BILL and Blackbaud are bringing payment processing directly into Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, aiming to reduce the manual work involved in accounts payable for nonprofit and education finance teams. The new Payment Assistant experience combines BILL’s business payments network with Blackbaud’s existing invoice, approval and reconciliation workflows.

Accounts payable is becoming an increasingly important target for finance automation, but many organizations still rely on manual invoice handling, approvals and payment administration. For nonprofits and educational institutions, where finance teams often operate with constrained resources, reducing those administrative steps can have an outsized operational effect.

That is the focus of a new strategic partnership between BILL (NYSE: BILL) and Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB). The companies announced that Payment Assistant, powered by BILL, will embed BILL’s payment-processing capabilities into Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Blackbaud’s financial management platform for social-impact organizations.

The integration is designed to connect more of the accounts payable lifecycle in one environment, covering invoice approval, vendor payments, payment tracking and reconciliation. Rather than requiring finance teams to move between an accounting system and a separate payment platform, the companies are integrating payment capabilities into the Financial Edge NXT workflow.

That approach reflects a broader change in financial software. AP automation is moving beyond simply digitizing invoices toward connected workflows that combine invoice data, approvals, supplier information, payment execution and financial controls.

Research from the Institute of Financial Operations & Leadership (IFOL) illustrates why that shift remains relevant. Its 2025 Accounts Payable Automation Trends research found that 63% of AP professionals spend more than 10 hours per week processing invoices, while 66% still manually enter invoice data into ERP systems.

Payment Assistant is intended to address several of those manual points. According to Blackbaud, the service brings tiered approval controls, payment tracking and straight-through reconciliation into the Financial Edge NXT environment. BILL’s payment network is also expected to simplify vendor enrollment and payment setup.

The scale of BILL’s payments infrastructure is another part of the proposition. BILL reported that its platform served 479,300 businesses at the end of fiscal 2026 and that more than 9.2 million businesses had originated or received an electronic payment through its standalone network as of June 30. The company processed $98 billion in payment volume during its fourth quarter.

For Blackbaud customers, the practical significance is less about gaining another standalone payment application and more about extending an existing financial-management workflow. Vendor payments can remain connected to the accounting and approval processes already used by finance teams, while businesses can access supported electronic payment methods.

The model also fits with the direction of enterprise finance software. Gartner’s 2026 research on accounts payable applications highlights AI-driven invoice coding and matching, payment analytics, fraud detection and tighter financial-system integration as capabilities shaping modern AP platforms.

Gartner separately reported in 2025 that 59% of surveyed finance leaders were using AI somewhere within their finance functions. Accounts payable automation was one of the more established finance AI use cases, adopted by 37% of respondents that had implemented AI.

That does not mean AP is becoming entirely autonomous. In nonprofit finance, payment controls, approval hierarchies and auditability remain central requirements. The more relevant trend is the movement of repetitive work into software while leaving policy decisions, exceptions and accountability with finance professionals.

Blackbaud’s approach also puts the partnership within the company’s broader connected-finance strategy. The company has been expanding automation and AI capabilities across Financial Edge NXT, including workflows around reconciliation and accounts payable. At its 2026 bbcon event, Blackbaud is also showcasing an AP agent designed to operate across invoice intake, payment processing, exception handling and payment-run recommendations while keeping human approval controls in place.

For BILL, meanwhile, the agreement represents another example of embedded financial infrastructure. Instead of requiring every organization to adopt a separate BILL interface, payment capabilities can be delivered through a software platform already embedded in a customer’s financial operations.

The initial rollout will be gradual. Blackbaud says an early-adopter program will precede limited availability for U.S.-based Financial Edge NXT customers, with domestic vendor payments supported initially. Additional integrations are planned as part of BILL joining the Blackbaud Partner program.

The larger implication for digital payments platforms is that payment infrastructure is increasingly becoming a component of vertical software rather than a destination users visit separately. For nonprofit and education finance teams, that can mean fewer handoffs between systems, better payment visibility and a more connected path from invoice approval to reconciliation.

Market Landscape

The BILL-Blackbaud partnership sits at the intersection of accounts payable automation, embedded finance infrastructure and AI-powered financial operations. Traditional AP software has focused heavily on invoice capture and workflow automation, while newer platforms increasingly connect those functions directly to payment networks, supplier management and reconciliation.

The competitive market includes providers such as Coupa, Tipalti, AvidXchange, Billtrust, Basware and others, alongside financial-management platforms adding native or embedded payment capabilities. Gartner’s 2026 AP research specifically highlights integration, automated workflows, supplier management, payment optimization and financial controls as important capabilities in modern AP applications.

For nonprofit technology, the vertical specialization is significant. Finance teams at charities, foundations, schools and other social-impact organizations often need automation without sacrificing approval controls, audit trails or visibility into restricted funds. Embedding payments into the financial-management system can address that requirement while reducing the number of systems staff must operate.

Top Insights

• BILL is embedding payment infrastructure directly into Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT rather than requiring nonprofit finance teams to switch systems.
• IFOL reports that 63% of AP professionals spend more than 10 hours weekly processing invoices, underscoring persistent manual-work challenges.
• BILL’s network had more than 9.2 million electronic-payment members as of June 2026, giving the partnership substantial payment-network reach.
• Gartner identifies AP automation, integration and financial controls as central capabilities in modern accounts payable applications.
• Initial Payment Assistant availability will focus on U.S. customers and domestic vendor payments before broader expansion.

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