Software for Nonprofits Provides Essential Service

Among all of the options available for asset management software for nonprofits, those related to asset tracking are among the most essential right now. There’s no question that nonprofit organizations are acquiring more fixed assets with each passing year, and those items have to be tracked accurately. Limited budgets and financial reporting requirements add additional pressure to nonprofits. Asset tracking software for nonprofits can simplify this daunting task and help these organizations keep track of what they have and where it’s located.

Losses can add up

“Fixed asset management can dramatically impact an organization’s month-to-month activities and save both time and money – two invaluable resources for any nonprofit,” said Elisabet Hardy in an article for Nonprofit World (“Fixed Asset Management: The Key to Stretching Your Funds,” January/February 2005).

You may assume that a lost asset here or there doesn’t have much of an impact on the bottom line. However, if the oversight happens once, it can happen again and often does. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of all of this is that without reliable software for nonprofits, lost or stolen fixed assets can turn into ghost assets – in other words, fixed assets that aren’t in the nonprofit’s inventory anymore, but haven’t been reported as such. The nonprofit then continues to pay insurance on an item they don’t have. When every dollar counts, waste like this is a costly mistake.

Manual tracking procedures – which most often consist of an Excel spreadsheet or pen and paper – aren’t terribly helpful when it comes to avoiding duplicate fixed asset purchases. It’s all too easy to overlook manual recordkeeping and resort to guesswork when you’re making decisions about your fixed asset needs. Asset duplication represents yet another drain on your valuable funds.

Pandemic adds to management challenges

With the ongoing global pandemic, nonprofits have sent employees home to work and they’ve taken their respective organizations’ fixed assets with them – namely IT equipment, which represents some of the largest investments any nonprofit will make. It may be more important than ever for nonprofits to have a handle on their assets and inventory, and that requires the ability to conduct routine audits. That’s another benefit offered by fixed asset management software for nonprofits. Using only the smartphones they already carry, nonprofit staff can conduct fixed asset audits, determine what they have and where it’s located, assess the condition of those items, and make informed decisions about their asset needs.

Asset transparency

Among the transparency requirements faced by any nonprofit is the task of reporting fixed asset depreciation. This is yet another function that may be aided considerably by software for nonprofits.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board proposed in early February an accounting standards update intended to enhance the transparency of how nonprofits report gifts-in-kind, which can include fixed assets like buildings and equipment, the use of fixed assets, materials or utilities. The FASB asked for comments on the proposal by April 10, 2020; feedback on the proposed amendments is currently being considered, and an effective date, if applicable, will be determined following that review.

Asset Panda's software for nonprofit asset tracking

Asset Panda gives nonprofits a centralized hub for all of their fixed asset data, eliminating the inefficiencies associated with hunting down fixed assets, their associated paperwork and other records. Nonprofits can customize Asset Panda’s features to meet their unique needs, and add as many users as they’d like for better accuracy and accountability.

Our nonprofit asset tracking and management configuration helps organizations better track their assets, reduce repair costs and equipment losses, simplify their tax preparation and, ultimately, save time and money so they can focus on the business of doing good.

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