Finding the right grant management software can be a daunting task for accounting firms.
This comprehensive review breaks down the key features and capabilities of top solutions to help you make an informed decision.
We'll explore leading options for tracking grants and maximizing awards, compare costs and compatibilities, and provide best practices for implementing new systems to empower your firm's grant management process.
Introduction: Navigating the Grant Management Landscape
Managing grants can be an extremely challenging task for accounting firms and nonprofits. With various funding sources, complex regulations, and rigorous reporting requirements, having the right grant management software in place is crucial.
A good grant management system helps streamline every stage of the grant process - from finding new grant opportunities and writing effective proposals, to tracking awarded funds and demonstrating impact to grantors. For accounting professionals supporting nonprofits, understanding the grant management tools landscape enables you to better advise clients on software options tailored to their needs and budget.
As the grant ecosystem continues to rapidly evolve alongside technology innovations, it's essential to stay updated on the leading solutions available today. Whether serving small community initiatives or large global foundations, implementing a comprehensive grants management solution - such as Fluxx or Salesforce Grants Management - can bolster transparency, efficiency and growth outcomes substantially.
Equipping yourself with knowledge around the best grant management software gives you an edge. You can better guide clients to solutions that align budget realities with their mission and programs. Mastering available technologies also allows for more automated reporting and streamlining of processes - enabling accounting teams to focus on high-value strategic initiatives versus repetitive admin tasks.
How do I choose a grant management system?
Choosing the right grant management system (GMS) is key to streamlining your accounting firm's nonprofit clients' grant processes. Here are four steps to select the best solution:
1. Define your requirements
Consider both current and future needs when outlining system requirements. Key aspects to include:
- Comprehensive grant lifecycle management from research to reporting
- Flexible workflows to match clients' processes
- Robust reporting and analytics
- Integration with existing tools like CRMs and accounting software
- Budget tracking features
- Customization to meet unique needs
2. Build a business case
Quantify the return on investment to justify purchasing a GMS:
- Calculate potential time and cost savings from automating manual tasks
- Weigh risks of not upgrading outdated processes
- Compare to alternative solutions like excel or general accounting platforms
Define key performance indicators upfront to measure ongoing value like grant capture rates, process efficiency gains, and user adoption levels.
3. Evaluate vendors
As you demo potential GMS partners, assess:
- Ease of use and training requirements
- Implementation timelines and support options
- Compliance with regulations
- Data security and privacy standards
- Customers similar to your firm
- Service reliability and support responsiveness
4. Plan your implementation
A structured rollout can facilitate user adoption success:
- Phase platforms by group based on greatest need/benefit
- Provide hands-on training and quick support access
- Seed key data like grants and contacts during onboarding
- Review progress at regular intervals and solicit user feedback
Following these steps will lead to an informed GMS decision that enhances your firm's nonprofit service offerings. Reach out for personalized recommendations based on your unique requirements.
What is a grant management software?
Grant management software helps nonprofits and other organizations centralize and streamline all aspects of grant funding, from researching opportunities to managing awarded funds and reporting outcomes. Key features include:
- Grant opportunity databases to discover relevant funding sources
- Tools to track grant applications and deadlines
- Workflow automation for required forms and documents
- Post-award financial tracking and reporting
- Impact measurement and outcomes reporting
By centralizing grant information and processes, grant management systems enable organizations to work more efficiently, demonstrate good stewardship, and ultimately secure more funding over time. This allows nonprofits to focus on advancing their mission instead of grant paperwork.
Top grant management tools provide customizable features to meet an organization's unique needs. For accounting firms that support nonprofits in securing and managing grants, having expertise in leading grant management platforms can better serve clients. Understanding the software landscape helps identify the best solutions for each client's requirements and budget.
What is the best way to track grants?
Creating a shared grant tracking calendar is an effective way to stay organized and meet all grant requirements. This allows your entire staff to view upcoming deadlines for submissions, reporting, and activities related to each grant.
Some tips for creating a useful grant tracking calendar:
- List all grants received and pending, with start and end dates
- Include major milestones and deadlines such as applications, award notifications, reporting periods, and project finish dates
- Assign staff members responsible for each task
- Set calendar reminders leading up to big deadlines to ensure nothing falls through the cracks
- Link to shared files/folders for each grant to keep info in one place
- Update the calendar as you receive new grants or have changes to existing ones
- Consider linking calendar to accounting software to simplify budget tracking
Keeping this calendar up-to-date takes some effort, but saves so much time and stress in the long run. It becomes your centralized grants hub to coordinate all staff and activities efficiently. Review the calendar regularly as a team to confirm upcoming deadlines and discuss progress. This level of organization is essential for successful and sustainable grant management.
How much does grant software cost?
Grant management software can range in cost depending on the features, integrations, and level of support included. Here are some typical price ranges:
- Basic or entry-level software usually costs $55 to $100 per month. This includes basic grant tracking features.
- Mid-level software with more robust tracking and reporting typically costs $150 to $300 per month.
- Enterprise-level software with advanced customization and support runs $300 to $500 per month.
Many vendors provide yearly contracts as well, which may offer some cost savings. Nonprofits and government entities may also get discounted nonprofit pricing.
When evaluating options, consider both the upfront costs and the potential time/cost savings. More advanced software often leads to greater efficiency, freeing up staff for other tasks. Compare the price to the value of better grant oversight and strategy.
Some factors that affect pricing:
- Number of users or logins
- Data storage needs
- Level of tracking and customization
- Integrations with other software
- Implementation, training, and support
To determine true cost of ownership, consider consulting the vendor for quotes based on your organization's specific requirements. Most provide demo access as well to test software capabilities first-hand.
Deciphering Grant Management Software for Nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations rely on grants and donations to fund their operations and fulfill their mission. As such, efficient grant management is critical. Choosing the right software can streamline workflows, improve collaboration between team members, and provide helpful insights through reporting.
When evaluating grants management solutions, nonprofits should consider products designed specifically for their needs. Generic options may fall short in addressing unique pain points. Software tailored for nonprofits typically provides:
Donor and Grant Management
- Donor databases to track individuals, foundations, corporations
- Tools to manage relationships and communication with donors
- Grant tracking from application through award and reporting
Collaboration Features
- Task assignment, calendars, and notifications to coordinate teams
- Document sharing for grant applications and reports
- Commenting and discussions on records
Reporting and Analysis
- Insights into funding sources, project performance, and impact
- Visualizations to easily communicate progress to stakeholders
- Future planning to diversify revenue streams
Compliance and Security
- Ensure adherence to all regulations and requirements
- Protect sensitive donor and organizational data
- Maintain accountability and transparency
Integration and Customization
- Connect to existing accounting, CRM, or other systems
- Tailor workflows, fields, and processes to organization’s needs
Evaluating these key elements will allow nonprofits to determine if a grant management platform aligns with their objectives. Partnering with a provider specializing in the social sector often best positions organizations for fundraising success.
Post-Award Efficiency: Maximizing Grant Potential
After the celebration of a successful grant application dies down, nonprofit organizations are faced with the crucial task of managing and properly utilizing awarded funds. Without diligent post-award oversight, the funding risks going underutilized or misused. Grant management software provides the necessary tools for ensuring every dollar goes towards fulfilling the intended purpose.
Streamlining Compliance and Reporting
Managing regulatory requirements and funder reporting can become an administrative nightmare without software support. Tracking deadlines, financial documents, performance metrics across multiple grants strains limited personnel. Integrated systems automate compliance actions for smoother operations:
- Automatic alerts and notifications for upcoming deadlines or reporting
- Centralized repository of grant information and associated documentation
- Built-in custom reports formatted to meet unique funder requirements
- Tools for collecting performance data and demonstrating impact
Relieving administrative bottlenecks enables staff to fully capitalize on program delivery and optimization. Proactive monitoring protects against fund mismanagement while maintaining positive ongoing funder relationships.
Enforcing Fiscal Responsibility
Without proper oversight, funds risk being used improperly or in excess of approved budgets. Robust software contains safeguards to enforce fiscal control:
- Multi-level expenditure authorizations prevent unauthorized transactions
- Real-time budget vs actuals tracking across cost categories
- Automated fund drawdowns based on approved budgets
- Tools for managing fund allocations across departments and programs
- Audit trail documenting full transaction lifecycle
Maintaining clear fund separation and limiting expenses to pre-defined categories reduces compliance violations. Granular tracking provides early warning signs to prevent overspending while facilitating easy financial reporting.
Impact Optimization
In addition to fiduciary responsibilities, software plays a key role in maximizing programmatic returns on awarded grants. Embedded tools allow analyzing performance versus targets across initiatives to pinpoint areas for improvement.
- Data collection forms to gather key metrics from programs
- Automated impact dashboards comparing targets vs actuals
- Tools for adjusting activities based on insights uncovered
Continually optimizing operations based on outcomes data demonstrates responsible stewardship to funders. Unlocking enhanced impact helps secure the renewal and expansion of support.
With proper systems in place, organizations can shift focus from burdensome administration to fulfilling mission goals. The right software becomes an invaluable asset for overcoming post-award obstacles to drive change.
Innovation in Grant Management: Research and Development Focus
Research grants fund critical innovation and discoveries that advance science and technology. However, managing these complex awards across multiple years, institutions, and reporting requirements poses immense administrative challenges.
Specialized research grant management systems help research institutions track awards, manage subawards, ensure compliance, and measure impact. Key capabilities include:
Flexible Project Structuring and Budgeting
Research projects often consist of multiple phases spanning different periods. Sophisticated software enables creating master awards with subprojects, tagging expenses to phases, and forecasting budgets over long timelines.
Systems like Fluxx Grant Management offer flexible award structuring with custom fields to capture unique project elements like equipment purchases, participant incentives, IRB protocols, and more. Robust budget modeling handles complex calculations for fringe benefits, F&A costs, and escalators to accurately plan multi-year budgets.
Streamlined Subaward Issuance
Most research grants involve subawards to other organizations and vendors. Issuing and managing subcontracts requires extensive legal, reporting, and accounting coordination.
Solutions like QuickBooks Grant Management simplify this process by generating subaward documents, tracking performance, and managing payments automatically based on award terms. This alleviates administrative workload while ensuring subrecipients meet obligations.
Automated Research Administration
From project inception to closeout, researchers face immense paperwork for proposals, regulatory protocols, progress reports, and more. Software can configure customizable workflows to automatically route documents for review, approvals, and signatures based on institutional policies.
Integrations with protocols.io, IRBManager, and other research platforms further simplify administration by syncing relevant data. Automatic notifications and reminders also prevent missed deadlines or reporting lapses. This automation enables more time for science rather than paperwork.
In summary, purpose-built innovation in grant management technology helps research institutions maximize impact, accelerate discoveries, ensure compliance, and drive growth. As R&D funding increases, sophisticated software will prove indispensable for successfully managing awards from sponsors like the NIH, NSF, and other federal agencies.
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Crafting Success: Features of the Best Grant Writing Software
Accounting firms face inherent challenges when seeking grants for themselves or on behalf of clients. The grant writing process is complex and competitive, requiring deep expertise. The best grant management software helps firms overcome these hurdles through features purpose-built for the accounting profession.
Streamlined Grant Search and Tracking
A robust grants database makes finding relevant funding opportunities effortless. Powerful search tools, customizable alerts, and grant calendars enable users to pinpoint prospects aligned with their mission and objectives. Once identified, integrated tracking simplifies grant lifecycle oversight.
Collaborative Proposal Development
Collaboration is vital for developing winning proposals, especially when working with clients across teams and locations. The top solutions centralize the writing process with shared access to resources and draft materials. Commenting and discussions keep all stakeholders aligned throughout. Version control maintains document integrity.
Automated Forms and Document Creation
No accounting firm wants to waste billable hours repeating the same administrative tasks for each application. Automated proposal generation via branded templates and integrated documents creation eliminates redundant efforts. Data flows directly from the grants database into applications, reports, and more.
Advanced Reporting and Analytics
Understanding grant writing productivity and outcomes is essential for continuous improvement. Robust analytics provide real-time insights into funding pipelines, win rates, revenue forecasts, and more. Detailed reporting by program, funder, writer, and other filters informs strategic decisions.
By leveraging software innovations purpose-built for accounting contexts, firms can transform grants from a painful chore into a strategic growth driver. The right solution empowers more proposals, higher quality, better outcomes, and cost savings through automation. Mastering modern tools unlocks new funding levels for firms and the clients they support.
Harnessing the Power of Salesforce for Grant Management
Salesforce is well known as a robust and customizable CRM platform used by companies across nearly every industry vertical. In recent years, Salesforce has leveraged its strength in relationship management software to develop a tailored solution specifically for grant management needs - Salesforce Grant Management.
With its foundations in Salesforce CRM, Grant Management brings an enterprise-level system designed around constituents and relationships to the nonprofit and grantmaking space. This allows organizations managing grants to track, manage, and report on the full grant lifecycle within a flexible platform that connects grantmakers to grantees and programs to outcomes.
Streamlining Relationship Management
At its core, Salesforce excels at contact and organization relationship management. Grant Management builds on this strength to connect grantmakers with grantee organizations, personnel, and programs funded under each grant. This provides visibility into funding relationships and automates management of relevant contacts and activities over the full grant period.
Key benefits include:
- Centralized tracking of all grantee organization details and contacts
- Easy visibility into which grants fund each organization
- Automatic logging of communications and grant-related activities
- Streamlined management of grant relationships from inquiry to closeout
By harnessing Salesforce's CRM foundations, Grant Management enables transparent and automated relationship management between grantmaking teams and recipient organizations.
Customizing for Grant Processes
Beyond centralized relationship management, Salesforce Grant Management provides customizable grant workflow automation, tailored reporting, and tools purpose-built for core grantmaking needs.
Key grant management functionality includes:
- Configurable grant workflow templates by program or funder
- Automatic grant progress tracking and status indicators
- Custom tables, fields and objects to capture grant data
- Grant application scoring tools and review workspaces
- Budget planning, forecasting and spend-down tracking
- Outcome measurement tracking and grantee reporting
- Custom reports and analytics for grant analysis
These specialized tools shift manual tracking and reporting processes into automated grantmaking workflows within Salesforce. Teams can customize the system to match their programs, update processes as needs evolve, and easily analyze data for better grant decisions.
By leveraging Salesforce's enterprise-grade platform with flexibility to adapt to nonprofit needs, Grant Management provides an end-to-end system capable of streamlining operations for grantmakers of any size. The CRM foundation enhances constituent tracking while purpose-built functionality automates and connects processes across the full grant lifecycle. For grantmaking teams looking to upgrade rigid and manual tracking methods, Salesforce Grant Management warrants a deeper look.
Finding the Right Opportunities: Grant Research Software
Grant research software provides invaluable assistance to accounting firms seeking funding opportunities for their clients. As specialists in nonprofit and grant accounting, having the right tools to uncover prospects aligning with an organization's mission and eligibility requirements saves time otherwise spent trawling databases.
With user-friendly interfaces and powerful search functionalities, applications like [] and [] integrate seamlessly into an accountant's workflow.
Streamlining the Search Process
Comprehensive databases containing government, private foundation, corporate and community foundation grants are accessible via grant research platforms. User profiles allow firms to save searches, set alerts for new postings, and track funding history and success rates.
Advanced search filters make shortlisting process efficient by enabling firms to screen opportunities by:
- Geographic location
- Subject focus
- Type of support
- Grant range
- Application deadline
- Eligibility requirements
Creating alerts ensures matching prospects are sent to a user's inbox automatically as soon they are published.
Vetting Prospects Against Organizational Goals
Aligning funding opportunities with an organization's objectives is critical. Once an accounting firm has utilized the software to generate a list of prospects, further evaluation regarding suitability is required.
Key elements for consideration include:
- Funding priorities - Do the funder's interests and giving history align with proposed projects? Reviewing awarded grants provides insight.
- Eligibility - Does the applicant meet all eligibility criteria related to location, legal status, financial history etc?
- Grant range - Is the typical grant amount awarded sufficient for needs? Some funders have upper limits that may preclude organizations seeking substantial support.
- Focus Areas - While proposals can demonstrate innovation in addressing needs, most funders prioritize specific causes. Applications clearly communicating alignment have higher probability of success.
Leveraging user-friendly features simplifies the task of aligning prospects to an organization's specific priorities and objectives.
Streamlining Processes Through Software Integrations
To maximize efficiency from opportunity discovery through to application and award management processes, some software solutions offer integration capabilities.
This enables seamless data flows across grant management, fundraising and accounting systems. Some of the benefits include:
- Auto-population of applications with organizational data
- Transfer of donor details for stewardship
- Smooth upload of progress reports to funders
- Reduced time duplicating data across platforms
Overall, identifying the right grant prospects is foundational to securing funding. Purpose-built software delivers efficiency through leveraging comprehensive databases, saving accounting professionals hours of manual research. With powerful filters and alerts, shortlisting aligned prospects is streamlined. For nonprofits seeking funding for innovative community programs, these tools are invaluable assets.
Fluxx: A Leader in Grant Management Solutions
Fluxx is widely recognized as one of the premier grant management software solutions available today. As a specialized platform built specifically for nonprofit organizations and foundations, Fluxx stands out for its robust set of tools to streamline the entire grantmaking lifecycle.
Fluxx enables nonprofits and funders to manage everything from finding new grant opportunities to tracking outcomes and impact. Some of the key features that have established Fluxx as an industry leader include:
Comprehensive Grant Management Tools
Fluxx centralizes and automates every component of grant management, from application and review, to reporting and evaluation. Key features include:
- Customizable online application forms to simplify the process for grantees
- Flexible workflows to reflect an organization's processes and requirements
- Robust reporting dashboards and analytics for data-driven decision making
- Integrations with payment processors to easily manage grant disbursements
By consolidating all grant information into a unified platform, Fluxx enhances visibility, collaboration, and efficiency across the organization.
Specialized for Diverse Grantmaking Needs
Fluxx offers tailored solutions for community foundations, private foundations, government grant programs, and corporate giving programs. The system is flexible to adapt to a wide variety of grantmaking objectives, programs, and processes.
As examples, Fluxx provides specific support for scholarship management, fiscal sponsorship, payment automation, and geographic grantmaking initiatives.
Secure and Reliable Cloud Platform
As a true cloud-based solution designed for nonprofits, Fluxx ensures the highest levels of security, uptime and reliability. Sensitive data is protected and regular updates ensure continuity even during periods of peak demand.
The cloud delivery model also enables easy access for grantmaking teams and reviewers regardless of location. Collaboration, evaluation, and decision-making can happen efficiently.
With its specialized non-profit focus, robust feature set, and secure platform, Fluxx has emerged as a premier choice for organizations seeking to streamline grants management. For foundations and nonprofits striving to maximize impact, Fluxx provides the tools and insights required for success.
Financial Finesse: QuickBooks in Grant Management
QuickBooks (QBO) offers robust functionality for managing finances, making it a natural fit for grant management. Specifically, QBO excels at:
Seamlessly Integrating Grant Funds
Integrating grant funds into regular financial management streamlines oversight. QBO enables creating separate accounts to track grants. As funds are spent, entries are logged against the grant for precise tracking without manual oversight.
This simplifies financial reporting tremendously. With a few clicks, detailed grant financials can be pulled from QBO to review spending and balance status. No more hunting through spreadsheets or piles of paperwork!
Maintaining Compliance Through Accounting Controls
QBO provides accounting controls like customizable user permissions and audit trails for financial integrity. These controls facilitate grant compliance in spending and documentation.
For example, permissions can restrict access to grant accounts to certain users. Activity logs provide transparency into any changes, keeping users accountable.
Budgeting Tools
Creating budgets in QBO is easy: set expense limits for the grant period on individual accounts. Alerts notify when accounts near budgeted amounts, allowing proactive decisions about remaining funds.
Budgeting grant money prevents overspending while ensuring funds are fully utilized. QBO calculates variances between actuals vs budgets for clear monitoring.
Automating Reporting
A core benefit of QBO for managing grants is streamlining reporting. Reports can be scheduled to automatically pull grant financials on any cadence and sent to stakeholders.
This removes the hassle of compiling manual reports and ensures timely, accurate financial updates. The ability to customize reporting also satisfies unique grant requirements.
With strong accounting controls and transparency into grant finances, QuickBooks empowers organizations to effectively steward grant funds. By integrating grant management into regular financial systems, QBO delivers a holistic view of organizational finances across funding sources. This allows maximizing grants' impact and maintaining compliance with funders.
Implementing Your Grant Management Software: Best Practices
Integrating new software can be a challenge, especially for accounting firms managing complex grants. However, with thoughtful planning and best practices, your firm can ensure a smooth transition. Here are key recommendations when rolling out grant management solutions:
Staff Training
Thoroughly train staff on using the software. Consider both formal training from vendor reps and peer-to-peer shadowing. Training should cover:
- Key features like tracking grant lifecycles and deadlines
- Customizing views, filters, and reports
- Day-to-day usage guidance
Schedule refresher trainings as needed. Well-trained staff are critical for realizing the software's full value.
Data Migration
Migrating from old systems requires meticulous planning. Analyze existing data and formats. Set realistic timelines accounting for cleanup and import. Validate migrated data, spot checking for accuracy. Data integrity mistakes undermine your new solution's reliability.
Integrations
Sync the grant management software with complementary systems like accounting, CRM, and productivity suites. Integrations seamlessly share data, prevent duplicate data entry, and provide comprehensive visibility. However, misconfigured integrations create headaches. Thoroughly test integrations before deploying them.
Early Wins
Target some early wins implementing simple use cases first, rather than tackling everything at once. Quick wins build confidence and momentum for broader adoption. Consider tracking a few upcoming grant deadlines or centralizing grant contacts.
With attentive planning, training, and migrations, your firm can harness the full power of new grant management software. Focus on cementing solid foundations before expanding functionality. Patience and care in the rollout process pays enormous dividends.
Looking Ahead: The Evolution of Grant Management Tools
Grant management tools have come a long way in recent years. As technology continues to advance rapidly, we can expect to see some exciting innovations in this space.
Leveraging AI and Machine Learning
One area where we may see significant improvements is through the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. These technologies have the potential to greatly enhance grant management software by:
- Streamlining and automating routine tasks like data entry to free up staff time
- Providing intelligent recommendations on potential grant opportunities that closely match an organization's mission and capabilities
- Analyzing past proposal and reporting data to identify patterns and insights that can strengthen future funding efforts
- Assisting with report writing by generating customized drafts using historical data and best practices
By leveraging AI and machine learning, future grant management platforms could become powerful assistants that reduce manual work and provide data-driven guidance.
Integration with Related Systems
Another evolution we can expect is deeper integration between grant management tools and other key organizational software systems:
- Tighter integration with CRM and fundraising databases to create a centralized view of donor and grantmaker information
- Automated syncing with financial management platforms to seamlessly transfer budget and expense data
- Integration with HR systems to map employee information and effort to grants for simplified reporting
Removing silos between systems will allow grant managers to easily access and connect information to eliminate duplicate data entry and manual processes.
Enhanced User Experience
As modern professionals grow accustomed to consumer apps that offer sleek interfaces and intuitive navigation, they will expect a similar user experience from business applications like grant management software.
Future platforms are likely to provide:
- Modern dashboard designs with customizable views
- Graphical data visualizations
- Simple workflows and navigation
- Robust mobile functionality
- Natural language search
By focusing on user experience, these tools can increase adoption and enable easier access to information.
While grant management will always rely heavily on human expertise, advances in technology have the potential to greatly amplify the efforts of grant professionals. As innovation continues, grant managers can look forward to software that is smarter, more connected, and more intuitive than ever before.
Key Takeaways: Empowering Accounting Firms with Advanced Software
As technological capabilities continue advancing, accounting firms must utilize innovative software solutions to maximize efficiency. After reviewing various options, a few key takeaways emerge:
Automation Streamlines Tedious Tasks
Automating manual processes through intelligent software frees up valuable time and resources. Features like automated data entry, reporting, and notifications enable firms to allocate staff toward high-impact initiatives. This empowers them to provide more strategic guidance for clients.
Data Centralization Simplifies Workflows
Consolidating information into centralized systems minimizes duplicated efforts. With contextual data readily available in one secure location, team members can collaborate seamlessly while ensuring continuity through staffing changes. Centralized platforms also facilitate superior analytics.
Specialized Tools Target Specific Needs
While some software attempts an expansive “one-size-fits-all” approach, niche solutions specifically built for accounting often perform better for those needs. Specialized tools allow for greater customization, more precise functionality, and easier integration with existing accounting systems.
The right grant management software solution empowers accounting firms to enhance productivity, efficiency, and service quality for clients. As technologies continue advancing, firms must actively seek ways to streamline operations through automation, centralization, and specialized solutions in order to maximize their capabilities and expertise.
