Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: Nonprofit Accounting Review

Nonprofits likely agree that managing finances and accounting is a complex yet critical task.

Using the right software can make accounting easier and more efficient for nonprofits to track donations, report on grants, and plan budgets.

In this post, we'll review Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, a cloud-based accounting solution built specifically for nonprofit organizations. We'll look at its key features for fund accounting, reporting, budgeting, and more to help you determine if it's a good fit for your nonprofit's financial management needs.

Introduction to Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is an accounting software designed specifically to meet the unique needs of nonprofit organizations. With robust financial management capabilities, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT helps nonprofits improve transparency, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

What is Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT?

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is a cloud-based accounting platform created by Blackbaud, the world's leading provider of software and services for nonprofits. It replaces Blackbaud's previous Financial Edge software with an updated, modern interface and enhanced reporting tools.

Key capabilities include:

• Fund accounting

• Budgeting and forecasting

• Reporting and analytics

• Payment processing

• Purchasing and payables

Designed for finance teams at midsized and large nonprofits, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT helps manage all monetary transactions and provide stakeholders with real-time financial insights.

Key Features and Capabilities

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT equips nonprofits with robust accounting functionality:

• General ledger: Track income, expenses, and grant money across unlimited funds and programs.

• Budgeting: Build budgets at various levels with modeling capabilities to forecast different scenarios.

• Reporting and dashboards: Generate customizable reports and visual analytics for real-time insights.

• Accounts payable: Streamline invoice processing with automated approvals and payment controls.

• Purchasing: Manage procurement with purchase requests and seamless payables integration.

It also features role-based permissions, advanced security, and integrations with other Blackbaud products.

Benefits for Nonprofits

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT provides nonprofits several advantages:

• Increased efficiency: Automate tedious accounting tasks to free up staff resources.

• Enhanced reporting: Provide stakeholders financial transparency with real-time reports and dashboards.

• Regulatory compliance: Maintain proper controls and financial safeguards required for nonprofits.

• Scalability: Cloud delivery allows system to adapt as operational needs change.

With robust fund accounting and enterprise-grade security tailored to nonprofits, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT enables accurate tracking and responsible management of donor funds.

Core Accounting Capabilities

Fund Accounting

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT provides robust tools for nonprofit fund accounting. It enables organizations to track restricted and unrestricted funds in real-time across multiple GLs and funds.

Key features include:

• Custom fund types and hierarchies

• Automated fund restrictions

• Real-time fund tracking and reporting

• Allocations and transfers between funds

• Audit trails for restricted funds

With strong controls, nonprofits can ensure proper use of restricted funds. The software also makes it easy to track unrestricted funds and assets.

Reporting and Dashboards

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT has powerful reporting capabilities tailored for nonprofit accounting. Users get real-time visibility into financial performance through:

• Customizable dashboards

• Interactive charts and graphs

• Scheduled reports and report builder

• Financial statements and analysis

• KPIs and metrics

The software transforms raw data into actionable insights. This helps leadership make data-driven decisions to improve financial health. Users can also build custom reports and dashboards specific to their organization's needs.

Tax Planning and Compliance

As a nonprofit accounting system built for FASB standards, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT fully supports GAAP-compliant financial reporting. This includes assisting organizations with:

• Form 990 tax return preparation

• Public support tests for 501c3 status

• UBIT tracking and calculations

• Endowment reporting

By embedding IRS requirements into the software, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT makes it easier for nonprofits to maintain 501c3 tax compliance. Automations reduce the lift for finance teams during yearly reporting.

Budgeting and Forecasting Tools

Flexible Budget Creation

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT provides robust tools for creating customized budgets tailored to your organization's specific needs. Users can build budgets at the organization, department, program, or project level with a user-friendly interface:

• Input past financial data to auto-populate budget line items

• Configure budget periods by fiscal year, calendar year, or custom date ranges

• Set up budget versions for different scenarios (conservative, moderate, aggressive)

• Attach notes and supporting documents directly in the system

Budget creators have flexibility to add or adjust line items and categorizations as needed. Granular control over budget components allows for accurate plans aligned to strategic goals.

Budget Tracking and Analysis

Once budgets are finalized, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT makes it easy to track performance and analyze variances:

• Compare budgets to actuals for any period with automatic variance calculations

• Drill down on variances to understand root causes (e.g. unplanned program expenses)

• Run reports on demand or set up automated report delivery to stakeholders

• Annotate directly in the system when investigating discrepancies

• Leverage insights to adjust budgets or influence future planning

Ongoing monitoring ensures budgets remain relevant. Tools like comments and annotations promote alignment through transparent communications.

Long-range Forecasting

In addition to annual budgeting, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT empowers longer-term financial planning:

• Create multi-year revenue and expense forecasts based on historical trends

• Model different growth scenarios (conservative, moderate, aggressive)

• Include personnel costs by mapping headcount growth

• Factor in capital investments over time (e.g. new equipment)

• Adjust assumptions and instantly view forecast updates

With the ability to take a long view, organizations can pursue growth initiatives aligned to their mission and strategic priorities. Scenario modeling allows for flexibility in a changing environment.

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Integrations and API

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers seamless integration with other key systems to streamline nonprofit operations.

CRM and Donor Management

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT integrates out-of-the-box with Blackbaud's industry-leading nonprofit CRM and donor management solutions, including:

• Raiser's Edge NXT - Sync donor data and gain insights into fundraising performance.

• everydayhero - Connect peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns and accept online donations.

These deep integrations eliminate manual data entry and provide a unified view of constituents and finances.

Payroll, Banking, and Payments

To streamline payroll and banking, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT integrates with:

• Paylocity, Paychex Flex, ADP Workforce Now - Automate payroll posting.

• Major banks - Securely connect accounts for seamless transactions.

• Merchant services and payment gateways - Accept credit cards and online payments.

Organizations can tailor financial workflows to their unique stack.

Customization via API

For advanced customizations, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT provides open APIs to connect with other applications:

• Build custom reports, dashboards, and visualizations leveraging real-time data.

• Automate workflows between finance, HR, CRM, and other systems.

• Develop custom interfaces and extensions for specific business needs.

The comprehensive API enables full control over expanding system capabilities.

Overall, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT interoperates with the critical tools nonprofits rely on. Whether leveraging out-of-the-box integrations or custom APIs, it flexibly adapts to each organization's existing tech stack and future needs.

Implementation and Ongoing Support

Onboarding and Training

Vintti provides comprehensive onboarding and training resources to ensure a smooth transition when bringing on new remote accounting staff. This includes:

• Dedicated onboarding manager to handle all administrative tasks, paperwork, and scheduling

• Customized onboarding plan tailored to your company's specific accounting needs and workflows

• Online self-paced training courses to get new hires up to speed on systems and processes

• Live virtual training sessions focused on your accounting software, tools, and unique workflows

• Ongoing coaching and mentoring from senior accounting managers at Vintti

Ongoing Technical Support

After onboarding, you will have full access to Vintti's around-the-clock technical support resources:

• 24/7 IT help desk for remote access, systems, or equipment issues

• Online knowledge base with searchable articles, how-tos, and troubleshooting guides

• Ticketed support system to log any technical or operational issues

• Guaranteed 8 hour response time from Vintti's bilingual support staff

Regular Software Enhancements

As part of Vintti's commitment to service quality, we continually upgrade our own operating infrastructure as well as the tools utilized by our accounting teams.

• Quarterly updates ensure accounting software remains current

• New features and integrations added based on client feedback

• Ongoing cybersecurity audits and upgrades to meet industry standards

• Annual reviews of hardware/equipment needs for remote staff

This allows our teams to leverage the latest technology while minimizing disruption to ongoing accounting operations.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Key Takeaways

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT provides a comprehensive cloud-based accounting solution tailored to meet the unique needs of nonprofit organizations. Key capabilities and benefits include:

• Robust financial management tools for fund accounting, reporting, budgeting, and forecasting

• Seamless integration with Blackbaud CRM and other Blackbaud products to centralize data

• Customizable dashboards and reports to track KPIs and inform data-driven decisions

• Dedicated customer support and extensive training resources catered to nonprofits

Best Fit Customers

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is ideally suited for:

• Medium to large nonprofit organizations seeking an integrated solution to manage complex financials and donor information

• Organizations looking to modernize legacy systems and transition financial management to the cloud

• Nonprofits requiring advanced analytics and reporting across programs, funds, campaigns etc.

• International nonprofits needing multi-currency support and localized functionality

Vendor Viability

With over 40 years focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector, Blackbaud is the leading technology provider dedicated to powering social good. Their solutions serve over 150,000 organizations globally, demonstrating a reliable track record and deep vertical expertise.

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