Quickbooks-on-iPadNow some of us who have grown up spoiled and having nice full enterprise environments to work in which if you’re a Blackbaud feen like I am, then you live for those environments where you have The Raiser’s Edge and The Financial Edge.

However in quite a few situations your going to be dealing with an environment where there are a few different systems and platforms that are run by different departments that don’t coordinate their efforts.

When not coordinating their efforts and processes information is not collected in a process that allows for checks and balances to make sure all areas are benefiting from information coming into the organization.

Lets jump into the situation:

Technology:

  • The Raiser’s Edge
  • Events Module
    Tribute Module
  • Quickbooks Nonprofit Version

Extra Information:

  • There has been no dedicated database staff member in over a year.
  • Financial reporting has never been delivered from The Raiser’s Edge
  • No process in place to track, monitor, standardize or create a gift acknowledgement process

Opportunity: The organization has made the decision to make Quickbooks the priority for gift entry.  This has led to a large absence of gifts being entered into The Raiser’s Edge, which has led to gifts not being acknowledged, which has led to frustrated supporters, and the inability to provide financial reporting to leadership.

Current Gift Entry Process:

  1. Checks come into the office and are opened by two internal staff members.
  2. These two staff members log the checks that come in by mail in a spreadsheet log.
  3. They organize, copy, and prepare all of the gifts that come in for delivery (there is more than happens here, but you get what I’m talking about if you know the gift entry process created with your Auditor).
  4. These gifts are then given to the internal accountant.
  5. They are entered in Quickbooks.
  6. They are deposited with the Bank.
  7. In some cases these gifts are communicated to those who are anticipating a gift coming in, or if it’s for an event.  The coordinator of that event in some cases gets notified.
  8. Gifts in most cases are entered into The Raiser’s Edge when someone calls another staff member and tells them about it.
  9. Did I mention that everyone in the office is allowed to enter gifts into the system?

Solution:

  1. Meeting scheduled with internal accountant and organization’s auditor.
  2. Discussed a new process for gift entry.
    Same mail process for opening letters.
  3. Gifts are still logged into the mail log (I hate this but had to give on something).
  4. Gifts are delivered to the Office Manager for daily gift entry into The Raiser’s Edge.
  5. The checks are deposited with the Bank.
  6. On a weekly basis, the Office Manager exports a data file of gifts from The Raiser’s Edge.
  7. This data is imported directly into Quickbooks.
  8. On a monthly basis the accountant reconciles the data imported against bank statements to balance.
  9. The Office Manager and Accountant meet on a monthly basis to discuss adjustments or potential issues.
  10. Created standardized gift acknowledgement processes, and implemented the Mail Module.

Benefits:

  • This change has now allowed the organization to take full advantage of The Raiser’s Edge Mail Module.
  • Use of the Mail Module has led to the ability to create a gift “receipting” process of 48 hours.
  • Eliminated dual entry of gifts in The Raiser’s Edge and Quickbooks.
  • Increased the level of stewardship efforts to donors.
  • Built confidence in the data in The Raiser’s Edge; leading to accepted organizational wide reporting on financial data.