Real Talk: Why Finance Manager Has Stood the Test of Time as Jackson Avenue PTO’s Accounting Solution

When you join your child’s PTO or PTA board, handling the group’s finances might not be the first thing you think about. Many volunteers underestimate the nitty-gritty of budgeting and accounting, or simply lack the know-how—and that’s where PTO Today’s Finance Manager comes in handy. Read along as we explore how Leah Kletnieks and Emily Stout-Garcia found Finance Manager to be the perfect tool for smoothly managing their group’s finances.

How/where did you first hear about Finance Manager?

Leah Kletnieks: Our group has used Finance Manager for several years, long before I joined. I’ve been a part of the parent group for about nine years now!

Were there specific features or benefits that stood out to you?

LK: I appreciate that it’s easy to navigate and customized to fit your group’s needs.

Emily Stout-Garcia: There were three main features that stood out to me, including customization, simplicity of use, and ability to export date to Excel.

Were there any specific needs or challenges you were looking to address?

LK: We needed a program that was simple to understand and easy to learn while still providing necessary data and organization for my group. It was also vital that volunteers would be able to use it without requiring a financial background.

ESG: The finance tool bridges the gap between volunteers and the variety of skill levels in accounting or finance.

How has the product met or exceeded your expectations?

LK: Using Finance Manager has allowed us to maintain great financial records even with our ever-changing volunteer team at school.

ESG: We’ve found that the software does the basics extremely well for a reasonable cost.

Would you recommend our product to others? Why or why not?

LK: Yes! We have used it for years and have never had any issues. It keeps detailed records, has great functionality, and is easy to use.

ESG: Yes! The top two reasons are ease of use and functionality for the money.

Is there anything you would like to see improved or added to the product?

ESG: It would be great to have a reporting option that showed percent of funds spent or raised compared to budget/goal. Since you can export data to Excel, I can manage this manually, but the ability to provide key data insights simply for all skill levels is what PTO Finance Manager does best. I think having this type of view as point and click would take the program to the next level.

How do you feel about the level of customer support or assistance you received during the buying process?

LK: [PTO Today] Leader Support has always been responsive and helpful when we’ve contacted them with any questions.

ESG: Leader Support has been very helpful. I have had to reach out on two occasions, and each time the representative cared for my questions professionally.

For more information on how your parent group can start using Finance Manager, go to PTOtoday.com/finance-manager.