Frustrated with your old and clunky software or website? How to choose the right software for your association or not for profit. Consider the following as you decide on your key requirements.

What do you need? - The software you ultimately choose needs to make your processes and procedures more efficient. It’s a good idea to first consult with your admin team to determine their most common duties and which of these take the longest time. For example, processing membership renewals may currently involve paper-based or PDF forms which use up valuable staff resources and time better spent on alternative tasks.

Write a list of your specific needs – taking your processes into account – in advance of approaching software vendors and the various options available to you. These should be added to a requirements document. Don’t be swayed by the bells and whistles of the latest trends and sales pitch: If you look at software options before creating your requirements document, you will almost certainly miss out features that you need. Be resolute with your requirements to avoid costly overspends on functionality you won’t use.

Must-haves and nice-to-haves - Rate each of your requirements in order of necessity. For example, if you have 50,000 members, you’ll need to choose a robust database system that can support that number. Conversely, sending your members text message reminders on upcoming events might fall into the nice-to-have category.

Another major prerequisite to consider is currency, as some American-based software systems don’t support payments in Australian or New Zealand dollars.

Matching your organisation goals to your requirements - Consider what your current goals, challenges and priorities are. Requirements that relate to these priorities should be ranked more highly than those that don’t.

For instance, if your goal is to attract new members and finding the best way to communicate value, a main requirement for your organisation would be to have a highly polished website which showcases your value proposition throughout. The ability to run complex financial reports for your board will not attract new members. Focus on what’s important to your association or not for profit currently as you prepare your requirements document (a software system that helps you do more than this is a bonus!).

Why do you want to change software? - Have you stopped to think about why you’re keen to move to a new software system? Associations and not for profits are often frustrated that their existing setup can’t do X or Y. Consult with your whole team or committee, adding the salient points to your requirements document.

Type of system - Ideally, it’s recommended that you select an integrated solution over multiple pieces of software. The idea is to avoid having to, for example, update member details in a CRM or events tool, as well as in a separate database and an email newsletter system.

Benefits of integrated software tools include the ability to tackle…

• Your website (news/events/general content)
• Events registration
• Donations
• Members’ area(s)
• Registrations
• Renewals
• Member directory
• CRM/database
• Email newsletters

Tools like Okta will allow your members sign in to your software, plus any other associated systems you have, e.g., CPD online training portal.

If you like what you read you can get more tips and download the full article at http://www.convergedesign.com.au/choose