Why I Moved Our Business to Cloud Computing and Why It Might Be the Right Move for your Nonprofit

By Jacqueline M. Tiso, Founder and CEO of JMT Consulting Group

As does every leader in a firm, I have to keep watch on how the numbers are doing.  Specifically – how is the money coming in and what is it going out for.  Probably the strongest message any business leader has heard over the past few years is that cash is king.  This is true for every firm, whether for-profit or non-profit.

Given this fact, you can imagine having to spend approximately $20,000 a year on technology – upgrades and maintenance to our servers – is NOT my most happy moment.

The good news?  The last time I had to spend this kind of money was in late 2009.

At that time, I realized that I really didn’t like to spend $20,000 a year on hardware and software upgrades – and that money could be much better spent elsewhere.

Think about it:  What could you do for your organization with $20,000 of “found” money?

JMT’s mission is to support non-profits in their use of technology, so they can achieve their mission.  I realized that I should be applying this philosophy to my own business.  And this forced me to ask the question how was spending this money every year on upgrades and maintenance furthering our mission?

I easily realized that spending a significant portion of our operating budget each year on IT infrastructure didn’t support JMT’s mission.  And that was the moment our move to the cloud was born.  This decision was arrived at after thorough reviews of our entire technology foot print, including not only direct costs such as the annual $20,000 equipment spend, but also electrical, maintenance, security, and of course, the human resources costs.

Our move to the cloud is not 100% complete, but it’s almost done and it has had an amazing impact on our organization in terms of not only dollars, but in the ability to streamline our processes, accessibility, team collaboration, and increased efficiency.

Every non-profit can benefit just as JMT has.  If you need help in understanding this changing paradigm and how you organization might benefit, please do call us and I will be happy to share what we’ve done.

Technology Working in Favor of Nonprofits

Have you ever postponed investing in a new accounting system for your nonprofit because of the cost to buy or add new servers?

Or maybe your organization doesn’t have a large (any) IT department to support replacing or upgrading to a better accounting solution and so you’ve made due with the system that you have (inadequate as it may be).

You’re not alone.  But here’s some good news:  new options are available to nonprofits that take advantage of hosting and Cloud Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS).

In addition to traditional, powerful, on-premise fund accounting like Sage MIP Fund Accounting, JMT Consulting Group has added two more options for nonprofits.

Hosted Solutions – Sage MIP Fund Accounting is housed on servers on your behalf.  You access the applications via your desktop but there is no “backroom” in your office housing a stack of servers that would need to be purchased, maintained, upgraded, etc.  Because your solution is hosted, it’s pretty much ready to go – deployment is far less complication.  Likewise, you do not have to worry about the manpower and associated costs and hassles of upgrading the software each time there is patch, fix, of new version released.

Cloud Computing/SaaS – JMT Consulting Group added Intacct to our portfolio of solutions because we know just how beneficial and economical Cloud Computing would be for nonprofits.  Cloud computing offers all the same benefits of a hosted solution – rapid deployment, eliminating the need for IT with regards to upgrading and managing the solution, diminished costs associated with servers and new hardware, and accessible anywhere you have access to the internet.

The best part is that you don’t sacrifice any features or functionality with these solutions.

We like it when technological advances help nonprofits worry less about infrastructure, hardware and software and allow you to achieve your mission.

For more information, Tech Soup has a great article: Why Should Nonprofits Care About Cloud Computing?

Or give us a call at 888- 368-2463 or click here for more information.

Intacct Participating in “Joining Forces” – a program for military veterans

Yesterday was a proud moment and an exciting day for us as an Intacct solution provider.

Intacct is part of an exciting new program “Joining Forces,” championed by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, which seeks to improve the economic opportunity for military veterans and their families.  Cloud computing and SaaS will serve as a cornerstone of the program.

Other key partners in the program include SCORE, the AICPA, and Salesforce.com.  The idea is to provide military veterans and their families with a bundle of complimentary training, services and technology.

Please read more about the program at the Intacct blog, the White House website or by watching this video.

 

 

INNOVATE 2011 Solution Spotlight Will Feature Hosting, Cloud Computing, Web-based Applications for Nonprofit Organizations

JMT Consulting Group announced today a special Solution Spotlight track for nonprofit organizations attending JMT’s annual conference INNOVATE 2011.

One of the Solution Spotlight sessions will be “Saving Money for Nonprofits Through Hosted Solutions” and will be presented by Stanley Kania, CEO of Software Link, Inc.  In addition to the insights shared at the session, INNOVATE attendees have the opportunity to access Sage MIP Fund Accounting in a hosted environment during the conference.

“Software Link and JMT will offer INNOVATE attendees a chance to work with hosted software while at the conference,” explains JMT Consulting Group CEO and Founder Jacqueline M. Tiso.  “The software used during the Sage MIP Fund Accounting training sessions at INNOVATE will be hosted and available for attendees to access via their laptops.”

The INNOVATE Solution Spotlight track includes:

• Web-based Expense Management with RestEasy
• Saving Money for Nonprofits Through Hosted Solutions
• Maximize Funding with Sage Grant Management
• Increased Giving, Participation and Support with Sage Fundraising Online
• Build and Manage Benefits and Deduction with Sage Human Resources Module
• Strategic Insight Into Your Business Planning with Sage Active Planner

The 7^th annual INNOVATE conference will be at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut April 27-28. INNOVATE  is a two-day conference for nonprofit and public sector organizations interested in improving their working knowledge of popular software Sage MIP Fund Accounting and Sage Fundraising 50.

Nonprofits and Cloud Computing

You’re a nonprofit.  You have less budget.  You have little to no IT resources.  And, your first focus is on your mission, not managing and maintaining software.

Our CEO, Jacqueline M. Tiso will be presenting “Nonprofit Best Practices:  Moving to the Cloud” at The Volunteer Center in Stamford, CT, on Wednesday May 25, 2011.

She will cover:

• The key financial management and technology issues facing nonprofit organizations today
• Why cloud computing is a more effective, efficient and lower cost option for nonprofit organizations
• Best practices in evaluating and contracting for cloud computing

The talk is sponsored by Technology Solutions for Non Profits, a nonprofit organization serving Fairfield and Southern Litchfield counties.  For more information, please go to www.ts4np.org or contact Sandra Rankin, srankin@ts4np.org.

Expense Management Seminar – NYC March 30

We’re going into the City to host a seminar on Expense Management highlighting RestEasy Expense.  We use RestEasy Expense internally for expense report reimbursement – it’s web-based and very easy to use.

If you are on a trip, you can take a photo of your receipts with a smart phone save it to your expense report (just like attaching a word doc or spreadsheet to an email), fill out a few lines of expense description, click on the correct expense type from a drop down menu and click a button to send it off.  Having spent years doing expense reports manually – printing out online receipts, taping paper receipts to a piece of paper, filling out a spreadsheet template, looking up GL codes – believe me RestEasy Expense is simply wonderful to use.

Expense reimbursement is where a lot of organizations lose time and money.  Automating the function can save a tremendous amount of time and money for your nonprofit.

RestEasy Expense Seminar

• When:  Wednesday, March 30, 2011
• Time:  9:45 – 11:30am (a light breakfast will be served)
• Where:  Support Center for Nonprofit Management, 305 Seventh Ave., 11^th Floor Conference Room
• Cost:  Free

If you’re interested in attending, please let one of our Customer Account Reps know – either email at cam@jmtconsulting.com or call (888) 368-2463.

p.s. RestEasy is new to Twitter so give them a follow @RestEasyExpMgt and if you’re not follow JMT on twitter, please do: @jmtconsulting

RestEasy Expense – So Good We Use It Ourselves

Last year at INNOVATE, RestEasy Expense was a new product that we featured in our keynote.  There was a lot of excitement among the attendees regarding the product.  We were excited as well.  In fact, we’re using RestEasy Expense at JMT to process expense reports.

It lives up to its name, incredibly easy to use, cloud-based, and requires only an internet connection.  Receipts can be captured using a phone camera or scanned, and then uploaded and connected to the expense form – much like you would attach a file to an email.

You can set up RestEasy Expense to comply with your organization’s policies.  And, it’s fully integrated with Sage MIP Fund Accounting which will allow you to code your expenses using your segment structure and codes with the need to recreate them in a separate system.

Those who have complete expense reports will find it a much easier and faster process.  Those who approve expense reports are alerted via email that there are reports awaiting their approval.

On the reporting side, you can view reports by individual, department, fund and more.  If you are interested in learning more about RestEasy you can ask you CAM, attending an upcoming webcast on February 16, call 877-476-8806 or email info@resteasysoftware.com.

 

 

Preview: Nonprofit Best Practices: Cloud Financials

Here is a video of James Linday who will be presenting with Jacqueline M. Tiso and Dan Druker on February 15 – more here.

Enjoy the preview!

Admit it – You Hate Expense Reports

Even though there is wonderful motivation for finally sitting down, collecting those receipts, and filling out your expense reports (namely getting reimbursed), we all hate doing it.  I know I do.

RestEasy Expense is a cloud-based application that really does take the pain out of the expense reimbursement process.  And, it is integrated with Sage MIP Fund Accounting.  So, whether you’re the person submitting the report, approving the report, or processing the report – you’ll be interested in how RestEasy automates and simplifies the process.

We highlighted RestEasy Expense at our INNOVATE conferences last year and several of our clients are using it now.

On February 16 at 3:00e, we’re presenting RestEasy Expense via webcast.  You can register here.

We could all do with one less headache, and this is not only effective but also easy on the budget.  I hope you will be able to join us.

 

Nonprofit Best Practices: Cloud Financials

On February 15 at 1:00e, Jacqueline M. Tiso, JMT Consulting Group, CEO and founder will be presenting with Dan Druker (Intacct) and James Linday, CFO of The Great Books Foundation.

This is a webcast and free of charge, so please join us by registering here.

Here’s what you’ll learn at the web event:

• The key financial management and technology issues facing nonprofit organizations today
• Why cloud computing is a more effective and efficient, lower cost option for nonprofit organizations
• Best practices in evaluating and contracting for cloud computing

James Linday, CFO of The Great Books Foundation will share his first hand experience in moving to cloud financials including:

• His process for selecting and implementing a cloud-based accounting solution
• The ROI of moving to cloud financials and how it has reduced his need for IT resources
• The tangible and intangible benefits The Great Books Foundation has seen by moving to the cloud

We hope you can join us!