Interface for making budget transfers with associated tracking

Description

This requirement is particularly important for non-profits. It allows users to move funds from one department or project to another seamlessly, while simultaneously keeping a close track of these transitions, ensuring accountability and financial transparency.

Example Use Case

Scenario: An education-based non-profit organization operates across multiple departments and projects, coming with varied and fluctuating budgetary needs. The entity uses Excel, which makes it difficult to effectively track budget transfers, leading to miscalculated budgets and insufficient fund allocation.

Solution: The non-profit deploys a CPM tool which includes a budget transfer feature. This interface includes a tracking system that clearly outlines where funds are being moved from and to, provides a transfer history, and automatically adjusts the budgets of the involved departments or projects. It can provide a trail of all transactions, ensuring transparency, accountability, and accuracy in budgetary management.

Considerations

If the system does not offer this out of the box, it is possible that the vendor can build something custom that will meet the requirements. Budget transfers are complex with audit requirements, managing historical data, and so on. A custom version of this functionality would be complex and expensive to build but could be worth it if this is a major issue for the organization.

We have seen this functionality in certain non-profit focused platforms, however most of those platforms are getting a bit long in the tooth. Options are limited.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Transfer Process: How does your system facilitate budget transfers between different departments or projects?
• Tracking Mechanism: What tracking mechanisms does your system include for budget transfers? Are transaction histories easily accessible and comprehensive?