2017 Review of Serenic Navigator

From the July 2017 Reviews of Nonprofit and Fund Accounting Systems.

Serenic Navigator from Serenic Software is a comprehensive software product best suited for mid-sized to larger nonprofit organizations, government entities and NGOs. Serenic Navigator is available in three deployment options; On-premise, Hosted via a subscription, or through Microsoft Cloud Services.    

Powered by Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016, Serenic Navigator offers a fully customizable chart of accounts, where users can utilize up to 110 alphanumeric characters. The chart of accounts can include up to 10 primary dimensions. Users can also set up an unlimited number of additional dimensions to create sub-ledger reports.

The product handles a number of transaction types including estimates, obligations, payment processing, sales and use tax, regular and recurring journal entries, automatic and electronic bill payment and track a variety of account types, funds, and classes.

Serenic BudgetVision offers comprehensive budget management capability, including the ability to create and manage multiple budgets. Budgets can cover a single fiscal year or multiple fiscal years. Users can also create budgets for a specific project or grant, if desired. Users can create original budgets or use an existing budget to create a new version. Serenic uses Subplans that create a Decentralized Budgeting Process, so program and department managers can easily create flexible budgets for their specific fund or area. Multiple versions of a single budget can be created, and the built-in “what-if” scenario allows users to view budget implications prior to posting.  

For nonprofits that need to manage multiple grant funds, Serenic Awardvision offers excellent grant management capability, including the ability to track multiple revisions of a proposal, the ability to enter the final grant total and create multiple budgets around the grant amount awarded. All subsequent grant related activity such as program implementation and expense tracking can be handled in Awardvision as well, and users can easily create separate budgets across fiscal years for multi-year grants. Serenic Navigator offers an Advanced Allocations function that allows users to handle line allocations based on percentages, fixed amounts, or any combination of those two. Users can view all allocation entries prior to posting. Both direct and indirect allocations can be managed in the application. Serenic Navigator also contains automatic fund balancing capability, so all funds remain in balance at all times.

Serenic Navigator users Role Centers, so each system user will only have access to the features and functionality found in their particular role. Each role center can be defined to suit a variety of user levels, so an accounting manager role would have access to different functions than the accounting clerk.

Serenic Navigator offers outstanding reporting capability, with a variety of financial reporting options available. The product offers extensive out-of-the-box reports including nonprofit specific reports such as Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Cash Flows, Statement of Activities, and Statement of Functional Expenses. Other reports such as FASB 117 and IRS 990 are available as well. All reports offer drill-down capability, and users can easily customize all standard reports to suit their needs. The Reporting and Business intelligence for NFPs option offers integration with Jet Reports to allow users to create enhanced business intelligence reports. Serenic Navigator also offers Ad-Hoc reporting capability, allowing users to create custom Excel reports. All reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, as an HTML file or saved as a PDF. Users can also email reports to recipients directly from the reporting interface screen.

Serenic Navigator’s Core System offers GL, AP, AR, and Cash Management capability, with   Serenic Navigator Suite offering Advanced Allocations, BudgetVision Basic, Core Financials – which includes GL, AP, AR, Fixed Assets, Multi-Currency, Multi-Language, Purchase Order, Purchase Requisitions, and Workflow with Approvals, with all modules seamlessly integrating with the core Navigator Financials. As an embedded Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution, the application offers easy integration with Microsoft Office applications such as Excel and Word, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and One Note.

Serenic Navigator offers help functionality throughout the application. In addition, users can easily access a variety of tools directly from the Serenic Navigator website, such as fact sheets, screenshots, case studies, whitepapers, and videos. SerenicSource is the customer support portal, where users can access support, manage any open support tickets, download any software enhancements or upgrades, and access a variety of marketing materials. A user forum is also available for system users, where questions, comments and suggestions can be shared. Training options vary, with both online and classroom support training available.

Serenic Navigator is designed for mid-sized to larger organizations that require extensive reporting and budgeting capabilities. Pricing for Serenic Navigator starts at around $16,000 for the installed version of the application, with subscription pricing starting at $1,200 per month for three system users.

2017 Rating: 4.75 Stars