RSMUS.comOne of the most important documents nonprofits deal with is IRS Form 990.
The IRS requires all nonprofits with more than $100k in annual contributions or over $250K in assets to file IRS Form 990, on which they report information about income, disbursements, receipts, and more.
Correctly completing one of the forms on time each year is important for a few reasons. First, there can be thousands of dollars in tax penalties. Second, the IRS Form 990 tells the nonprofit’s financial story – where and how it spends its money – to both the IRS and the public at large. A complete, timely, and accurate form 990 helps to bolster donor/grantor confidence, just as anything less hurts that confidence.
Completing one of these forms gets harder the larger a nonprofit grows, both in terms of footprint and finances. But even (or especially) small nonprofits can struggle with it since they typically have fewer people handling more accounting obligations. For these nonprofits, the numbers they submit may be incomplete or inaccurate. Alternatively, getting the numbers right might involve a mad dash around tax time. Being overworked is better than being non-compliant, but nonprofits would prefer to avoid either outcome.
Technology is the key.
Sage Intacct for Nonprofits
Sage Intacct ranks among the most popular, accessible, and comprehensive financial management platforms on the market. But what sets it apart from many other mid market accounting solutions is the ability to handle accounting requirements unique to nonprofits. Indeed, Sage Intacct has become the accounting software of choice for organizations across the nonprofit sector (charities, churches, foundations, etc) because it doesn’t just accommodate the specialized work nonprofits need to do; it excels at it.
IRS form 990 is a prime example. Sage Intacct comes out-of-the-box with a pre-built report for tracking the information that goes into IRS Form 990. The report template is just the beginning. Users can identify accounts whose information will flow directly into the Form 990 report. If account categories change, so does their place within the report. Adding new accounts to the report is as simple as designating them. Instead of manually finding, moving, and integrating the information, Sage Intacct essentially automates the entire process and builds the report itself.
It doesn’t end there, either. Sage Intacct creates the 990IX Statement of Functional Expenses and the 990 VIII Statement of Revenue in a format ready for submission to the IRS. Reports can be exported as Excel, PDF, or HTML, and the HTML version lets users drill down into the data. In that way, Form 990 becomes an ideal document for the IRS, for potential funders, and for accountants alike – all thanks to what Sage Intacct can do.
Leveraging QuickStart 990 Financial Reports
It couldn’t be easier to start creating IRS Form 990 financial reports in Sage Intacct. A simple drop-down window lists all the “QuickStart” categories available to users. Select the Form 990 category and now that account information flows directly into the assigned part of the report. Administrators even have the option to require QuickStart category selection upon account creation to ensure that nothing gets left off the report.
With Sage Intacct in charge of creating Form 990, nonprofit accountants have one less risk to worry about and one fewer obligation to complete. With more time and less stress, they can focus energy elsewhere. One way to do that would be by using the information in Form 990 (and other Sage Intacct reports) to tell a compelling financial narrative about the nonprofit that leads directly to more funding. With just one tool in particular – QuickStart Form 990 financial reports – Sage Intacct puts an ample, innovative, and exciting solution in place.
Where does your nonprofit stand with this year’s tax filings? There’s plenty of time to get it right with what Sage Intacct can do. Contact RSM to explore an implementation.
