But generally, Stam outlines some obvious reasons for the interest in online applications in the NFP area. "I think it's just general acceptance," he says. "More people are getting smart phones and wanting to get more access to data." Stam also refers to younger users moving up in organizations who "want it online and more comfortable in getting it online."

Intacct, never shy about its claims, has been adopting the native Internet product for nonprofits, according to Daniel Druker, VP of marketing for the San Jose, Calif.-based company. Druker notes that the nonprofit world is one of the biggest verticals addressed by members of the American Institute of CPAs, which has allied itself with Intacct. "Cloud computing is particularly compelling to this vertical," says Druker. "They don't want to be experts in technology." Druker also notes that nonprofits often have directors, workers and volunteers in many locations, a natural fit for web-based products.

Despite Stam's trying to picture Intacct's application as good for "a lot of simple nonprofits that are donation-funded," Druker says his company's line is "very good at fund and grant accounting, workflow and processes."  Intacct has been enhancing its product to fit the needs of more non profits. He notes the company is seeing a great deal of interest from faith-based organization and in membership organizations in general.

Meanwhile, Sage North America, whose software is largely desktop-based, is also moving towards the cloud. While Sage has offered hosted products, this summer it will launch the Sage Online suite that incorporates Sage Fund Accounting and its fundraising applications.

"The first version will be the accounting product," says Krista Endsley, SVP and general manager for the company Nonprofit Solutions organization. The system will also include Sage 50 fund accounting which is designed for organizations of up to about $5 million in revenue. A second version, which is suited for companies of up to $50 million, includes the Millennium fundraising product. The delineation of the latter is not really that sharp as features can be turned on and off as needed. Endsley says the suite "will be priced, package and bundled in a simple format," although company is not ready to make proposed pricing public.

Endsley also cites the impact of mobile users on the nonprofit world. "In Millennium, we have invested heavily in mobile," she says and continues that there are "a lot of fundraisers on the road." With a summer release, the products get iPad and Android support which will enable those on the road to access donor information. Contacts can be entered and updated via the cloud.

There is a relatively new entrée in this market, Aplos Software, which started with a desktop package when the company was launched in 2009. But it has since gone online with a web-based suite launched in May. The system targets churches, along with general nonprofits. Aplos means "simple" in Greek, and Alex Acree, who is on the administrative staff of the company. notes that co-founder Tim Goetz is a CPA who wanted to create a "true fund accounting application", but one that was not weighed down by features.

"There are not all these bells and whistles that you never need. It's meant to be very simple," says Acree. The simplicity is designed to provide "simple steps to get up to speed" for organizations in which volunteers do most of the work.

The company offers single-user pricing of $11.99 per month  for its Base Accounting software. This includes System Management; Account Maintenance for setting up a chart of accounts; Check Register, a transaction entry screen; Journal Entry for more advanced users; and a Report screen. The functions are accessed via individual buttons. Pricing goes up in steps, starting with $19.99 per month for two to five users.

Functions can be added a la carte. Contributions Management is $4.99 per month. A People database is priced a $1.99 per month with Bank Reconciliation available at the same price. The company also provides bundled pricing for its modules.

The biggest player in the nonprofit space, Blackbaud, is also pitching online functionality for its accounting software package, The Financial Edge. "We are extending the Financial Edge to the cloud," says product manager Jeffrey Sobers.

What the Charleston, S.C.-based publisher is also doing is rolling everything into one monthly fee. Besides the application itself, maintenance, hosting and implementation are rolled into the subscription price, which begins at $299 per month for a single user. Pricing goes up in increments of $75 per month per user, stopping at seven users. Blackbaud also offers its Essentials package starting at $550 per month for two users. Concurrent users cost $125 more each per month. Payroll, which can be added to both packages, starts at $100 per month for a single-user system with purchasers able to add users at $10 per month.

Sobers says Blackbaud also includes an unlimited number of view-only licenses and web users for purchasing, procuring and web invoicing. This could be useful, "If you have a department head that is responsible for entering departmental invoices," says Sobers. "The web invoicing helps with employee expenses."

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind