Blackbaud

I cannot imagine a worse company to work with. I've been stuck with them for 7 years and finally breaking free. Their accounting software simply does not work. Besides the fact that you can't trust the ability to simply log in, you also can't trust the information in reports. At one point, the same report run by 2 users was millions of dollars off, and when a support ticket was opened, the response was that they already knew about the problem and had been working on it since the prior day. There was no outgoing communication. Had the colleague and I not coincidentally been chatting about it, we may not have realized it and actually sent it out to the governing board - with millions in error, and it didn't occur to Blackbaud to tell us?! You also can't trust the idea that any portion of the software will work on any given day, or the idea that they have customer service. I can't tell you how many support tickets I've had over the years that consisted of literal weeks of back and forth in which multiple different reps would not be able to understand the question, offer no resolution whatsoever, let a few more weeks go by in silence while it was "being escalated" and then close the ticket with no further information provided. I get that a software help desk is not going to understand high level accounting, but you can't pretend to provide support if you have no one who understands the basic needs of accounting software. If you value your sanity or your time at all (not to mention your money), you'd be better off with paper and pencil than this piece of trash.

Dear Fellow Nonprofit Executives, I wanted to share a cautionary note about my recent experience with a particular SaaS company Blackbaud and their product eTapestry. Initially, their technology appeared to be a valuable asset for small nonprofits like ours. However, the experience has been far from what was promised. Firstly, the company demands an extensive time commitment upfront – about 20 hours of coursework – just to get started with their product. This is a significant ask, especially for small organizations with limited resources. But more frustratingly, even after completing these courses, the platform itself is so intricate that you essentially have to start learning all over again. Furthermore, their billing practices have been highly problematic. Despite multiple cancellations on our end, we have been continually invoiced for unclear and seemingly arbitrary charges. This has been a recurring issue over the last three years and has caused not just financial strain but also considerable administrative hassle. Given these experiences, I strongly advise fellow executives in the nonprofit sector to carefully reconsider before engaging with this company. There are other, more user-friendly and transparent options available that may better suit the needs and capacities of small organizations like ours. Warm regards,

I recently had an extremely disappointing experience with this SaaS company. While their technology initially seemed promising, especially for a small nonprofit like ours, the reality was far from satisfactory. To begin with, they required an excessive 20 hours of coursework just to use their product. Even after investing this time, we found ourselves having to relearn the platform due to its complex nature, resulting in a significant waste of time. Moreover, their billing practices were troubling. Despite multiple cancellations on our part, we continued to receive unexpected invoices for charges that seemed unjustified. This has been a recurring issue over the last three years, causing considerable frustration. Based on my experience, I strongly advise others to be cautious and consider alternative solutions to avoid the headaches we've endured with this company.

Worked very hard to disengage from this company in a previous role. Posted poor reviews and posted on BBB site - read these comments and recognize the trend. Was sad to see my new company uses a product also owned by Blackbaud for corporate training - sad to see the same problems and hope to see us disengage again soon. Stay clear unless you want to post you own warning one day. ( FYI - maybe my experience is due to the small size of the teams - both companies have less than 2,500 employees - you big guys may be just fine.

It's amazing that this company is still in business with their competitors outperforming them in every single category: Customer Service, usability, new features, mobile-first approach etc. Over-priced and an overall headache of a platform. Stay away... You'll save money and be far more productive with almost any other platform.