Did you know that the number of charities within the UK is around 166,000? Out of these charities, there are around 132,000 in England, 19,000 in Scotland, 4,000 in Northern Ireland, and 7,000 in Wales. The annual turnover of all of these is just under £48 billion.
If you run a charity, then you might be stressed about the ins and outs of accounting. Fortunately, with charity software, you can simplify your accounting methods.
In this article, we’ll review the five best accounting software solutions for charities in 2022.
Finally, you can find the right accounting software for your charity so you can manage accounting easily. Read on to learn more.
1. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online has the advantage that it’s cloud-based. As a result, you can access this software for charity from anywhere. This makes this option perfect for charities that have employees or volunteers who work remotely.
It is also easy to use and can help you keep track of expenses and income.
What This Software Offers
QuickBooks Online can help you create financial reports. This can be helpful both when you’re filing taxes and when you’re preparing for grant applications. An essential advantage of this software is that you can set up a variety of customised reports.
This can be helpful if charities want to find any irregularities or patterns when they drill down into large amounts of data.
This software also makes it possible for charities to have all their finances together and manage donor information.
QuickBooks Online includes cash flow visualisation and management, invoice tracking, receipt uploading, and preparation and submission of VAT.
Pricing Structure
You can get a discount on QuickBooks Online as a charity. The pricing of this charity accounting software varies depending on which package you get. The cost of the QuickBooks Online Simple Start is £12 a month (for the first user).
As for QuickBooks Online Essentials, this costs £22 a month for three users, managing bills, and VAT. This is their most popular plan.
This plan includes access to the QuickBooks community forum, online tutorial access, and support via phone and online chat.
You can learn more about QuickBooks by visiting their website here.
2. Liberty Accounts
Another accounting software for charities is Liberty Accounts. There are many advantages to using this software. These include easy and quick gift aid claims and fund accounting that will make it easier for you to manage restricted funds.
They also include an integrated donor ledger that supports gift aid, payroll software, support over email and the phone, cloud accounting software, and reports.
This charity software also makes it possible for you to make tax digital for your VAT returns. This is ideal for churches.
What This Software Offers
This software offers many features, including support and funding accounting for gift aid. The other solutions on this list don’t offer this feature. As a result, this is a perfect choice for organisations looking to manage payroll and their accounts effectively.
Features of this software solution include recording of retail sales and invoices, recording of payments and liabilities, bank statement imports, VAT filing and record-keeping, security and control, and reporting.
There are also integrated add-ins. These include payroll, stock management, an asset ledger, budget generation, P11D benefits and expenses, and document storage.
It also has power tools available. These include integrations, stakeholder interests, and solutions for accountants and bookkeepers.
Pricing Structure
Liberty Accounts offers a free trial. After that, the cost begins at £12.95 monthly. This solution is scalable for organisations that are larger. It’s a great choice for charities, making accounting more efficient and straightforward. You can learn more about this software solution on their website.
Additionally, new users get a money-back guarantee for up to six months after having started to use the software.
3. FreshBooks
The advantages of FreshBooks include the ability to send invoices, cloud-based accounting software, expense reports, a user-friendly interface, online chat support, mileage tracking, a view of financial activities that are up to date, and detailed reports.
What This Software Offers
This software offers help with tracking projects, generating financial reports, creating invoices, and monitoring expenses. The time tracking feature is especially helpful. With it, you can calculate how much time people spent completing a project.
This can be helpful when it comes to reporting and billing purposes.
You’ll also have access to management tools. With these tools, you can more easily monitor and track the progress of a project. This will make it possible for you to address any issues that could potentially come up early on.
Pricing Structure
If you’re a new user, you can get a free trial of the FreshBooks software. There’s a subscription fee you pay per month, but the amount you pay will depend on the number of people you’re invoicing. If you have five clients or fewer, you’ll pay £11 a month.
If you have between six and 50 clients, you’ll pay £19 a month. For an unlimited client number, you’ll pay £30 a month.
For single users, the price is £7 for each user you add. To check out this accounting software solution, you can visit their website here.
4. Sage
Another accounting software option for charities is Sage. The benefits of this solution include that Sage is easy to use, the online form takes little time to complete, and you get a 50% discount off the usual price.
What This Software Offers
This software offers you the ability to manage your finances effectively and efficiently. With it, you can keep track of expenses, donations, and other types of financial information. Reports you can get through this software solution include:
- Profit and Loss – Standard
- Profit and Loss – Comparative
- Balance Sheet
They also include Sales Day Book, Purchase Day Book, Profit Analysis, Sales Revenue – Products & Services, Nominal Activity, Aged Debtors, and Trial Balance. As a result, you’ll have a large amount of information available.
Pricing Structure
In addition to the 50% off for non-profit organisations, another benefit in terms of cost is that you can get a free trial. When it comes to monthly subscription fees, the amount starts at £12. This means that, for charities, it starts at £6.
The cost of the Sage standard accounting package is a little higher. This package is £24. So, for charities, it’s £12.
Because of the discount, you should look into trying out this solution if your organisation is a UK-registered charity. You can learn more about Sage here.
5. Xero
The biggest benefit that you’ll get out of using this accounting software is that it has many additional apps. These include marketing, donor management, and fundraising apps. Additionally, this solution is easy to use and its dashboard is intuitive.
What This Software Offers
This software makes it possible for users to manage all their business’s aspects through one platform. With it, you can pay bills, claim expenses, complete VAT returns, get bank connections, track projects, and accept payments.
You can also manage payroll, do bank reconciliation, capture data, manage Xero contracts, store files online, generate accurate accounting reports, use inventory features, and send invoices.
Additionally, you can send and create purchase orders, create quotes, get analytics, managed fixed assets, and more.
Pricing Structure
Xero has a free trial available. As for subscription packages, there are three different ones available. The Xero Starter, which includes five bills and 20 invoices a month, is £12 per month. The Xero Standard, the most popular option, is £26 per month.
This package includes unlimited cash flow, invoices, and bills. Finally, there’s the Xero Premium.
This is almost the same as the Xero Standard in terms of what you get. However, the difference is that it can also handle multiple currencies. This package is £33 per month.
You can learn more about this accounting software for charities and other businesses on their website.
Want to Learn More About Charity Software?
Now that you’ve learned about the different charity software options, you might want to learn more about them. Maybe you want help figuring out which one is best for your organisation or you want help using one of these solutions.
Whatever information you need, we can help. At KG Accountants, we’re experts when it comes to charity accounting software and accounting needs.
We also have charity accountants who work for us. They can help you with your accounting software or any other account needs.
All our fees are fixed.
By giving you a fixed and competitive price, we can take the worry away when it comes to Bookkeeping; allowing you to concentrate on running your Charity which in time saves you time.
How we can help
Call us today on 0207 953 8913 or complete our enquiry form in order to book a FREE initial consultation.
Require more information?
If you would like more information or would like to ask us a question then call us on 0207 953 8913. To ask us a question online click here.
If you’re looking for a charity accountant to help you run your organisation, contact us now.
Categories: Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), Charities, Charity Software
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