How to Create a Positive Pay File from Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is fund accounting software built for nonprofits, foundations, and other mission-driven organizations. It pays vendors by check, EFT, bank draft, direct disbursement, and credit card, but it does not produce a bank-specific positive pay file on its own. To set up positive pay, you need to send your bank a check issue file each time you print checks. This guide shows which export to use, the columns to watch, and how to convert that export for your bank.
If you are new to the control, positive pay is a fraud check. Your bank compares every check presented for payment against the list of checks you actually issued, then flags any check number, amount, or (with payee positive pay) payee name that does not match. See what is positive pay for the background.
Does Financial Edge NXT have a built-in positive pay export?
No. Some ERPs ship a built-in positive pay generator. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, for example, has a positive pay feature under Cash and bank management that builds the file through its Electronic reporting framework. Financial Edge NXT does not include that. It supports EFT and NACHA-style electronic payment files for paying invoices, but those are payment instructions, not the issued-check list your bank needs for positive pay.
Because there is no native format, the practical approach is to export your issued checks from Financial Edge NXT and reformat that list to match your bank. That is exactly what this free browser-based generator does. Nothing is uploaded; the conversion runs entirely in your browser.
Step 1: Export your issued checks
You have two main places to pull the data.
- Bank register. Go to Treasury, then Bank accounts, and open the account you write checks from to view its register. On the action bar, use Filter to limit the view to a date range, and use Columns to add the details you need. Then select Export to download an Excel
.XLSXfile. Note that the bank account number does not display in the on-screen grid but does appear in the exported file. - Accounts Payable query (database view). If you need only checks issued and want tighter control over the columns, run a query. Select the menu icon, choose Open Database View, then Query. Change the query type from General Ledger to Accounts Payable, build criteria for the payment date range and payment method, and export the results.
Reports under Analysis, then Reports, can also list payments, but the register export and the query give you cleaner columns.
Step 2: Watch the column and date gotchas
Most positive pay files need only three or four fields: account number, check number, amount, and issue date. Some banks also want a payee name and a void flag. A few details trip people up when exporting from Financial Edge NXT.
- Filter to issued checks only. The bank register mixes deposits, EFTs, bank drafts, and cleared items. Keep only the checks you actually printed for the cycle. Drop EFT and ACH rows; positive pay covers paper checks. See ACH positive pay for why those are handled separately.
- Dates can export as text. When you export a query to Excel, dates may come through as text rather than real date values. If your date column looks misaligned, export to CSV instead, or set the format explicitly in the converter to match what your bank expects (often
MM/DD/YYYYorYYYYMMDD). - Amount formatting. Decide whether your bank wants a plain decimal like
1250.00or an implied-decimal value with no point, like0000125000. See implied decimal amounts if your bank spec calls for that. - Voided checks. If you voided a check after printing, include it with a void status so the bank does not honor a reissued or stolen copy. See void checks and positive pay.
- Check number padding. Many banks require a fixed length, so
1045becomes0000001045. The converter handles padding for you.
Step 3: Convert the export into your bank's positive pay file
Open the positive pay file generator and load the Excel or CSV file you exported. Map your Financial Edge NXT columns (check number, amount, issue date, account number, payee) to the fields the tool expects. Then pick your bank's layout.
- Upload the exported file.
- Match each source column to the matching positive pay field.
- Choose your bank's format, or open the custom format builder if your bank is not in the list.
- Set the date format, amount style, and any fixed-width padding to match the bank spec.
- Download the finished file and submit it through your bank's cash management portal.
Bank layouts vary widely. Some want a comma-delimited CSV; others want a fixed-width file with exact field positions. Do not guess at byte offsets. Use the layout your bank documents and replicate it in the builder. For a plain-language reference, see the positive pay file format page and the fixed-width vs CSV comparison.
Validate before you send
Before the first live submission, run your file through the file validator to catch length, date, and amount problems. A rejected file can leave checks unprotected or held. If your bank bounces a file, the positive pay file rejected guide covers the usual causes. Because Financial Edge NXT serves nonprofits, see positive pay for nonprofits for considerations specific to grant funds and restricted accounts.