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May 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 9 NOT-FOR-PROFIT Reviews HOW NAVIGATOR EXPRESS HELPED A NONPROFIT HELP OTHERS People who are motivated to start nonprofit organizations are usually strongly devoted to helping others, whether in their own community or far away. Whether large or small, these nonprofits face hurdles of fundraising, grant management, fund dispursals, volunteer management, scheduling and asset allocation, but one of the unexpected challenges that many small nonprofits face is finding a cost-effective solution that will help them do all of these things. Houston-based Hope for Youth faced this issue when it decided to change its accounting and management software. The leadership team for the organization, which is a faith-based ministry focused on youth mentoring programs, realized they could better manage its programs using a web-based solution that allowed them to access the system from anywhere. This was especially critical for the nonprofit's board. The Benefts of Cloud Accounting "Moving from the old installed program we were using to a web-based solution was a critical point for those of us who also have careers outside of our involvement with Hope for Youth, because we are able to devote more time to management when it fits our schedule," said Atwell Williams, the group's chairman and acting executive director. Finding a solution that was cost-effective was just as impor- tant, he noted, because they are focused on using their resources primarily for the mentoring programs, camps, retreats and other activities the nonprofit offers. This posed the greatest challenge, Williams said. "The installed accounting system we were using was no longer being updated, so it had no cost to us, but t was no longer meeting our needs. We were willing to incur a new recurring expense in order to get the convenience of a web-based system that included modern reporting requirements." Finding a New Solution After exploring several programs, he said he noticed a pretty large gap in systems available to nonprofits. There were sev- eral very low-end programs, and several for enterprise-sized organizations, but few options for small nonprofits managing under $500,000 in revenue. Then they found the new Serenic Navigator Express system, a cloud-based, streamlined version of Navigator that is specifically designed for small nonprofits, providing GL, AP, AR, cash management modules, with tools for tracking and managing funding, preparing budgets, FASB 117 reporting and other functions. At $99 per user per month, and discounted rates for limited users, Williams said the cost-benefit was very attractive. "At this price point it's a really good fit because it has everything we need right now as well as features we may need down the road." The system can be tried for 30 days at no cost. Implementation and Training Hope for Youth has been using Serenic Navigator Express since Fall 2013, the start of its current fiscal year. Williams said the program made it simple to transition data from the old program by bringing in starting balances. As an experienced IT profes- sional, he said he didn't personally need training, but it was easy to get other staff up and running with the program. He also noted that Serenic staff were exceptionally helpful during the transition and have worked quickly to add functions or features that Williams or his team needed. Life With Serenic Navigator Express As the group's chairman and acting executive director, Wil- liams works with many areas of the program, but he said he also appreciates that it has security features that allow him to limit access to certain areas of the program to only specific staff members. This is useful when managing fundraising and expenses, as well as keeping track of the programs, volunteers and nearly 300 young people their programs reach each year. And because it is cloud-based, Williams can access all functions of the program whether he's in the Hope for Youth office or during his day job is as an IT architect at a major software developer. "The reporting capabilities are an especially helpful, with FASB 117 and other reports right out of the box without the need to pull the data into Excel," he said. "When I add up the benefits of the system, web-based, FASB reporting and cost- effective, Navigator Express is a great fit for small nonprofits that need a new accounting system." S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T READ THE 2014 REVIEW OF SERENIC FIRST-HAND Serenic Navigator Express provides a user experience that includes user-guided installation, easy navigation, and a ribbon design with customizable interface. Te core package includes several basic features including GL, AP, AR , Cash Management, Fixed Assets, and Financial Reporting. Budgeting and audit trail functionality are also available, and the product can be used as a desktop program or can be accessed via the cloud. Using Microsof Dynamics NAV, Serenic Navigator Express ofers integration with Microsof Ofce products including Excel and Word, with reports, invoices, and other documents saved as Word, Excel, or PDF fles. BEST FIT Powered by Microsof Dynamics NAV, Serenic Navigator is available in three versions, Express, Essen- tials, and Enterprise, and is well- suited for the smallest to the largest nonprofit organizations. Serenic Nav igator E x press and Serenic Nav i gato r E s s e n t i a l s a re o n l y available as a cloud-based SaaS, but the Enterprise edition is available as a cloud-based, hosted, or on- premise version. STRENGTHS • Product available in 3 versions • P r ic i n g le v e l s m a k e pro duc t a c c e s s i b l e t o j u s t a b o u t a n y nonproft • Av a i lable a s Sa a s, Hosted, or On-Premise product • Solid integration with DonorVision • Fairly small learning curve POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Some training is necessary SUMMARY & PRICING Serenic Navigator Express is $99.00 per month for a full user with lim- ited users $15.00 each. Navigator Essentials is $149.00 per month w ith limited users $24.99, and Nav igator Enter pr i se star ts at $13,000 for 3 full users. With this p ro d u c t a n d p r i c i ng s t r ate g y, Serenic Navigator is truly scalable enough to suit the needs of both small and growing, mid-size and large nonproft organizations. www.serenic.com Serenic Software - Serenic Navigator Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/11428998 5 2014 OVERALL RATING www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/11428998 cpa_6-11_NFPReview.indd 9 5/7/14 3:42 PM