Item: MIP Fund Accounting
Rating: 10
Author: Joan A. Cox, CMA CPA

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

MIP Fund Accounting is being used by the finance department and the purchasing department only. All general accounting and financial reporting is performed via MIP. In addition, the purchasing department uses MIP to enter encumbrances to track open purchase orders. Use of MIP has fostered collaboration amongst various departments whose responsibilities impact financial reporting and monitoring of budgets. MIP makes producing financial reports very easy and the ability to quickly modify any report is very helpful.

Pros and Cons

MIP export to MS Excel functionality is so easy to use and helps us to quickly begin research and/or analysis.
The reporting features allow us to pick and choose which columns/fields we would like to see on reports.
The option to include or exclude unposted transactions provides a good mechanism for what-if scenarios as it relates to financial statement amounts.
The year-end adjustment feature is new for us however it saves valuable time when reviewing transactions/reporting in preparation for our annual audit.

I'd like a better way to forecast expense that allows me to use a different multiplier or factors to augment individual line items.
I would like the ability to develop the budget within the software so it would be easier for variance analysis between current budget and new budget or current actuals vs proposed budget

Return on Investment

The most positive impact MIP had on our overall business objectives was to reduce the amount of time to produce useful reports. We no longer need to convert text files to MS Excel.
Being able to add and delete columnar/field data prior to generating the reports has made staff members more productive.
Common chart of accounts to use for any center and/or grant

Effectiveness at Managing Multiple Fund Sources

We have definitely achieved the benefit from MIP's design for managing multiple funds from multiple sources as well as across fiscal years. We have two grants currently and one contract that all have different grant budget/contract periods. Comparisons to budget can be performed for each independently and by our agency's fiscal year for audit purposes. This helps us to comply with grant or contract regulations,

Abila Partner Used

Prosoft Solutions - Prosoft Solutions, as a partner, was invaluable in the set-up and implementation stage of our transition to MIP Fund Accounting. They were also very helpful when we needed to import transactions to the general ledger from MS Excel. We recently hired them to train staff on the encumbrance functionality in MIP since we have new staff that need to learn this.

Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

Adaptive Insights

Likelihood to Recommend

MIP is well suited for organizations with multiple funding sources, multi-year and cross-year reporting, and numerous cost centers/expense charge codes. The common chart of accounts helps with consistency in reporting across an organization and to external users. Consolidation of different grants is easy to complete and reporting can be performed on any time period.

I don't [think] it is appropriate for smaller organizations that do not have complex accounting or reporting requirements. Many nonprofits have a small staff which might find MIP more structured than they may need to their reporting.

Support Headcount Required

2 -

Computer services support manager responsible for agency computer network, telecommunications, third-party contractual support

One PC/LAN technician provides desktop support to staff using MIP and helps with upgrades to workstations

Business Processes Supported

Financial Accounting and Reporting
Budget to Actual Reporting
Cash Management and Bank Reconciliation

Innovative Uses

We are still exploring ways to reduce the effort to forecast annual expenses and create financials for our annual report

Future Planned Uses

Direct Budgeting in MIP rather than using another software for the budgeting modeling we require

Likelihood to Renew

MIP is a great product to meet our needs in terms of accounting, reporting with a good security to provide access to those that need it. It is fairly flexible and scalable.

Users and Roles

11 - Accounting, finance, purchasing

Products Replaced

Yes - We replaced Fundware which was DOS based and very cumbersome to use for reporting. It was too hard to create a set of consolidated reports and you had to export to MS Excel to change the report format.

Key Differentiators

Product Features
Product Usability

Easily exportable and Customizable report formats streamlined our monthly financial reporting process.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I would spend more time on understanding our existing challenges to get a better idea of how those could be met by the software.

Implementation Rating

Make sure you know what you need and how to minimize potential errors due to training shortfalls

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Third-party professional services

Prosoft Solutions

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal - Providing refresher training is needed after the software has been used for maybe six months

Implementation Issues

Training staff to use the software
Working with consultant to structure software for the agency's needs

Support Rating

They have responded quickly and worked with us to provide information and/or solutions. The follow-up with email to ensure the issue is solved is good.

MIP Fund Accounting Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Quick Initial Response	None

Generating Financial Reports
Bank Reconciliations

Difficult Tasks

Getting Budget Amounts into the software

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using	None

MIP Saved The Day!!!

Overall Satisfaction with Abila MIP Fund Accounting