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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ApprovalMax

    Score9.9 out of 10
    N/AApprovalMax 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

    Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT

    Score6.8 out of 10
    N/AFinancial 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
    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud 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
    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalRequired
    Additional DetailsDiscount 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.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Considered Both Products
    ApprovalMax
    No answer on this topic
    Blackbaud
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    78%
    Would buy again
    99 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    79%
    Delivers good value for the price
    77 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    101 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    70%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    43 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    65%
    Implementation went as expected
    51 Answers
    Features
    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Payment Management
    Comparison of Payment Management features of ApprovalMax and Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Feature
    ApprovalMax
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    -
    Ratings
    Customizable Approval Policies9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Financial Document Management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payment Status Tracking9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payment Audit Trail9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Duplicate Bill Detection4.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts Payable
    Comparison of Accounts Payable features of ApprovalMax and Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Feature
    ApprovalMax
    8.5
    1 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    -
    Ratings
    Automated Accounts Payable Processes9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Vendor Management8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
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    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud Financial Edge NXT
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    Score8.8 out of 10
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    Stampli
    Score8.4 out of 10
    MIP Fund Accounting
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Yooz
    Score8.8 out of 10
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    User Ratings
    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.7
    (164 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.2
    (18 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (15 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.9
    (17 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ApprovalMaxBlackbaud Financial Edge NXT
    Likelihood to Recommend
    ApprovalMax
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Blackbaud
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    ApprovalMax
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Blackbaud
    • It is integrated with our other databases enabling our business office to work easily with our fundraising and academic offices.
    • Mass email platform to contact all of our constituents.
    • Provide a starting point for any prospect research that we need to do.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    ApprovalMax
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Blackbaud
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    It is meeting our needs very well and they continue to introduce enhancements. Much of our staff is not very technical, and the ease of use is very important. Training is quick and easy. The licensing is reasonable and affordable. And, the time, effort, and cost of finding another solution and implementing it would be very substantial.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    We've been customers for many years and it has only gone down 2 or 3 times ever. Highly available.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    Consistently displays pages quickly without delay.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    ApprovalMax
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Blackbaud
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    The ability to get a discount for multiple years would be nice.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Blackbaud
    When we've had changes or new cost centers, they are easy to add and get live quickly. Very scalable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    ApprovalMax
    • 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 .
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Blackbaud
    • Record accuracy has gone up with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT. We are able to keep everything separate using both natural accounts and projects.
    • The AP module has increased our speed in issuing checks. We are able to easily review and see where approvals may be stuck in order to get checks out promptly.
    • The approval chains and easily viewed records of approvals have helped our auditors easily track processes for internal control walkthroughs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    ApprovalMax Screenshots

    Screenshot of where approval processes are set up  – no matter how simple or complex.Screenshot of the interface to build approval steps that follow any business rules – whether approvals happen one after another, all at once, or only in certain cases. The user can also control who approves based on things like amount, supplier, account code, or category.Screenshot of where to approve bills and purchase orders the way that works best.Screenshot of the interface that matches bills to approved purchase orders from the same supplier to keep coding accurate and control spending. Unmatched bills can also be stopped from being approved.Screenshot of where to mention others in comments to bring them in or get their input – even if they’re not part of the original approval. If they don’t have access, a prompt to add them as a Watcher is sent. Mentions work on web and mobile, sending notifications as soon as access is granted.Screenshot of where to raise purchase orders, approve requests, and extract key details from bills and purchase orders – all on the go with the ApprovalMax mobile app for iOS and Android.

    Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT Screenshots

    Screenshot of Board Meeting Book BalancesScreenshot of Budget RecordScreenshot of Director of Development DashboardScreenshot of Organizational OverviewScreenshot of Project RecordScreenshot of Security