The application would apply ratios to results and provide analysis. "Along with the ratios and the results, we will be providing text that provides some context and some graphics," says Andrew Payne, product line manager for the same set of applications. The primary use is for presenting analysis to a company's board of directors, and would also likely be used for donor and funder presentations.
Ratios used would include some unique to the nonprofit space such as program efficiency ratio, which is the percentage of program service expense compared to total expense. Organizations could break down and track expenses and analyze revenue, such as studying revenue mix year to year. The application would also analyze unrestricted contributions compared to unrestricted fundraising expenses, along with calculating gross program margin and operating margin.
Data for benchmarking comparisons with peers is being supplied through a third party and would not only enable organizations to compare themselves to companies that are usually considered peers, but to those who might not be as obviously similar. Payne noted a nonprofit may not behave the same way as peers within its sector and "may want to be compared against what the IRS might deem their peer group to be or they may want to be compare against what might appear to be an unrelated sector because the fundraising behavior."
While information would generally be available online, Sobers says there is also "quite a bit of utility" in being able to download reports in PDF format for board meetings.