Aequo Fund and Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT side by side
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: a cloud fund accounting system for nonprofits with its own general ledger. Aequo Fund: a fund accounting layer on top of QuickBooks Online for small nonprofits; in early access.
| Aequo Fund | Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Fund layer on top of QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online stays your general ledger | “Fund accounting for nonprofits” with its own general ledger and a segmented chart of accounts |
| Availability | Early access: join the waitlist | Generally available, sold through Blackbaud sales |
| Funds and restrictions | Unrestricted, temporarily restricted and permanently restricted funds, with sub-funds. Restrictions are tracked and reported, not enforced | “Native fund and sub-fund tracking”; subfund accounting as a hierarchy within the general ledger; budget checking by grant, contract or donor-restricted fund |
| Assigning spending to funds | Rules on the QuickBooks class, vendor, account or description assign each synced transaction line to a fund | Entered in Financial Edge NXT’s own general ledger; the vendor also lists automatic allocation |
| Grants | Grant records with funder, award, budget lines and actual spending against budget | Track grants, projects and endowments “in granular detail” with subfunds |
| Nonprofit statements | Statement of financial position, statement of activities and statement of functional expenses, accrual or cash basis, exported as CSV or PDF | “More than 60 report templates” built for nonprofits, including the statement of financial position |
| Payables | Not included in Aequo Fund (Aequo AP is a separate product) | Invoice capture and Payment Assistant for vendor payments; expense submission with routing rules and budget checking |
| Integrations | QuickBooks Online only (reads from it; does not write back) | Raiser’s Edge NXT and other Blackbaud products, Blackbaud Marketplace apps, SKY Developer tools and Microsoft Power Platform |
| Implementation | Connect a QuickBooks Online company and set fund rules | “Experienced implementation consultants” |
| Pricing | Announced at launch | Not published; Blackbaud gives personalised quotes and describes “scaled pricing” |
When Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is the better fit
Financial Edge NXT fits a nonprofit that has outgrown QuickBooks and wants a dedicated fund accounting general ledger, with restrictions handled inside the ledger itself.
- Blackbaud’s pages describe a segmented chart of accounts, subfund accounting as a hierarchy within the general ledger, and budget checking by grant, contract or donor-restricted fund.
- It covers more of the finance office in one system: invoice capture, Payment Assistant for vendor payments, and expense submission with routing rules and budget checking.
- Blackbaud lists more than 60 nonprofit report templates and integrations with Raiser’s Edge NXT, other Blackbaud products and Blackbaud Marketplace apps, which matters if you already run Blackbaud for fundraising.
- It is available today, with implementation consultants; Aequo Fund is still in early access.
When Aequo Fund is the better fit
Aequo Fund fits a small nonprofit or church that already keeps its books in QuickBooks Online and needs fund reporting without moving to a new general ledger.
- Funds stay tied to your existing QuickBooks data: rules on the class, vendor, account or description assign each bill, expense, journal entry and bill payment line to a fund.
- Unrestricted, temporarily restricted and permanently restricted funds, with sub-funds under a parent fund.
- Grant records with funder, award amount, budget lines and actual spending, so you can see what is left on each award.
- Statements of financial position, activities and functional expenses on an accrual or cash basis, exported as CSV or PDF.
- Be clear on the limits: Aequo Fund is in early access, reads from QuickBooks Online without writing back, does not block transactions that break a donor restriction, and does not include payables (Aequo AP is a separate product).
Frequently asked questions
What is a Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT alternative for a small nonprofit on QuickBooks?
If you want to keep QuickBooks Online as your general ledger, the alternative is a fund layer on top of it rather than a new accounting system. Aequo Fund does that: it reads your QuickBooks Online transactions, assigns them to funds by rule, tracks grant budgets against actuals and produces nonprofit statements. It is in early access, so join the waitlist to use it. If you want to replace QuickBooks with a dedicated fund ledger, Financial Edge NXT is built for that.
How much does Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT cost?
Blackbaud does not publish prices for Financial Edge NXT. Its pricing page says it gives personalised quotes, and its QuickBooks comparison page describes “scaled pricing” (checked 2026-10-23). Aequo Fund pricing will be announced at launch.
Is Aequo Fund available now?
No. Aequo Fund is in early access. Join the waitlist on the Aequo Fund page and we will contact you when a place opens.
Does Aequo Fund replace QuickBooks Online?
No. QuickBooks Online stays your general ledger. Aequo Fund reads bills, expenses, journal entries and bill payments from it, including the class on each line, and adds funds, grants and nonprofit statements on top. It does not write changes back to QuickBooks Online.
Does Aequo Fund enforce donor restrictions like a fund accounting ledger?
Not yet. Restricted funds are tracked and reported, but Aequo Fund does not block a transaction that breaks a restriction. Blackbaud describes budget checking by grant, contract or donor-restricted fund in Financial Edge NXT; if hard enforcement inside the ledger is a requirement, a dedicated fund accounting system is the better fit.
Does Aequo Fund integrate with Raiser’s Edge NXT?
No. QuickBooks Online is Aequo Fund’s only integration. Financial Edge NXT connects to Raiser’s Edge NXT and other Blackbaud products.
Early access
Keep QuickBooks Online and add fund accounting on top
Aequo Fund assigns QuickBooks Online spending to restricted and unrestricted funds by rule, tracks grant budgets against actuals and produces nonprofit statements. It is in early access; join the waitlist and we will contact you when a place opens.
Related guides and comparisons
Sources
Checked on October 23, 2026. Vendor capabilities and prices change; confirm current details with each vendor.
- Blackbaud — Financial Edge NXT — fund accounting, subfunds, segmented chart of accounts, invoice capture, Payment Assistant, expense submission, report templates, integrations, implementation consultants
- Blackbaud — Financial Edge NXT vs QuickBooks — fund and sub-fund tracking, budget checking by restricted fund, automatic allocation, 60+ report templates, scaled pricing
- Blackbaud — Pricing — prices are not listed; personalised quotes
- aequoap.com/suite/fund