CPA_Practice_Advisor_April_2020 - 9

NONPROFIT ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS: REVIEW
Abila MIP Cloud

STRENGTHS:
* Offers 25 different modules
* Product implementation
handled by Abila
* Excellent budgeting capability
* Forecasting feature
* Ideas Portal
POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS:
* No grant management module
* Segment length cannot be
changed once implemented

www.abila.com

MIP Cloud from Abila/Community
Brands, offers convenient online
access with true fund accounting
capability. Like MIP Fund Accounting, MIP Cloud is best suited for
small to mid-sized nonprofit organizations and government entities,
offering 25 different modules to
choose from, with core modules

AccuFund Accounting Suite
STRENGTHS:
* Modular structure
* Cloud or on-premise
deployment offered
* Includes a complete Payroll
Suite
* A utomation Workbench
feature
POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS:
*N
ot suitable for smaller
organizations
* P roduct support must be
purchased separately

AccuFund Accounting Suite is a
modular accounting suite well
suited for mid-sized nonprofit
organizations and government
agencies. Available as an on-premise
application as well as on the cloud,
AccuFund Accounting Suite allows
nonprofits to purchase the modules they need and add others if
necessary.
AccuFund Accounting Suite

including G/L, A/P, A/R Reporting, Bank Reconciliation,
Budget, Data Import/Export, and Forms Designer.
MIP Cloud's latest addition offers numerous
upgrades and enhancements including extensive
improvements to the user interface, the addition of
drill-down configurable user dashboards, and various
reporting enhancements.
Pricing for MIP Cloud varies, with pricing dependent
on the number of modules purchased along with the

www.accufund.com
includes a customizable G/L structure that supports up
to 255 alpha-numeric characters, with up to 99 segments
or elements available. Users can determine the structure
they wish to use during the application setup process or
opt to use the default chart of accounts that is included
in the application.
Available as an on-premise application, or on the
cloud, users can purchase the modules they need, and
add others at a later time. Product purchasing and implementation is typically handled by authorized resellers,
including product installation, data conversion, and

2020 OVERALL RATING
Read the full review for
this product online at:

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21132064

number of system users. Pricing details are available
from Abila upon request. All product implementation
is typically handled by Abila personnel or authorized
resellers, with implementation charges separate from
product pricing.

2020 OVERALL RATING
Read the full review for
this product online at:

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21132065

employee training. Pricing for AccuFund depends on the
modules purchased, the number of system users, and
the deployment method chosen, with complete pricing
available directly from AccuFund or area resellers.

How AccuFund Helped a Local Government Keep Serving Citizens

he ongoing pandemic has greatly affected
not only individuals and businesses, but also
governments at all levels. For many Americans,

their local city government is a bedrock, and their
continued interactions and relationship with it can
help maintain at least a small sense of normalcy or
security even in unsettling times.

Following their state's direction, the city of Picayune,
Mississippi declared a local emergency on March 16, 2020,
instructing non-essential businesses and workers to work
from home when possible. Picayune is a distant suburb of
New Orleans. Although the city's administrative staff are
considered essential government workers, city clerk Amber
Hinton determined that most could work from home. Her
office oversees operations of several departments, including
financial, payroll, payables, utility billing and IT.
The city has been using the government accounting
and management suite from AccuFund (www.AccuFund.
com) for more than ten years, but in 2019 switched to
the completely cloud-based version of the system. The
program includes modules for managing utility billing,
property taxes, fees and licenses, permits, inspections,

court fines, and grants, along with traditional accounting
features such as AR with inventory, purchase orders, work
orders, human resources, payroll, fixed assets and travel
management. Hinton said the employee self-service functions for HR, payroll and other requests has made those
responsibilities much easier.
Hinton who has been with the city's staff for 14 years and
has been city clerk for ten, moved to the cloud platform to
enable greater mobility and access to financial management
and reporting by the city's staff, including by employees
who occasionally needed to work from home. She also
noted that there was significant IT cost-savings in not
having to maintain a server at the city's office.
When the Covid-19 crisis happened, Hinton was able
to quickly have most of her staff retrieve their laptops and
VOIP headsets from the office, take them home, and resume
work, with almost no disruption to customer service. AccuFund also allows them to easily accept online payments
from city residents for utilities, including sanitation, water
and natural gas service. The city also maintains a drive-up
window for residents who wish to continue paying utility
bills in person.
"Moving to the cloud version of AccuFund made a huge

difference in how quickly we were able to transition to a
remote work model, and in our ability to continue offering city services to our residents even during the state of
emergency," Hinton said. "From an employee perspective,
using the system at home is no different than using it in
the office. They simply log in and have access to the same
areas of the program they are authorized to use."
The city clerk reports to the city manager, mayor and
council, and Hinton says she is able to easily create, customize and digitally deliver the reports they need to oversee the
city's finances. The system also automates many processes.
When the city first implemented AccuFund, they had
the assistance of a local reseller, Mountaineer Computer
Systems, Inc., who ensured all data was converted. Since
the switch to the cloud system last year, Hinton said they
no longer need to worry about updates or other IT issues,
since that is all handled automatically by AccuFund.
"AccuFund has helped us continue to serve our citizens
while we all get through this difficult time, and has helped
our city staff remain a cohesive team," Hinton said. "Using
the online AccuFund government accounting system made
us better prepared to handle this situation."

Read the 2020 review of AccuFund Accounting Suite at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21132065

http://www.abila.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21132064 http://www.accufund.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21132065 http://www.AccuFund.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21132065

CPA_Practice_Advisor_April_2020

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