Catholic Charities Turns to Payment Assistant to Streamline and Automate Operations

Catholic Charities provides a broad array of social services to those most in need across the 11-county footprint of the Diocese of Madison, including those experiencing challenges such as poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity. The organization uses Payment Assistant™, a tool within Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, to improve efficiency, security, and visibility in its payment processes.

Smooth Sailing from the Start

“The whole process—from the day we learned about Payment Assistant to the day we signed up and ran our first payment—only took a week,” said Claudia Becker, chief financial officer. “It was very easy, involving just going online, signing a DocuSign agreement, and getting started. It was that simple.”

Automating Payments

“With Payment Assistant, the finance team no longer has to print checks, stuff envelopes, or prepare positive pay files,” said Becker. “Now we process payments with just the click of a button and funds are transferred to vendors quickly and securely, all while my team has real-time visibility into the status of each payment. This saves us an immense amount of time.” The organization leveraged the virtual card functionality within Payment Assistant to securely and efficiently manage automated payments, reducing the reliance on traditional check payments and improving overall productivity. “After we explain to vendors how easy the virtual card is to use and that it’s not reloadable and is a one-time-use card, they really enjoy it,” added Becker.

Beneficial for Everyone

Payment Assistant has proved to be an effective tool for the Catholic Charities, helping them streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and enhance security. “We’re grateful for the overall positive impact Payment Assistant has already had on our work and look forward to using it to better manage our vendor payments.”