Know why MIP Fund Accounting is such a popular nonprofit accounting software, its best features, and what alternatives and add-ons are available.
MIP Fund Accounting has been a leader in nonprofit accounting solutions for more than thirty years. As one of the nation's more frequently purchased cloud-based SaaS fund accounting toolkits, MIP Fund Accounting has helped countless government and healthcare organizations, schools, and nonprofits track funds and manage finances easily through a user-friendly, streamlined software system.
Because MIP Fund Accounting was developed specifically for nonprofit organizations rather than for general accounting, the software is both relevant and intuitive to these industries. The question is, is MIP Fund Accounting the most affordable solution? Will it meet your nonprofit’s needs?
In this post, we’ll explore MIP Fund Accounting software, where it shines and falters, and a few alternatives if you’re in the market for nonprofit accounting software. MIP Fund Accounting software was explicitly designed for nonprofits and includes functionality for budgeting, fund accounting, procurement, human resources, payroll, timekeeping, grant management, and fixed asset management. But is it right for you? Keep reading to find out.
The History of MIP Fund Accounting
MIP Fund Accounting traces its roots to Austin, Texas, where, in 1982, two visionaries, Bill Locklear and Hans "Rusty" Turley, set out to develop a flexible and easy-to-use fund accounting system for nonprofits and founded Micro Information Products.
More than forty years later, MIP Fund Accounting is the leading accounting software solution for countless nonprofits in the housing, community development, arts & humanities, health & human services, government, and education sectors.
The company's initial offering was a DOS product named Micro Information Products (MIP), which MIP. combined basic accounting programs with financial statements production and the capability to track accounts payable and receivable. As early adopters of the Table-Driven Chart of Accounts paradigm, an innovative development in accounting software at the time, Locklear and Turley developed reporting models that provided cross-fiscal year date controls, crucial for grants requiring reporting schedules that don't synchronize with the organization's fiscal year. These were massive developments in fulfilling nonprofit accounting needs.
The Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an international women's teacher's organization, became the company's first client, and the rest, as they say, is history. Over time, MIP Fund Accounting software evolved from MS-DOS to Windows software to the cloud-based SaaS product that exists today.
MIP Fund Accounting was developed to ease the burden associated with the volume of accounting work related to managing a nonprofit's finances while simultaneously helping users produce better results. Compared to traditional accounting software solutions geared towards for-profit businesses, MIP Fund Accounting offers nonprofits a complete overhaul of how they manage their finances.
MIP Fund Accounting Pricing
According to TrustRadius, MIP Fund Accounting pricing starts at $249 per month. However, public pricing is not available on the MIP Fund Accounting website. Instead, you can request a product demo by filling out a form on the company's website or by calling or emailing MIP Fund Accounting directly.
MIP Fund Accounting Top Features
Accounts Payable
With MIP Fund Accounting, your nonprofit's accounts payable process will be easier than you ever imagined it could be. Now easier to use and more flexible than ever before, the MIP Fund Accounting’s Accounts Payable module allows users to set up and track unlimited accounts. Transactions are simultaneously updated in your general ledger and your vendor accounts, allowing you to track vendor payments more efficiently.
Accounts Receivable
Since not every nonprofit needs billing capability software, MIP Fund Accounting offers two separate Accounts Receivable modules. There is one module for reporting, which provides all functionality for tracking accounts receivable without the added cost of billing functions, and one for billing, which automates billing functions for recurring transactions. Users can choose the module that is right for their nonprofit.
Advanced Security
MIP Fund Accounting keeps your organization's critical data secure while allowing key team members unrestricted access to your chosen system areas. You can easily control permission and access by department, program, general ledger code, and other variables for maximum security without compromising productivity.
MIP Fund Accounting Limitations
Limited or Confusing Reporting Options
MIP Fund Accounting offers little flexibility when creating and designing your organization's financial reports. Furthermore, users report that prior-year entry postings are not intuitive and can result in glitches when running trial balance reports. Also, with so many report options available, users are often confused when processing data reports through the system.
Log-in Glitches
Users of MIP Fund Accounting software have indicated problems where a user shows up in the system as logged in, even though the user has logged out and is no longer active. As a result, administrators must manually delete the log-in status.
MIP Fund Accounting Alternatives
MIP Fund Accounting may be one of the oldest nonprofit accounting and software solutions, but it is certainly not the only one available to organizations. With that in mind, below are a few alternatives to MIP Fund Accounting you may want to consider.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is a cloud fund accounting solution that is an alternative to MIP Fund Accounting. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT was specifically designed to meet the unique compliance needs of nonprofits and similar organizations. From financial planning and analysis to capital & expense management and grant accounting, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is a leading choice for nonprofit financial management.
Fund EZ
Fund EZ is a MIP Fund Accounting alternative designed for nonprofits and organizations with limited funds and time devoted to purchasing and using nonprofit accounting software. Fund EZ offers all the tools a nonprofit organization needs in a single, convenient software solution at a reasonable price. With its user-friendly interface and standardized screens, Fund EZ takes the complexity and stress out of nonprofit accounting.
NonProfit+
NonProfit+ is enterprise resource planning software that bills itself as the market's most scalable software solution with a pricing structure designed to help nonprofits achieve their financial accounting goals, regardless of the size of their organization. From funds, grants, and program management to department and inventory management, where applicable, NonProfit+ is a software solution that gives nonprofits better control, reporting, budgeting, and automation capabilities.
An Ideal Partner / Add-On If You Are Going to Handle Grant Payments
If you currently use MIP Fund Accounting or any of the alternative nonprofit accounting solutions listed above, and your organization distributes grant payments as part of its work, your existing software tools are probably not fully addressing the needs or budget of your organization.
Enter SendGrant, a software solution specifically designed for nonprofit organizations distributing grant payments.
Backed and built by the developers behind SmarterSelect scholarship and grant management software, SendGrant is the electronic grant payment software that your organization has been looking for.
Whether your organization distributes grants or scholarships, paying out your recipients is likely one of the most significant milestones in your workflow and often a major cause of workflow bottlenecks. With SendGrant, you can distribute with ease from one centralized payment system that is dedicated to awarding grants and scholarships
With SendGrant, you can:
- Manage all of your payments from one centralized system.
- Track, view, and distribute funding.
- Control your cash flow.
- Control user access.
- Simplify tax and financial reporting.
- Save time and money.
- Track grant and scholarship payments.
- Make secure transfers, and more.
When it comes to scholarship and grant management and distribution, SendGrant is the solution your organization needs.
Want to know more? Get started today by joining the SendGrant Pre-Launch!
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