Why is it Important to Import Fundraising Data into Accounting Software?

Planning nonprofit events and initiatives can be challenging without data. How do you know if your previous campaign worked? How do you improve your next endeavor?

Accurate data and insights like fundraising growth, return on investment, cost of acquisition, and financial health are integral components of planning successful fundraising. Integrating your fundraising data into accounting software allows you to make better investments and meet your organizational objectives. 

What is Fundraising Data in a Nonprofit?

Fundraising data in a nonprofit is metrics or KPIs like donor contributions, grant information, number of gifts received, acquisition costs, and return on investment. By analyzing and measuring fundraising data, nonprofits can make knowledgeable decisions about future initiatives, donors, and events.

What is Accounting in a Nonprofit Organization?

Accounting in a nonprofit organization involves processing and recording financial data to help companies make informed business decisions. Accounting departments can oversee tasks like generating reports, tax forms, statements, and external documents for the organization and the donor. They can also record and report incoming and outgoing transactions, helping organizations weigh their profits against their spending.

Improving the Relationship Between Accounting and Fundraising

Improving the relationship between accounting and fundraising can ensure better insights into financial growth and success, helping originations plan for the future. It can also enable better transparency and relationships with donors.

Here are ways to improve the relationships between accounting and fundraising:

1. Integrate a fundraising CRM with accounting software

Recording data like money flow is an essential fundraising component. Multiple employees or departments responsible for tracking and capturing transactions increase the risks of discrepancies and errors.

By integrating customer relationship management (CRM) fundraising software and accounting platforms, nonprofits consolidate these processes. Better integration can help automate and simplify operations. Additionally, nonprofits can mitigate inconsistent figures and data and reduce errors and time importing data from one platform to another.

2. Improve transparency in fundraising

Inconsistent, missing, and inefficient data can make calculating an organization’s success challenging. It can also impact the planning and projections for future initiatives.

By segmenting data, nonprofits can provide detailed information and better insight into the organization’s performance. An integrated software solution can help nonprofits create columns for entering specific data like gift codes, growth, and conversion. This information gives organizations a better view of their losses, profits, and overall financial health.

3. Enhance communication between fundraising and accounting teams

Poor communication in data can lead to misunderstandings and conflict. For example, accounts might only report conditional gifts in the books once fulfilled. 

While this might be an accounting rule, failure to communicate the rule with the necessary department causes misunderstandings. With an integrated CRM and accounting platform, accounting teams can create and share specific recording methods. This way, nonprofits minimize miscommunication and inaccurate records and improve balancing data.

Benefits of Integrating Fundraising CRM and Accounting Systems

The advantages of integrating fundraising and accounting software include:

• Fewer errors: One system for entering data reduces the need for multiple entries and limits errors and inconsistencies.
• Greater efficiency: Generate files on the CRM that can be uploaded into the accounting software without manipulation or edits, reducing time spent formatting files, inconsistent changes, and human error. 
• Better access privileges: Lock data and control access and editing privileges to prevent mistakes like deleted information or incorrect data changes. 
• Improved productivity: Assigning assessment and editing roles limits time spent reviewing and editing data and improves output speed.
• Simpler task designation: An integrated system helps define and segment tasks, reducing overlapping roles, repeating tasks, and conflict between departments like finance and development.
• Increased summarization abilities: Unlike manual bookkeeping, combining and accounting the fundraising process helps cut out overwhelming information and summarizes the most important data. 
• More accurate reports: Seamless data entries improve reconciliation, accurately balancing and recording income or gifts, deposits, and transactions. 

Why is it Important to Partner with Your CFO?

A chief financial operator (CFO) oversees accounting for fundraising events and initiatives from start to finish. They manage accounting teams, analyze fundraising data, and implement strategies to help the organization meet its goals. They also facilitate and maintain relationships with donors. 

CFOs have extensive insight and understanding of the organization’s portfolio, helping them make informed decisions. Here’s how a CFO can help improve the relationship between fundraising and accounting: 

1. Driving the hiring process: A CFO can hire the best team to work with donors and meet the organization’s objections. 
2. Predicting donor contributions: Using data, reports, and metrics, a CFO can forecast and implement strategies to match or improve future donations. 
3. Complete oversight of company portfolio: With extensive visibility into the organization, the CFO can make knowledgeable decisions to ensure successful partnerships with donors meet organizational goals. They also oversee multiple departments like finance and development and provide better processes and communications between departments. 
4. Implementing a defined structure to match investors’ goals: A CFO considers the company’s purposes when planning and pitching fundraising initiatives and events. 
5. Building solid relationships with donors: CFOs understand the importance of deep connections and focus on creating long-lasting relationships with donors. 
6. Analyzing data to sustain and improve contributions: CFOs make data-driven decisions when partnering with donors and managing the organization’s finances. 
7. Facilitating the process from start to finish: A CFO communicates every step of the fundraising process with the board and executives, improving transparency. They also ensure each process transitions smoothly and on time, like moving and finalizing procedures with the legal team. 

Rely on GiveSmart for Data-Driven Fundraising 

When you integrate your fundraising and accounting systems, you can plan for the future successfully and meet your organization’s financial goals. Unsynchronized accounting and fundraising processes can result in poor planning, inconsistent reporting, and a lack of transparency. Which outcome are you going to select?

If you pick better fundraising planning and outcomes, we can help. GiveSmart offers software solutions to facilitate and improve your fundraising processes. You can track your fundraising performance with multiple integration options, like CRM software, data and reporting tools, and accounting software. Manage your reports, minimize miscommunication, and use data to implement successful strategies and plans. 

Request a demo today, and discover how GiveSmart can improve your fundraising process.