Concluding our series on how nonprofits can benefit from automating their expense management process, let’s turn our attention to how the search for a solution begins.
The right choice clears the way for community care. Frustration gets replaced with compassion as expense workflows become supportive processes rather than necessary busywork. The question is: Which one is the best fit for your organization
Regardless of who comes out on top, these four questions should be at the heart of your decision-making process:
Do the features make life easier for everyone? The goal of automation is to radically simplify outdated and manual processes. Therefore, your chosen solution’s features must do just that. Convenience options like mobile receipt scanning, scheduled expense report submission reminders, and credit card integrations go a long way towards ensuring everyone in the organization benefits from implementing a solution.
Nexonia’s response: Yes! Our solutions install with all of the above, and so much more. Each current and future feature is designed to simplify every step of the expense reporting process.
Will it integrate with my current systems/structure and grow with the organization? Nonprofits juggle a lot of financial data. The solution’s integration capabilities make it simple to import your chart of accounts, match funding to expenses, and more. In essence, it becomes an extension of your existing accounting system while also protecting those platforms as your single point of truth.
Nexonia’s response: Yes! Our bi-directional, API-based integrations help you seamlessly input, transfer, and update data within your existing financial applications.
Can it be configured to mirror my current process? Nonprofits are a common category of business, but not all nonprofits operate the same way. When it comes to configuration, intuitiveness is key. Your automated solution choice should be designed to reflect your process, naming conventions, etc. Being flexible enough to match how you do business now significantly lowers the barrier to adoption. You also cut time lost to learning completely new processes and interfaces.
Nexonia’s response: Yes! Our system’s unmatched configurability lets you continue to do business exactly how you do it today, and however it changes in the future.
Does it ensure compliance? Guaranteeing accuracy of donation tracking can’t be trusted in a manual process. And educating staff on what constitutes as an in-policy expense probably gets filed away with the rest of the organization’s memos. A robust automation solution does the tracking and educating, not just for you but also for those you report out to -- including donors and program stakeholders.
Nexonia’s response: Yes! Our products track everything to give finance teams proof that all expenses and reimbursements adhere to government compliance and auditing.
Additional evaluation criteria that nonprofits find especially helpful include:
- Mobile accessibility
- Improves expense reporting submission process
- Eliminates paperwork
- Streamlines approval workflow process
- Educates on spend culture and policy controls
- Automates everything; credit cards, receipt capture, etc.
- Detailed, insightful reporting
- Ensures data security
- Scalability - can and will it grow as your organization grows
- Training, ongoing support, partnerships for success
If you’d like to learn more about making a move to automation, download Nexonia’s guides for Sage Intacct or Oracle NetSuite users. Regardless of the ERP you currently use, you’ll get expert advice on setting goals, mapping existing processes, determining integration needs, understanding user needs, and how to evaluate your options.