A good accounting package will be capable of meeting all of your reporting requirements and adhering to current accounting standards without forcing too much re-creation of data. This is where some of the potential for long-term savings lies. Knowing your current hardware limitations is essential in evaluating any software purchase, especially accounting software. It is imperative that you know that your hardware has the adequate memory, hard drive space and processing speed to accommodate the software before purchasing it. Without checking this information first, you could end up with a far worse situation than the cumbersome accounting system you were intending to improve.
Nonprofit accounting can be extremely complex and dynamic.
There are frequently new grants and projects which may have different reporting requirements and there are always new accounting pronouncements, making flexibility vital. Many packages offer reporting that can be virtually tailor-made to your needs. Others offer versions of their product in which the actual programming code can be accessed and altered to suit the organizations needs. Of course we all have limits on what we can spend, but more important is the value we get for what we do spend. Beware of the hidden costs that can be associated with a new software purchase.