2020 Review of Financial Edge NXT

www.blackbaud.com

From the April 2020 reviews of nonprofit accounting systems.

Financial Edge NXT from Blackbaud is best suited for mid-sized nonprofit organizations and government entities looking for solid fund accounting capability. Accessible via the cloud, as well as from mobile platforms, Financial Edge NXT integrates with a variety of other Blackbaud applications, all designed for nonprofit organizations.

As a complete fund accounting solution, Financial Edge NXT includes features such as G/L, A/P, A/R, Cash Management, Purchasing, Fixed Assets, and budgeting, as well as options designed specifically for the nonprofit market including endowment accounting, complete restricted fund management, encumbrance reporting, and project and grant accounting.

Financial Edge NXT offers an embedded menu bar at the top of all screens throughout the application that provides access to the Home page, G/L, Expenses, Payables, Treasury, Fixed Assets, Reporting, Analysis, and the Control Panel. All menu choices offer complete drop-down capability, making it easy to choose the feature or function that needs to be accessed.

Financial Edge NXT offers complete chart of accounts customization, supporting multi-segment account codes for better management of programs, funds, and grants. Multiple transaction types are supported in Financial Edge NXT including standard and recurring journal entries, cash receipts and deposits, automatic bank downloads, purchase orders, EFT transactions and fixed assets.

Budgeting capability is excellent, with the option to create budgets for multiple fiscal years, lock approved budgets to prevent changes or edits, and the ability to use previous budget totals to create a new budget. Automatic notification for budget overages is available, and the budget dashboard makes it easy to manage multiple budgets simultaneously. An Advanced Budget module is also available that includes a “what-if” scenario to any created budget.

Though not available in Financial Edge NXT, donor and donor management/fundraising capability is available from Blackbaud’s Raisers Edge. Included with Financial Edge NXT is a comprehensive Project, Grant, and Endowment Management module, which allows users to track all program and grant activity separately from organizational financial activities. Users can also set reimbursement rates, assign any grant or program related task and even set reporting deadlines in the module. Self-balancing is available in Financial Edge NXT to ensure that all fund accounts are kept in balance at all times, while the Allocation Management module offers both direct and indirect allocations, including the ability to allocate amounts between any specified accounts. 

Financial Edge NXT offers multi-level security, with both individual and group access rights available. The application also offers an Advanced Security module with even more safeguards in place to protect sensitive data. 

Financial Edge NXT offers excellent reporting options with more than 100 standard reports available, with all reports able to be customized as needed. The Reports module also includes tools such as recently run reports, frequently run reports, and a favorites category, with users able to click on one of these options to view all reports in each particular list.

You can also run multiple reports simultaneously. Financial Edge NXT includes nonprofit specific reports such as Statement of Activities, Statement of Cash Flows, and Statement of Financial Position and users can share reports directly from the print interface. All Financial Edge NXT reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel and Word or saved as a PDF. 

Financial Edge NXT modules all integrate seamlessly, with a long list of modules to choose from including 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. Financial Edge NXT also integrates with other Blackbaud applications including donation management and fundraising applications.   

Blackbaud’s support page offers a variety of product assistance and resources, including a Get Started option, Video Library, Help and Best Practices, as well as numerous Blackbaud University training options. A comprehensive searchable knowledgebase is available for users and is easily accessible by clicking on the question mark icon at the top right side of the screen. In addition, Financial Edge NXT offers product support during regular business hours, with support accessible via telephone, email, chat, or Twitter.

Financial Edge NXT is better suited to mid-sized businesses that are looking for a powerful fund accounting application that offers cloud accessibility. Offering multiple add-on options ranging from donor management to a comprehensive fundraising platform, Financial Edge NXT is a good option for nonprofit organizations, associations, and government entities. The application also offers view-only licenses for those that need access to reports and other information but are not responsible for adding or editing data. If interested, sign up to view an online demo or request a more comprehensive demo from Blackbaud. Pricing can also be obtained directly from Blackbaud upon request.

2020 Rating – 5 Stars

Strengths:

·        Good selection of modules

·         Good integration options

·         Grant management capability included

Potential Limitations:

·         Complex product setup and training required

·         Not suitable for smaller nonprofits