Quick Comparison: Aplos vs QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition

Aplos vs QuickBooks Nonprofit: Quick Comparison

Core Purpose and Target User

Aplos is a platform that is specifically made for religious groups, NGOs, and churches. Its user interface, semantics and vocabulary are all built around fund accounting. It’s especially well-suited for smaller to mid-sized nonprofits that require simple accounting and donor management in one location.

Here are the facts: QuickBooks Nonprofit – Specialized Version Our product, QuickBooks Nonprofit, builds on the foundation of QuickBooks accounting software. It translates typical accounting functionality into nonprofit thinking and practices. Great for established nonprofits that are already well-versed in QuickBooks or require a more advanced financial tracking tool.

• If you’re looking for a nonprofit-focused, all-in-one platform that you can have up and running in minutes, go with Aplos.
• Opt for QuickBooks Nonprofit if you’re looking to scale or already have QuickBooks and desire more advanced features.

Fund Accounting

Fund accounting was built into Aplos. It enables you to keep at least funds or programs or campaigns separate, which is required by nonprofit reporting standards (FASB 117 etc.). Each fund is essentially operated like a little entity, with clear visibility into income and expenses.

“QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition can do fund accounting with the use of “classes” and “accounts,” but it is not true fund accounting. While QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition is effective for experienced accountants, it may require extra preparation and effort to avoid misclassifying funds.

• Aplos takes the prize for actual fund accounting, particularly for those groups that don’t have an in-house accountant.
• QuickBooks works well, but I don’t categorize funds easily, and it’s more expensive.

Donation Tracking and Donor Management

Aplos shines here. It connects accounting to donor CRM, Web donation pages, and automatic receipting. You can trace donations by donor, campaign, or type of donation, and send customized emails and thank-you notes. There are built-in recurring donations and pledges.

QuickBooks Nonprofit includes donation income but does not provide a complete donor management system. To achieve similar capabilities, you will need to integrate it with third-party CRM tools, such as DonorPerfect or Kindful.

• For nonprofits seeking both accounting and fundraising tools, Aplos is the better option.
• QuickBooks needs to bolt on third-party tools to compete in the donor management space, which is included with Aplos.

Financial Reporting

Aplos provides nonprofit-designed reports with reports like Statement of Activities (P&L), Statement of Financial Position (balance sheet), and specific to fund. Reports can be easily customized, and filters can demonstrate what is happening to the money by project, fund, or donor intent.

QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition also provides strong nonprofit reports like Budget vs. Actual by fund/class, donor contribution summaries, and statements of functional expenses. Its customization and export options are more advanced than Aplos.

• QuickBooks edges out in advanced reporting flexibility.
• Aplos offers simple, to-the-point reports that smaller organizations can more easily navigate and make sense of.

Ease of Use

Aplos operates on the cloud and is designed for individuals without accounting expertise. It’s a clean interface, without accounting jargon in its text labels— “Donations” and “Funds” are clearly marked. Onboarding is eased by setup wizards and helpful videos.

Learning Curve: QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition (Desktop) is more complex and may require a small accounting background. The cloud version (QuickBooks Online with nonprofit customizations) is simpler to use but does not include all of the nonprofit-specific features.

• Aplos is more user-friendly for nonprofit staff and volunteers.
• QuickBooks is more powerful but more complicated to learn.

Integrations and Ecosystem

Aplos partners with products such as Gusto (payroll), Stripe and PayPal for donations, but it has a slimmer app store than QuickBooks does.

There’s a vast third-party marketplace of integrations for QuickBooks. From payroll to CRM to inventory to time tracking—you can add almost any function on.

• Choose QuickBooks for a larger ecosystem of other products.
• Aplos is easy to use, but it’s also somewhat bare-bones for the sophisticated requirements that come with the complexity of your reporting.

Pricing

Aplos starts at $79/month and offers accounting, donor management, online giving tools, and email marketing. Pricing increases with features such as in-depth budgeting and multi-user access.

QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition (Desktop) is a one-off or subscription-based license, typically for $499/year and up. QuickBooks Online with nonprofit settings is extra depending on the plan and connected apps (e.g., donor CRM).

• Aplos is a better value for nonprofits that want everything in a single solution.
• The overall cost of QuickBooks will be higher due to integrations and add-ons.

And The Winner Is…?

For small to mid-sized nonprofits in need of something all-in-one with easy fund tracking and donor management, consider Aplos.

Opt for QuickBooks Nonprofit if you require sophisticated reporting, use QuickBooks already or seek robust integration options.