Aplos Software was founded in 2009 in Fresno, California by Dan Kelly and Tim Goetz, a certified public accountant. Tim Goetz previously served as an executive pastor of a church and helped found two nonprofits. He couldn't find the low-cost fund accounting solution he wanted for his nonprofits, so he joined with a Fresno-based investor that shared his vision to serve the nonprofit sector with simple, affordable software and founded Aplos Software.[1]
After initially developing a desktop fund accounting software program, in 2011 Aplos Software launched its fund accounting software, Aplos Accounting, as an online product, also known as software as a service, tailored specifically to small and mid-sized non-profit organizations and religious corporations.[2][3]
The company raised over $3.4 million in funding through an angel investor to expand the development of its web-based nonprofit software suite, $2 million of which was raised in 2014.[4]
Aplos launched an integration with Church Community Builder, a church management platform in January 2016.[5][6]
In February 2016, Aplos raised $4 million in additional funding through a private venture capital fund.[7]
In June 2017, Aplos announced a merger with Portalbuzz, a membership management platform that specializes in software and website portals for service clubs.[8]
Aplos and Gusto (software), a payroll and HR platform, launched an integrated solution for payroll and reimbursements to be tracked within the accounting of nonprofits and churches.[9]
Nonprofit fund accounting differs from business accounting because it is often necessary to track restricted and unrestricted funds separately. This often occurs when a donor or grant specifies that the organization must use the funds for a specific purpose. The accounting software must track how these funds were used and how much is available. Aplos first launched its online fund accounting software, Aplos Accounting, in 2011.[3][10][11] The most popular competitive accounting product for small and mid-sized nonprofits is Quickbooks[12]
In October 2012, Aplos Software launched Aplos Oversight, an online software which provides an administrator or accountant real-time access to the accounting of multiple organizations.[13]
In summer of 2012, Aplos Software was approved as an IRS efile provider to submit IRS tax forms on behalf of tax-exempt organizations and in October 2012 launched Aplos e-File, a tax preparation and filing software for IRS Form 990-N.[14] IRS Form 990-N is an annual electronic IRS filing for tax-exempt organizations with less than $50,000 in annual gross receipts. In 2013, Aplos added tax preparation and e-file software for IRS Form 990-EZ and its required schedules to Aplos e-File. IRS Form 990-EZ is the short form of the full Form 990 IRS tax forms and is available to organizations with up to $200,000 in gross receipts and $500,000 in assets.[15][16]
Aplos Software also focused on expanding the fundraising and donation tracking aspects of its software since 2012 to make it more successful for the vertical market of nonprofits. It launched a contributions management module in 2012 that tracked donations within Aplos Accounting and created contribution statements, which are annual giving receipts required by the IRS. In July 2013 it began offering a donor management module, and in May 2017 it expanded on its module to launch a stand-alone product as Aplos Donor Management.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, nonprofits are increasingly creating initiatives to accept donations online and growth in online giving outpaced traditional methods in 2012.[17] To keep pace with the growing popularity and requests by its customers for an online giving platform, Aplos Software expanded its fundraising functionality in January 2014 by partnering with WePay, an online payment portal, to add the ability for nonprofits to accept online donations.[18]
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of gathering voluntary contributions of money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for non-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises.
Urban Institute
The Urban Institute is a Washington D.C.-based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and private donors. The Urban Institute measures policy effects, compares options, shows which stakeholders get the most and least, tests conventional wisdom, reveals trends, and makes costs, benefits, and risks explicit. The Urban Institute has been referred to as "independent" and as "liberal".
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is a major charity assessment organization that evaluates charitable organizations in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization that accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates.
Form 990
Form 990 is a United States Internal Revenue Service form that provides the public with financial information about a nonprofit organization. It is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. Certain nonprofits have more comprehensive reporting requirements, such as hospitals and other health care organizations.
