ApprovalMax
provides approval workflow automation for cloud accounting platforms such as
Xero and QuickBooks Online. It replaces paper- and email-based approval
processes with multi-step and multi-role automated approval workflows that
enable automated notifications to approvers, automated audit trails, and mobile
approvals.
Approval
workflows include:
Invoice approvals / bill review and
bill approval Purchase order approval, including
the functionality to create…
$54
per month per organization
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Financial Edge NXT is a cloud accounting solution tailored for nonprofits that provides a general ledger, projects, grants, endowments, accounts payable and receivable, fixed assets, banking, and more. It offers real-time reporting, with one-click drill-down functionality and export capability.
N/A
Pricing
ApprovalMax
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Editions & Modules
ApprovalMax Standard
$54
per month per organization
ApprovalMax Advanced
$83
per month per organization
ApprovalMax Premium
$121
per month per organization
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ApprovalMax
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
Optional
Required
Additional Details
Discount available for annual pricing and for management of multiple organizations.
Blackbaud is currently offering the first six months of Financial Edge NXT free for new customers. Limited conditions apply.
Prior to using Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, a financial software package offered by Sage was used. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is much more user friendly, and integrates with the fundraising software used by the Foundation, Raiser's Edge. The integration has eliminated …
At the time Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT was able to be set up close to how our previous system was set up and our IT Director wanted it to be that way. That was the main driver
For non-profit specific accounting use cases, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT provides a robust, yet very user friendly interface that supports all operational accounting, reporting, and regulatory needs. When coupled with other Blackbaud products (Tuition Management, Raiser's …
The two products work together. My main experience has been with this set of products. It has been many years since we used anything else and I dont have basis to compare.
The main reason for choosing Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT was cost. Blackbaud measures up with the above software when it comes to entering information.
Raiser's Edge works with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, so we are able to use both systems together and they work smoothly. We post gift/income from donors to our financial system Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT.
Paycom is our payroll and HR software. It does not compare to this financial software. We have mostly only used Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT. When we tried another financial software years ago, it didn't compare to the flexibility and robustness of Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT. …
Raiser's Edge works in tandem with Financial Edge NXT. I wish that Raiser's Edge NXT was similar to FENXT in regards to having converted the database view functionality to the web version. In that regard, RENXT does not do very well since our gift processors still rely heavily …
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT offers robust reporting tools out of the box, with very little customization required to meet reporting needs. Other systems I have used required skilled report writers to develop financial and operational reports needed for internal and external …
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is clearly designed for the non-profit industry organizations, and it shows! The features would not necessarily be a great asset to some for-profit businesses given the design and focus on grant/fund reporting, but for non-profits it hits the "ball …
Our CIO vetted some other products as he is also an accountant and felt that Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT appeared to be much more efficient than what we had and it had a lot more functionality than the previous and competitors. He also felt that Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT …
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is far superior to CYMA. We used CYMA for over 20 years. It was tough to transition because Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT follows GAAP, while CYMA did not the way we had it set up. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT has more robust fund tracking and …
It's unreal the difference that Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is compared to CYMA. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is quick and much more efficient , especially the day to day. Bank recs are insanely easier in Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT. The process time has been lessoned …
CYMA was very clunky and the reporting was insufficient. The data and transactions do not flow from one module to the other until they are posted and permanent, so it is hard to get a full picture at any point in time. To get things in you have to fully post, and then …
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, compared to CYMA, offers both the database view as well as the desktop view making it incredibly user-friendly and offers easy access to and visibility of the financial statements. You are able to clearly and easily filter the reports and work in …
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT allows for multiple companies/entities to be tracked much easier than Quickbooks allowed. The online capabilities in Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT were also much more useful.
As mentioned previously - able to send invoice based on amount , program code and division code ,supplier is very useful feature ; If an invoice does not fit into approval process than it is rejected and an email is received mentioning the reason
The look of the reports and the platform is great. It's easy to lookup vendors and find some information. I wish the flow to navigate around the system was more intuitive. We tend to do more going back and forth to move to another vendor. It must be an easier solution. But that's the learning curve piece we need.
choice based on Program codes / division codes - we use Xero accounting system and we have 22 program codes and 11 divison codes ; once invoice is entered in Xero depending on relevant program code and divison code, Approval max automatically send invoice to relevant person depending on approval workflow process . One manager could be handling multiple divison and program codes; if our approval work flow process is properly designed - it is accurate in sending invoice to relevant manager.
invoice can also send to various managers based on General ledger codes ; this flexibility makes useful when manager is handling only certain nature of expenses regardless of program codes / divisionl.
Approval process can also be designed based on level of amount ; and level of amount is derived from our Delegation policy. it makes audit of application of delegation policy easy ; we give copy of delegation policy and print of approval work flow process to auditor.
Uploading and inputting information is easy due to a clear format and outline.
Researching and finding past information is quick and easy to navigate due to searching and filtering options as well as the ability to name the files for quick searches.
Pulling project titles and accounts - you can have a large amount of projects and accounts and are able to know them through the system without having to memorize each individual title.
Being able to export a general ledger for an account to excel while still being formatted correctly.
Having the ability to filter in what transactions are pulled in the general ledger. You are able to easily look at all the activity or only activity in a certain time frame or other specific filters.
There is always access to help from Blackbaud services for any sort of difficulty.
Learning and the ability to attend Blackbaud classes are readily and easily available so you can increase your knowledge and ability to serve well in your organizations' role.
date and time of change in approval process ; for example if Mr. A was responsible for all expenses above $1000 in Oct 23 and from Nov 23 it is changed to $5000 . in Dec 23 if it is checked - it will show approval limit of $5000 ; but will not show from which date limit was changed. Auditor always asks this question when the limit was changed in approval max - we cannot prove it.
If there is audit trail of who made the changes , when and what changes were made ; will be good.
when we are in main page of seeing invoices awaiting approval - there are hundreds of invoices - searching for one invoice from particular supplier is very cumbersome job - we have to go by each and every invoice in order to find that invoice ; it will be good if we have search function on main page itself ; in current scenario we have to go to report section - input all filters and than search for that particular invoice.
Queries is not fully set up yet and could use more functionality within the reporting structure
Recurring payments do not seem to be moving forward and we have several annuities that run quarterly
Queue appears to be going away and report scheduling is coming, however, you cannot send to users outside of your organization. We run so many monthly reports that we used to have emailed out via queue that now we have to run them manually and save them to a sharepoint site for our campus partners to access.
A little concerned with printing checks once database view goes away since the one time I tried it the printing margins were totally off.
Integration of papersave products and cash receipts.
BB seems to forcing changes on customers at a faster rate. This company needs stability because it is understaffed in accounting. There isn't time to drop everything and work up workarounds or even try to judge effects. There also isn't the time to find a replacement suite unless things get really bad.
I don't have much to compare it to but if I speak of just the reporting options; sometimes there are so many options I spend more time finding the "perfect" report when a basic report with minimal columns is needed. But I know I can always add to the report if asked.
No one is perfect, but this support team is as close as it gets. They respond promptly and if the person I'm talking to doesn't have the answer they find someone that does. They also provide documentation and/or resources to support their responses to my questions. The online chat is awesome and usually all I need
The training is semi helpful if you have already been in the system. If you are completely new it does make it kind of hard since chart of accounts will be different among organizations. For a general idea it is helpful. One complaint on training would be that as FENXT is attempting to go fully to the web solution there were often times things that were moved or changed that even the trainer was unaware of and had to adapt on the fly.
The implementation can be easy depending on how familiar you are with Blackbaud products. It is cloud based so there is not a need for IT involvement but you do need to know your business requirement.
Prior to using Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, a financial software package offered by Sage was used. Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is much more user friendly, and integrates with the fundraising software used by the Foundation, Raiser's Edge. The integration has eliminated duplicate entry of donor information into the financial software. In addition, the add-in tools provided by Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT make journal entries a much more efficient process.
It has certainly made a positive impact ; it is definately worth its value ; when we are processing hundreds of invoices every fortnight ; getting approval of invoices in timely manner for all invoices is of paramount importance . as approval max has its own app - approval can be done on mobile phone also ; this is particularly helpful when staff is travelling .
