The 5 Best QuickBooks-Compatible Time Tracking Software – A Nonprofit Guide

Danielle Fernandez, Technical Editor, Bard na nGleann

Though you can track expenses, pay bills, create invoices and manage your store’s basic information — like bank accounts, employees and vendors — QuickBooks lacks time-tracking capabilities. A number of third-party apps are QuickBooks-compatible and export data seamlessly.

 

 

Why Nonprofit Organizations Need to Track Time

Most non-profit organizations rely on people to deliver services. People provide medical care, counseling, and serve food in social service organizations. People create, perform, and educate in arts and cultural organizations. In other groups, people care for animals, advocate for the environment, or seek to improve communities.

Time tracking can help us understand how people in a non-profit organization spend their time.

• Is a leader’s time consumed with meetings?
• Does a direct service worker spend sufficient time with each client?
• How much do we rely on the generosity of dedicated volunteers?

A time tracking system can help provide answers. More importantly, a time tracking application that works well with an accounting system can serve as a key decision-making tool.

Eileen O’Loughlin, Senior Project Management Analyst, Capterra

“How long will this task take? What’s the level of effort for this activity?” If you aren’t using time tracking software, it’s hard to accurately answer those questions. And estimating incorrectly can cost you valuable time and money. Luckily, you don’t have to break the bank to find a solution.

 

 

Roxine Kee, Freelance B2B Content Writer, Creator Maker, Inc

If you want to do your most valuable and important work you need to eliminate as many unimportant tasks as possible. To get an accurate representation of whether you’re spending your time on things that matter, you need a time tracking app.

 

 

Within an Organization

The importance of nonprofit time tracking is evident through all levels of an organization:

• Staff members rely on time tracking to allocate costs accurately for the organization’s programs and services.
• Board members review accounting and time tracking reports to evaluate ongoing operations.
• Accurate data allows staff and board leaders to make strategic decisions, such as which programs and services to expand, as well as which activities to reduce or stop.

Outside the Organization

External to the organization, donors seek to ensure that contributions are both efficiently and effectively used. Detailed and accurate accounting and time reporting reassures funders that your organization will be a responsible steward of contributed funds.

Reporting and Compliance

In the U.S., most non-profit organizations provide financial statements that comply with generally accepted accounting principles (i.e., GAAP). Typically, these include reporting on functional expenses, in addition to standard statements of financial position (i.e., balance sheet), activities (i.e., profit and loss statement), and cash flows.

 

QuickBooks Integration

Since the vast majority of non-profit organizations use QuickBooks, it makes sense to select a QuickBooks-compatible time tracking system. The following five programs are our top recommendations. We’ve outlined the best aspects of each system, and examined pricing, features, and the quality of customer support.

We’ve also considered how well each system will help you deliver financial statements and provide a statement of functional expenses (in technical terms, comply with Financial Accounting Standards Board guidance, known as FASB 117).

Sayana Izmailova, Content Marketing Specialist, Wild Apricot by Personify

A great nonprofit accounting software is above all else highly customizable. It offers features that allow the organization to meet the unique needs of its constituents and donors, such as pledge tracking tools, flexible fund designation, and simple receipting processes. As more and more nonprofits take donations directly from their website, an accounting software that can reliably integrate and consolidate with online tools is an absolute must.

 

 

Randa Kriss, Staff Writer, Fundera

Since your nonprofit will be working within a unique and possibly stringent financial structure, you’ll want to ensure that the accounting software you choose can accommodate your specific processes.

 

 

Andrew Friedenthal, Content Analyst, Software Advice

Like small and midsize businesses (SMBs), nonprofits need to track their finances and important contact information. They might both turn to CRM and accounting software in these cases. However, to fulfill the specific needs of nonprofits, more specialized software (e.g., donor management/fundraising, grant management, volunteer management) is also available.

 

 

Chelsea Krause, Managing Editor, Merchant Maverick

Not only does QuickBooks Online cover standard accounting features, but it also offers invoicing, contact management, tax support, lending, and more.

 

 

The Best Time Tracking Software for Your NPO

ClickTime Nonprofit

Cost: $8 per user per month for all qualified nonprofits.

Perfect For: Nonprofit teams of all sizes; organizations that require grant and funding source reporting; organizations looking for Program insights.

ClickTime Nonprofit prides itself on making the entire time-tracking process as easy and painless as possible. Timesheets can be updated on the go through a mobile app, and the entire experience can be customized to meet your needs. In addition to the 50% discount for nonprofits, the non-profit package includes a number of specialized features designed specifically for how NPOs operate. The ability to enter custom employee types (salaried vs. volunteer); restrict grants, programs, and funding sources by division or employee; and generate over 70 different report types used by nonprofits are just a few of the fantastic features they offer.

If you want to attribute funding sources to specific employees or report on those sources by employee hours or role, ClickTime has your back. You can highlight every employee’s functional expenses with the built-in reporting tool, along with program costing and forecasting, overtime reports, employee availability, and more. Employee time and functional expenses tracking is also a breeze.

ClickTime has ready-to-go QuickBooks integration, syncing your employee time, time off, and expense data with QuickBooks Desktop time tracking and QuickBooks Online. The power of integration means all time entries can be seamlessly synced with QuickBooks, and reimbursable expenses are filed into the appropriate expense accounts.

Through other integration options, ClickTime also allows organizations to sync their data with hundreds of accounting, CRM, and payroll applications. Here’s the full list of timesheet and expense integrations.

ClickTime also prides itself on offering world-class support, which has garnered 4.6 stars on Getapp.com, where 89% of reviews were favorable.

Keith Perry, Director of Finance, Agrinos

ClickTime is very easy, very robust. The data was accessible and is mobile-friendly.

 

 

WeWorked

Cost: $19.99 per month for up to 10 users; $39.99 for up to 25; no special discounts for NPOs.

Perfect For: Keeping your organization’s operations under budget; very small teams.

WeWorked is a great time tracking software for the value, with time sheets, budgeting and project management. Create individual tasks, assign team members, and organize them by project, so that each team member has a clear vision of their role and responsibility. WeWorked also includes an Instant Search feature which means you can figure out what any employee is working on, and give them feedback quickly. You can allow your staff to make leave requests through the app, which simultaneously tracks leave balances.

With WeWorked all of your time tracking is DCAA compliant, and you can easily generate a variety of reports.

It’s also great at tracking expenses to prepare for grant applications. These expenses can be viewed by project, person, or category, so functional expense reporting won’t be an issue.

In addition you can make customized reports by setting filters to only show the results you want, and then export these reports as either an Excel spreadsheet or a PDF. If you pay for an upgraded account, you can also get unlimited invoices.

If your accountant is using QuickBooks or Xero, WeWorked will integrate smoothly as invoices can be exported from the timesheets to your accounting software. WeWorked offers customer support during regular business hours (Eastern Standard Time).

Harvest

Cost: $12 per person per month; 15% off for nonprofits

Perfect For: Smaller organizations. Companies that don’t require strong reporting options.

Harvest comes with many features to make your operations more transparent. Timesheets in Harvest are visual representations of how your organization is operating so you can have a clear and intuitive sense of where you’re succeeding, where things need some work, and where there are opportunities to move forward. The time tracking function is flexible and allows multiple methods of input. And of course, you can track time from any device.

Also included are all the other features you expect from a time-tracking app: pulling billable time and expenses automatically into invoices, generating reports for general expenses, and more.

The full list of features makes Harvest a well-rounded application for project management, budgeting, and timesheets, making it ideal for smaller organizations.

When it comes to available integrations, Harvest has many: G Suite and Google Calendar, Stripe, Slack, and Salesforce. And as you would expect, they also offer apps for their iPhone and Android and desktop users.

For support, Harvest has email and Twitter to get in touch. Getapp.com rates their support at 4.3 stars—91% of reviews are positive.

HubStaff

Cost: Plans at $7, $10, and $20 per user per month; NPOs are eligible for up to 30% off.

Perfect For: Organizations with remote workers or staff who frequently travel; volunteer organizations

HubStaff is another great time tracking software with a number of features geared towards nonprofits. Hubstaff’s main feature is its automated time tracking based on GPS location — great for determining exactly how much time is spent working out of the office.

Tracking volunteer time is simple, and you can easily differentiate between volunteer workers and salaried employees.

HubStaff also allows you to automate payroll — pulling data from your timesheets to send payments to employees. Project budgeting, employee scheduling, generating invoices, and GPS tracking are also included. Time and cost limits for specific projects can easily be set with Hubstaff’s budgeting feature.

HubStaff features integrations with accounting software like QuickBooks, Insightly, and more. They have a customer support site and have 4.5 stars on Getapp.com, where 95% of reviews were positive.

TSheets

Cost: $5 per active user per month, plus an additional monthly fee ($24 for 2-99 users, $112 for 100 users or more); nonprofits who are eligible can save up to 20%.

Perfect For: Companies that need to upgrade from a physical punch-in punch-out system; medium-sized companies tracking labor.

TSheets offers a number of features designed to allow employees to clock in and clock out as efficiently as possible. The app provides DCAA-compliant time logs while allowing you to view working hours (both regular and overtime) by day, week, or month. The granularity of its time entry allows employees to switch from task to task efficiently, critical for allocating hours to projects.

Other features include GPS location-tracking and a Who’s Working function to provide a real-time view into your staff and volunteer’s activities (perfect when you need to suddenly reallocate labor), a nice mobile app, and a simple interface.

In addition to integrations with QuickBooks Online and Desktop, TSheets also works with other various accounting systems and recruiting software.

TSheet’s customer support has a 4.9-star rating on Getapp.com, where 96% of reviews were positive.

Wrap Up: Choosing the Solution That’s Right for You

Ultimately it’s up to your organization to determine its needs and which time tracker will best meet those needs, while remaining within budget and integrating with the software you already use.

Think about what will empower your nonprofit organization to make every dollar count and do the most amount of good in the world:

• be it pricing,
• special features,
• accurate financial reporting,
• FASB-compliant functional expense reporting,
• great customer service, or
• software integrations that meet your needs.

Armed with this knowledge your nonprofit is now empowered to pick the program that goes above and beyond your needs.

Andy Wolber (@awolber) serves as a technology consultant to nonprofit organizations and is a contributing writer for TechRepublic. Previously, he has served as an executive director for NPower Michigan and, earlier in his career, the Dallas Historical Society. He’s taught a course on Nonprofit and Government Technology for Grand Valley State University and holds an MBA and MA from Southern Methodist University.

Additional Resources

• Online Fundraising: The Beginner’s Guide for Nonprofits. This guide, courtesy of MobileCause, is broken down into eight chapters that dive into different aspects of online fundraising, making it indispensable for anyone who wants to look at these methods and tools under a microscope.

• Online Fundraising: The Ultimate Guide. Double the Donation’s guide is also a fantastic resource whether you’re looking to start online fundraising or you want to improve your existing strategy.

• The Best 16 Fundraising Software. Looking for software solutions to take your online fundraising to the next level (or even just make it easier)? Double the Donation has you covered with this list.

• Office 365 and G Suite: Understanding the Cloud Productivity Tools Available to Nonprofits. This article from TechSoup takes the guesswork out of cloud-based software that makes sharing resources in your nonprofit easier than previous generations could ever have imagined.

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