Your Top Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT® May Product Update Briefing (PUB) Questions Answered

At Blackbaud, we know that managing nonprofit finances is no small feat. Your processes are the backbone of your mission’s success, ensuring transparency, accountability, and smarter decision-making. The questions and concerns you shared in the Financial Edge NXT May PUB highlight the important work you’re doing—and the challenges you’re navigating. We hear you. And we’re here to help.

In this blog, we’ve pulled together the top 15 FAQs and concerns from the May PUB to give you clarity, address frustrations, and outline the improvements on the horizon. Let’s dig into what matters most to you and your team.

Payment Assistant joins Blackbaud Purchase Cards and Blackbaud's patented Expense Management functionality to help eliminate manual tasks and get more accurate data faster.

Additionally, Payment Assistant is currently included with your Financial Edge NXT subscription cost. There is no additional cost for using Payment Assistant, including reissuance of payments if needed.

2. What’s the timeline for Receivables becoming fully available in webview?
You’ve been clear about how important it is for receivables to function seamlessly in webview. The good news is that receivables are already rolling out, with capabilities like charges, refunds, and invoice printing now available. Over the next several weeks, you will see more functionality coming into webview while we resolve issues and continue development.

Remember, for those who are utilizing third-party billing, you will continue to have your AR records available in database view until we have that functionality fully available in webview.

3. Will we be able to correct 1099s in Aatrix Cloud in webview next tax season?
Yes, this is on the radar! Based on your feedback, the team is working to ensure 1099 corrections can be made directly in the cloud for the next tax season. This improvement will save you time and simplify your year-end reporting.

4. What’s happening with AI-powered Invoice Scanning? Will this be included with my current Financial Edge NXT subscription?
We’re as excited as you are about the potential of AI to simplify your work. The Invoice Scanning tool is being designed to streamline your workflow. You’ll be able to effortlessly upload invoices in any format (PDF or image) and use AI-powered document intelligence to extract key information and generate invoices in Financial Edge NXT. This means you can say goodbye to manual data entry, reduce errors, and enjoy a smoother user experience.

While there will be a nominal additional charge for this feature, the time savings and efficiency gains you will experience are truly remarkable. Imagine transforming hours of manual tasks into seamless, automated workflows, allowing your team to focus on what truly matters—advancing your mission.

Expect more updates within the next several months in our usual channels of Community, “What’s New”, and ‘What’s Next” as this functionality gets fine-tuned.

5. How is Blackbaud addressing performance and usability issues in webview?
We know you work best when you can work faster and smarter. The team is prioritizing performance enhancements, including faster navigation, a modernized home page, usability improvements, and improved functionality for daily workflows.

We’ve already started releasing performance improvements in the Journal Entry area in waves, with general availability (GA) expected by the end of July. More areas will follow shortly. These updates are part of our commitment to making Financial Edge NXT not just a tool you use, but a partner in your success.

6. What’s Blackbaud Copilot and how does it compare to Microsoft’s Copilot?
Blackbaud Copilot is designed specifically for nonprofit workflows in systems. While Microsoft’s Copilot serves a general audience, Blackbaud’s solution leverages AI to simplify your day-to-day tasks, like generating reports and managing projects and funds.

We aim to have Blackbaud Copilot be an AI powered coach and assistant that allows you to interact with your data in natural language, all based on Blackbaud’s responsible Intelligence for Good® strategy, with best-practice security principles built in. It’s all about empowering you to focus on the strategic work that drives your mission forward.

Here are some examples of Blackbaud Copilot options that will be available and helpful in Financial Edge NXT:

• How is the project against budget?
• What projects are over budget?
• What projects don't have a budget, but have expenses?
• Do I have unspent funds in a project with a due date in x months/this year, etc.?

These options will allow users to interact with their financial data in natural language, making it easier to manage and track financial information effectively.

Note: Blackbaud Copilot operates as a closed Large Language Model (LLM), ensuring that customer data is securely contained within individual accounts and is not shared broadly or across different customers.

7. When will automated bank reconciliation become available?
We hear your requests for smoother bank reconciliation loud and clear. AI-powered transaction matching and automated reconciliation are in active development and will be included in the broader rollout of financial management enhancements in the next six to 12 months. These updates aim to significantly reduce manual effort so you can close periods faster.

8. Can multiple ACH remittance emails be sent to vendors?
Currently, ACH email remittances can only be sent to one email address per vendor, but this is changing. Based on your feedback, plans are underway to allow multiple recipients for remittance notifications, offering you more flexibility and improving vendor communication.

9. What's happening with database view features that are not yet available in webview?
Thank you for your patience and support during our shift to Total Web Solution (TWS) for Financial Edge NXT. Since April 2023, we’ve been phasing out database view access progressively, adapting based on your direct feedback—like with hard closing fiscal years and inserting lines in a Journal Entry—to make this move to webview as smooth and efficient as possible.

We are committed to ongoing updates and direct communication about the Total Web Solution roadmap. Your patience and input have been essential in shaping webview, and we hope to keep hearing from you in the Community and IdeaBank as we transition away from the database view.

10. How can tiered payment approvals in Payment Assistant be customized to fit our organization’s needs?
Payment Assistant now includes tiered payment approvals, which let you create approval rules tailored to your organization’s unique requirements. This ensures that larger transactions receive the appropriate oversight, while smaller payments can move faster.

You can also assign approvals based on invoice entry or department coding—adding another layer of flexibility. You can define up to five approval tiers for payments and the rules you set are applied per payment, not per payment run. So, you can apply as many payments as you want in a payment run of varying amounts and the approvals required will be determined by each individual payment amount.

Read more about Tiered Approvals here.

11. What’s the timeline for Requisitions and WebPurchasing becoming fully available in webview?
We understand how important it is for requisitions and the full WebPurchasing workflow to function seamlessly in webview. Requisitions are in progress in webview now, with updates expected in the next six to 12 months.

We are moving the entire WebPurchasing workflow into a modernized Spend Management area in webview from its external portal (separate from database view). These changes will provide you with more efficient, centralized workflows.

12. When will I be able to insert a line in a Journal Entry batch?
Based on your feedback, we will soon be releasing the ability to insert lines within a Journal Entry! This will make it easier to update financial records without having to create a new entry.

For instance, if a department needs to allocate expenses to multiple accounts before posting but after the initial entry has been made, they can simply add the necessary lines to the existing journal entry, ensuring that all related information is consolidated and accurately reflected in the financial statement.

We are rolling out this feature in waves currently and expect all customers to have this option by the end of July 2025.

13. When will I be able to share reports from the Report Scheduler to non-Blackbaud users?
Great news! This is available now! Report Scheduler can now send to non-users of Financial Edge NXT, like program managers, board members, development staff, and others outside of the business office.

This is our modernized Queue, empowering back-office staff to reduce the amount of manual reporting and email delivery for recurring reporting needs and giving you more time to focus on financial strategy.

Note: Additional Queue features, like exporting and scheduling and running jobs, are still in progress for webview. You will keep access to Queue in database view until we have this available for you in webview.

14. What’s the timeline for Allocations becoming fully available in webview?
Allocations in webview is being released in two phases. The first phase, which allows users to view and run existing allocations, is already available to some customers. We expect it to become fully available to all customers in July. The second phase, which will enable users to create new and edit existing allocations, is expected to start release waves by the end of August.

You will retain access to these features in database view until they are fully available in webview.

15. Where can I find training for all of these new webview workflows?
In conjunction with the new features highlighted in this product update, Blackbaud University has released new courses to ensure your organization is equipped to get the most out of Financial Edge NXT.

We continually update the curriculum with new courses to best fit your organization’s needs, so remember to bookmark the training curriculum for Financial Edge NXT.

Browse the training curriculum for Financial Edge NXT:
https://learn.blackbaud.com/pages/285/blackbaud-financial-edge-nxt-cat

Level Up with Financial Edge NXT:
https://learn.blackbaud.com/learn/dashboard/channel/57

WHAT’S NEW in Financial Edge NXT:
https://learn.blackbaud.com/learn/dashboard/channel/54

Trending Topics Channel:
https://learn.blackbaud.com/pages/228/blackbaud-financial-edge-nxt-channels

Spotlight on Payables:
https://learn.blackbaud.com/learn/dashboard/channel/55

For customers in the Asia-Pacific region, you can access the eLearning catalogue here:
https://learn.blackbaud.com.au/pages/118/blackbaud-pacific-course-catalogue

Your Work Matters
Your feedback is invaluable. It’s shaping a platform designed to empower you to work smarter, not harder. At Blackbaud, we’re dedicated to building tools that help you foster sustainability, strengthen accountability, and drive impact—all while saving time for what matters most: your mission.

If you have additional questions or want to share feedback, don’t hesitate to comment here. Together, we’ll continue to improve Financial Edge NXT to address the needs of nonprofit finance professionals like you. Stay tuned for more updates and thank you for all the incredible work you do!

Didn’t catch the May Product Update Briefing live? Watch on-demand and be sure to check out all the great resources we’ve included for you in the ‘docs’ section of the webinar platform.