Purchase order software for nonprofits and small nonprofits with grant and program coding
Procurer is purchase order software for US nonprofits with 20 to 1 000 staff. Every purchase request is coded to a grant, program or fund before it is approved, the approver sees what is left in that budget, and the PO, the delivery and the invoice stay together in one record your auditor and your funders can follow. Plans are priced per organization, not per seat, from 149 USD a month.
On this page
- 01What is the best purchase order system for a nonprofit?
- 02Why purchasing is hard in a grant-funded organization
- 03Purchase orders coded to grants, programs and funds
- 04Purchase order approval rules that match your board policy
- 05Uniform Guidance procurement documentation without a binder
- 06Receiving and three-way matching before you pay
- 07A 60 person human services nonprofit from request to bill
- 08Which plan fits a nonprofit
- 09Nonprofit purchase order options compared
- 10How to set up nonprofit purchasing in a week
- 11FAQ
What is the best purchase order system for a nonprofit?
The best purchase order system for a nonprofit is one that charges each purchase to the right grant or program at the moment someone asks to buy, not when the bill arrives. It should route the request to the program director and to finance above a set amount, keep the quotes behind the purchase, record what was received and match the invoice before payment. Procurer does all of that and exports coded bills to QuickBooks Online or Xero, so your books stay the system of record.
Why purchasing is hard in a grant-funded organization
Most nonprofits outgrow email approvals around the time they hold three or four restricted grants. The symptoms are familiar to any finance director:
- A program manager buys supplies on the organization card and finance learns which grant it belongs to when the statement closes.
- An expense lands on a federal award that it should not touch, and someone has to move it before the drawdown.
- A funder asks for the documentation behind a 12 000 USD purchase and the quotes are in a former employee's inbox.
- The single audit sample includes ten disbursements and each one takes an hour to rebuild.
- Program staff do not know how much of their grant budget is already committed on open orders.
Each of these is a missing link between the request, the approval, the budget and the invoice. A purchase order system closes that gap because nothing gets ordered until it has a grant code and an approval.
Purchase orders coded to grants, programs and funds
In Procurer a grant or program is set up as a project, and your chart of accounts lines come in as GL accounts from a CSV or from your accounting export. A case manager requesting 30 bus passes for clients picks the program, the grant and the supplier, attaches the price, and submits. From the Business plan, budgets can be set per project and per GL account, so the request shows the remaining balance on that grant before anyone approves it, including amounts already committed on open POs. That is the number program directors usually ask finance for by email.
- One PO can split lines across two grants when a purchase serves both programs.
- Unallowable categories can route to finance automatically instead of to the program director.
- Budget owners can move amounts between their own budgets, and every transfer is kept in the audit log.
See budget control software for how commitments and actuals are tracked.
Purchase order approval rules that match your board policy
Most nonprofit purchasing policies set dollar thresholds approved by the board: a manager can approve up to one amount, the executive director above it, and the finance committee for anything larger. Procurer turns that policy into routing. On Team, requests route by amount and department with up to two approval steps. On Business, rules can also use the grant, the category and the supplier, with unlimited steps, so a purchase on a federal award goes to the grant manager first and then to finance regardless of amount. On Business, approvers can also decide from Slack or Microsoft Teams. More detail on purchase order approval software.
Uniform Guidance procurement documentation without a binder
Organizations spending federal awards follow the procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.317 to 200.327. Since October 1, 2025 the federal micro-purchase threshold is 15 000 USD and the simplified acquisition threshold is 350 000 USD, and your written procedures may set lower limits. Purchases between those two figures need price or rate quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources, and 2 CFR 200.318 asks you to keep records detailing the history of each procurement.
Procurer keeps that history on the request itself:
- Quotes and the reason for choosing the supplier are attached to the request before approval.
- A request field can record the procurement method (micro-purchase, small purchase, sole source with justification).
- Approvals, edits, receipts and the matched invoice carry names and timestamps.
- An auditor can open one PO and see the whole trail instead of asking for five separate documents.
Procurer does not decide what is allowable under your award. It makes sure the evidence for each decision is saved where your auditor will look for it.
Receiving and three-way matching before you pay
Program sites receive deliveries in places finance never sees: a food pantry, a shelter, a classroom. The person on site opens the PO on a phone and records what arrived, including partial deliveries. Receiving is included on every plan. From Business, three-way matching compares the supplier invoice with the PO and the receipt, so you pay for 200 hygiene kits only when 200 were delivered, and an invoice that does not match is held with the reason. Read how three-way matching software works.
A 60 person human services nonprofit from request to bill
A youth services nonprofit with 60 staff and a 6.5 million USD budget runs three federal grants and a dozen foundation grants. A program coordinator needs 24 Chromebooks for an after-school program funded by a state grant, about 8 400 USD in total.
1. The coordinator submits the request with two quotes attached and picks the program and grant. The request shows 21 300 USD left on the equipment line of that grant, with 4 100 USD already committed.
2. Because the amount is above the 5 000 USD threshold in the board policy, the request goes to the program director and then to the finance director.
3. Once approved, Procurer issues the PO by email to the supplier with the grant code on every line.
4. The site lead receives 24 devices against the PO on a phone and attaches the packing slip.
5. The invoice arrives in the finance inbox, is read and matched to the PO and receipt, and the approved bill goes into the next QuickBooks Online import file with the grant and program on every line.
When the grantor asks for documentation, finance sends one PDF of the PO record.
Which plan fits a nonprofit
Plans are per organization, so a new program assistant does not add a seat fee.
| Organization | Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small nonprofit, 10 to 25 people who request or approve | Team | 149 USD a month, or 888 USD a year billed yearly | Requests, POs, approvals by amount and department, department budgets, receiving, QuickBooks Online or Xero export |
| Grant-funded nonprofit, up to 100 users | Business | 299 USD a month, or 1 788 USD a year billed yearly | Grant and program budgets with commitments, rules by grant and category, three-way matching, invoice capture |
| Multi-site or affiliate network, up to 300 users | Scale | 699 USD a month, or 4 188 USD a year billed yearly | Up to 5 legal entities, supplier portal, onboarding, RFQs, SSO, NetSuite or Sage Intacct export |
- Small nonprofit, 10 to 25 people who request or approve
- PlanTeamPrice149 USD a month, or 888 USD a year billed yearlyWhat you getRequests, POs, approvals by amount and department, department budgets, receiving, QuickBooks Online or Xero export
- Grant-funded nonprofit, up to 100 users
- PlanBusinessPrice299 USD a month, or 1 788 USD a year billed yearlyWhat you getGrant and program budgets with commitments, rules by grant and category, three-way matching, invoice capture
- Multi-site or affiliate network, up to 300 users
- PlanScalePrice699 USD a month, or 4 188 USD a year billed yearlyWhat you getUp to 5 legal entities, supplier portal, onboarding, RFQs, SSO, NetSuite or Sage Intacct export
Most grant-funded organizations choose Business because grant budgets with commitments are where the time goes. See full procurement software pricing.
Nonprofit purchase order options compared
An honest view of what small and mid-size nonprofits usually compare.
| Option | Good for | Limits for grant-funded purchasing |
|---|---|---|
| Email and a spreadsheet log | Very small teams with one grant | No budget check before approval, documentation scattered |
| QuickBooks Online purchase orders | Organizations already on Plus or Advanced | No requests, approval workflow only on Advanced with one approver per condition |
| Fund accounting suite modules | Large organizations already on that suite | Usually quoted, priced per user, longer setup |
| Procurement suites built for enterprises | Organizations with a procurement department | Quote-only pricing, annual contracts often in the tens of thousands |
| Procurer | Nonprofits with 20 to 1 000 staff and several restricted grants | No donor management or fund accounting general ledger, it exports to yours |
- Email and a spreadsheet log
- Good forVery small teams with one grantLimits for grant-funded purchasingNo budget check before approval, documentation scattered
- QuickBooks Online purchase orders
- Good forOrganizations already on Plus or AdvancedLimits for grant-funded purchasingNo requests, approval workflow only on Advanced with one approver per condition
- Fund accounting suite modules
- Good forLarge organizations already on that suiteLimits for grant-funded purchasingUsually quoted, priced per user, longer setup
- Procurement suites built for enterprises
- Good forOrganizations with a procurement departmentLimits for grant-funded purchasingQuote-only pricing, annual contracts often in the tens of thousands
- Procurer
- Good forNonprofits with 20 to 1 000 staff and several restricted grantsLimits for grant-funded purchasingNo donor management or fund accounting general ledger, it exports to yours
If your organization runs QuickBooks Online, the QuickBooks purchase order integration page shows how approved bills reach your books.
How to set up nonprofit purchasing in a week
1. Import programs and grants as projects, and your GL accounts from a CSV.
2. Enter grant budgets by line, or start with department budgets on Team.
3. Copy the thresholds from your board purchasing policy into approval rules.
4. Add request fields your auditor asks for, such as procurement method and justification.
5. Invite program staff and send the first requests through. Most organizations are live within a week.
What is the best purchase order software for nonprofits?
The best purchase order software for a nonprofit codes each request to a grant or program, checks the remaining budget before approval, keeps quotes with the request and matches invoices before payment. Procurer does this from 149 USD a month per organization and exports coded bills to QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Is there a purchase order system for small nonprofits?
Yes. Procurer's Team plan, at 149 USD a month or 888 USD a year billed yearly, covers up to 25 user accounts and 250 purchase orders a month with approvals, department budgets and receiving. That fits a small nonprofit where 10 to 25 people request or approve purchases.
Can purchase orders be tracked by grant?
Yes. Grants and programs are set up as projects, and every request and PO line carries the grant code. From Business, budgets per grant show committed and actual spend, so program directors see the remaining balance before they approve.
Does it help with Uniform Guidance procurement rules?
It keeps the documentation 2 CFR 200.318 asks for on each purchase: quotes, the procurement method, the reason for the supplier choice, approvals and the matched invoice. Deciding what is allowable under your award stays with your finance team.
Does Procurer work with QuickBooks for nonprofits?
Yes. Approved bills export to QuickBooks Online and Xero on every plan, coded to the grant or program, and to NetSuite or Sage Intacct on Scale. Organizations on other fund accounting systems can import the CSV export.
How much does purchase order software cost for a nonprofit?
Procurer costs 149 USD a month on Team, 299 USD on Business and 699 USD on Scale, or half that per month billed yearly. Prices are per organization, so volunteers who request purchases and new staff do not add seat fees.
Every purchase coded to its grant before it is approved
Create your account and put your next grant-funded purchase on a PO your program staff, your finance team and your auditor all see.