Automated Deposits - Frequently Asked Questions

Raiser's Edge NXT, Blackbaud Merchant Services (now part of Blackbaud Integrated Payments), and Financial Edge NXT work together to reduce the burden of manually reconciling a deposit to your general ledger.

After you post gifts in Raiser's Edge NXT, key details from Blackbaud Merchant Services are retrieved and display in Financial Edge NXT including gift amounts, fees, record ID, and the disbursement report. These details are used to create a deposit all within Financial Edge NXT — eliminating the need to manually reconcile disbursed payments with corresponding gift records in Raiser's Edge NXT!

Warning: At this time, only gifts disbursed through Blackbaud Merchant Services are included in the automated workflow.

For step-by-step details, review the automated deposits tutorial.

Your organization's finance team no longer needs to manually pull data from Raiser's Edge NXT, Blackbaud Merchant Services, and bank portals to reconcile deposits in Microsoft Excel. This process removes the manual effort, improves accuracy, and speeds up month-end close.

This feature is designed for Financial Edge NXT customers who process gifts through Blackbaud Merchant Services, then post gifts (in detail) from Raiser's Edge NXT to Financial Edge NXT.

Yes, Financial Edge NXT customers must:

• Process gifts through Blackbaud Merchant Services

• Post gifts in detail (not summary) from Raiser's Edge NXT to Financial Edge NXT

• Configure clearing, fee, and bank account details in Settings, General ledger, Business rules, Disbursements

No. For initial releases, only gifts disbursed through Blackbaud Merchant Services are included in the automated workflow.

No. Detailed gift posting is required to accurately match gifts, fees, and disbursements.

After Financial Edge NXT retrieves disbursed payments and relevant details from Blackbaud Merchant Services, a new, closed deposit is created for those payments. A disbursement report is also added to the deposit.

Payments for the deposit can come from multiple batches posted throughout the day. For example, a batch may have 30 gifts and only 20 are disbursed through Blackbaud Merchant Services and eligible for the automated deposit. You would need to manually add the other 10 gifts to a separate deposit which follows the existing, manual workflow.

The fee account you configure in Settings, General ledger, Business rules, Disbursements tracks transaction fees associated with the disbursement of funds and ensures net and gross amounts are properly accounted for.

Partially matched deposits can be flagged for review. This allows you to investigate pending payments that have not yet disbursed. From Settings, Treasury, Business rules, Deposits, select Warn when projected and actual amounts don't match.

Financial Edge NXT>General ledger>Accounts>Accounts record>Non-disbursed payments

Raiser's Edge NXT payments are held in the clearing account until they're fully disbursed. For convenience, you can easily view these payments from the general ledger clearing account record. Under Non-disbursed payments, select the record number.

Financial Edge NXT> Treasury>Deposits and payments>Deposits tab

After Financial Edge NXT retrieves disbursed payments and relevant details from Blackbaud Merchant Services, a new, closed deposit is created for those payments. A disbursement report is also added to the deposit. To review payment, distribution, and disbursed payment info, under Deposit, select a deposit's number.

No. Automated deposits improve deposit creation and posting, but don't replace bank reconciliation. The new, automated workflow reduces the burden of manually reconciling a deposit to your general ledger. Bank reconciliation enhancements will be available in future releases.

Automated deposits eliminate the need for manual data entry using spreadsheets, reduce human error, and provide a clear audit trail from gift entry to deposit creation and posting.

Yes, you retain visibility and control, and decide when to post. Review deposits and address any exceptions when necessary prior to final posting. While deposits are created in a closed state, you can still review them.

Tip: To protect the deposit's purpose and intent, we recommend against adding additional payments to an automated deposit.

Yes, you're now moving from manual reconciliation to an automated, system-driven workflow. However, the underlying accounting principles remain unchanged.

For step-by-step details on the automated workflow, review the automated deposits tutorial.

Warning: At this time, only gifts disbursed through Blackbaud Merchant Services are included in the automated workflow. Gifts processed outside of Blackbaud Merchant Services need to follow the existing, manual workflow. For info on manually adding deposits, see Add Deposits.

Automated deposits compliments Payment Assistant by extending automation beyond payment processing into downstream financial reconciliation and posting.

Initial releases do not include:

• Bank reconciliation and automation

• Support for non-Blackbaud Merchant Services processors

• Gift posting in summary

• Customizations

Future releases may include:

• Enhanced bank reconciliation

• Expanded processor support

• Additional, advanced cash management features

We'll monitor your feedback throughout this time to determine next steps as we prepare for general availability. After we have fully developed and tested, we'll communicate a generally available date using our normal communication channels including What's New, What's Next, Financial Post in the Community, and Product Update Briefing (PUBs).