Build A Better Budget for the Post-COVID Era

Nonprofit organizations have long struggled to build budgets based on accurate forecasts of operating expenses and revenue. The usual struggle is especially heightened this year, given uncertainty around the pace of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reasons for Budget Struggles

If your nonprofit struggles to create accurate, timely budgets, odds are the reason is that you’re still relying on spreadsheets for budgeting, forecasting, and planning.

While Excel and similar solutions can be a good place to start for young nonprofits, as your organization grows and your needs become more complex, you’ll run into a number of challenges with spreadsheets, including:

• Time-consuming: Year-end planning with spreadsheets consumes hours of time that might be better spent on other mission-forward initiatives.
• Errors: Manually entering data leads to errors that can throw off reports and budgets and lead to rework.
• Version control issues: As multiple departments update spreadsheets, it becomes difficult to keep track of the versions and verify that all data is updated.
• Security issues: Spreadsheets may not have the latest security protections, which is especially risky if they contain sensitive data and are exchanged over email.
• Lack of visibility: Spreadsheets can’t track adjustments, leading to a lack of insight into how different assumptions contribute to forecasts.

A Better Way Forward

The good news is that nonprofits no longer need to settle for spreadsheet-based accounting. Advanced solutions like Sage Intacct give finance teams the ability to perform rapid what-if analyses and produce credible forecasts that are board-worthy.

With a cloud-based ERP solution like Sage Intacct, you can make changes in your forecast model and compare the results, both inputs and outputs, to your budget. It’s easy to create multiple what-if scenarios within a single budget, and you can collaborate easily, inviting department heads to build or edit their budgets.

Another important aspect of Sage Intacct business budget software is that everyone works on the latest version and knows who updated the budget and when. It’s a single, secure solution, with access limited and controlled by the user.

Get The Support You Need

Contact FSS Group for assistance as you budget and plan for the next fiscal year. We provide strategic accounting solutions to businesses and nonprofits of all sizes, and can provide expert support tailored to the specific needs of your organization.