Why Nonprofits Need to Automate Accounting Processes

ARTICLE | October 10, 2023

If your nonprofit is like most, you’ve already implemented at least a couple of automated accounting processes but have hesitated to add more, as you weigh the costs and benefits and struggle with staffing and other daily challenges.

Let’s look at why now is the right time to prioritize automation. We’ll also highlight four accounting processes you may want to prioritize. For more details, watch our on-demand webinar, “10 Ways to Automate Nonprofit Accounting Processes.”

Why automate now?

Automating accounting processes delivers well-known benefits. It saves time, eliminates errors, and reduces costs. Automation also offers benefits specific to today’s nonprofit challenges. 

For example, in the current tight labor market, automation can help you stand out and attract experienced candidates who want to know they’ll be spending their time on high-end tasks, not manual data entry. 

Automation tools and best-in-class software platforms like Sage Intacct are also making it easier than ever to implement automated processes. Many of the old excuses about time-consuming transitions no longer apply. If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of automating all your accounting functions, you can automate one workload first and move gradually to a completely automated solution.

Where to start?

Which accounting processes should you automate first? Here are three key accounting processes that you can automate for a host of benefits with minimal effort:

• Automating bank reconciliation: Sifting through transactions, comparing records, and identifying discrepancies is a highly time-consuming and error-prone process. Automating bank reconciliation will save you time, reduce errors, free up valuable staff time, and give you a clearer picture of financial health with real-time reconciliation.
• Automating accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR): Automation streamlines the entire AP and AR cycle, from invoice creation and approval to payment processing and receipt tracking. Doing so can help you enhance vendor and donor relationships and give you more insight into cost-saving opportunities and areas for potential growth.
• Automating spend management: Automating spend management can bring a new level of control to your financial operations. You can set spending limits, monitor expenditures in real time, and receive alerts when budgets are nearing depletion to prevent overspending. 

Is it time to automate?

Insero & Co. can help you weigh the benefits of automating your accounting processes and help you transition to Sage Intacct or other best-in-class ERP solutions. Contact us to talk about the relationship-based services we provide and how we can help you improve your processes to be more efficient and productive.