, however it’s crucial to balance instant savings against long term gains. Having a finance software solution in place that actively addresses some fairly fundamental issues, such as improving sta� productivity, accurate reporting and automation should not be placed under the ‘nice to have’ category.

01020304050607080

Rep

ortin

g / K

PI

mon

itori

ng

Sec

tor-

spec

ific

func

tiona

lity

Web

site

inte

grat

ion

Sca

labi

lity

Exce

llent

sup

port

Inte

grat

ion

Easy

to u

se

56% 37%

53% 35%

COST EFFECTIVE SECTOR EXPERTISEFULL PRODUCTFUNCTIONALITY

It's too costly

Lack of management information/ KPI reporting

Lack of sector-specific functions

High duplicate ratio

Errors when running searches

Unflexible chart of accounts setup

Unautomated partial VAT recovery

It's a standalone system

Time consuming reporting(SOFA/SORP)

Lack of integration with 3rd party apps

Expensive to develop on

7%19%

7%2%2%

4%6%

10%14%

30%1%

68%