MIP Works for Non-Profits
Updated April 08, 2022

MIP Works for Non-Profits

Joanne Jenkins | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Other

Overall Satisfaction with MIP Fund Accounting

We use it for our payables, our payroll, our receivables, reporting, budgeting. It's nice to have all aspects of accounting under the same program, making reporting consistent. We recently moved to the Cloud (about 18 months ago). I like the Cloud, but am constantly kicked out of it and there seems to be no resolution for it. The classic version works 99.9% of the time and I am often using that over the Cloud version because it consistently stays available.
  • Being able to design a report exactly as you want.
  • Data entry for payables and receivables.
  • Training
  • The Cloud. It consistently kicks you out and is super frustrating daily.
  • Making adjustments for viewing the Classic Version. It would be nice if you could make the view larger.
  • Deleting very old, unused vendors.
  • By moving to the cloud, we relieved our server and were not being forced to replace it (which for a non-profit is a huge expense).
  • One person is able to input and maintain files for both payables and receivables. Where we used to have 2 people working full time in the department, now we have 1.
We only use one fund in our organization. But generating reports for our board and upper management is very easy to do and it can be tailored to exactly what you need. Being able to add specific GL accounts, time frames, departments, and grants is vital. We have multiple departments and are very grant-based. We report to the federal govt and our state govt for grant usage and it has to be accurate.
We are currently using it and I see absolutely no scenario that would change that fact.
Microix is a program we use in helping with budgeting. It works seamlessly with MIP and import is very easy.

Do you think MIP Fund Accounting delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with MIP Fund Accounting's feature set?

Yes

Did MIP Fund Accounting live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of MIP Fund Accounting go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy MIP Fund Accounting again?

Yes

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Entering payables is extremely easy and user-friendly. This leads to balancing the bank account being very easy to accomplish each month. I love the Cloud Version for looking up invoices that were paid and balancing out statements. So much easier to read and I like that you can customize the dates.

Support from Community Brands

MIP (the name has changed since I came on board) has always been our Accounting Software. We recently moved to the cloud (2 years ago) and the client services was vital to our implementation. They fully worked with us on the date we would be starting with it, how it would work, what to expect, etc. It was very seamless for us.
I have used some of the free training they have provided, but I like going in there and checking out the white papers available. I am not sure if it enhanced my use of the program, but I definitely have learned some things outside of the software itself for our non-profit. There is so much information available.
We were having serious issues with the cloud and constantly being kicked out of it (it still happens, just not as often). A ticket was opened and they were really attentive to the problem. While I consider the problem more of a cloud hosting thing and the fact that so many people are moving to the cloud, but that did not stop them from contacting me regularly and making sure we were able to use the product.
We moved to the cloud about 2 years ago. The benefit to moving to the cloud was freeing up space on our server. This was going to be a very expensive thing to deal with and moving to the cloud was the economical benefit to us. Yes the cloud does cost more than the classic version, but not having to worry about updates and not bogging down our own server is a huge benefit. The cloud is not perfect by any means but I do love the layout of it and I also like that we have the option to use the classic version within the cloud. The classic version works almost all of the time from the cloud and that is important.

Using MIP Fund Accounting

10 - We have our CFO who keeps the budget in check and reports to our board on finances. Our Accounting Supervisor handles the largest part of the work, balancing, reconcilliations, journal vouchers, reporting, etc. We also have our payroll department using that portion of MIP and our accounting clerk who does data entry, researching errors, etc. Our HR Dept uses the HR module for keeping track of all employees, benefits, etc.
Our IT department used to be in charge of keeping it updated, but is now freed up on that and we little little to no support from them at this point. The cloud made this a reality.
  • Budgeting - vital to an organization
  • Accounts Payable
  • Payroll
  • HR
  • Designing Reports to fit the need at the time. There are so many options for making that report say exactly what you need it to say to the people you are presenting to.
  • Separating out types of accounts payable vendors. By using modifiers in the front of the ID, we have been able to separate out vendors we use for specific reasons, like refunds. We use an R- in front of each ID name to keep all the refund vendors for our clinic all together. This is useful in reporting and merging unused IDs.
  • Fundraising
  • Timekeeping
10 - Accounting, payroll and HR

Evaluating MIP Fund Accounting and Competitors

  • Product Features
I was not here when it was first purchased, it has always been here in my 10 years of working for this organization. But I imagine that the features and add ons available were a good reason for purchasing. Also, the fact that it works seamlessly with other products being used made it very attractive.
I cannot imagine going through that process again. When you have used a product for so long, the history within is hard to replicate. Just the fact that the company has stayed with it through all the changes over the years is a testimony to the product itself.

MIP Fund Accounting Implementation

I really cannot rate this honestly since I was not here when original implementation happened. I will say that when we implemented the cloud version though that it was really seamless and hardly a blip on the screen for us. If this is an indcation of anything, then I would have to give a high mark.
Not sure - I really was not a part of that process. This accounting software has been part of our organization since before I came to work here.
  • I was not employed at the time, so I have no review to give on this.

MIP Fund Accounting Training

Exceptionally so. If a person has used any type of accounting software in their history, then they will be able to use this with little to no training. I am a testimony to that. The organization was a hot mess when I first came on and we had little to no consistency in management. We were pretty much left to figure it out ourselves. While we no longer operate that way, I do know that how I came on board and was able to work the program easily is a huge statement.

MIP Fund Accounting Support

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
There has only been a few times where we had to purchase support and in hindsight, it was not really necessary, it was more of a lack of training more than anything else. In the past 8 years, support has always been able to address our minor concerns pretty quickly and without escalation.
I have been very impressed with the support received. The chat feature is very useful for minor things and when something fairly major happens, the ticket is not closed unless you agree that the problem has been resolved. I have zero complaints about the support I have received from MIP and honestly its not that often that I need it. Which is a good thing and a testimony to the product itself.

Using MIP Fund Accounting

  • Data Entry
  • Bank Reconciliation
  • Reports
  • Deleting old vendors
Yes - We do not use it that much. Our accounting supervisor very rarely works from home and she uses her desktop version to access MIP. I cannot think of a time when it has been used, but its possible our CFO has used it. With our ability to remote into our desktops from home when working remotely, I dont see much need for the mobile interface really.
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
I was given little to no training on the system and was able to navigate it quite easily. I was able to learn on the fly, figure out how to build reports and enter in data. This is a huge deal for any organization really. Training is often one of the lowest ranking operations in most companies (at least in my experience) and when you hire the right people, you can be assured they will get this program easily.

MIP Fund Accounting Reliability

I think this product does exactly what it says it will do. Whether you are using the HR/Payroll modules or the accounting modules. You are able to add what you need in modules for your organizational needs. I like how the purchasing module works seamlessly with the payables module.
Mostly its available when I need it. I do get kicked out of the cloud while entering data at times. But I do not lose data and can often just open up the classic version to continue doing what I was doing. Only rarely is there no availability and when that happens, its a very short amount of time.

Integrating MIP Fund Accounting

We only use the one other module outside of MIP and honestly the integretation between Microix and MIP is pretty seamless.
  • Microix
Microix is what we use for making our budget each year. It is very user friendly and allows each department to create their own budgets without adding seats to our MIP modules. Microix seamlesly works with MIP. There really is no difficulty in using the two together.
  • Purchasing Program
Right now we do manual purchase requisitions and purchase orders. It is what has worked for so long, that its difficult to really get all on board for the change. We have looked at the module in MIP and there were some really good points to it, how it worked with the budget and let others see how they were spending money in their departments. At the time we looked at it, the cost was what held us back.
  • File import/export
I do not see any missing things really.
Know before you go how the system will work with MIP. Work with MIP on the integration beforehand and do your reasearch. We all have to remember that there are lots of sales people out there who want to promise you the world. We need to be vigilant and mindful and not jump into the fire too quickly.

Relationship with Community Brands

I really was not a part of this process as it was already established when I came on board. However, I can only assume it went as well as the cloud conversion went.
I only have the ability to judge based on our move to the cloud and I will say that MIP made sure that things went better than expected. They were in contact with us right after.
I am not sure about the negotiations. When we moved to the cloud, the cost was laid out very well for us and we were given a discount for service.
Ask lots of questions, do not be afraid to ask. They are more than willing to give you the information you need. They do not know your organization and how MIP works for you or what you require from it. They are very open and easy to work with.

Upgrading MIP Fund Accounting

Yes - I have not noticed any downtime with any of the updates, especially now that they are all done through the cloud. Before the cloud our IT department would come in in the middle of the night to do updates to keep from disrupting the day for us. I love that we are no longer responsible for that.
  • The updates to reports just made a great program even better. Building your reports is important to any organization and MIP shines bright in this area.
  • Bank Reconciliation - Its a little cumbersome on the cloud and the classic version works better. Hoping to see improvements there.