Any thoughts? Our company is looking to institute either Black Baud or Great Plains for our accounting system. Price is about the same for both. After viewing them I am partial to Black Baud but I haven't actually every used either. Has anyone out here used both, and what is your opinion on these products. Or, if you've used one or the other I'm curious as to how they perform for your organization.
Thanks
I am familiar with Great Plains to a limited extent, but I can say that our finance department folks are very happy with it.
We also use The Raiser's Edge by Blackbaud -- their fundraising and donor management progrem -- and while not the same as an accounting package, it is written very well. If their accounting software is of the same caliber, then it may just be a toss-up between the two.
Joined on 03-09-2005
TechSoup Member
We have both BlackBaud Accounting for NonProfits & the Raiser's Edge. Unfortunatly, I do not have a lot of good things to say about either. While the functionality is out of this world, we've had a lot of problems with support. Their standard answer is that the fix has been suggested for a later release. Specific Raiser's edge problems include, but are not limited to, quirks in how the software applies money to pledges as well as the lack of functionality in handling the basics like credit card fees. I should also add that some of our problems could be avoided on the users end if you catch my meaning.
As far as the Accounting module is concerned, we are still on v.6 and have not made the jump to their latest product. We have a recurring problem on the workstation end (XP Pro)where it partially shuts the application down. It happens in vendors, cash receipts and journal entries. Both server and workstations have been replaced since the first instance, but it happens at least once a week.
I am by no means saying you will experience the same, but thought I should mention. If you like, I can put you in contact with our bookkeeper who works with it daily.
One last item. BlackBaud must run on it's own server. Besides being processor heavy, the latest versions (like most databases today) cannot run on the domain controller/server running Active Directory. Made that mistake jumping to Raiser's Edge 7. Oops.
Joined on 10-27-2003
TechSoup Member
No experience with Great Plains, but like Blackbaud software a lot.
It's easy to support (I'm IS), and while a previous poster said they'd had a lot of problems, we have not. We have Raiser's Edge and Financial Edge (both in version 7 using SQL Server 2000) and are strongly considering Patron Edge. Have also looked at their Information Edge and prospect management packages/services.
Yes, you do need to have a reasonably strong infrastructure to support a Blackbaud product. Yes, they do put upgrades out a lot - some of it to fix problems, some to add new features. These upgrades are typically very quick and easy. Yes, there may a few areas in which they're doing things in a way you wish they wouldn't, but that's software development - overall their packages are so incredibly customizable, it's unbelievable. They offer a lot of user manuals, training, etc.
The software is well-written, they have online support, you can call, you can communicate via email, they will even use webex to log into a specific machine, if necessary.
I would suggest you request on-site demos from both organizations so you and your users can see both packages in action and ask a lot of questions.
Good luck!
Joined on 04-05-2005
TechSoup Member
Blackbaud is a great product with extensive features. Your organization will likely never outgrow it. I used The Financial Edge (v7.x) at my previous job. I really can't say enough about the product. It is true that BB support can be less than helpful, but then how helpful is Microsoft going to be with GP?
Make sure that you have an experienced consultant to help you set it up and train you. That is the best support you will get for any product.
I struggle at my new job with trying to get data out of MAS500, Blackbaud can run circles around this one and its way way easier to use. When the times comes to re-evaluate software for my org, I'll be pushing hard for Blackbaud.
Good luck.