Filed under: Not-for-Profits

As a Sage Intacct Value Added Reseller (VAR), we are pleased to announce the new relationship between Sage Intacct and GuideStar. The partnership will be releasing a Nonprofit Financial Board Book in early 2018 to all NFP customers.

What is the Nonprofit Financial Board Book?

A digital board book is a way to present metrics through a dashboard—specifically when using cloud based software, or Software as a Service (SaaS). The Board Book also provides a way for your organization to combine both financial metrics and operational metrics together for your board reporting.

The dashboard can be set up using performance cards, charts, and graphs to spot trends and drill down into the actual source data. The Board Book will be built on the Sage Intacct software platform and use the GuideStar-identified industry financial metrics to demonstrate the financial health of nonprofit organizations.

How Do the Key Metrics Work?

Key metrics, such as unrestricted cash, liquidity, and sources of revenue, can be shown both at a point in time and over a period. These data points will be pulled from the Sage Intacct system and additional department sources, such as payroll and fund development.

The nonprofit dashboard metrics align with the category codes within the account setup area. It will require a degree of user setup to apply the dimensional aspects for each specific client in restriction tracking and functional category. This process will be similar to how organizations tweak NFP QuickStart reports to reflect how their organization uses dimensions.

What Are the Benefits?

The partnership between Sage Intacct and GuideStar will help nonprofit organizations gain access to better real-time data. The Board Book will be a great opportunity to automate key financial and operational calculation metrics, providing insights for better decision making. This will help organizations further their missions and communicate their success stories more effectively.

“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.”

W. Edwards Deming

What Can I do Today?

As we know, technology only enhances existing processes to make them more efficient and effective—it doesn’t create the processes. Whether your organization uses Sage Intacct or not, for your enterprise resource planning (ERP) or accounting system, this is a great time to:

  1. Dust off the strategic plan and determine if measures have been established to monitor progress toward established outcomes,
  2. Understand where your source data comes from to report on your organizational metrics, and
  3. Evaluate your accounting system’s ability to provide the needed reporting and dashboards.

Questions?

Additional information will be forthcoming from Sage Intacct on the exact timing and how the roll out will work. To discuss your strategic plan, financial and operational metrics and/or accounting system with Clark Nuber, please email Vincent or Cheryl.

This article or blog contains general information only and should not be construed as accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should engage a qualified professional advisor.