Aplos is a cloud-based software that is designed for nonprofits to help them manage donations, finances, and email marketing in an easy and effective way. It caters to small and medium nonprofits that bring in under $1 million in annual revenue. Together with Aplos, nonprofits are able to spend considerably less on paying staff and more money benefiting their cause.

Aplos was founded in 2009 by Dan Kelly and Tim Goetz. Kelly, and Goetz, a certified public accountant noticed there wasn't a product to help smaller charities manage their finances that was easy and cost efficient.

In Use:
Aplos targets small and medium sized nonprofits who mainly rely on volunteers to help them manage their finances and donor lists. Aplos was designed to be easy to use with minimal training. Whether it's tracking your donations, emailing past donors for contributions, or managing finances; Aplos is a one stop software for all a nonprofit's needs. Aplos is constantly expanding to fit the needs of their customers. In 2012, due to popular demand, Aplos added tax preparation and e-filing to their products.

Aplos breaks down their software into three distinct categories; Donations, Accounting, and Donor Relations. Purchasing these three softwares is $50 a month, which is reasonable considering many of these organizations are just starting out and don't necessarily have the revenue to pay an exorbitant amount of money for software. It's also significantly less cheaper than hiring a professional. One of the benefits of Aplos is that an organization can pay for what they need. If they just wanted help with Accounting, they would only pay the $15 a month for the accounting software. If a charity already has an account, but need help maintaining donors, Aplos' Donor Relations software is $20 a month. Therefore, they are only paying for what they need so their organizations can spend more money helping their cause.

Technology Employed:
Aplos is a cloud-based software. Everything is done on the internet, therefore an organization can access it wherever they are.

Ease of Use:
One of the benefits of Aplos, is that it's extremely easy to use and risk free for fifteen days. It was made especially for volunteers who have limited experience in accounting and donor relations. Aplos is also known for their excellent customer service and training programs. Therefore, if a charity ever has any questions, the answer is just an email or phone call away.

Recap:
Aplos is a software dedicated to small and medium nonprofits and charities who need help with taxes, finances and donor registrations. It was founded by a public accountant who saw the need for a program that was low in cost and easy to use. Since its inception six years ago, Aplos has gained many fans. Nonprofits all across the country are praising the software's ease of use, reasonable price, great customer service, and their ability to save money without hiring professionals to do these jobs.

Whether a nonprofit just need it for donor relations or wish to buy all three programs, they can pay for what they need, saving their organization a significant amount of money.  

Advantages:

Excellent customer service

Easy to use

A charity pays as they go and only for what they need, thus minimizing cost.  

In-depth training programs so a charity can benefit from everything they have to offer

Risk-free. An organization can try it out for a month to see if they like it

Saves a nonprofit a surplus of money because they don't have to hire professionals

Made solely for charities and nonprofits

Download their reports right to Excel

Disadvantages

Although larger companies use Aplos, it's mainly geared for small and medium sized organizations. Thus, if an organization grows, they may find Aplos is limited to the services they need

A common complaint of nonprofits that use Aplos is that their financial reports are basic

Software is cloud-based so if the internet is down, a nonprofit may not have access to the tools they need

My Opinion:
There are very few softwares solely dedicated to help small and medium sized nonprofit organizations. To get off the ground, nonprofits have to go through so many hurdles and often times pay out of pocket. Therefore, when software like Aplos comes around that makes it easy for nonprofits, and doesn't charge a significant amount of money, it's a breath of fresh air. I like that Aplos doesn't try to hide who they are. They are made for small and medium organizations because they do give them the basic tools needed. A multi-million dollar nonprofit isn't going to benefit from Aplos the same way a nonprofit who only brings in $5,000 annually will.

I think that any charity who has a need for an accounting software or donor relations software should give Aplos a try. It's risk-free for fifteen days and with training programs and excellent customer service, there's nothing to lose.