Does anyone here use Salesforce?

Fox

Thu, Dec 07 2017, 3:31 pm

Smile1234 wrote:

I want to know how user friendly it is. And how easy exporting receipts and invoices is.

I don't specifically remember anything about exporting receipts and/or invoices, but I can give you an overview of how the system works for non-profits where I've seen it in use.

What draws most non-profits to Salesforce, of course, is the relatively low entry cost. You can get the basic product for as little as $25 per user per month, and it will handle most of the basics for a small organization.

Here's where it gets trickier: Salesforce has open data architecture, which means that there's a community of people building add-ons and special features. While some of these are free or low-cost, many of them are built and marketed by third-party consultants. It's very easy to discover that your low-cost donor management system isn't so low-cost by the time you've purchased the add-ons you need.

The other issue I've seen is this: Because the software is infinitely customizable, it requires an administrator who has decent database skills -- and who will be around for the foreseeable future. It also requires the office staff to create a thorough manual, since there will be no resource for future employees to use in learning the software. Again, there are tons of people who will help with this, but they're going to charge money.

The figure that I've typically seen is that setting up a small non-profit or business; makiing necessary customizations; and training users generally requires an investment of about $5000.

If you have people on your staff who are very computer-savvy and you understand that the investment is greater than the monthly fee, Salesforce works great. However, if you need more handholding and/or you want a maintenance-free system, I'd recommend going with a commercial donor management system. There are plenty out there, and many start as low as $75-$100 per month.

Full disclaimer: my company develops and markets non-profit and private school software. However, we serve a particular niche in the non-profit world that involves additional services for our clients beyond providing software.

LuckyMum

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 9:31 pm

Fox wrote:

What draws most non-profits to Salesforce, of course, is the relatively low entry cost. You can get the basic product for as little as $25 per user per month, and it will handle most of the basics for a small organization.

I realize that this is a few months old - but I just want to chime in here in case it is still relevant.
SalesForce donates 10 free user lisences for all non-profits. So if you can keep your users to under 10 there are absolutely zero monthly fees beyond the initial setup. I know of lots of orgs operating with salesforce this way.