Honest opinion of MIP
Updated January 08, 2018

Honest opinion of MIP

Janet Resendiz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Abila MIP Fund Accounting

MIP is used by the entire organization. We currently use the accounts payable, general ledger and budgeting modules. MIP is excellent for allocating costs across all programs. It allows us to easily run reports based on project codes as well as program codes. It saves time and key stroke errors by being able to save allocations used frequently.

Pros

  • Cost allocation. It's easy to set up distribution codes to easily allocate costs.
  • The Budget module is easy to use. It's easy to distribute the budget across all 12 months.
  • Ability to save general ledger entries. Saves time when entering monthly recurring transactions.

Cons

  • Reporting. If you select the wrong option in the drop down box, you need to go back to the start. Still no change in this.
  • Credits in A/P. If I need to use a distribution code for a credit, I need to enter the invoice total as a positive number and then change it to negative after the allocation.
  • I would like to be able to pay vendors without creating a vendor record, e.g., one-time vendors. We often have vendors that we pay one time and they have to have a record created for them.
  • I cannot think of an impact MIP has had on our business. It is the only computer based system the agency has used and has been using it for 18 years. There have been no instances that have not had a solution using the software.
I feel it's comparable to American Fundware. I prefer Blackbaud's report structure. It's much easier to be in a report area and navigate to the report required without having to start from the beginning. MIP has been in use by our agency prior to my arrival 10 years ago. It has been able to fill the needs we currently have.
I have been using the system for 10 years and found it easy to use. It helped having experience with other Fund Accounting systems. I have had relatively few problems with the system. The majority of the issues have been when moving the software to a new computer since we are a stand-alone system.

MIP Fund Accounting Feature Ratings

Using Abila MIP Fund Accounting

I use the support of MIP for the majority of the issues I encounter. There haven't been many. The biggest issue I have had with the software is migrating it from one computer to another when I have had an upgrade. At that time I have simply used our IT support which is outsourced.
  • Ability to track multiple projects
  • Run the necessary reports for funders
  • Track the issuance of 1099s.
  • I do not know of any innovative or unexpected ways we use the software other than the purpose it was intended for.
  • I do not know of any additional ways MIP will be used in the future.
I will definitely renew the use of MIP Fund Accounting. The software is working well for our agency and the cost for annual service is reasonable. Overall I probably call support one or two times per year so I do not have many issues with the software. Support is worth the updates alone.
1 - Finance Department.

Evaluating Abila MIP and Competitors

  • Price
  • Product Features
The software was in place prior to my employment at the agency. I am sure it was chosen based on price as well as the features. No additional modules were purchased other than general ledger, accounts payable and budget journal. It would be advantageous to have the fixed asset module to track the fixed assets.
I would definitely speak to other users of the software as well as visiting some companies that use the software. It would be good to be able to see it in action in a real setting as well as talk to the users who deal with the software every day and understand how it really works.

Abila MIP Implementation

I do not know about the implementation of the software as I was not employed by the agency at that time.
  • Don't know
  • I am unaware how implementation went as I was not employed by the agency at the time.

Abila MIP Training

  • Self-taught
Yes, the software is easy to use. The only training I received was from the previous user who was not using it to its full potential. The ability to export files to excel had never been explored by the previous user. When I first tried to use it, I was unable. I then discovered it was due to the software not being set to export.

Configuring Abila MIP

I think the configurability is just right for this product. It is easy to set up the accounting code structure and to make changes to us. We have not made changes in many years but it seems to be easy to do. I feel it's a good software package for many non-profit agencies.
I do not have any specific recommendations.
No - we have not done any custom code
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
There are none I can mention.

Abila MIP Support

Support has been extremely helpful when I've had to call. All issues have been resolved on the first try. They have often given me ideas to try and where to look to find additional help if needed. Never seem to busy to answer a question and ready to listen to the customer.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
I do not recall anytime that I received exceptional support for this product. I probably only call support one or two times per year and do not have many issues with the software. I cannot even recall the issue I last contacted them for. Any time I have called, I have been completely satisfied with the support staff.

Using Abila MIP

Very easy to use. It does help if you have prior database knowledge. It was easy to create reports to get the information out of the system. The canned reports are a great place to start to work on customizing for your own use.
  • General ledger entries are easy to enter. Very straight forward entry.
  • Accounts Payable is also easy to work with.
  • Budgets. It would be helpful to be able to take the prior year budget and edit and save as the new year budget. That would make things much easier.
  • It isn't straight forward on how to print the budget once you have the entry ready.
Yes, but I don't use it
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None

Abila MIP Reliability

I feel our agency only uses a small portion of what it can do. With more funds we would be able to purchase more modules and integrate more of our systems instead of using an outside payroll company and spreadsheets to track fixed assets. There are a lot of features in the payroll module but currently cost is a major factor.
Software is reliable and have never had an issue in 10 years.

MIP Fund Accounting has worked very well for me. It has been ten years that I have been working with the software and have never had an issue with it crashing or losing information. I would definitely recommend this software to other users based on the experience I have had.


Integrating Abila MIP

We have not integrated the product with any other system.
  • None
  • File import/export
I have only used file export to Excel and Adobe.
As far as the usage with Adobe and Excel, it has been wonderful to be able to run a report and export it to Adobe for ease of sharing the information.

Relationship with Abila

I was not employed at the agency at the time of sales and cannot accurately comment on this.
I have had no contact with the vendor after the initial sale.
I am unaware of what was negotiated during the sale of the software.
I have no comment on the vendor as I have had no contact with them.

Upgrading Abila MIP

Yes
  • I cannot recall what the most recent upgrades were for.
  • I hope to see better reporting as far as ease of navigating within the report area of the software.

Comments

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