Aplos - Avis

The software is easy to use and not too expensive. Minimal accounting or bookkeeping experience is needed.

I saw the software worked great when our church was small. As it grew the amount of accounting required a program that could keep track of individual versus batch transactions.

Comprehensive and easy to follow . . . but I have an advanced accounting background, so it may not be easy for some.

I have no cons at the moment.

I have no "like least" comments.

Our company is run by a VERY small team. Aplos' ease of use allows me to book keep, budget, and analyze our finances efficiently, and saves our small nonprofit lots of time and heartache. The customer service is ALWAYS quick to respond and help. The tags function allows us to track our service to our many partners, which is very easy to manage. Aplos = ease of use leading to a BIG impact!

Unsure what to say here. As an administrator Aplos fulfills our needs. There hasn't been anything that's come up that I've disliked.

The customer service I received from [sensitive content hidden] on the website builder in March 2023. Prior to that, the customer service I have received is challenging since most of your customer service reps do not know much about accounting.

My difficulty in getting someone to help me with the accounting side of the software. Please call me at [sensitive content hidden] as I still need help with this.

We have used the application at the small business level for business accounting. The platform is very simple and user friendly. It meets expectations and donations or contributions are easy to apply. The message boards clearly display how far we are and how much is still missing. The charts and dashboard is very clear, the controls are simple with integration has not been a problem. I liked the possible real time view of the data. Accelerated way to receive donations and the ability to automate.

We have used it at a small business level and the platform has lived up to our expectations, we have had no complaints in the time we have used it.

I like the fact that the checkbook register, banking information, letter writing, fundraising campaign and donation tracking is in the same software. The software is easy to use especially if you already know what you are doing. Integration was easy for us because we already was using APLOS.

I don't like that you can't deleted or change charts of accounts once created. I don't think there are products that are difficult to use but just the person knowing what to do. I didn't have to bring our information from another software, I just had to add it to APLOS.

It is online, and mostly attractively put together. The support is integrated into the interface. It is available through most any computer with a web browser.

It is not a robust accounting system. For example, there is no way to track a group of Memorial Funds within one overall Memorial Fund. They offered suggestions for work arounds to this, but the general response for this and most other questions I had was, "Unfortunately, we don't do that." They claimed on their marketing materials that you could track attendance at various worship services, but you manifestly cannot do that. The response when I called to find out how was some complicated group setup with needing every person to join the group through a conformation email (even though about half my church doesn't have or actively use email). Eventually the support person admitted that while their marketing did seem to indicate you could track attendance easily that, "Unfortunately we don't do that." There is some possible checkin system being developed, but that still would leave basic church membership functions non-existent. They are more expensive than other systems available that actually do these functions.

A complete package that handles both your accounting needs and donor management needs.
Is very affordable.
Aplos has a program for new non-profits that makes it even more affordable.
Has a program that does email marketing for you and collects emails thus building your donor base.
Lets you design online web pages to post.
Form 990 Reporting.
Excellent Customer Service and will schedule regular calls with you to train you on the software. However it's easier to use than QuickBooks.
Directly links to your checking account so that your balances are updated continuously.
Takes online payments through WePay
Can manage up to 5000 contacts.
Contribution statements emailed to your donors.
Can Integrate with Paypal

Nothing to say. Dashboard is nice, if the data is correct and updated. Report lists looks good if it functions.

Ongoing problems, month after month, in many areas. Then the response time to get problems resolved is unacceptable and you are stuck in their hands until it works in their schedule. They have spent more time focusing on adding modules then on working the bugs out of what they already have. How disappointing. They could be a great fund accounting system if they didn't try to spread into areas they are not equipped in such as donor software.

They develop updates and implement them without knowing how it could impact the user and the users data that is imported through an API.

Just started with at at the beginning of 2017 and am already considering looking for another software.

This software does it all for non-profits. It's ability to track donors, provide year-end contribution statements, payroll and W-2's, as well as track by budget every transaction helps our small church in ways we'd otherwise have to hire an accountant to do. I'm looking forward to a year of reports that fit our needs. The customizable reports and standard reports make this the flexible program we need around here. It even does a few things that we don't need - like printing checks. Compared to QuickBooks, this just FITS the non-profit better. It's fund accounting helps us manage ear-marked monies as well as multiple accounts.
Additionally, the ability to use the software over multiple platforms makes it handy, too. Our treasurer can do his work from home, and we can print the reports anytime from the church. Department heads and the pastor can always check where their budget areas stand. Pretty useful.

While it's supposed to provide an automatic link to banks, our small-town bank does not work with this program directly. BUT, it's simple to download transactions to a file and import that file into Aplos. Just assign budget categories with transactions - and voila! Reconciled!
Of course, this is web-based - demanding internet access. While they say it's quite secure, hackers are always out there. And this makes it a bit vulnerable - potentially.

It is affordable for every non-profit. It is very simple and basic to use, and they have great customer service. They saw a need for non-profits to have an easier way of doing their finances other than Quickbooks and met that need at a very affordable price, which is very important to non profits. Simplicity is important because often, the bookkeeper is a volunteer and does not have the experience required to use a cumbersome program like QuickBooks. I like that they allow you to use if free for a month first to try it out.
We have never experienced a time when we could not get on the Aplos website. I am in an accountant's office, and I love the fact that I can go online anytime to check on my client's progress with their transactions at no cost to us! This is the sign of a non-greedy company who is here to meet a need.

The reports available are good and basic, but maybe a few more reports would be helpful, like a cash flow report. Also, since this is a cloud-based program (only available for use over the internet), this may be a downside for some. Simply save all your monthly reports and transactions easily by downloading them into an Excel spreadsheet, and you have all your information on your computer hard drive.

This is extremely affordable software for everyday Church needs. Their customer support is extremely helpful. Interface is easy to manage.

I haven't had any issues with donor management and this software. It's a great purchase for organizations.

It is very easy to use and saves us money from having our Accounting come on site weekly. The articles, tutorials, and staff are great.

The Pledges feature does not have a lot effective reporting so we will not use it.

So far, so good. I am still getting my feed wet, but the functionality is good. We were able to integrate the donation form into our website and all seems to be working well. Customer service has been quick to follow up when I've had questions.

I wish there were more free-form options as they are some limitations with the donation form. They are not huge, but I hope to see more flexibility down the road. Also, the color options for the donation form are a bit limited with some odd color combinations (e.g., red with lavender). Thus far, the cons are minor overall.