Accounting
2018 Review of Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Jul. 23, 2018
From the 2018 reviews of nonprofit accounting systems.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is well suited for mid-sized nonprofit organizations and government entities that require a comprehensive financial management application. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is cloud-based and can also be accessed from a smart phone or tablet for true anytime/anywhere access.
The latest version of Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers a variety of enhancements to system navigation, as well as search function, lists, and data fields. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers complete chart of accounts customization, with users able to create a flexible account structure that suits the needs of their organization. Account numbers can be a maximum of 30 characters in length which includes separators, which must be included between all segment breaks. Account numbers can include up to 10 segments, with only the account code segment exceeding more than 6 characters.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT can handle a variety of transaction types, including AP and AR processing, journal entries, cash receipts, payroll, project and grant management, credit memos, and recurring transactions. The product offers excellent budgeting capability, with users able to create budgets for a variety of time periods; not just fiscal years. Approved budgets can be locked to safeguard against unwarranted changes, and users can also import previously created spreadsheet budgets directly into the GL module if desired. Budgets can be created years in advance if desired, and the product also allows users to easily create a new budget by simply copying and editing an existing budget. For organizations with more advanced budgeting needs, the Advanced Budget Management module offers cross-fiscal years budgeting as well as the ability to create ‘What If’ scenarios to view the effect that transactions can have on a budget.
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While not included in Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Blackbaud offers a variety of donation and donor tracking options that integrate including Raisers Edge, which provides nonprofit organizations with in-depth tracking and management of all donor and donation activities. The Project, Grant, and Endowment Management module offers nonprofit organizations a way to manage all organizational activity, allowing users to track all project and grant activities on a separate level from other organizational transactions. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT also includes self-balancing fund capability, so all funds will remain in balance.
The Allocation Management module allows users to automate allocated amounts between specified accounts, with the module handling direct, indirect, and indirect cost allocations.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT allows administrators to invite potential users to utilize the application. Once set up, admins can assign system access by individual or by group, with access levels determined for projects, accounts, and reporting options, as well as basic system access.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers excellent reporting options, with reports available in three categories: General Ledger reports, Payables reports, and Treasury reports. A variety of report templates are included in the application, which users can use as is, or customize to better suit their needs. Along with standard financial reports, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT also offers nonprofit specific reports including Statement of Activities, Statement of Cash Flows, and Statement of Financial Position. All reports can be customized and saved for future access, and cloud access makes it easy to share reports with others directly from the reporting interface. All Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel and Word or saved as a PDF.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers an extensive selection of completely integrated modules which include GL, Project, Grant, and Endowment Management, Allocation Management, AP, Cash Management, Cash Receipts, Purchase Orders, AR, Payroll, Point of Sale, Budget Management, Advanced Budget Management, F9 Reporting, and Reporting. Along with the standard modules, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT also integrates with other Blackbaud applications for increased system functionality.
Blackbaud’s support page offers a variety of resources including access to help and support options for all Blackbaud applications including Get Started, Help and Best Practices, Blackbaud University Training, and a Video Library, which features a variety of How-To videos. The support page also offers access to the Blackbaud knowledgebase, the community forum and a chat option. A Getting Started with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT guide is also available as a PDF that users can refer to or download and print if desired. Users can easily download any software upgrades from the webpage as well as manage their account online. Support can be accessed via telephone, email, by chat, and by Twitter.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is a comprehensive nonprofit financial management application that is well suited for mid-sized nonprofits and government entities. Ideal for those that need robust tools and scalability options, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers a variety of add-on options available through Blackbaud that can increase product functionality. Users can request a demo of the application directly from Blackbaud as well as a custom quote for their organization.