Novi AMS Review

We are a 501-c-6 with around 425 members and 6,000 records. Novi is our third AMS in seven years; we outgrew the first and the second was basically a terrible experience. So when we read the reviews on this platform about how wonderful Novi is, we were a bit skeptical. We'd "been there, done that" and felt pretty realistic about what we could expect from an AMS system. As the ED I was particularly cautious as having to sell my Board on yet another AMS switch was not something I relished. We have now been with Novi for about a year and we are highly satisfied. In fact, our database manager jokingly says, "If Novi were a person, I'd marry it." Here are the things that have been the most beneficial to us:

• The team is really patient during the purchase process. They tell you the truth, and they don't disappear after you sign.
• Onboarding is simple. They handle a lot of it and help you problem-solve in real time. They don't leave you to your own devices or let you import garbage and then later throw up their hands because "it's a data problem." They help you get it right in the beginning.
• The front end of the website is impressive. We get compliments on it all the time.
• The entire platform (website, member portal, database) is intuitive and easy to use. The website in particular is truly WYSIWYG, and very stable, so that a non-designer/non-coder can easily update and maintain it.
• Reports are easy to build and access.
• When the occasional bug occurs (we've had maybe 2-3 in a year) the Novi team owns it and gets it fixed pretty much immediately. No more "it's a known issue" and then no progress for months, which is what we used to experience with other AMSs.
• Novi is always working on improvements and they actually do take feedback seriously. Importantly, when they roll out an update it generally does not make mysterious things happen to your website or data, which is something that was routine on our prior platforms.
• THEY ARE RESPONSIVE! If you have a problem, open a ticket, need to ask a question, etc, real human beings—that you might actually know—will help you solve the issue, often within a very short time frame. And, amazingly enough, they continue to do this after you are out of the sales/onboarding phase. They apparently treat all their customers as "kind of a big deal."

When we were shopping for the system and chose Novi, I somewhat wondered if the reviews on "Review My AMS" were paid, or maybe the owners' moms had written them because they were so gushing. But after 35 years in nonprofit management, this is hands-down the best software and best team I've ever worked with. So here I am, gushing also. And I am nobody's mom.