For nonprofits and charities
EFT vendor payments for nonprofit organizations
Board oversight, funder reporting and a small team that changes from year to year. Zefty lets your bookkeeper generate a compliant EFT 1464 file from approved Zoho Books bills, leaves approval in your bank portal, and produces the paper trail your board and funders expect.
What makes payables different in a nonprofit
Board oversight
Directors are personally accountable and want to see what was paid, to whom and on whose approval. Payments keyed into a bank portal leave little for the board package.
Grant and funder reporting
Funders ask for evidence that program expenses were paid as claimed. Matching a bank confirmation to a bill months later is slow; a report generated at payment time is not.
Volunteers and turnover
The treasurer is a volunteer, the bookkeeper is part-time and both roles change. A payment process that lives in one person's spreadsheet does not survive the handover.
Limited administrative time
Every hour spent formatting payment files or re-entering payments in Zoho Books is an hour not spent on the mission. The process has to be short and repeatable.
A payment run with proper oversight
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Approval happens in Zoho Books
The executive director or treasurer approves bills in Zoho Books, for example by moving them into a view named "Approved by ED". Zefty pays only from that view, so nothing unapproved can be selected.
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The bookkeeper generates the file
The bookkeeper selects the approved bills, chooses the payment date and generates the EFT 1464 file for your bank. Vendors missing banking details are blocked automatically.
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Signing authorities approve in the bank portal
The file is uploaded in your bank portal, where your two-signature rule or limits apply exactly as before. Zefty never moves funds itself.
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The report goes into the board package
Download the readable report, which lists every payment in the file, and attach it to the finance report. Zoho Books already shows each bill as paid.
Features nonprofits rely on
Readable report for every file
Every file comes with a PDF report of its contents: amounts, dates, vendor names and accounts. It is the document your treasurer, auditor and funders can all read.
History that survives turnover
Files, paid bills and their links to Zoho Books stay in the organization, not in someone's inbox. A new bookkeeper sees the full record on day one.
Named users
Add the treasurer and bookkeeper as separate users so actions are attributable. Starter includes one user; Team adds seats at $14 per additional user per month.
Encrypted vendor data, optional 2FA
Vendor banking details are encrypted at rest, Zoho Books access is authorized from your Zoho account without a stored password, and each user can enable two-factor authentication.
Nonprofits and Zefty: common questions
Yes, by keeping approval in Zoho Books. The treasurer moves bills into an approved view, Zefty pays only from that view, and the bookkeeper generates the file. Final release still happens in your bank portal under your signing authorities, so the treasurer keeps control without touching Zefty.
Any payee entered as a vendor in Zoho Books with a bill and complete banking details can be paid by EFT file. Grantees, honoraria recipients and contractors are handled the same way as suppliers. Confirm with your accountant how such payments should be recorded and reported in your books.
The Starter plan is $29 per month in CAD and includes one user and every core feature, including the PDF report. Team, at $43 per month, adds users at $14 per additional user per month, which suits organizations that want the treasurer and bookkeeper on separate accounts. Prices exclude taxes.
Zefty is a Canadian company with support in English and French. Zefty works with both Zoho regions (zoho.com and zohocloud.ca); you pick yours during setup. Ask your Zoho administrator which region your Zoho Books organization uses.
Give your board a payment process it can see
Generate compliant EFT 1464 files from approved Zoho Books bills and keep the PDF report for every run. Plans from $29 per month in CAD.