Article: Non-Profit Accounting Software

Free Accounting Software for Nonprofits

By Dominique W. Brooks

MD, MBA

Nonprofit organizations are often on tight budgets. Every dollar spent must be thought out and accounted for. Not every nonprofit can afford to hire a professional accountant, and many nonprofits rely on in-house accounting methods. If you don't have the funds to hire a professional, free accounting software can help guide your organization in the right direction.

When considering a free accounting program, keep in mind what tasks you need the program to perform and if there are any specific reports you are interested in producing. Every program has something different to offer so choose the one that will best match your needs.

GNUCash

This free software can be useful for small nonprofit organizations. It is an open source program that has some characteristics of Quicken and some small business accounting features. This software will allow you to create a multitude of reports, but you may need to export some data in Excel to complete them. You can use this software on Windows, Mac, or Linux systems.

TurboCASH

This free, open source accounting software is multi-lingual (25 languages) and allows you to set up your files according to your country. This can only be used on Windows systems.

Adminsoft Accounts

This software is a full, double-entry accounting system and even allows you to manage payroll if needed. It will run on any system running a Windows platform and on Mac or Linux machines in certain situations.

BS1 Free Accounting

This software works for small businesses and allows you to establish your files in different currency formats, which would allow you to manage international billing or purchasing. You can also create user-defined financial statements. You can upgrade for a fee to get your software customized if you would like.

SVERDYSH

This is a free British accounting program for small businesses. Instead of giving you a large guidebook, the program gives you examples to show you how to use the various functions.

Open Office

This is another free open source suite of programs that contains tools like spreadsheets and databases to help you with basic accounting functions. It looks similar to other programs out there so it is easy to operate. Open Office is also scalable to as many users as you may need.

Lazy8 Ledger

This free program is a double-entry accounting program. Your organization can also follow receipts and payments automatically. This program can also run on Windows, Linux, and Mac systems.

Ledger

This free accounting software by Responsive Software runs on Windows systems. It is a double-entry ledger system that can be scaled upward as your organization grows. One of the benefits for non-profit organizations is that you can also calculate account balances when you want and not only on a quarterly or yearly calendar.

FrontAccounting ERP

This is an open source solution for small businesses. This program lets you keep up with bank accounts, general ledgers, and different reports. You can have multiple user access and can use this program on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

There are endless versions available that can assist your organization with anything from cutting checks to preparing financial reports. Try out various programs until you find the one that works the best for your organization's resource management needs.