Technology
Making a Difference in the Community
May. 15, 2015
Helping the community is something that drives Janet Saunders, and has led to her involvement with various community groups. Now, as the CFO of the Community Action Program Committee in Pensacola, Florida, she oversees the finances and organizational management of a group that runs a variety of programs for children, families, elderly residents and those who may need assistance in transitioning between residences or jobs.
The nonprofit is most well-known for running the Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the area, with a main office and 16 satellite classrooms on area school district properties. The programs are focused on promoting school readiness and enhancing social and cognitive development of children through health, educational, nutritional, social and other services.
CAPC’s other community programs include a young entrepreneurs academy, you work certification programs, healthy living programs for seniors and disabled residents, weatherization, self-sufficiency classes, and even summer arts and enrichment classes.
With such numerous programs and a $17 million annual budget funded by a variety of state, federal and pass-through grants, managing the finances for the organization is a full-time job that requires a powerful nonprofit accounting system. Saunders, who has been involved with the organization since 1990, said they were non-computerized until 1995, when they decided to try more effective management techniques. She attended a local technology conference and discovered GMS Software and saw how much more effective they could be with the system. They bought the software in 1996 and have been using it since then.
“We really didn’t need to convert any data, since we were running everything on paper,” she said. “We just needed to get it all set up, and the representative from GMS helped us do that, setting up all of our accounts and programs and projects.”
The GMS system is specifically designed for nonprofits, with a core General Ledger packages that includes cash receipts, GL, budgeting, monthly processing, cost allocation and month-end reporting. The system also has available AP and Payroll functions, which CAPC relies on, since it has about 190 full time staff. The system also helps manage the nonprofit’s assets, which include multiple vehicles, computers and other equipment.
For year-end closing and reporting, Saunders said she really appreciates the peace of mind that she gets from using an optional service from GMS where an experienced professional visits in-person to close out the books, roll things over to the next year and print out all reports and functional statements for their auditors. The organization uses the regional accounting firm of Saltmarsh Cleaveland & Gund to do its audit work, and Saunders said the firm likes that the year-end close book is prepared in such a way.
“The best thing about GMS is that I can get any report anytime I want, and then I can easily customize it to include exactly the data I want,” Saunders said. “It also has a full report writer, so that I can create new reports based on our needs and the information our board or other stakeholders need.”
In the 20 years that the Community Action Program Committee of Pensacola has been using GMS for their accounting and nonprofit management needs, Saunders says that the program has always stayed up-to-date with technology and changing reporting needs, while being user friendly and easy to train new staff on. GMS staff include specialists in grant and contract accounting, which Saunders said also makes her feel comfortable with the advice and tips they offer her group.