FUND-EZ v. 10 Offers Array of Enhancements

From the Jan. 2009 Review
of Not-for-Profit Accounting Programs

[Ed. Note: This product brief appeared along with the review section.]

Now in its 17th year, the scalable FUND
E-Z accounting system is designed for mid-sized and larger nonprofit entities,
providing functions geared to their unique needs. The system features departmentalized
account-ing capabilities, tracks funding sources, includes donor management
tools, and has customizable reporting options that enable nonprofits to accurately
and responsibly manage their finances. Core components of the system include
GL, AR, AP, Client Billing, Purchase Orders, Fund Raising, Allocations, Utilities
and Security. Optional modules are available for HIPPA-compliant billing and
enhanced reporting capabilities.

FUND E-Z’s primary interface offers text-based pull-down selection lists
for accessing the program’s primary function areas, including GL, AP,
AR, purchase orders, billing, allocations, fund raising, month-end tasks and
utilities. Each of these options opens to display additional menu items for
specific tasks, such as accessing vendor information, invoices and reporting
related to that area. The screen also offers a user-customizable vertical menu
on the right side of the screen that gives quick access to areas a user needs
most often, such as reconciliation, disbursements, cost centers, donors, invoices,
pledges and trial balance, among others. In general, navigation within the system
is very intuitive, with various Help and other assistance tools providing guidance.

In version 10 (which was released a little too late to be fully reviewed in
this section), the vendor has announced a broad range of new features and system
enhancements. The most notable among these is that the new version was rewritten
“from the ground up” as a client/server system based on MS SQL Server
Express and is .NET 2.0+ compatible, all of which combine to provide improved
speed, reliability and data integrity, while also adding greater scalability.

FUND E-Z also sports new menus, described above, which give one-click and
customization options for accessing the most commonly used functions. Additionally,
the new Tabbed Activity Region centralizes open data screens for easy access
and eliminates the need to close one screen before opening another, while an
easy-close feature collapses multiple tabs with one click. Other enhancements
include improved export capabilities, the ability to memorize common transactions,
and a new Batch Entry mode that allows for complete review of transaction batches
prior to posting.

In the Pro version of FUND E-Z, improved custom reporting options include
more user-defined content, additional filtering tools, control over fonts, orientation
and headers/footers, and enhanced security options. Pricing for FUND E-Z starts
at $695 for a one-user system; $2,190 for a five-user license. The add-on DAC
reporting module is $695. The system offers excellent fundraising and fund accounting
capabilities, and the enhancements in Version 10 provide even greater functionality
and customization options.