What to Look For in a Software Training Program

Is Your Nonprofit Looking into a Software Training Program?

Your organization relies on a variety of software programs to stay organized, keep up with membership and donor information, and maintain proper records and accounting information. While most platforms are designed to be user-friendly, more robust programs are complicated. Without proper training in how to use them, it’s easy for most of the features to go unused and have only a few people in your office actually know how to use it. Fortunately, there are software training programs and consultants for larger platforms, but how do you know if it’s a good investment? Our nonprofit accounting software consulting team is sharing what you should look for in software training.

Customized Software Training

When vetting a training program, find out if they customize the training to your nonprofit organization or use a prepared example as a guide. Most software training programs rely on pre-fabricated examples, walking you through steps and instructions based on a generic database. While you may learn the basics this way, it’s almost impossible to get the full extent of the application because your organization may have a completely different setup.

At Capital Business Solutions, we customize the training based on the exact needs of our clients. This includes training them using their own database and processes. We find that not only does this expand training opportunities and ensure our clients get more functional information, but it also improves knowledge retention and comprehension.

Consultants Have Background Experience

Make sure the consultants in the software training program have experience beyond just the software platform. For example, at Capital Business Solutions, we train our clients in Blackbaud’s Financial Edge NXT accounting software as well as MIP fund accounting, so our consultants are all highly trained and knowledgeable in these platforms. However, our consultants have an additional background, having worked as financial managers, accountants, and auditors for nonprofit organizations. This ensures they can provide a more well-rounded experience and ensure our clients know how to apply the software to their exact organizational needs.

Whether you’re looking at accounting software training or another software program, find out if the consultants you’ll be working with have nonprofit experience beyond the software.

One Point of Contact

Most software training programs connect you with a consultant for a training seminar or meeting, and after that, you may be speaking with a variety of people when you call or email for information or to ask a question. Frequently, the secondary contacts don’t have as much information or knowledge about the platform and don’t provide the clarity the client is looking for. This gets confusing and often requires you to walk your issue and organizational needs through multiple people every time you reach out with a question or concern.

We connect our clients with one consultant from the initial meeting through the entire time they’re working with our company. This ensures the highest level of customer service so our clients are comfortable and get quick, effective assistance for their questions.

Training Where You Need It

There are times when remote training and screen sharing are a great way to walk someone through how to use a software application. However, robust platforms need in-depth guidance and in-person training allows an improved flow of communication, the opportunity to ask more questions and bring more people into the experience. We often meet our clients onsite, particularly for comprehensive training meetings, and provide remote sessions for less intensive meetings.

Find out what level of training the software trainer provides and if it will work with the needs of your organization before signing up with a program.

Schedule a Consultation for Nonprofit Accounting Software Training

If you have or are considering, accounting software for your nonprofit organization, we provide the training and custom software solutions to help you make the most of it and improve operations. To schedule a consultation, reach out to us today at  (843) 971-9061 or fill out the form below to get started.