September 8, 2020

This post was published as part of our guest blog series by our software partner, Sage Intacct, the fastest-growing, most robust nonprofit financial management solution available. In the mission-driven nonprofit world, accounting and financial management can sometimes slip down the priority list. It’s not always easy to allocate budget dollars to back office infrastructure that…

May 11, 2020

This post was published as part of our guest blog series by our software partner, AvidXchange, the industry leader in automating invoice and payment processes.​ With today’s reality forcing businesses to quickly implement and put their continuity plans to the test, it’s becoming clear which core processes are critical to maintaining operations. Accounts payable (AP)…

December 10, 2019

With more than 20 years of accounts payable (AP) experience in various roles, I’ve witnessed firsthand the transition from paper-based processes to completely automated AP and payment processes. I know how hard it can be for those of us in the accounting space to warm up to the idea of implementing new systems and practices,…

November 6, 2019

In many cases, time spent on manual processes within finance can amount to a third or even half of a full-time employee per year. For resource-strapped nonprofits, this can be a huge obstacle in the way of planning and making strategic decisions for the future of their organizations. On October 30th, 2019, JMT Consulting and…

May 14, 2018

Compliance is a hefty responsibility for nonprofit organizations; indeed, more so than for-profit companies. As the firm Harbor Compliance points out, there’s a good reason for that—nonprofits are exempt from federal corporate taxes and can receive public funding. Both the IRS and states have requirements for nonprofits. The penalties for noncompliance can be severe. A…

April 16, 2018

Many nonprofits walk a razor-edge financially. Nonprofits address society’s most difficult issues, compete for limited funding and struggle to find and keep qualified staff to run their organization. A new report by Oliver Wyman, SeaChange Capital Partners, and GuideStar, which examines the finances of more than 219,000 U.S. nonprofits, reveals sobering realities: Around 50% have…

February 26, 2018

Dashboards provide a window into your organization’s performance and financial health. With the increased emphasis on outcomes—defined as a change in skill, knowledge, attitude, behavior, condition, or status—nonprofits must demonstrate the progress of those outcomes in a visual, understandable way. An article in Nonprofit Quarterly notes that a dashboard must: Align definitions of success across…

February 23, 2018

Excel is the go-to reporting and budgeting tool for countless finance teams, including financial planning and analysis (FP&A) professionals. In fact, there are more than one billion users worldwide—that’s about one in seven people! Excel is comfortable and familiar, but for growing nonprofits, it can be a real drag on your budgeting processes and productivity….

February 22, 2018

How do you know if your nonprofit is making an impact—if your mission is a success? The answer to this question affects everything about your organization, from day-to-day operations to the success of your fundraising efforts. The National Council of Nonprofits alludes to five actions: Identify what success looks like to you. Make a plan…

February 6, 2018

Donors want to know if their donations are impacting the work of your nonprofit through its mission. Increasingly, this means telling your story through numbers—something that nonprofits don’t always do well. Marc J. Epstein, co-author of the book, Measuring and Improving Social Impacts: A Guide for Nonprofits, Companies, and Impact Investors, says that “The need…

How do you measure the success and impact of your nonprofit’s mission? Similarly, how do your donors—be they individual, foundations, or corporate—know if their donations are impacting the work of your nonprofit through its mission? Many nonprofits gauge their impact through statistics such as the number of people served, families fed or housed, or the…

January 30, 2018

At some point in your technology journey, you’ll have to decide whether to step up your investment in servers and other infrastructure upgrades—or seek a more cost-effective option. For many businesses and nonprofits, costs related to IT infrastructure, personnel, outside services, and other expenses necessary to keep your critical applications running can consume up to…