Analytics prove vital for charities

Data visibility, clear forecasting and successful budgeting are top of the agenda for charities in as we head into a new and unpredictable year. You could be forgiven for feeling apprehensive as you assess an unpredictable business landscape, with the trials and tribulations of COVID-19 and Brexit still ongoing. Issues such as overstretched local authorities and uncertain funding continue to weigh heavy on the third sector, and analytics prove vital for charities.

With such an uncertain outlook ahead, there’s never been a more important time for you to take stock of your financial responsibilities, including the importance of data management and reporting. Charity funding has taken a huge nose-dive over the last year, despite a 42 percent increase in demand for services. Trying to balance this rising need against a 48 percent dip in donations is no mean feat, and utilising the right financial management software could really help you to identify areas where savings and cutbacks could be made.  

How can IRIS Analytics help?

IRIS Analytics, our business intelligence software, could be the one-stop solution you need to help you to maximise the value of the resources you already have.  

If you’re currently struggling with combining and analysing information from multiple sources, IRIS Analytics could help you to consolidate data sets from several different areas with ease, allowing you to quickly and confidently make agile decisions. With complete 360 visibility, forecasting and budgeting issues could easily become a thing of the past - customisable interactive dashboards can show you exactly where your business assets stand at any point in time, allowing for accurate and in-depth reporting.   

IRIS Analytics can allow you to transform your vital business data into rich visuals, including graphs, charts, reports and other visualisations. These in turn can provide you with valuable insights into your profitability, turnover and current cash flow status. By building and customising reports that truly mean something to you, you can drill down into data from a singular location or across a collective group, and make informed business decisions with confidence.  

Why are reporting and data so important?

The value of in-depth business reporting and data should not be underestimated for charities – after all, you will more than likely be used to keeping a close eye on such areas for budgeting and compliance reasons. However, accessing a user-friendly interface can allow you to interrogate ad cross-reference your own business data to:  

• Calculate the true cost of expenditure and individual initiatives  
• Identify the impact of extending, shortening or changing organisational strategy  
• Assess the effectiveness of ongoing strategies
• Compare costs and outcomes across your organisation

As a cloud-based system, you can access it any time, anywhere, and on any device – making it ideal for dealing with strategic change and growth during this long period of remote working. With the simplicity of self-service, you can share your reports, graphs and charts easily with colleagues, and can collaborate seamlessly as you make business decisions for the future.  

What makes IRIS Analytics even better is that integrates seamlessly with our wider IRIS Financials suite, and can access real-time data from any third-party finance, HR, payroll and school management software. 

To find out even more about what IRIS Analytics could do for your business, click here.