What should I look for before the Implementation of the System?

You have to evaluate your employees for a start. You have to know at what level of ease they can use the computers in general, before the implementation of the system. Because this will create its impact on the timelines as well as the overall understandings of the product. Remember, decisions are made by people, not computers. Computers can help you reduce your time of evaluations and decrease the time cost. Someone in the organization still has to understand debits and credits, decide what account code to charge each transaction to, determine whether an error has been made and, if so, how to correct that error.

Which Software Should I Buy?

Well, there is no one definite answer to this question. To understand why, imagine answering the question, What's the best car to buy? In order to answer, you would first need to ask questions such as: How many passengers do you normally have? How much are you willing to spend? What features are important to you? One of these considerations might outweigh all of the others. Once you have all the information, there might be two or three cars which meet the criteria. The final decision will be based on personal preference. So, you have to decide what you want in the software.

What should be My Selection Criteria?

We have a detailed list of all the items that you should incorporate in your decision making list. But give you a brief understanding of what you should look for in the system, these points can help you to a great extend.

But My Manual System is Good Enough for Me!

That is what they all thought before the first implementation of any computerized solution!. For example, if we take the example of spread sheets-Since there are so few controls for spreadsheet; numbers can be easily changed, damaging the integrity of your financial reports. And guess what- if you are comfortable with the looks of the spreadsheets, you can easily export the reports to excel thus maintaining the integrity of the data while having a customized report!

Similarly, it is not a good idea to keep your books on database software which does not have the controls or reporting capability of accounting software. Finally, many consultants do not recommend using checkbook software for nonprofit bookkeeping. The attraction of checkbook software is that it is easy to use. However, most nonprofits outgrow checkbook software quickly because it does not use double-entry bookkeeping and its reporting capabilities are often very limited.