Aplos Reviews

“Valuable bank integration”

Pros

Handling the finances for our small condo association takes only a couple of hours each month which is a big win for a volunteer treasurer role. The bank integration is especially valuable and pulling reports for condo meetings and tax time is quick and simple.

Cons

It isn't fully built around condo association accounting, though we've been able to adapt it to fit what we need. The way it uses funds doesn't perfectly match how we track our finances since we actually manage three separate bank accounts. Because of that, there's an extra step during our monthly reconciliations but it hasn't been a major problem.

“Feature-packed software”

Pros

The features, layout and flexibility in the setup felt almost perfect for what we needed and how we prefer to work.

Cons

Getting everything set up does take some work since the software needs to be properly customized to do exactly what you want it to do.

“limited integrations”

Pros

They recently rolled out an update that made the software more user-friendly and the reporting features are definitely better than before.

Cons

It still doesn't connect with many important accounting programs so it ends up requiring a lot of manual data entry.

“Responsive support and clean layout”

Pros

Running accounting in the cloud with multiple user accounts makes it simple to keep our finances current. The layout is clean, simple and very user-friendly so getting around the system doesn't take much effort. Customer support has been incredibly responsive whenever help is needed. The bank integration is also very convenient for pulling in transactions and the contact management features are useful. Reporting is fast and it's nice being able to customize the data in those reports. The connection to online giving is another really valuable feature.

Cons

we can't link families inside the contact management system. Also, while the dashboard includes some really nice graphs and charts, there aren't many customization options for them and exporting those visuals isn't very convenient.

“saves us money”

Pros

Its quite simple to manage and saves us money since we no longer need our accountant to come on site every week. The articles, tutorials and support staff have all been excellent.

Cons

The Pledges feature is missing strong reporting options so we probably will not use that part of it.

“Wonderful updates”

Pros

There have been plenty of useful improvements, enhancements and new options added to the software.

Cons

New additions seem to come out too quickly, without enough attention being given to refining or updating the existing functions and reports first.

“clear tithing printouts”

Pros

The yearly tithing printouts are really well done and the breakdown is clear enough for members to easily understand where their money was allocated.

Cons

We weren't able to handle the banking side of the program properly because the contribution and banking totals were being doubled when entered.

“Limited design control”

Pros

Having donor management, accounting, newsletters and online giving forms all in one place is a big plus. When someone donates through the online forms, it automatically flows into the accounting side and saves the donor's information in contacts which cuts down a lot of manual work. The standout part of Aplos is the customer service and support. That has easily been the strongest part for me. They respond quickly, their answers are consistently useful and many times they've logged in and helped resolve the issue directly. It honestly feels like having a nonprofit accountant on staff to guide you. As someone starting a brand-new nonprofit without much experience, that level of help was a total game changer. It's the reason I recommend them so often to other nonprofit leaders.

Cons

The newsletter templates and online giving forms feel very rigid and cookie-cutter so there's not much room to customize them. They do get the job done but the finished result can look pretty amateur and that can reflect badly on your nonprofit's image and branding which matters more than people realize. If Aplos improved its design and formatting options more along the lines of Constant Contact, it would be much stronger. Another limitation is with fundraising for events. If someone wants to buy tickets plus add-ons like T-shirts for multiple people, there really needs to be some kind of cart feature or better multi-item purchase option in the giving forms. On top of that, I hear frequent complaints from donors about transaction errors that make donating difficult. This has come up many times and when people get notified much later that their transaction didn't go through, they often don't come back to try again which means lost donations. I've raised this issue with them several times but it still hasn't been resolved. My understanding is that it may be related to their payment provider using a micro-transaction process that some banks reject.

“Reasonably priced”

Pros

It saved me days of collecting and completing paperwork I really didn't need to deal with. The pricing felt very reasonable, the platform was simple to use and the email verification process happened incredibly fast.

Cons

Honestly my only complaint is not discovering it sooner.

“excellent platform for fundraising and accounting”

Pros

This has been an excellent fundraising and accounting platform for nonprofit organizations and churches.

Cons

It is a bit pricey and someone still needs to stay on top of managing it. At times, generating donor statements can also be problematic.

“Church-focused tool”

Pros

Designed specifically for churches which makes a big difference. It uses familiar church terminology and helps keep everything organized in a way that makes sense.

Cons

It still doesn't offer as much functionality as QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online has stronger budgeting tools and overall you can do more with it.

“Donation tracking and accounting in one system”

Pros

Having donation tracking and accounting in one place saves me from juggling two separate systems. It's also designed specifically for nonprofits which makes it feel much more aligned with what our organization actually needs.

Cons

There's no desktop version available. Since all accounting work has to be done through the web portal, I always need an internet connection and every transaction takes a moment to load which slows things down. On top of that, they charge extra for access to certain features that feel pretty basic and are already included in software like QuickBooks.

“It is the best out of all.”

Pros

The software is user-friendly. Its price is reasonable. I have been using it for quite a while and have never faced any security or data breaching issues, knowing that it is all online and on cloud. It generates flexible reports. I can easily access records, information and generate reports at any time. Its customer service is really great and always there to help. I recommend this software to everyone. The product is amazing, and its customer service is very helpful.

Cons

They don’t mention anything about the donor statements in their tutorials, so it takes a lot of time to figure it out on your own. But, once you’re able to figure it out, then it’s all easy. The donor statement can only be posted from the contributions screen and no other screen.

“cloud-based system”

Pros

Because Aplos Accounting is cloud-based, I can get into our books from any computer, whether I'm in the office or working somewhere else.

Cons

It does cost a bit more. Still even though it's pricier than options like QuickBooks and other accounting programs, the cloud access easily justifies the extra expense.

“Accessible from anywhere”

Pros

Running a smaller nonprofit, the discounts this software offers have been a big plus. The platform is simple to navigate, includes solid customization options and being cloud-based means I can access it from anywhere.

Cons

At times, the reporting features feel a bit more limited than what some competing software provides. Aside from that, I really haven't run into any major problems.

“affordable software”

Pros

For day-to-day church needs, this software has been incredibly affordable and practical. The customer support team is very helpful whenever needed and the interface is simple to manage.

Cons

I really haven't run into any problems with donor management using this software. It has been an excellent purchase for organizations.

“Organizes donor information”

Pros

Keeping donor information organized in Aplos is very simple. It lets us monitor giving records week by week and also create year-end giving statements without any trouble.

Cons

I do wish the giving statements offered more customization options. They already look nice but having the ability to tailor them more would be even better for our needs.

“Quick support”

Pros

Its quite user friendly and the customer service has been incredible. Their team responds quickly whenever we reach out and genuinely pays attention to the suggestions we share.

Cons

A few features still feel a bit buggy and could use updates to make navigation more user-friendly.

“Great software”

Pros

This software is very user-friendly, anyone can easily use it without any trainings. It is a great software, they also offer free web tools with which obtaining funds becomes easier. Any non-profit organization or church should use it as it easy to use.

Cons

The new update of the bank integration module was neither that great nor user-friendly at all, kind of messed up a lot of things, especially the ease of using it. When they added the donor management module, there was an extra fee added for it which was equivalent to the monthly fee.

“Fantastic church funding tool”

Pros

Working on funding tasks for my church gave me a chance to use this software and I really enjoyed it. It's very user-friendly and comes with plenty of features and widgets that made everything much more manageable for us.

Cons

Outside of the core program, there aren't many options for customizing templates and other elements you might want to adjust. Even with that limitation, it still feels like a worthwhile purchase.