Question 1

Is a fiscal sponsorship administrative share a fee?

Accepted Answer

Agreements and sector guides still call it an administrative fee. Under Model A the sponsor and the project are one legal entity, so the percentage is an internal allocation of funds the sponsor already holds. It is not a bill the project pays the sponsor.

Question 2

How should a sponsor record the administrative allocation?

Accepted Answer

Record the gift once, as contribution revenue of the sponsor. Then allocate the agreed percentage from the project fund to the sponsor's operating activity. Do not record that same amount again as new revenue on the consolidated statement of activities.

Question 3

When is the administrative share an actual charge?

Accepted Answer

Model F can be a real service bill. The project already has its own 501(c)(3), receives gifts in its own name, and pays the sponsor for back-office help. Card-processing charges from a payment company are third-party fees as well.

Question 4

How should a church organize its funds?

Accepted Answer

Start with major ministry areas as operational funds: General, Missions, Youth, and Building. Add Accounting Funds only when you need finer reporting detail, like a specific mission trip or building phase.

Question 5

Are campuses the same as Accounting Funds?

Accepted Answer

No. A campus with its own staff, budget, and giving needs is usually a separate organization or fund. An Accounting Fund is a reporting partition, not a full operational entity.

Question 6

Do ministry Accounting Funds need their own giving pages?

Accepted Answer

No. Giving pages stay on the operational fund. Donors give to the Missions Fund or the Youth Fund. The Accounting Fund just partitions where that activity appears in reports.

Question 7

What plan do churches need for Accounting Funds in AlignMint?

Accepted Answer

Plus provides fund accounting with ministry-level funds. Pro adds Sub-Funds (Accounting Funds) for reporting breakdowns within each ministry. Enterprise adds multi-org management for multi-campus churches.

Question 8

What is multi-fund accounting for nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Multi-fund accounting means maintaining separate ledgers and balances for each fund your nonprofit manages—operating, restricted grants, capital campaigns, designated gifts—while still producing consolidated financial statements. It gives you a real-time answer to "how much can we spend from this fund?" without spreadsheets or manual reconciliation.

Question 9

How do I record a sponsor fee in multi-fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

Record the sponsor fee as an expense in the sponsored project's fund and as revenue in the sponsoring organization's operating fund. AlignMint helps you calculate and post sponsor fees based on the fee structure you set, so both fund balances stay accurate without manual spreadsheet reconciliation.

Question 10

Can QuickBooks do multi-fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

QuickBooks uses classes and locations to approximate fund tracking, but classes are tags on transactions—not separate ledgers with their own balances. A missed tag silently moves money between funds in your reports. Purpose-built fund accounting software maintains true fund balances that cannot be scrambled by a tagging error.

Question 11

What is the difference between a fund and a purpose?

Accepted Answer

A fund is a self-balancing set of accounts with its own assets, liabilities, and net assets. A purpose or designation is a label your board applies to money within an existing fund. Board-designated money for a rainy day is still part of your unrestricted fund—it is not a separate fund with its own ledger.

Question 12

What does Mazlo do for fiscal sponsors?

Accepted Answer

Mazlo provides banking infrastructure for fiscal sponsors managing multiple projects. It offers project-level bank accounts, debit cards, sub-accounts, and payment workflows. Mazlo is a banking layer — it does not replace your general ledger, CRM, or volunteer tools.

Question 13

How is AlignMint different from Mazlo?

Accepted Answer

AlignMint is a purpose-built nonprofit management platform with fund accounting, donor CRM, volunteer management, events, and fiscal sponsor support in one ledger. Mazlo focuses on banking and lets you keep QuickBooks or Sage for accounting. AlignMint replaces those separate tools.

Question 14

Can I use Mazlo and AlignMint together?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Mazlo handles banking while AlignMint handles fund accounting, donor records, and operations. If you already use Mazlo for project banking, you can add AlignMint as your accounting and management layer. On Plus and above, bank feeds through Plaid cover thousands of U.S. banks. If a bank is not listed, add the account manually.

Question 15

Does Mazlo include fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

No. Mazlo focuses on banking — accounts, cards, and payments. You still need a separate general ledger like QuickBooks or Sage for fund accounting. AlignMint includes fund accounting with a pre-built chart of accounts mapped to Form 990.

Question 16

What is a balance sheet by fund?

Accepted Answer

A balance sheet by fund shows the assets, liabilities, and net assets of a single fund within your organization. It tells you what that fund owns, what it owes, and what is available—independent of every other fund. Your auditor uses it to verify that restricted fund balances match donor intent.

Question 17

Why is a Profit & Loss by class not the same thing?

Accepted Answer

A P&L by class in QuickBooks shows revenue and expenses filtered by a tag. It does not show assets, liabilities, or net asset balances for that class. It also cannot distinguish between temporarily restricted, permanently restricted, and unrestricted net assets. A balance sheet by fund is a complete financial position report—not a filtered income statement.

Question 18

Which AlignMint plan includes balance sheet by fund?

Accepted Answer

Pro ($599/month) includes financial statements by individual fund, including balance sheet by fund and income statement by fund. Plus provides consolidated statements across all funds but does not break them out by individual fund.

Question 19

What do boards need to see in fund-level reports?

Accepted Answer

Boards need to see income and expenses by fund, fund balance trends, whether restricted dollars were spent correctly, and which programs are building or drawing down reserves.

Question 20

Can I get a full balance sheet by Accounting Fund?

Accepted Answer

Not yet in most platforms. Accounting Funds partition income and expense activity for reporting. The full balance sheet typically stays at the fund and parent level.

Question 21

What is Direct or Unassigned activity?

Accepted Answer

Direct or Unassigned activity is income or expense that was not attributed to a specific Accounting Fund. It appears on the fund's reports but not under any Accounting Fund partition.

Question 22

How often should boards see fund-level reports?

Accepted Answer

Monthly or quarterly, depending on your size. Boards that only see fund reports at year-end cannot catch spending problems or restriction violations in time to correct them.

Question 23

What is an interfund transfer in nonprofit accounting?

Accepted Answer

An interfund transfer moves money between two funds within the same organization. The entry debits one fund and credits another, so the organization's total assets stay the same while fund balances change. Common examples include board-approved transfers from the general fund to a capital campaign fund, or temporary loans to cover a cash shortfall in a restricted fund.

Question 24

How is an interfund transfer different from a sponsor fee?

Accepted Answer

A sponsor fee is revenue to the sponsoring organization and an expense to the sponsored project. It changes the net activity of both funds. An interfund transfer is a balance-sheet movement—it shifts net assets between funds without creating revenue or expense. Recording a sponsor fee as a transfer understates sponsor revenue and overstates the project's net assets.

Question 25

What documentation should an interfund transfer include?

Accepted Answer

At minimum: the date, amount, source fund, destination fund, board authorization reference, and the reason for the transfer. If the transfer involves a restricted fund, include documentation that the transfer does not violate donor restrictions.

Question 26

What is the difference between fund management and fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

Fund management is the operational side—tracking balances, assigning roles, moving money between funds, and reporting to stakeholders. Fund accounting is the ledger side—recording debits, credits, and producing financial statements that meet nonprofit standards. Most nonprofits need both, and the strongest platforms combine them in one system.

Question 27

What should nonprofit fund management software include?

Accepted Answer

At minimum: per-fund balance tracking, restriction enforcement, role-based access by fund, consolidated reporting across all funds, fee or allocation tools, and integrations with your bank and giving pages. Avoid platforms that require a separate spreadsheet to see your fund balances.

Question 28

Can QuickBooks manage multiple nonprofit funds?

Accepted Answer

QuickBooks uses classes and tags to approximate fund tracking, but classes are optional labels—not separate ledgers with enforced balances. A missed tag silently moves money between funds in your reports. Purpose-built fund management software maintains true fund balances that cannot be scrambled by a tagging error.

Question 29

Does AlignMint combine fund management and fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. AlignMint tracks fund balances, restrictions, roles, and consolidated reporting on the operational side while maintaining the double-entry ledger, nonprofit financial statements, and Form 990 reporting on the accounting side—all in one platform.

Question 30

What is the difference between an Accounting Fund and a restricted fund?

Accepted Answer

An Accounting Fund is a reporting partition that breaks down income and expenses under a parent or fund. A restricted fund tracks donor-imposed limits on net assets. They are separate dimensions and work together.

Question 31

Can an Accounting Fund hold restricted money?

Accepted Answer

Yes. An Accounting Fund can include both restricted and unrestricted activity. The restriction class tracks donor intent, while the Accounting Fund tracks where the activity shows up in reports.

Question 32

Do I need both Accounting Funds and restriction tracking?

Accepted Answer

It depends on your size. Small organizations may only need restriction tracking. Larger ones that want reporting detail by program, trip, or campaign benefit from adding Accounting Funds alongside restriction classes.

Question 33

Does AlignMint separate Accounting Funds from restriction tracking?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Restriction classes track whether net assets are unrestricted, temporarily restricted, or permanently restricted. Accounting Funds (Sub-Funds on Pro) partition income and expenses for reporting. Both dimensions work independently.

Question 34

What is the difference between multi-fund and multi-entity accounting?

Accepted Answer

Multi-fund accounting tracks multiple funds (restricted grants, designated gifts, campaigns) inside one organization with one EIN. Multi-entity accounting manages separate legal organizations—each with its own donors, books, and often its own EIN—under one umbrella system.

Question 35

Do multi-campus churches need multi-entity software?

Accepted Answer

Usually no. Most multi-campus churches are one legal entity with one EIN. They need campus-level reporting segments, not separate organizations. Multi-entity software is needed only when campuses are incorporated as separate legal entities.

Question 36

Can one nonprofit use both multi-fund and multi-entity?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A fiscal sponsor often needs multi-entity to separate sponsored projects and multi-fund within each project to track restricted grants and designated gifts. The two structures layer together.

Question 37

Which AlignMint plan covers multi-fund vs multi-entity?

Accepted Answer

Pro covers statements by fund and sub-funds for multi-fund organizations. Enterprise adds multi-org for fiscal sponsors and parent–chapter networks that need data isolation across separate entities.

Question 38

What does Crowded do for nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Crowded provides banking infrastructure for nonprofits and fiscal sponsors. It offers bank accounts, payment processing, and fund management designed for organizations managing money across multiple projects. Crowded is a banking layer — it does not replace your general ledger or CRM.

Question 39

How is AlignMint different from Crowded?

Accepted Answer

AlignMint is a purpose-built nonprofit management platform with fund accounting, donor CRM, volunteer management, events, and fiscal sponsor support in one ledger. Crowded focuses on banking and payment processing. AlignMint provides the accounting and operations layer that sits above banking.

Question 40

Can I use AlignMint and Crowded together?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you use Crowded for banking, AlignMint can serve as your fund accounting and nonprofit management layer. On Plus and above, bank feeds through Plaid cover thousands of U.S. banks. If a bank is not listed, add the account manually.

Question 41

Does Crowded replace my accounting software?

Accepted Answer

No. Crowded is a banking platform, not a general ledger. You still need accounting software for fund tracking, financial statements, and Form 990 reporting. AlignMint includes all of that in one platform.

Question 42

What is a nonprofit fund hierarchy?

Accepted Answer

A fund hierarchy is how you organize books from the whole organization down to operational funds and finer reporting breakdowns called Accounting Funds.

Question 43

Are Accounting Funds the same as restricted funds?

Accepted Answer

No. Restricted funds track donor limits on net assets. Accounting Funds are reporting breakdowns under a parent or fund and do not replace restriction tracking.

Question 44

Do Accounting Funds need their own giving pages?

Accepted Answer

No. Donors and giving pages stay on the operational fund. Accounting Funds partition reporting without creating another organization.

Question 45

How is this different from QuickBooks classes?

Accepted Answer

Classes tag transactions. A true fund hierarchy keeps balances and reports by fund, with Accounting Funds for finer slices when you need them.

Question 46

Does Tithe.ly include fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

Tithe.ly added basic bookkeeping features but does not offer true fund accounting with restricted fund enforcement, fund-level financial statements, or Form 990 mapping. Most churches still need separate accounting software.

Question 47

Does Aplos include online giving?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Aplos offers online giving forms as part of its platform. However, the giving experience is secondary to its accounting focus — churches with high online giving volume often find the donor-facing experience limited compared to giving-first platforms.

Question 48

Can I use both Tithe.ly and Aplos together?

Accepted Answer

Yes, some churches use Tithe.ly for giving and Aplos for accounting. This works but requires manual reconciliation or integration setup between platforms. Donations in Tithe.ly do not automatically post to Aplos.

Question 49

Is there one platform that does both well?

Accepted Answer

AlignMint combines online giving connected directly to fund accounting. Every donation auto-posts to your general ledger with proper fund allocation. No manual sync required.

Question 50

Can I export all my data from Blackbaud?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Blackbaud products support data exports through their query and export tools. Constituent records, gift history, fund structures, and financial data export as CSV or Excel files. Complex custom fields and multi-level relationships may need additional mapping.

Question 51

How long does a Blackbaud migration typically take?

Accepted Answer

Blackbaud migrations typically take three to six weeks depending on data volume, the number of products in use (RE NXT, FE NXT, Luminate, etc.), and the complexity of custom fields and relationships. A free migration review scopes the timeline before you commit.

Question 52

Will my historical giving data transfer from Raiser's Edge?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Gift records, pledges, recurring gift schedules, and tribute/memorial designations transfer to AlignMint. Each gift retains its fund designation, date, amount, and payment method context.

Question 53

Which is best for nonprofit fund accounting — Aplos, Sage Intacct, or Blackbaud?

Accepted Answer

Aplos is the simplest and most affordable for small nonprofits. Sage Intacct and Blackbaud Financial Edge are enterprise accounting tools built for larger finance teams with bigger budgets. The right pick depends on your size, complexity, and whether you also need donor management.

Question 54

How does pricing compare across the three?

Accepted Answer

Aplos starts near $59 per month. Sage Intacct and Blackbaud use custom quotes that typically run several thousand dollars per year plus implementation fees. Always confirm current pricing with each vendor.

Question 55

Do any of them include donor management?

Accepted Answer

Aplos includes basic donor tracking; Sage Intacct is accounting only; Blackbaud sells fundraising separately as Raiser's Edge NXT. AlignMint combines fund accounting and donor management in one platform.

Question 56

Can I export my fund accounting data from Aplos?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Aplos exports your chart of accounts, transactions, contacts, and giving records as CSV files. Fund tags and designations carry over so AlignMint can map restricted and unrestricted funds directly.

Question 57

Will my fund balances transfer correctly from Aplos?

Accepted Answer

Fund balances transfer when your chart of accounts and fund tags are mapped before import. The free migration review confirms balances match between systems before you go live.

Question 58

How long does an Aplos migration take?

Accepted Answer

Most Aplos migrations complete in one to two weeks. Organizations with complex multi-fund structures or large transaction histories may need an additional week for validation.

Question 59

Does Aplos include a donor CRM?

Accepted Answer

Aplos offers basic donor tracking tied to its accounting module, but it lacks full CRM features like engagement scoring, communication history, and donor segmentation. Most teams pair Aplos with a separate CRM.

Question 60

Does Bloomerang include fund accounting?

Accepted Answer

No. Bloomerang is a donor CRM focused on retention and engagement. It does not include fund accounting, financial statements, or Form 990 support. You need a separate accounting tool.

Question 61

Can a small nonprofit use one platform for both?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Platforms like AlignMint combine fund accounting and donor CRM in one system so small teams avoid managing multiple subscriptions and manual data syncing.

Question 62

How does pricing compare for small nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Aplos starts near $59/month; Bloomerang starts around $99/month. Combined, you pay $158+/month for both capabilities. AlignMint's Free plan covers both for organizations under $100K in annual donations.

Question 63

Can I export my chart of accounts from QuickBooks?

Accepted Answer

Yes. QuickBooks exports your chart of accounts, customer list, vendor list, and transaction history as CSV or IIF files. AlignMint imports these and maps classes to proper fund designations so restricted funds are enforced automatically.

Question 64

What happens to my QuickBooks classes during migration?

Accepted Answer

QuickBooks classes typically map to fund designations in nonprofit accounting. During migration review, each class is matched to a fund so historical transactions carry the correct fund context forward.

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