Nonprofits rely on financial systems to manage grants, programs, donor restrictions, reporting, and everyday decisions. But with so many different systems available, how do you know which one is the right fit for your organization?
In this practical session, we’ll compare QuickBooks with other financial management systems marketed to nonprofits. We’ll look at what different options do well, where they tend to fall short, and how they handle common nonprofit needs such as restricted funds, grant tracking, program reporting, budgeting, and connections with other organizational databases.
We’ll also talk about the questions organizations should ask when considering a new system. What information do you need to collect? Who will use the system? What reports need to come out of it? And what can your organization realistically maintain? You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of the available options and a practical framework for evaluating which system may work best for your organization.
About the Presenter
Leslie Edwards, MAcc, is the founder of Systems & Cents, LLC, where she helps nonprofits strengthen the financial systems, processes, and reporting they rely on to manage resources and make decisions. Having worked at nearly every level of a nonprofit organization—from hands-on finance roles to executive and board leadership—and having served as an auditor and consultant, she has seen financial systems from nearly every angle. That experience shapes how she evaluates them: not simply by what the software promises, but by how well it supports the organization’s accounting, operations, reporting, and people.
Leslie holds a Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting from Rutgers Business School, where she completed an interdisciplinary course of study spanning accounting, information systems, and nonprofit and public-sector financial management.
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