TLDR
RestrictedBooks is the best reporting tool for nonprofit board treasurers: self-serve dashboard with fund balances, net asset reports, and restricted fund spending. Board members get read-only access without needing accounting knowledge. Aplos has limited board reporting. QuickBooks requires staff to manually build every report a treasurer needs.
| Software | Self-Serve Board Access | Fund Balance Reports | Net Asset Reports | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RestrictedBooks | Yes (read-only) | Yes (real-time) | Yes | $20-$99 |
| Aplos | Limited | Partial | Partial | $79-$229 |
| QuickBooks | No | No | No | $35-$235 |
| Sage Intacct | Yes (role-based) | Yes | Yes | $1,000-$5,000 |
| MoneyMinder | No | No | No | $0-$15 |
RestrictedBooks
Fund accounting with self-serve board member dashboards. Read-only access for oversight.
Pros
- ✓ Self-serve board treasurer dashboard
- ✓ Real-time fund balance visibility
- ✓ Net asset classification reports
- ✓ Unlimited users (board members included)
Cons
- × Newer platform
- × No donor CRM
- × No payroll
Pricing: $20-$99/month per organization
Verdict: Best for treasurers who need to independently verify fund balances and financial position without depending on staff reports.
Aplos
Nonprofit accounting with some reporting features. Limited board access.
Pros
- ✓ Fund tracking
- ✓ Basic financial reports
- ✓ Giving management
- ✓ Decent for small nonprofits
Cons
- × No dedicated board member view
- × Limited report customization
- × Reports require staff to generate
- × Rising prices
Pricing: $79-$229/month
Verdict: Adequate reporting for simple fund structures. The lack of self-serve board access means treasurers depend on staff for reports.
QuickBooks Online
General accounting. No fund balance reporting capability.
Pros
- ✓ Low cost
- ✓ Familiar interface
- ✓ Good for basic bookkeeping
Cons
- × No fund balance reports
- × No net asset classification
- × Board members cannot access meaningful reports
- × Every nonprofit report is a manual build
Pricing: $35-$235/month
Verdict: Cannot produce the reports a treasurer needs for fiduciary oversight. Staff must build them manually in spreadsheets.
Sage Intacct
Enterprise nonprofit accounting. Powerful reporting, enterprise pricing.
Pros
- ✓ Best reporting engine available
- ✓ Role-based access controls
- ✓ Custom dashboards
- ✓ Multi-entity consolidation
Cons
- × $1,000-$5,000/month
- × Complex implementation
- × Overkill for most nonprofits
- × Steep learning curve
Pricing: $1,000-$5,000/month
Verdict: Reporting is unmatched but the cost is prohibitive for organizations under $10M revenue.
MoneyMinder
Very basic online accounting. Not appropriate for fund oversight.
Pros
- ✓ $15/month
- ✓ Simple
- ✓ Quick setup
Cons
- × No fund accounting
- × No audit trail
- × No board access features
- × Cannot produce GAAP-compliant reports
Pricing: Free / $15/month
Verdict: Not appropriate for any organization where the treasurer has fiduciary obligations requiring fund-level oversight.
How We Evaluated
We evaluated each platform from the perspective of a volunteer board treasurer who needs to fulfill fiduciary oversight without being an accountant. The criteria: can I access fund balance information without asking staff? Can I verify net asset classifications independently? Does the software provide reports I can bring to a board meeting?
We did not evaluate bookkeeping features, data entry workflows, or payroll. The treasurer does not do those things. The treasurer needs to verify the outputs.
The Treasurer’s Reporting Gap
In most small nonprofits, the treasurer’s financial oversight works like this: staff emails a financial report before the board meeting. The treasurer reviews it, prepares comments, and presents at the meeting. Questions raised during the meeting cannot be answered until staff responds, usually days later.
This process has a fundamental gap: the treasurer cannot independently verify anything. The numbers on the emailed report are whatever staff chose to show. If restricted funds were overspent and the report does not highlight it, the treasurer does not know. This is not about trusting staff. It is about the structural inability to verify.
Self-serve access to the accounting system closes this gap. We built RestrictedBooks with a board member role specifically because treasurers at small nonprofits told us they wanted to verify numbers without depending on staff.
Looking for the right nonprofit accounting software?
RestrictedBooks is purpose-built fund accounting at $99–$249/month flat per organization.
See plans & pricingQ&A
What is the best accounting software for nonprofit board oversight?
RestrictedBooks provides the best balance of fund-level reporting, board member access, and affordability. Treasurers get a read-only dashboard showing fund balances and financial statements. Sage Intacct has better reporting depth but costs 10-50x more.
Q&A
Can a board treasurer use accounting software without accounting knowledge?
In RestrictedBooks, yes. The board member view shows fund balances, financial summaries, and restricted fund status in plain language. You do not need to understand debits, credits, or journal entries to read a fund balance report.
Frequently asked