Not Just Accounting: 7 Things Your ERP Should Help You Do

Why nonprofits need more than just a GL

When most nonprofits think about an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning system), they think accounting: tracking revenue, paying bills, reconciling the books. And yes, your ERP absolutely should do that — beautifully.

But if that’s all you’re using it for, you’re missing out on the real value.

Today’s ERPs — especially cloud-based solutions like Acumatica — are powerful platforms that bring together accounting, operations, fundraising, compliance, and decision-making into one place. For food banks, associations, shelters, and other mission-driven organizations, that means less time buried in spreadsheets... and more time focused on impact.

Here are 7 things your ERP should help you do (beyond accounting):

1. Track Programs and Grants Without Spreadsheets

Your ERP should let you tag and track income and expenses by grant, fund, program, or project — right out of the box. No workarounds, no external trackers. This means cleaner reports, faster audits, and confident compliance with funder requirements.

2. Streamline Purchasing & Inventory

Still using paper POs or emailing spreadsheets around? Your ERP should centralize procurement — with approval workflows, budget alerts, and real-time inventory data to avoid overstocking or stockouts. Food banks especially benefit from automated item tracking and warehouse-level visibility.

3. Simplify Multi-Entity Management

Many nonprofits operate across multiple locations, programs, or legal entities. Your ERP should support multi-company or multi-branch accounting — with the ability to consolidate or report separately. No duplicate entries, no manual eliminations.

4. Automate Recurring Tasks

From recurring journal entries to automatic email reminders, modern ERPs can automate a huge range of tasks — saving your team time, reducing errors, and keeping things moving even during staff transitions or PTO.

5. Provide Real-Time Dashboards & Reporting

No more waiting for the month-end close to know where you stand. Your ERP should give you real-time dashboards by role — so finance can monitor burn rate, leadership can see cash flow, and program managers can track expenses by grant.

(✨ Pro tip: Add Velixo and your Excel-lovers won’t even miss their spreadsheets.)

6. Support Remote Work & Collaboration

With a true cloud ERP like Acumatica, your team can work from anywhere — securely and in real-time. No clunky VPNs. No emailing files back and forth. Just log in and go. Great for hybrid teams or orgs with regional offices.

7. Scale With You

Your ERP shouldn’t hold you back. Whether you’re adding new programs, expanding to new regions, or onboarding more users, your ERP should be able to grow with you — without expensive upgrades or painful transitions.

The Bottom Line: ERP is Not Just the GL Anymore

If your ERP is just handling accounting, it’s time to ask:

“What else could it be doing for us?”

At Carpenter Associates, we help nonprofits like yours unlock the full value of their ERP — from accounting to operations and everything in between.

Ready to rethink what your system can do?