Looking for a ProjectConnect alternative?
ProjectConnect is a Dutch platform built for NGOs: grants, programmes, partner management, monitoring & evaluation and IATI donor reporting. Strong in its niche - but it is a point solution: your accounting, your CRM and your wider operation run separately alongside it, often in Twinfield or Exact plus spreadsheets. Here are the options honestly side by side, with Odoo + togrant as the answer that brings operations, finance and the grant cycle onto one platform.
Odoo Gold Partner · Amsterdam · togrant for the grant cycle
What is the best alternative to ProjectConnect?
It depends on what pinches. If ProjectConnect works fine for your grants but your accounting lives separately in Twinfield or Exact and your operation in loose tools, you are not looking for another grant tool but for one coherent platform. Then Odoo + togrant is usually the strongest alternative: Odoo runs CRM, projects and finance (with analytic accounting per grant), togrant manages the full grant cycle alongside it - IATI reporting included - without customising Odoo.
The best ProjectConnect alternatives, honestly scored
We are an Odoo partner and the makers of togrant, so we are not neutral. And honestly: ProjectConnect is a thoughtful, sector-driven product for NGOs. The question is not whether it does grant management well, but whether you want a separate grant tool alongside your accounting and operation, or one platform where everything comes together.
| Alternative | Grants, M&E & IATI | Accounting & accountability | Breadth (operations/CRM/projects) | Cost at scale | Open & extensible | Short verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odoo + tograntTop pick | Strong - togrant covers the full cycle incl. IATI | Native in Odoo, analytic per grant | Broad platform: CRM, projects, finance, documents | Max €35/user + togrant flat | Open source | Best if you want operations, accounting and grants in one coherent whole |
| ProjectConnect (stay) | Strong in its niche | No - runs separately alongside Twinfield/Exact | Narrow: grants & programmes | Unknown/quote | Closed SaaS | Fine if grant management is your only need and the rest is well handled elsewhere |
| Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud | Via Grants Management module | No, stays a CRM | Broad CRM, projects limited | Climbs fast per user | Closed | Powerful but pricey and admin-heavy; finance stays alongside |
| Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit | Via partners/Power Platform | No, via Dynamics | Broad (Dynamics ecosystem) | Enterprise premium | Closed | Logical in a Microsoft shop; building blocks, not a turnkey whole |
| Standalone M&E tools (Kobo, ActivityInfo) | Strong in data collection | No | Narrow: fieldwork/indicators | Low | Partly open | Excellent for field measurement; not a platform for finance and accountability |
Which alternative fits which organisation?
Briefly per option, so you can shorten the shortlist faster:
Odoo + togrant
Strongest if ProjectConnect does your grants fine, but your accounting lives separately in Twinfield or Exact and your operation in spreadsheets. Odoo brings CRM, projects, finance and documents onto one open platform; togrant adds the full grant cycle - including IATI reporting - on top, with no customisation in Odoo. One system for operations and accountability, at SMB pricing.
ProjectConnect (stay)
A fine choice if grant management is your only real need and your accounting and operation are well handled elsewhere. It is sector-driven and thoughtful. The boundary is that it stays a point solution: finance and the wider operation run separately alongside it.
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
Broad and powerful with a Grants Management module, but it stays a CRM: costly at scale, admin-heavy and your finance runs alongside it. See our separate Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud alternative page.
Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit
Sharply priced on license, but building blocks on Dynamics and Power Platform instead of a working whole. See our Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit alternative page.
Standalone M&E tools (Kobo, ActivityInfo)
Excellent for data collection and indicators in the field. But it is not a platform for the whole organisation - finance, projects and grant accountability sit separately alongside.
What ProjectConnect does, and where it lives in Odoo + togrant
ProjectConnect centres on the grant and programme cycle. This is how each part translates to Odoo + togrant - with the operations and accounting ProjectConnect does not cover:
| In ProjectConnect | In Odoo + togrant |
|---|---|
| Grant and fund management | togrant: the full grant cycle, alongside Odoo |
| Application, award, budget, spending | togrant, linked to Odoo accounting per grant |
| Programme and project management | Odoo Project |
| Partner management | Odoo CRM (relations, partners, local organisations) |
| Monitoring & evaluation | togrant and Odoo Project (indicators, results) |
| IATI donor reporting | togrant (IATI export alongside Odoo) |
| Accounting (not in ProjectConnect) | Odoo Accounting with analytic accounting per grant |
| Donors and relations | Odoo CRM |
| Documents and compliance | Odoo Documents + togrant |
Why NGOs look for a ProjectConnect alternative
ProjectConnect is strong at what it does: the grant and programme cycle for NGOs, with M&E and IATI reporting. But it is deliberately a point solution. In practice we see NGOs running ProjectConnect (or something like it) for their grants, keeping their accounting separately in Twinfield or Exact, and holding donors, partners and projects in yet other tools or spreadsheets. That creates the same fragmentation we see everywhere - only here in the nonprofit context, where accountability per euro per grant weighs heaviest of all.
The real problem: accountability separate from operations
For NGOs managing institutional grants - from the EU, USAID, the UN or FCDO - every euro has to trace back to a grant, a budget and a result. That only works if your grant administration and your accounting connect. A separate grant platform next to a separate bookkeeping package means re-keying, reconciling and manual reporting. One NGO in our analysis ran its Dutch books in Twinfield, but it could not carry the other countries - exactly the kind of ceiling a point solution hits once the organisation grows more international.
Odoo + togrant: the alternative
In one open platform, Odoo covers what an NGO runs every day: CRM for donors and partners, Project for programmes, Accounting with analytic accounting per grant, and Documents. togrant adds the full grant cycle on top - application, award, budget, spending, M&E and IATI reporting - with no customisation in Odoo. Instead of a grant tool next to a bookkeeping package next to a CRM, you get one coherent system for operations and accountability, open source and at SMB pricing. In a conversation with an NGO in our analysis, Unit4 came up as an option too, but was set aside as too expensive - exactly the gap Odoo + togrant fills.
How do you choose?
Three rules of thumb. One: if grant management is your only real need and finance and operations are well handled elsewhere, staying with ProjectConnect can be fine. Two: if field data collection is your centre of gravity, M&E tools like Kobo or ActivityInfo are strong - but as a complement, not a platform. Three: if you want operations, accounting and grant accountability in one coherent, affordable platform, Odoo + togrant is usually the strongest choice. Start from where your biggest pain is: for most professionalising NGOs that is accountability sitting apart from the books.
Curious about realistic hours, cost and timelines? See the Odoo implementation benchmark →
Frequently asked questions about ProjectConnect alternatives
Is Odoo a good alternative to ProjectConnect?
For NGOs that need more than a standalone grant platform - accounting that must be justified per grant, projects, donors and partners on one system - Odoo is usually the strongest alternative. With togrant added you cover the full grant cycle including IATI reporting, in one coherent platform at SMB pricing.
What is togrant?
togrant is a stand-alone SaaS by Radical Fanatics that manages the full grant cycle - application, award, budget, spending, M&E and IATI reporting - alongside Odoo, without customising Odoo. Built for NGOs managing institutional grants from the EU, USAID, the UN or FCDO.
Does ProjectConnect handle the accounting?
No. ProjectConnect focuses on grants, programmes, M&E and IATI reporting; the accounting runs separately alongside it, often in Twinfield or Exact. That is exactly the difference with Odoo + togrant: there the accounting is native in the platform, with analytic accounting per grant, so accountability and administration connect.
Can togrant handle IATI reporting?
Yes. togrant is built for NGOs serving institutional donors and supports IATI donor reporting alongside Odoo. That keeps Odoo standard while giving you the donor-specific reporting the sector requires.
How long does switching from ProjectConnect take?
A well-scoped implementation takes weeks to a few months, depending on scope and data quality. We start with a fit-gap and a data plan; ongoing grants, budgets, partners and historic reports are planned explicitly, so your accountability never breaks during the transition.
Grants, finance and operations in one?
We are happy to think along about which alternative fits your NGO - even if that is staying with ProjectConnect, with Odoo underneath for operations and accounting. Honest about where a point solution suffices, and where one platform wins.