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Ellucian Banner Finance

ellucian.com

From £27,916.67/mo WebiOSAndroidAPI
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Spec score 8.5 #1 of 22 in Financial Aid Management Software

What it is

Ellucian Banner Finance is a cloud financial management system for higher education institutions. It covers procurement, general ledger, finance operations, accounts payable, fixed assets, internal stores, journal entries, budget development, sponsored research accounting, endowment management, and accounts receivable. The Research and Grants module supports grant work from initial proposal through project close, consolidates grant information, produces federal reports including the Federal Financial Report, and provides a grants ledger that can operate beyond fiscal year end. Staff can use My Finance Query for spend analysis dashboards, saved queries, and query sharing; My Requisitions to create and track requisitions; and My Journals to manage journal vouchers. Secure mobile access provides financial information and personalized self-service views, alongside web access. Listed integrations include Ellucian Spend Management powered by Chrome River, Ellucian Analytics, Ellucian Workflow, Ellucian CRM Advance, and Banner Document Management. The product also provides higher education financial statement reports for GASB and FASB. Pricing is on request; the product sheet does not list a free plan or trial.

Spec sheet

What it does
Banner Finance is Ellucian’s higher-education ERP finance system for managing institutional financial information and processes.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Purpose
Banner Finance provides higher education institutions with real-time access to financial data, from procurement and accounts payable to sponsored research and endowment management.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Deployment
cloudRead 20 Sep 2026 · ellucian.com
Integrations
Listed integrations include Spend Management powered by Chrome River, Ellucian Analytics, Ellucian Workflow, CRM Advance and Banner Document Management.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Headquarters
The company lists Reston, Virginia as its corporate headquarters.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Founded
1986Read 28 Sep 2026 · ellucian.com
Accessibility
The Banner SaaS service listing states WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549 support.Read 20 Oct 2026 · applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk
Accounts payable
Accounts-payable processing is included.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
API documentation
API documentation is available in HTML and PDF formats, but the service listing says there is no API sandbox.Read 20 Oct 2026 · applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk
API scope
The Banner SaaS platform offers REST APIs with read and write operations, more than 500 Ethos data entities and business-process APIs.Read 20 Oct 2026 · applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk
Browser requirements
An institutional Banner support page lists Chrome, Firefox on Mac and Windows, Edge and Safari as supported browsers.Read 20 Oct 2026 · support.emerson.edu
Budget development
The product provides budget-development functions.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Budget vs. actuals
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · ellucian.com
Company founded
Ellucian traces its roots to 1968, when Datatel Inc. was established.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Company legal name
Ellucian’s legal entity is identified as Ellucian Company LLC on its corporate site.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Company size
LinkedIn lists Ellucian as privately held with 1,001–5,000 employees.Read 20 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Documentation
Ellucian publishes previous Banner Finance documentation packages containing PDFs and supporting attachments.Read 20 Oct 2026 · edocs-public.ellucian.com
Endowments
Endowment management is a supported finance process.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Extensibility
Institutions can create cards and pages with a low-code, drag-and-drop toolkit designed to remain upgrade-safe.Read 20 Oct 2026 · applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk
Financial processes
Its core processes include procurement, general ledger, finance operations, accounts payable, fixed assets, internal stores, journal entries, budget development, sponsored research accounting, endowment management, and accounts receivable.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Fixed assets
Fixed-asset management is included.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
General ledger
The finance module includes general-ledger processing.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Grant accounting
The Research and Grants module covers proposals through project close and produces Federal Financial Reports.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Grant management
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · ellucian.com
Grants
The Research and Grants module supports work from initial proposal through project close, provides a comprehensive view of grant data, produces federal reports including the Federal Financial Report, and has a grants ledger that can operate outside fiscal year end.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Licence
Ellucian software is proprietary, governed by institution-level license agreements, and its intellectual-property rights remain with Ellucian.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Limit: bugs and outages
Reviewers report purchase-requisition bugs and occasional system problems that can halt finance operations.Read 20 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Limit: reporting customization
Reviewers repeatedly complain that reports are difficult to customize or require separate reporting products.Read 20 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: usability
Independent reviews describe the interface as cumbersome, unintuitive and dependent on formal training.Read 20 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Mobile access
The product provides secure mobile access to financial information and personalized self-service views via mobile devices.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
My Finance Query
The self-service query dashboard supports spend analysis, saved queries and query sharing.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
My Journals
Users can create, copy, reverse, delete, search and manage budget, encumbrance and actual journal vouchers.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
My Requisitions
Users can create, copy, search and track requisitions and see approval and purchase-order details.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Open APIs
Ellucian Finance advertises open APIs, configurable cards and integration services for third-party tools.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Owner and news
Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners agreed to acquire Ellucian from TPG Capital and Leonard Green in a June 14, 2021 announcement.Read 20 Oct 2026 · blackstone.com
Praise: integrated ERP
Capterra reviewers praise Banner Finance for robust modules, comprehensive support, cross-module interfaces and access from anywhere.Read 20 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Praise: reporting and integration
Capterra reviewers report useful financial reports, drill-down detail and integration between Banner Finance and Banner Student across campuses.Read 20 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Pricing and trial
The product sheet does not state a price, free plan, or free trial; Ellucian’s listed product call to action is to request a demo.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Procurement
The system supports procurement workflows.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Rating on Capterra
3.7 out of 5 from 39 reviewsRead 20 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating on Google Play
2.5 out of 5 from 16 reviews for an Ellucian Experience companion appRead 20 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on TrustRadius
5.5 out of 10 from 66 reviews and ratingsRead 20 Oct 2026 · trustradius.com
Regulatory reporting
Banner Finance provides GASB and FASB financial-statement reporting support.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Reporting standards
The product provides higher education regulatory reports for financial statements such as GASB and FASB.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Security certifications
Ellucian states that its cloud services hold ISO 27001:2022 certification and provide SOC 1, SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports to customers.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Security compliance
Ellucian says its cloud services are ISO 27001:2022 certified and that customer-accessible audit reports include SOC 1, SOC 2 Type II, and SOC 3; SaaS security responsibilities are shared with customers.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Security monitoring
Ellucian describes 24x7 monitoring, incident response, AWS GuardDuty, WAF, Shield DDoS protection and Splunk SIEM monitoring.Read 20 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Self-service
My Finance Query provides spend analysis dashboards, saved queries, and query sharing; My Requisitions supports creating and tracking requisitions; and My Journals supports processing and managing journal vouchers.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Support and updates
Ellucian says its cloud security systems are monitored 24/7 and that it maintains an incident response plan.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com
Target users
The product is designed for institutional finance departments and also offers tools for staff who do not specialize in finance to understand budget balances and available transactional spend.Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com

Plans and prices

Banner SaaS Platform £335,000 a year per instance no educational discount · no free trial Read 20 Oct 2026 · applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk
Ellucian Banner Finance Priced on request Pricing not stated; contact Ellucian for a demo Read 7 Oct 2026 · ellucian.com

Every Ellucian Banner Finance plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Covers a broad set of higher education financial processes.
  • Supports grants from proposal through project close.
  • Provides My Finance Query, My Requisitions, and My Journals.
  • Offers secure mobile financial access.
  • Includes GASB and FASB financial statement reporting.

Limits

  • Pricing is available on request.
  • No free plan or free trial is listed.
  • SaaS security responsibilities are shared with customers.

Who it suits

Banner Finance is designed for higher education finance departments. Its self-service tools also support staff without finance specializations who need to understand budget balances and available transactional spending.

Ellucian Banner Finance in depth

Read the full write-up

Ellucian Banner Finance is a cloud finance system for colleges and universities. It best fits institutional finance teams that need accounting, sponsored-research grants, budgeting, and endowment work in one environment, with self-service for non-specialists. Its higher-education scope is compelling, but buyers must plan for a demo-led, custom-priced purchase and shared responsibility for SaaS security.

Overview

Banner Finance provides real-time financial access across procurement, general ledger, finance operations, accounts payable, fixed assets, internal stores, journal entries, budget development, sponsored research accounting, endowment management, and accounts receivable. That breadth favors institutions trying to coordinate campus-wide finance rather than departments seeking a narrow accounting utility.

Budget-versus-actuals capability and grant management put operating funds and sponsored projects in the same financial picture. Higher-education reporting for GASB and FASB financial statements further aligns the system with public and private university obligations. Organizations outside higher education are unlikely to benefit from that sector-specific emphasis.

Key features

Research and grants

The Research and Grants module follows awards from initial proposal through project close. It consolidates grant information, produces federal reporting such as the Federal Financial Report, and uses a grants ledger that can continue outside fiscal year end. That combination suits research institutions managing awards whose activity does not fit neatly into annual accounting boundaries.

Self-service finance

My Finance Query supplies spend-analysis dashboards, saved queries, and query sharing, giving budget holders reusable visibility without requiring every question to go through finance staff. My Requisitions handles creation and tracking of requisitions, while My Journals supports processing and managing journal vouchers. These tools extend routine work to staff who are not finance specialists, although institutions should still assess governance around shared queries and journal processing.

Mobile and connected applications

Secure mobile access delivers financial information and personalized self-service views on mobile devices. Listed integrations include Ellucian Spend Management powered by Chrome River, Ellucian Analytics, Ellucian Workflow, Ellucian CRM Advance, and Banner Document Management. The connected ecosystem is most useful to institutions already standardizing on Ellucian applications.

Cloud assurance

Ellucian says its cloud services are ISO 27001:2022 certified, with customer-accessible SOC 1, SOC 2 Type II, and SOC 3 audit reports. Security systems are monitored around the clock and an incident-response plan is maintained. Customers still share SaaS security responsibilities, so procurement teams must define their own controls and obligations.

Pricing

Banner Finance uses paid, custom pricing. The Ellucian Banner Finance plan has no published price; contact Ellucian for a demo. There is no stated free plan or trial, so institutions should budget for a sales evaluation rather than a self-serve pilot. The absence of public tiers makes direct cost comparison difficult and makes enrollment, scope, implementation, and security requirements important questions for the buying process.

Platforms

Banner Finance is delivered through the cloud and supports Android, iOS, and web access. That mix covers desktop browser work and mobile financial views, while deployment remains SaaS rather than self-hosted.

Who it's for

Institutional finance departments are the primary audience, especially universities handling sponsored research, endowments, regulatory reporting, and many campus transaction types. Staff outside finance can use the query, requisition, and journal tools to understand budget balances and manage routine activity. Smaller organizations wanting only basic bookkeeping, or buyers requiring transparent per-user pricing, should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros

Broad campus coverage: procurement, ledgers, payables, receivables, assets, stores, budgeting, grants, and endowments share one product scope.

Strong sponsored-research support: proposal-to-close workflows, federal reporting, and a ledger that operates beyond fiscal year end address complex award administration.

Useful delegation: dashboards, requisitions, and journal tools give non-finance staff controlled ways to participate in financial work.

Sector reporting: GASB and FASB financial-statement reporting matches higher-education requirements.

Cons

Custom purchase process: no public price, free plan, or trial makes early cost and fit assessment harder.

Shared security duties: cloud certifications and audit reports do not remove customer responsibilities for SaaS security.

Ellucian-centric integrations: the named connected applications are primarily other Ellucian products, which may limit value for institutions with a mixed stack.

Alternatives

For degree-audit work rather than institutional finance, consider Ellucian Degree Works; it is paid, runs on Android, API, iOS, Linux, and web, and uses commercially confidential pricing based on full-time-equivalent students. CollegeSource Transferology is a better fit for transfer exploration, with a free student account and tailored institution subscriptions. FlightPath suits organizations wanting a free, self-hosted web degree-audit edition. Risely Agentic Degree Audit, Stellic, Ellucian Advising, DegreeSight, and HighPoint Degree Planner are paid alternatives for degree planning or advising rather than Banner Finance's accounting and grants scope.

For adjacent category browsing, see Degree Audit Software, Financial Aid Management Software, and Fund Accounting Software.

Verdict

Choose Banner Finance if you are a higher-education institution that needs one cloud environment for broad financial operations, sponsored research, grants, and sector reporting. Its main reason to choose is the combination of comprehensive campus accounting and research-grant controls. Look elsewhere if transparent pricing, a free trial, self-hosting, or a non-Ellucian-centered integration strategy is essential.

Verdict

Banner Finance brings higher education financial processes, grant management, and self-service tools into a cloud product. Institutions will need to request pricing and account for shared SaaS security responsibilities.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to Ellucian Banner FinanceAll alternatives →