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"Sage MIP Fund Accounting reduced my workload by at least 30 percent…It eliminated the need to run separate spreadsheets to produce reports. This freed up more of my time to pursue new grants, and to engage in other activities that help expand our organization."
Kathie Titzler
Financial Director
Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Foundation
Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Gets More Grants With Sage MIP Fund Accounting
Fish and wildlife species throughout the Northwest face enormous challenges just to survive in the face of massive human development. The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority is a consortium of 11 Native American tribes and federal and state agencies that are legally recognized managers of the fish and wildlife resources in watersheds that feed the Columbia River system.
The Authority was created to coordinate efforts and provide comprehensive planning throughout the region, and serves members in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Its administrative-fiscal arm is the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Foundation (CBFWF).
Sage MIP Fund Accounting for Flexibility
The agency was only a few years old in 1995 when it discovered the importance of dedicated fund-accounting software. “We were using an entry-level generic accounting package, and trying to make our organization fit into it. But it was never designed to handle fund accounting, which was our greatest concern,” says Kathie Titzler, financial director.
“We contacted other associations and researched five or six systems they recommended,” she continues. “Ultimately we decided on Sage MIP Fund Accounting. It was clearly the best solution for our needs, offering the greatest flexibility for both recording entries and creating the diverse types of reports required by our members.”
Software “Runs Everything”
CBFWF has been a loyal user of Sage MIP Fund Accounting since implementation. It uses numerous modules within the software to perform tasks such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank reconciliation, budgeting, purchase orders, and more.
“The software runs everything around here,” says Titzler. “We use it to maintain the finances for our entire organization. It helps us record funds that come in, track expenses, compile budgets, and create reports that go out to all of our member agencies. This includes monthly analysis of who spent what, and how much is remaining on each of our various contracts, as required by our funding agencies. In addition, our annual audits go much more smoothly due to the ease of Sage MIP Fund Accounting.”
Multiple Levels Win the Grant
Of particular importance to CBFWF is the ability to track up to six different levels of detail for any account. “Sage MIP Fund Accounting gave us at least one more layer of tracking ability than any other software on the market,” notes Titzler. “For instance, we often need to monitor expenditures by province, region, tributary basin or even sub-basin. With Sage MIP Fund Accounting, we can provide accurate figures, broken out however our members want them. This is a terrific benefit to us.”
This ability of the software was actually responsible for CBFWF winning a large grant. “A major funding agency was looking for a project similar to ours. One of their criteria was the ability to track expenditures by specific location. We called the software manufacturer and were able to receive an additional level of detail for Sage MIP Fund Accounting. Because of this, we received the grant, worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years,” Titzler says.
Easy-to-Learn, Easy-to-Use
CBFWF found that Sage MIP Fund Accounting was easy to learn at the outset, and easy to use on an ongoing basis. “We went to training when we first purchased the program, which was very helpful,” explains Titzler. “Now we find that we rarely even need technical support. The software is very intuitive, so we’re able to figure out nearly everything on our own.”
Titzler enjoys attending annual Sage Software user conferences. “I’m able to get questions answered right away by meeting the experts face to face. Also, it’s really fun to meet other users, compare notes, and share ideas.”
Best in Class
Sage MIP Fund Accounting is a complete financial management solution specifically designed for nonprofit and government organizations. It lets organizations track and report on multiple funds across multiple budget periods. Extensive customization options include a flexible table-driven chart of accounts design, userpreferred desktop configurations, and userdefined fields.
Whenever anyone asks about software for nonprofit organizations, Titzler does not hesitate to recommend her current system.“Sage MIP Fund Accounting reduced my workload by at least 30 percent,” she says. “It eliminated the need to run separate spreadsheets to produce reports. This freed up more of my time to pursue new grants and engage in other activities that help expand our organization.”
