Case Study: Acero Schools achieves 40% faster month-end close with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT

Network of 15 charter schools relies on cloudbased fund accounting to navigate budget hurdles

Acero Schools is a top-performing Chicago charter network of 15 schools serving 7,500 students with about $100M in revenue. Facing rapid change—management transitions, union negotiations, bank refinancing and budget cuts—the district needed a fund accounting system that would protect operations and increase transparency without disrupting its academic programs.

By adopting Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Acero centralized cloud-based fund accounting, enabled campus-based budgeting with weekly data uploads for principals, and improved reporting and analytics. The finance team cut month-end processing by roughly 40% (closing in 18 days instead of a full month), gained greater flexibility and transparency, and is planning further integrations and customizations to streamline work.

Acero Schools

Michael Bradley

Chief Financial Officer