Working with an ERP consultant for nonprofits makes sense when the finance team spends more time reconciling funds than reporting on them. Restricted gifts, grants with their own budgets and programs spread across locations push a general accounting package past what it was built for. Lucentive helps you choose the right system and implements it.
Fund accounting built into the ledger
Funds, grants, programs and locations become dimensions on one general ledger. Restrictions are recorded when a gift arrives and released when its purpose or time restriction is met, so net assets with and without donor restrictions come straight from the books.
Grant reporting without a side workbook
- Budgets and allowable costs held against each award.
- Drawdown and funder reports produced from posted transactions.
- An audit trail that supports the year-end audit and Form 990 preparation.
Best fit for everything around it
Accounting and inventory sit at the core. Donor management, payroll and bill pay stay in the tools that suit your organization and connect to the ledger, rather than being forced into one suite.
A recommendation you can act on
Our ERP advisory is fixed-fee and ends with a clear recommendation, including keeping what you have when that is the honest answer. The fee is credited against implementation if you go ahead. For a comparison of platforms, see nonprofit fund accounting software.
Common questions
Is QuickBooks enough for a nonprofit?
For a small organization with a handful of restricted gifts, often yes. Once several grants, programs or locations need their own reporting, the workarounds usually cost more than a proper system. The assessment will tell you which side of that line you are on.
What happens to our historical data?
Opening balances by fund and the history your team uses move across. Older detail stays accessible in an archive, so past audits and funder questions can still be answered.
Can donor management stay where it is?
Yes. Donor records, gift entry and receipting stay in your donor system. Gifts reach the ledger already coded to the right fund and restriction, so finance is not re-keying batches from a spreadsheet.
How we work
- Assess: a fixed-fee advisory, usually two to four weeks, built from your actual close and ending in a recommendation you can act on.
- Implement: chart of accounts, integrations and data migration, proved by a parallel close before go-live.
- Support: the principal consultants who built the system stay on after launch.
Related services: Accounting Software for Large Churches, FQHC Accounting Software and ERP Data Migration Services. Or see all our ERP consulting services.