Aplos vs RestrictedBooks: Which Fund Accounting Software Is Right for Your Nonprofit? (2026)

Starting from the same place

Both Aplos and RestrictedBooks share the same foundation: a fund-based chart of accounts where transactions record against named funds, not against a general ledger with tags attached. That puts both tools in a different category from QuickBooks, which uses a for-profit equity structure.

For a nonprofit bookkeeper who has been running QuickBooks Class workarounds, either tool is an improvement. The fund-tracking architecture is sound in both.

Where the tools diverge

The differences emerge when you push beyond basic fund tracking.

Grant management depth

Aplos tracks fund balances natively. What it handles less cleanly is per-grant budget-to-actual tracking with multiple budget periods, indirect cost allocations, and grantor-specific report formats.

RestrictedBooks treats each grant as a structured object with its own budget, period, restrictions, and reporting requirements. Budget-to-actual is a native report per grant, not a filtered general report.

For a bookkeeper managing two or three grants, this distinction is minor. For one managing twelve active grants at different stages, it changes how much time the reporting cycle takes.

Form 990 mapping

Aplos provides partial Form 990 support. The accounting data doesn’t always map cleanly to 990 schedules without manual reformatting.

RestrictedBooks includes full Form 990 schedule mapping. Revenue by fund maps to Part VIII. Expenses by function map to Part IX. The connection between accounting records and 990 data is direct, reducing the manual reformatting step that consumes hours each filing cycle.

Pricing trajectory

Aplos was acquired by Community Brands in 2019. Since then, prices have increased periodically. The trajectory matters for multi-year budget planning.

RestrictedBooks is independently priced at $20-$99/month flat rate per organization, without per-user fees.

The honest comparison

Aplos is the better choice if your organization is small, your fund structure is simple, and you want donor management in one system. It’s established, widely used, and a genuine improvement over QuickBooks for nonprofit accounting.

RestrictedBooks is built for the bookkeeper who has outgrown Aplos’s reporting or who manages enough grants that the difference in grant tracking depth changes their monthly workload. If Form 990 prep, grantor report formats, and budget-to-actual accuracy are regular friction points, that’s the case for switching.

Verdict

For organizations with simple fund structures and limited grant programs, Aplos is a solid and established choice. For bookkeepers who have hit Aplos's reporting ceiling or who manage more than six active restricted grants, RestrictedBooks offers deeper fund accounting with better grant tracking and Form 990 mapping at a lower price.