Aplos Reviews

“tracks fundraisers, programs, projects”

Pros

Using it feels very simple which makes it an excellent option for people who aren't accountants. The tags feature is especially useful for keeping track of fundraisers, programs, projects and similar items.

Cons

There aren't many apps that connect with it, including Hubdoc and Bill.com which I use with my bookkeeping clients. I've also run into a few problems with the bank integration.

“comprehensive system”

Pros

Running a nonprofit with Aplos feels like having everything in one place. It covers both accounting and donor management and the pricing is very affordable especially with the program they offer for new nonprofits. It also includes email marketing tools that help collect email addresses and grow your donor list. On top of that, you can build online web pages, handle Form 990 reporting and accept online payments through WePay. The platform connects directly to your checking account so balances stay updated continuously and it also integrates with PayPal. Customer service has been excellent, with regular training calls available and overall it's still easier to use than QuickBooks. It can manage up to 5,000 contacts and contribution statements can be emailed directly to donors which saves a lot of time.

Cons

I haven't run into any issues.

“Tailored for church accounting”

Pros

You can tell Aplos was built specifically around church accounting needs and that focus really comes through. The platform feels very flexible and I appreciate how much you can customize it to fit the way your organization works.

Cons

The reporting and visual presentation can be improved. The charts and descriptive graphics could be more dynamic especially when sharing budget information with staff, boards or investors.

“helpful support staff”

Pros

The set up is not complicated. The general ledger is laid out really well and it's simple to understand even without an accounting background. Their support team is also very helpful and the help site has been a big plus.

Cons

Since it's still a newer company, the platform is continuing to grow. They only recently added a smooth payroll integration and it still lacks a purchasing module and an A/P approval workflow which would be much better to handle digitally instead of on paper.

“Great for keeping track of contributors, expenses and income”

Pros

As the treasurer for our nonprofit church, this software has been a reliable way to keep track of contributors, expenses and income. It's simple to use while still doing exactly what we need it to do effectively.

Cons

I haven't used the bank reconciliation or payroll features yet but I expect they'll fit in well once I take more time to learn that part of the product.

“Perfect fit for nonprofits”

Pros

Running a small church is a lot more manageable with this software because it covers just about everything a nonprofit needs. It tracks donors, creates year-end contribution statements, handles payroll and W-2s and lets us monitor every transaction against the budget. Without something like this, we'd probably need to pay an accountant to handle much of it. I'm especially excited to get a full year of reports customized to what we need. Between the customizable reports and the built-in standard ones, it gives us the flexibility we were looking for. It even includes features we don't currently use, like check printing. Compared with QuickBooks, this is simply a much better fit for a nonprofit setup. The fund accounting is especially helpful for managing designated funds and multiple accounts. On top of that, being able to access it across different platforms is very convenient. Our treasurer can work from home, while we can still print reports at the church anytime. Department leaders and the pastor can also quickly see where their budget lines stand which makes it very useful overall.

Cons

The only real limitation we've run into is the bank connection. It's meant to sync automatically with banks but our local small-town bank isn't directly supported. That said it's still pretty simple to download the transactions as a file and import them into Aplos instead. Once the budget categories are assigned, everything reconciles nicely. Since it's web-based, though, you do have to rely on having internet access. And even though the company says security is strong, there's always that concern in the back of my mind about online systems being potentially exposed to hackers.

“solid functionality”

Pros

Everything has worked fine for me. I'm still learning the platform but the functionality has been solid. We were able to add the donation form to our website without much trouble and everything appears to be working properly. Whenever I've had questions, customer support has responded quickly and followed up well.

Cons

I'd still like to see more free-form customization since the donation form has a few limitations right now. They're not major issues but I do hope there's more flexibility in the future. The color choices for the donation form also feel somewhat restricted and some of the combinations are a little unusual, like red paired with lavender. At this point, though, the downsides feel fairly minor overall.

“clear navigation”

Pros

Quite easy to understand and the navigation is clear and simple. When questions come up, most of them can usually be sorted out quickly just by checking the Help notes.

Cons

a faster way to duplicate recurring monthly entries would really help. For example, DGL sends cash transfers to client families every month and even though the client names, contact details and other information are already stored in the system, we still have to manually enter the same dollar amount each time. Having a simple way to import or replicate that recurring data would make the process much more efficient.

“Simple yet effective”

Pros

Since opening our church in 2012, it has been the first nonprofit accounting software we've used and it has worked really well for us. I needed something simple but still effective for tracking member contributions and it does exactly that. When year-end comes around, I can also generate contribution reports for each member to use for their taxes. It's been simple, practical and reliable.

Cons

I haven't run into any issues with it.

“Flexible tagging and quick setup”

Pros

Simple to handle straightaway. If you've used QuickBooks or Quicken before, the transition feels very natural. I also really appreciate being able to assign multiple tags to one transaction and then sort by those tags later. That creates a really useful data matrix and makes reporting much more insightful.

Cons

It doesn't support batch deposits. That makes reconciliations more complex than they should be. It seems tied to pushing users toward their CRM component. Yes, there's a workaround but I really don't want to rely on a workaround for something this critical.

“Helpful onboarding and support”

Pros

The set up process is quite convenient because it comes with plenty of useful introductory materials and guidance during setup. On top of that, the customer support is solid and the webinars are genuinely helpful whenever questions come up.

Cons

Doesn't connect with enough third-party applications. Integrations with tools like payroll services and most donor management platforms would make it much more useful.

“powerful reporting and value”

Pros

Compared with pricier accounting systems, this software includes a lot of the same useful features. The reporting is highly flexible and getting everything set up and training staff was simple.

Cons

There really hasn't been anything I've wanted to do that it couldn't handle, aside from not being able to delete extra rows in a journal entry.

“Real-time fund accounting win”

Pros

Being web-based makes it convenient to access and it offers true fund accounting which is a big plus. The customer service has been excellent, the reports are clear and easy to understand and everything updates in real time.

Cons

the reconciliation screen is not as customizable as I would prefer.

“user-friendly and full-featured”

Pros

Right from the start, it has felt very user-friendly to use and the unlimited free technical support is a huge plus. It covers everything we need, from donor and volunteer communication to bank deposit batches and 990 reporting. We've really been happy with how much functionality it offers.

Cons

Honestly we're very happy with it and don't have any real complaints right now. The only thing that would be nice is if it could sync with other programs like PayPal but it's not a major issue for us.

“Helpful support and quick learning”

Pros

Getting started with the software didn't take much time and the customer support team was excellent throughout. I would definitely recommend it to others.

Cons

I didn't care for having to rely on a third-party system to accept donations online. I wish it offered its own built-in solution for that.

“broken integrations and no response”

Pros

Being cloud-based means I can get to it from anywhere, the accounting side has some flexibility and the IRS 990 tools look promising even though they only support the EZ version.

Cons

The bank connections are very inconsistent and PayPal doesn't work at all. There's no WePay support either and even connections with major banks have been unreliable. I spent more than six months working with support and the development team and only saw minor progress which disappeared again about 30 days later. PayPal integration still does not function and both customer support and company leadership have remained silent and unresponsive.

“Web-based and user-friendly”

Pros

Whole platform is very user-friendly. Since it's web-based, accessing it is convenient and the setup didn't require much effort at all. The support team never disappoints and the pricing feels fair for what it offers.

Cons

I couldn't import the budget and payroll being outsourced may not work for everyone. Other than that, I honestly don't have much to complain about and only wish I had discovered Aplos much sooner.

“excellent fit for nonprofits”

Pros

It's very user-friendly and didn't take long to learn. The customer support always helps us whenever questions come up. Since it's built with nonprofits in mind, it has really helped me better understand how to provide accounting support for our organization.

Cons

I haven't run into any issues so far. We only handle very basic tasks so we probably don't need anything too advanced in an accounting system.

“Fund-based and user-friendly”

Pros

The fund-based setup works really well and the software is very user-friendly overall.

Cons

One thing missing is a way to automatically enter recurring bills.

“Powerful nonprofit accounting platform”

Pros

It has been an excellent fit for our nonprofit as a complete financial management and accounting solution. Entering transactions is simple and the duplicate entry feature saves a lot of time when posting similar items. Reconciliation is quick and searching for transactions is also very convenient. On top of that, the customer service has been consistently helpful.

Cons

It's not a traditional accounting platform so there is definitely a learning curve and you need to spend some time getting familiar with how the system works. One ongoing frustration is during account integrations, I have to keep checking that I'm on the correct account when moving between transactions and integrations because it doesn't stay on the account I was already working in.