Accounting for charities and not-for-profits

Innovative approach to multi-dimensional reporting killer AccountsIQ feature for Arts charity, Artichoke Trust

Artichoke Trust is a charitable organisation which works with artists to create large-scale public art events across the UK. Artichoke’s ambitious outdoor art projects include the Lumiere light festivals and Antony Gormley’s One & Other Fourth Plinth commission. As a charity managing multiple projects at once, each with varying budgets and funding sources, Artichoke Trust has unique accounting requirements when it comes to project accounting which need to be SORP compliant. In particular, it requires a granular level of detail to ensure accurate recording of core project costs as well as the ability to record project costs against phases.

Neil Goulder, Director of Finance & Operations at Artichoke Trust, had been using Sage Financials as his accounting tool but admits it had a “number of serious shortcomings”. When he learned of Sage’s plan to withdraw the product, it was an opportunity to look around for alternatives which might better fit his particular requirements in Project Accounting and provide the structure he needs for SORP compliance. Neil says,

I started to look for a good Cloud-based replacement that is strong on dimensional reporting and analysis codes. Among a dozen candidates was AccountsIQ. I took a peek at a demo system and really liked it. Great, scalable product, with an innovative approach to multi-dimensional coding.

‘Conditional’ dimensions for accurate posting

Strong dimensional analysis is key for Neil. AccountsIQ allows for up to six customisable dimensions linked to a unique BI code, plus an infinite number of codes that can be assigned to each dimension. Reporting is possible across all dimensions and codes. AccountsIQ’s key strength is that only valid permutations of Analysis Codes can be used when data is input, which significantly reduces the risk of human error when it comes to tracking costs. Neil explains,

Dimensions are really important to us. We looked at Sage 50, but that only had two dimensions. We needed at least four, covering cost centres; projects; project phases; and individual light installations. There are some very expensive systems which can do it but there aren’t many affordable systems which offer this level of flexibility. That was an absolute ‘must’ from our point of view. AccountsIQ is the only product I’ve seen that allows you to create these ‘conditional’ dimensions.

Greater efficiency through automation and streamlined workflow

AccountsIQ features an automated bank reconciliation functionality that has helped Neil speed up the period end reconciliation process.

I really like the way the Bank Rec module works. The system with Sage Financials was so overcomplicated we never used it and worked in spreadsheets instead. AccountsIQ is very straightforward. I like the way it recognises past transactions and fills in as much of the information as it can, which really speeds up the process.

Neil is able to upload paperwork against transactions which makes it much easier to provide information to auditors and also facilitate a mostly paperless environment. Ultimately, AccountsIQ enables Neil to keep all of his data in one place, largely automated, without the need for other spreadsheets or manual processes.

With smart use of the dimensions coding structure, I can get every piece of information needed into AccountsIQ so that I don’t have to maintain control accounts manually in Excel. It saves us a huge amount of time.

Ease of access to data for SORP reporting

AccountsIQ’s Excel Add-in offers further efficiencies for Neil, allowing him to use a real-time data link from AccountsIQ to create tables in Excel which are fed into the SORP compliant statutory accounts prepared in Word. This means updates are refreshed instantly as changes are made to Statutory accounts.

AccountsIQ is brilliant at accommodating the structure needed for the SORP. We pull the information into our format live from AccountsIQ through Excel. It’s an incredibly quick and efficient process.

Lightning-fast implementation

Having initially set an ambitious release target of two weeks, Neil was able to implement AccountsIQ at Artichoke Trust in a record-breaking two days. This was in large part due to Neil’s own tenacity in getting to grips with the BI codes and how they could best be mapped to his needs. AccountsIQ’s development team gave Neil access to a test system so he could model the BI codes before going live. He had also exported and cleaned the static data from his old accounting system such as customer information, bank account details, and the nominal ledger structure. This level of preparation allowed Neil to go live with AccountsIQ so quickly. He says,

I hoped we might break all records and implement it in a fortnight as our new accounting year started on the First of April. I signed a contract Wednesday morning and we went live at 4:30 the next day.

Summing up his experience

The elements that have really made a difference are AccountsIQ’s innovative implementation of analysis codes, the attaching of invoices, and the bank reconciliation module. These are things I didn’t have before, and they work beautifully. These features have made the biggest difference to the way I work, giving me the information I need. Of all of these, BI codes are the absolute killer feature that puts AccountsIQ head and shoulders above the competition.

AccountsIQ provides Humentum with a simple solution to complex accounting needs

Humentum, a leading global nonprofit working with humanitarian and development organisations worldwide, has multiple income and funding streams.

“But what I love about AccountsIQ is the simplicity,” says Jocelyn Boughton, Humentum’s Global Director, Finance & Administration. “It’s no more complicated than it needs to be.”

Humentum was formed from a merger of three partners in 2017. They all shared a mission to inspire and achieve operational excellence for organisations focused on positive societal impact. As such, Humentum now delivers training, consultancy, membership, and advocacy for NGOs worldwide.

The three organisations (in the US and UK) were using different versions of QuickBooks when they merged.

“Our main pain-points revolved around reporting and consolidating across GBP and USD,” explains Jocelyn. “We also identified inefficiencies in our manual processes. For example, we had to follow about nine steps when downloading batched invoice transactions from Salesforce to QuickBooks.”

Month-end results are much quicker with AccountsIQ

Looking to solve these issues, Humentum instigated an RFP process between four alternative finance systems: Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics and AccountsIQ.

“AccountsIQ ticked all our boxes,” says Jocelyn. “The others ruled themselves out. Sage Intacct was US-based, with no VAT capabilities. With NetSuite, the implementation would be long and complex. Microsoft Dynamics came in at a high price point.”

“AccountsIQ does everything we need and it’s an ideal fit for us as the next step up from QuickBooks. With QuickBooks, month-end could almost take the whole month! Now, we do it within five working days. Getting the results out quickly makes a big difference.”

Integrations were an important part of the decision

Humentum needed a finance system that would integrate seamlessly with their other software.

They’ve integrated AccountsIQ with Salesforce, Arlo, Stripe and iCompleat. With Arlo, clients can register for Humentum’s training courses and pay by credit card or request an invoice to pay by bank transfer. The AccountsIQ/Stripe integration means clients can also choose to pay invoices by credit card (a common practice in the US).

The integration between AccountsIQ and iCompleat works well for purchase invoicing. Suppliers send PDF invoices and iCompleat reads and codes the details automatically. All that Humentum’s finance team needs to do is check it and send for approval. The approved invoices are then automatically posted into AccountsIQ.

“It’s much better than manually sending invoices around the company. In fact, the ability to do all these integrations is one of the things I love about AccountsIQ.”

Multi-dimensional reporting gives clear insights

With AccountsIQ’s multi-dimensional reporting structure, Humentum can report on their four main income streams quickly and easily. They can also drill down into the detail. As Jocelyn explains:

“In just two-minutes, I can get reports showing me what’s happening across our different service areas and locations.”

“We now have a clear understanding of exactly what consultancy, training, support, and membership services we’re providing to which organisations and countries. This wasn’t possible with QuickBooks; it would have involved lots of manual work, manipulating transactions and bringing it all together in Excel.”

The system was quick to set up and is intuitive to use

AccountsIQ’s onboarding team ensured the system was ready for Humentum’s new financial year. “In fact,” says Jocelyn, “it took less than eight weeks to implement AccountsIQ and for our finance team of four users to be up and running on the new system.” Humentum’s Client Engagement Managers are lighter users, but they use AccountsIQ to run GL transaction reports to track their expenses and the time spent on their projects.

“AccountsIQ is intuitive to use. That’s important because mistakes are much less likely to happen when all users can post things quickly and easily.”

Learn more

Find out more about how you can save time and streamline your finance processes with AccountsIQ’s charity accounting software. Learn more about how our software partners can help deliver additional efficiencies with our Integrated Accounting Software.

AccountsIQ provides a flexible and easy to use accounting infrastructure that easily adapts to the needs of this rapidly growing business

When EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, part of the CHQ group, first opened in May 2016, its founder Neville Isdell had a vision to create a “local museum that could connect with people globally”. Since then, the museum’s innovative use of digital displays and interactive galleries has fostered year on year increases in visitors from both Ireland and overseas. In 2019, EPIC was voted Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards, further cementing the museum’s growth potential.

EPIC required a flexible accounting system that could easily evolve and adapt to the needs of a growing museum and EPIC’s Head of Finance, Aoife Smith, relies on AccountsIQ’s financial management software to provide this foundation for growth.

Efficiency through adaptability and integration

EPIC is part of the CHQ group, who use AccountsIQ for consolidation. EPIC has three legal entities using AccountsIQ: the asset company, the museum, and the retail store. The company’s main sources of revenue are from ticketing and sales in the gift store, where EPIC uses Access Gamma’s visitor management software for ticketing and retail purchases. AccountsIQ integrates with Access Gamma, which effectively shortcuts much of the manual data entry work, that would otherwise be required, by creating automated reports via the integration.

Aoife also makes use of AccountsIQ’s Purchase Order processing module for further efficiencies.  She says,

Prior to AccountsIQ, purchase orders were cumbersome involving emails and handwritten requests. With the PO module we’ve been able to automate all of this, removing overheads, and even tailoring invoices for specific customers. It’s user-friendly and we’re very happy with it.”

Innovation as priority

Innovation has been key to EPIC’s success since its opening. As a 100% digital museum, it must demonstrate technological savviness through both its public displays as well as through its own back-end infrastructure. With AccountsIQ, EPIC can leverage Cloud-based technologies to streamline its processes through automation, anywhere access, and integration with existing systems. All of this combines to increase efficiency so that resources can be spent on facilitating growth. Aoife says,

AccountsIQ has really helped us maximise efficiencies by being so user-friendly and versatile, with some really useful tools. I especially like that we can adapt much of the system ourselves, which is work that previously required the input of an accounts support team to complete. My favourite tool is the GL Explorer, which allows us to review both live and retrospective P&L and balance sheets instantly, as well as drill down to a transactional level. Also, the automated bank reconciliation is very efficient.”

Building for growth

One of the key benefits of AccountsIQ's charity accounting software is the ability to scale easily as EPIC grows. Aoife Smith anticipates that consolidation will soon be on the agenda:

Having had such great results from AccountsIQ’s core features, we are now looking forward to utilising the consolidation module which will help us go further in laying the foundation for our growing museum, and will enable us to provide quarterly consolidated accounts to the Board across the two main entities. We also have three other entities currently using a different accounts package, which we plan to migrate to AccountsIQ before the end of the year.”

Aoife sums up AccountsIQ’s role in laying the foundation for the future:

To grow the museum we need an infrastructure that is flexible and easy to use. We are still growing and will hopefully continue to grow over the next few years. We are confident that AccountsIQ can fulfil our needs as our company grows. It is working really well for us and we don’t anticipate any issues in the future.”