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Accounting Software

Why Healthcare Nonprofits Are Moving to Cloud-Based Accounting Software

By | Accounting, Accounting Software, Healthcare, Nonprofit | No Comments

Running a healthcare nonprofit means juggling complex funding streams, regulatory requirements, and the constant pressure to maximize every dollar. Your accounting software should make this easier, not harder. That’s why more healthcare organizations are discovering that cloud-based accounting platforms offer game-changing advantages over legacy systems.

Let’s explore seven compelling reasons why cloud accounting might be the right move for your healthcare nonprofit.

Build Dashboards That Match How Your Organization Really Works

Your healthcare nonprofit doesn’t operate like a cookie-cutter business, so why settle for generic financial views? Cloud accounting platforms let you design dashboards that reflect your unique workflows and priorities.

With cloud systems, you can:

  • Track service hours alongside program spending
  • Monitor compliance metrics next to budget variances
  • Set up quick-access buttons for time-sensitive approvals
  • Share critical updates with your team right on their home screen

You can even establish standardized checklists for recurring tasks, such as grant reporting deadlines or regulatory filings. When each team member sees exactly what matters to their role, everyone works more efficiently, and nothing slips through the cracks.

Let Artificial Intelligence Handle the Tedious Stuff

Your finance team didn’t enter the nonprofit sector to spend their days on data entry. Cloud platforms now harness AI to automate repetitive tasks and catch potential problems before they become real issues.

Imagine invoices that extract their own data and route themselves for approval. Picture bank reconciliations that learn your transaction patterns and automatically match entries. Think about searching your financial system using everyday language instead of hunting through endless menus.

Machine learning algorithms can flag unusual transactions that might need a second look, whether they’re genuine errors or important outliers. This means your talented staff can spend more time on meaningful analysis and strategic planning, the work that truly advances your mission.

Seamlessly Connect Your Entire Technology Stack

Healthcare nonprofits often rely on specialized software for everything from donor management to grant compliance. Cloud accounting platforms integrate with these tools, creating a unified ecosystem instead of forcing you into isolated data silos.

Leading solutions like Sage Intacct offer extensive integration marketplaces where you’ll find connections to fundraising platforms, grant management systems, HR software, procurement tools, and more. These aren’t clunky manual imports. The information flows automatically between systems in real time.

Your development team can track donations in their preferred customer relationship management system or CRM while financial data updates automatically in your accounting system. Your program managers can monitor patient outcomes in specialized healthcare software while budget information stays perfectly synchronized. You get best-in-class tools for each function without sacrificing financial visibility.

Analyze Your Finances from Every Angle That Matters

Healthcare nonprofits need to view financial performance through multiple lenses simultaneously. How much did we spend on community health programs across all funding sources? Which grants are underspent? What does our cost per patient look like by service line?

Cloud platforms use dimensional reporting (sometimes called segment analysis) to answer these questions without creating an impossibly complicated chart of accounts. You can slice your data by program, funding source, location, patient population, service type, department—any dimension that helps you understand your financial story.

Generate sophisticated reports that show program managers exactly what they need to see while giving board members the big-picture oversight they require. This flexibility transforms financial data from a compliance necessity into a strategic asset.

Keep Financial Conversations Where They Belong

When questions arise about financial data, where do those discussions happen? Probably in email threads, Slack messages, or hallway conversations. Because the information is scattered, it’s hard to track and follow up on messages. They get lost.

Tools like Sage Intacct Collaborate embed communication directly into your accounting system. Team members can ask questions, share insights, and discuss financial matters right alongside the relevant data. Attach notes to specific reports so context travels with the numbers.

Every conversation creates an automatic audit trail within the software itself. When auditors ask whether department heads reviewed their budget variances, you can show them the documented discussions. During funders’ site visits, you can demonstrate transparent financial oversight. This approach brings accountability and institutional knowledge together in one accessible place.

Click Through to the Details Whenever You Need Them

Ever looked at a financial report and thought, “Where did that number come from?” Cloud accounting eliminates this frustration through complete drill-down capability.

Click any figure to see progressively more detail until you reach the original source document. Program directors can investigate budget variances themselves instead of submitting requests to finance. Board members can explore specific line items during meetings without waiting for follow-up reports. Auditors can trace any amount back through supporting documentation in seconds.

This transparency builds financial confidence throughout your organization. When everyone can see the story behind the numbers, you create a culture of shared ownership over financial stewardship.

Work from Anywhere with True Cloud Technology

Not all “cloud” software is created equal. True cloud platforms run entirely through web browsers, so no special installations or remote desktop connections are needed. Your team can work flexibly without compromising security or functionality. System updates happen automatically in the background, so you’re always using the latest version without disruption.

These platforms leverage enterprise-grade infrastructure from major cloud providers, giving you security, reliability, and disaster recovery capabilities that would cost a fortune to build independently. Your data stays protected with continuous backups, and you maintain access even if your physical location faces unexpected challenges.

Ready for Change?

Transitioning to cloud-based accounting software represents an investment in your organization’s capacity to serve your community effectively. These platforms eliminate barriers between departments, accelerate reporting cycles, and provide the transparency that funders and stakeholders increasingly expect.

As your healthcare nonprofit expands services, adds programs, or pursues new funding opportunities, cloud accounting scales alongside you. You won’t outgrow your system or face expensive overhauls down the road.

The real payoff? Your team spends less time wrestling with technology and more time focused on what matters most: improving health outcomes in the communities you serve.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

There’s an App for That! The Top Apps for Accountants

By | Accounting, Accounting Software, Nonprofit | No Comments

“There’s an app for that!”

It often feels like every company under the sun has an app. There are apps for banks, grocery stores, and you name it, there’s an app for that. Accounting has its share of apps too. In fact, there are so many apps on the market that it can feel overwhelming. Which ones add to productivity, and which ones detract from it? Which apps truly help, and which just clutter up your phone?

Which apps are must-haves? Let’s take a look at the following categories and see if you agree on The Best Time-Saving Apps that accountants should have in today’s increasingly technology-driven profession.

Accounting Software

No matter what accounting software you’re using, chances are good that the manufacturer has an app to accompany it. Apps can be invaluable time-savers, especially if you travel a lot on business. With a dedicated app that syncs to your organization’s accounting software, you can check virtually anything from your phone. For example, if you are using Sage Intacct, it has an accompanying app that enables you to work from your phone as needed.

AI Platforms

If you’re using AI platforms to streamline work, look for the apps that accompany them. These apps can help you draft emails and notes, scan documents, and more quickly and easily. The choice of which one to use is entirely up to you. There’s no one better AI platform than another. Please keep in mind that you should never upload or enter confidential or proprietary information with public-facing AI platforms.

Office Productivity

Office productivity software includes word processing, calendar scheduling, spreadsheets, and similar applications. Companies using Microsoft-based products can download Microsoft Teams and other apps to ensure access to and use of the full suite of Microsoft products; Google’s productivity suite, which encompasses Google Docs, Sheets, Presentations, and more, also has a similar app. Calendar-scheduling apps that integrate with your email and website, such as Calendly, can help you tame the meeting monster and schedule your time more efficiently. Communication apps such as Slack or WhatsApp can also make it easy to send and receive quick text messages.

Meeting Apps

Meeting apps, such as Zoom Workspace, GoToMeeting, and other conferencing applications, come in handy when you need to meet with coworkers, vendors, customers, or others but can’t go in person. The apps that accompany these platforms enable fast video conferencing, recording, and may include AI notetaking and transcription. Both are great features that can save you a lot of time.

Cybersecurity

With all this talk of apps, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend perhaps the most important app of all: A cybersecurity app. Such apps scan incoming emails, texts, and yes, other apps downloaded to your phone or computer to help prevent viruses, trojans, and worms from wreaking havoc with your files and systems. McAfee, Norton, and other security programs also offer apps for phones and computers that help keep your data and devices safe.

Clean Up Unused Apps

Quick tip: Before downloading new apps, make sure your security app is installed first so it can scan other apps before you add them to your device. Remove unused apps, too, to make room for new ones.

Apps have made our lives so much easier, offering quick shortcuts to essential programs and information. For accountants, apps can be a great time-saver.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

Seven Reasons to Choose Cloud-Based Social Services Accounting Software for Your Nonprofit Organization

By | Accounting, Accounting Software, Nonprofit | No Comments

Nonprofit organizations need flexible software that helps them do more with less. Cloud-based accounting software designed specifically for social services organizations offers capabilities that traditional systems simply can’t match. Here are seven great reasons why your nonprofit should consider making a switch to a cloud-based accounting system.

1. Customized Dashboards and Reporting Put Critical Information at Your Fingertips

Modern cloud-based accounting platforms allow you to build dashboards that reflect how your organization actually operates. You can create customized graphs and key performance indicators that track the metrics most important to your mission. Need quick access to approve invoices? You can add shortcuts directly to your dashboard. Want to communicate important updates to your team? You can post announcements right where everyone logs in to work.

These systems also support customized checklists for recurring processes like month-end close procedures, ensuring your team follows consistent workflows and nothing falls through the cracks. The ability to tailor your workspace means every user sees exactly what they need to see, when they need to see it.

2. Artificial Intelligence Streamlines Time-Consuming Tasks

Cloud-based platforms increasingly leverage artificial intelligence to eliminate manual data entry and reduce errors. Advanced AP automation can automatically capture invoice data, routing approvals to the right people without human intervention. Machine learning capabilities can identify unusual entries and outliers that might indicate errors or require additional scrutiny.

Bank reconciliation becomes faster and more accurate as the system learns your transaction patterns and automatically suggests matches. Search functionality powered by AI-enabled tools helps you find the information you need using natural language queries rather than memorizing report names or navigation paths. These intelligent features free your staff to focus on analysis and strategic decision-making rather than routine data processing.

3. Seamless Integrations Create a Unified Technology Ecosystem

One of the most powerful advantages of cloud-based accounting software is the ability to integrate with other specialized applications your nonprofit uses. Rather than forcing you to compromise on functionality, leading platforms like Sage Intacct maintain extensive integration marketplaces where you can find connections to fundraising systems, grant management tools, budgeting software, payroll providers, procurement platforms, and more.

These integrations are not simple import/export routines that require manual intervention. Instead, data flows automatically among systems, ensuring information stays synchronized across your entire technology stack. This approach allows you to select best-in-class software for each function your organization performs while maintaining a single source of truth for your financial data. Your fundraising team can work in their preferred CRM (Customer Relationship Management) while finance automatically receives the donation data needed for accurate accounting.

4. Dimensions Enable Multi-Faceted Financial Analysis

Social services organizations need to track financial information across multiple perspectives simultaneously. Cloud-based systems use dimensions, sometimes called segment reporting, to slice and dice your data without creating an unwieldy chart of accounts.

You can run table-driven reports that analyze key metrics by vendor, customer, employee, department, program, funding source, fund, or any other dimension relevant to your organization. Need to see all expenses related to a specific grant across multiple departments? Or track program outcomes against multiple funding sources? Dimensional reporting makes these complex analyses simple, giving program managers and board members the insights they need to make informed decisions about resource allocation and program effectiveness.

5. Sage Collaborate Brings Financial Conversations into Your Accounting System

Traditional accounting software forces you to use separate communication tools, such as email or messaging platforms, to discuss financial data. This approach disperses your institutional knowledge across multiple systems, making it difficult to maintain an audit trail of key financial discussions.

Sage Collaborate within Sage Intacct changes this paradigm by building collaboration directly into the accounting platform. Users can ask questions, share insights, and discuss financial information right where the data lives. You can attach notes to specific reports, creating context that travels with the financial information. Every conversation is tracked with a full audit trail embedded in the software.

This feature proves particularly valuable during audit season. When your auditors ask for proof that department managers reviewed their financial statements, you can point to documented conversations within the system itself. The entire review process becomes transparent and verifiable without requiring your team to save email chains or meeting notes separately.

6. Complete Drill-Down Capability Provides Transparency from Summary to Source

Cloud-based accounting platforms built for social services offer complete drill-down functionality in every report. When you see a number that raises questions, you can click through progressive layers of detail until you reach the original source transaction.

This transparency accelerates research, simplifies audit preparation, and builds confidence in your financial data. Program directors can investigate variances themselves without waiting for the finance team to pull transaction details. Board members can satisfy their curiosity about specific line items during meetings. Auditors can efficiently trace any amount back to supporting documentation.

The ability to drill down into any report eliminates the “opaque feeling” that sometimes accompanies financial data, fostering a culture of transparency and financial literacy throughout your organization.

7. True Cloud Architecture Delivers Accessibility and Reliability

Software labeled “cloud-based” does not always share the same underlying architecture. True cloud-based accounting platforms are built from the ground up to run entirely through web browsers, requiring no special software installations or remote desktop connections.

This architecture means your team can access the system from any device with an internet connection using just a web browser. Remote work becomes seamless. Mobile access is native rather than awkward. System updates happen automatically without disrupting your team’s workflow or requiring IT intervention.

True cloud platforms also benefit from the infrastructure investments of major cloud providers, delivering reliability, security, and disaster recovery capabilities that would be prohibitively expensive for individual organizations to implement. Your data is continuously backed up, and you can access your accounting system even if your physical office becomes unavailable.

Making the Transition

Moving to cloud-based accounting software represents a significant decision for any nonprofit, but the benefits extend far beyond simple automation. These platforms transform how your organization manages, analyzes, and communicates about financial information. They break down silos between departments, accelerate reporting cycles, and provide the transparency that stakeholders increasingly expect.

As your nonprofit grows and evolves, cloud-based accounting software grows with you, adapting to new programs, funding sources, and reporting requirements without requiring expensive customization or system replacements. The investment in modern, purpose-built accounting systems pays dividends in staff productivity, decision-making quality, and organizational effectiveness for years to come.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

AI Helps CPAs Save Time, Improve Efficiency

By | Accounting, Accounting Software, Nonprofit | No Comments

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now embedded into our daily lives in ways we couldn’t have imagined years ago. This includes the workplace. CPAs have discovered new and innovative uses for AI. While some of these applications require a bit more programming skills than the average accountant possesses, they do highlight the many creative ways in which AI can improve workflows and efficiencies for accountants.

Drafting Technical Accounting Memos

Does your department draft memos? AI can do it for you with the right preparation. Using an internal, paid version of an AI tool such as Microsoft Copilot, you can “train” the AI to write memos for you based on previous memos. The key is to ensure that the files you use to train the AI provide best practices. As the AI scans the internal memos, it will use them to develop its own language model and formatting style for future memos. With the right prompts and commands and clean, organized files to train the bot, accountants can use AI to generate new memos. Once the AI platform generates the memo, “humans in the loop” should review the final output for accuracy. AI can, and does, make mistakes, so the last step of a person reviewing the AI output is critical.

One important item to note: Do not try this with “free” or publicly available AI models. Use only proprietary, paid, internal AI tools to train your AI models. Remember that anything scanned by public AI models, like the freely available Copilot and ChatGPT, becomes part of their repository forever, so anything confidential or proprietary should not be used with public models. Private AI models, such as those paid for and installed locally by your IT team, keep the information contained within and used only by your organization.

Faster Code Generation

Even with the best nonprofit accounting software, there may come a time when you need to output data to spreadsheets and use various functions to calculate different things. That’s where AI can come in handy. Many accountants are using AI to develop formulas to use within spreadsheets. Rather than looking them up or tinkering with them, accountants are simply asking AI platforms to help them develop code to run their calculations. AI is good at coding, and many find that code generation is a great time saver.

Research Tasks

AI platforms excel at analyzing vast amounts of data, including searching the web. They are terrific at performing research tasks. This includes market research, accounting research, and more.

One tip: share your own thoughts with the AI platform, then ask it, “What would you add to this, and why?” It’s important to note that while AI does perform good research functions, it can still make mistakes. These “hallucinations” provide incorrect answers. So, take AI-based research with a grain of salt, and read through it carefully. Confirm or double-check sources, especially data that you plan to cite in a report.

Marketing Support

A fourth area that AI can support is marketing. Whether it’s donor outreach, membership drives, or finding new grants, AI platforms offer everything from drafting social media copy to developing ideal donor profiles.

As with other forms of research produced by AI platforms, the last stop for anything generated by AI should be a human being. People can read through text generated by AI and spot inaccuracies, cliches, and odd phrases that just don’t sound right. AI isn’t perfect, and the “human in the loop” is essential to using the tool effectively but not leaning on it as a crutch.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.