Payment Assistant Processing Timeline

Payment Assistant, available in Financial Edge NXT, is powered by Blackbaud and supported by REPAY, a trusted payments technology platform. REPAY assists with disbursement functionality by issuing approved payments to vendors according to a defined timeline. Once a payment run is approved, REPAY follows a structured process to withdraw funds and deliver payments.

Payment Timeline Summary

  • Day 0 — Payment run approved before 5:00 PM ET.

  • Day 1 — Funds withdrawn from your bank account.

  • Day 2 — Payment run marked as Funded in Financial Edge NXT. Virtual cards emailed to vendors. ACH files processed overnight. Checks sent for printing.

  • Day 3 — ACH funds available to vendors. Checks mailed (typically arrive in 7-10 business days).

Approval Cutoff Details

Payment runs must be approved before 5:00 PM ET to begin processing the next business day.

If approved at or after 5:00 PM ET, the withdrawal occurs two business days later.

Example

  • Approved at 5:15 PM ET on Monday → Funds withdrawn on Wednesday

  • Approved before 5:00 PM ET on Monday → Funds withdrawn on Tuesday

Recommended Wait Times Before Confirming Vendor Payment Receipt

Check payments – Send at least 7-10 business days before the due date to allow for delivery and processing. Payment Assistant waits 30 days for checks to confirm receipt of the check. If a check is still open after 30 days, contact Blackbaud Customer Support.

Virtual card payments – Payment Assistant waits 7 business days to see if a balance still exists on virtual card payments before follow-up.

ACH payments – If the vendor hasn’t received a payment processed via ACH after 3 business days (or 4 business days if submitted after 5:00 PM ET), contact Blackbaud Customer Support. You can also encourage the vendor to reach out to REPAY directly to confirm EFT details.

Note: We know that prompt payments are critical to your success! Therefore, we never hold a payment to allow time for the vendor to submit their required documentation. After the one-business-day hold, we send the payments. If a vendor hasn't completed ACH enrollment, a check is sent the first time and they receive ACH for future payments.

Tip: Learn about the Refund of Stale Payments for Payment Assistant.