Re: [treasurers] [Wikimedia-l] Accounting software for thematic orgs

Hi Pine, I started off doing the accounts at WMUK several years ago and looked at a fair few different systems, including open source. Initially we used Gnucash, I believe, but because no-one else used it - including our auditors - it was not very useful when we needed to create year end accounts. I also considered CiviCRM after viewing a talk from the Swedish chapter in 2012. However, the talk was not encouraging - CiviCRM needs a *lot *of work to be useable as an accounting system. I would not therefore recommend Gnucash or CiviCRM or any other open source system: you will find it almost impossible to find an accountant who uses them, and also almost impossible to find a CiviCRM developer who is also an accountant! Your auditors will not know how to use the data and will not have the programs to access it, so in the end you will have to pay extra for the "free" software. In short: open source programs are good for small charity accounts, but the moment you start hiring staff (of any sort), or have fixed assets or non-cash donations, the system does not scale and as a result you will incur large overheads trying to get it to work. You might run into a problem with CiviCRM if you need to generate invoices for a conference you run in three or four years time - will your system be able to handle it, or will you need to upgrade everything at much greater cost? We also looked at Quickbooks, Sage, and a few others. In the end, we picked Sage - not because it was cheap, or because it was ethical - but because it is the UK standard and practically all UK accountants know how to use it. It has a huge support network, and it is scalable from a self-employed person up to an organisation with many thousands of employees. Sage is not used much in the USA though, so Quickbooks may be a better idea for you. My advice to you would be: - Plan for the future - ten year's time. Your solution needs to be scalable with little fuss. - Use something that has a proven track record - don't got for anything like a startup, because you need it supported in future and you can't take the risk. - Cloud-based is good, but the Treasurer really needs to understand what's happening - things should go through him where possible. - Don't be afraid to spend money if money needs to be spent. - Don't be afraid to ask the WMF directly for their advice. They know their stuff and it'd be good if your accounts were run on a similar system to theirs - cheaper in the long run, and you've got someone to turn to if it all breaks. I hope this helps! Feel free to drop me an email if you have any more specific questions. Richard Symonds Wikimedia UK 0207 065 0992 Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.* On 20 August 2014 10:57, Manuel Schneider &lt;manuel.schneider(a)wikimedia.ch&gt; wrote: _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/GuidelinesWikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>