21 February 2020
As the Technology front is moving quickly, have you thought how individuals and companies donate to charities?
Have you thought that what worked well for your charity a few years ago could be streamlined and progressed? Has your charity grown to a point where you are struggling to keep up with internal processes?
Streamlining your finance function
If you are a small to medium sized charity, you may still be recording your accounting information on a spreadsheet, or using a traditional accounting package. Although this is a good way to record your information, would it help to streamline your internal processes so you can concentrate on more important tasks? You are probably thinking – why do I need to go to the extra expense, and what benefit would we really get? I am sure that you value your time, and the extra expense could well be worth it if managing the charity’s finances is easier and quicker. Having automatic bank feeds and links with a variety of different ‘Apps’ means that bank reconciliations can take a matter of minutes to complete and you can even make Gift Aid claims online without going through huge amounts of paperwork.
The benefits of cloud-based technology
If this potential time saving is not attractive, then having a cloud-based system can make it easier to collect donations and manage your fundraising, as more and more people use online facilities and there are lots of options out there which can make it easier for you to receive online donations, sell tickets or goods, and keep in contact with your stakeholders.
Many small charities are not taking advantage of the advances in technology and are still using fairly traditional methods. A good example of this is paying suppliers or volunteers’ expenses - lots of charities still do this by cheque, which can take time, as firstly someone needs to write the cheque, get it signed (often by two people and if they are Trustees you need to track them down), then update the accounting system for the payment, then send it to the supplier or volunteer, then reconcile with the bank, and cheques can take a while to clear, even assuming that they have been banked quickly by the recipient. If you contrast this with setting up an online payment through your cloud based software, the signatories can then go online (from wherever they are) and approve the payment using their phones. The accounting system will be updated with the payment already, and the bank reconciled quickly with an automated bank feed. This means the amount of time to process payments is hugely reduced, and suppliers (or volunteers) receive payments much more quickly.
Other functions could be improved too
Using technology isn’t just about finances - it can be how the charity is organised, how it shares information among the Trustees and volunteers, and how it stores information for the future. Does your charity have a CRM system? If not, it may be worth considering, and now you can even get them to link directly with your accounting software.
If you are interested in finding out how your charity could use technology to make it more efficient, please contact me, or one of our charity experts, who will be happy to help.
Alternatively, you can read more about the services we provide to charities here.
