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Springfield, Illinois-based Office of Nonprofit Agency Vaults Outdated Technology with Super Flexible Financial Information Package
Versatile Financial Information and Campaign Fundraising Software Packages Team Up to Help United Way Office Achieve Top-flight Efficiency and Accuracy.
"We just couldn't keep going with technology that was so outdated," said Bob Borcherding, Director
of Finance for the United Way of Central Illinois (UWCIL). Since his arrival in 1987, Borcherding
had grown accustomed to the limitations of their DOS-based, menu-driven financial information
system (an IBM System 36 written in the RPG language). Despite its reliability, the old "workhorse"
had long since reached obsolescence.
The first move was to implement a "band aid" solution consisting of a move from the System 36 to a
PC environment, but still based on the RPG language. Unfortunately, that did little to enhance the
productivity in the office. For starters, the RPG-based applications couldn't interface with
Microsoft's Office suite of products, which had become the industry standard. Users had to move
through many menus to accomplish simple tasks and data entry was a rigid process, especially given
their inability to customize fields to meet the requirements of their non-profit agency. Overall, they
were forced to alter their business practices to bend to the limitations of the program.
To make matters worse, if more than one person needed to run a financial application, they had to
wait for that workstation to open up. In addition, a special "sentinel" (to ensure that the user was
licensed) was required on the parallel port to use their financial software. According to Borcherding,
"Instead of enjoying the efficiencies of a multiuser environment, what often transpired was a game of
'musical desks,' with personnel switching desks to handle a particular financial task. It became
obvious that we had to upgrade to a solution that would give us true multiuser capabilities so that any
of our staff could access financial data from the system at their own workstation. Too much time and
energy was being wasted."
AccountMate and IMS Provide a Window to the Future
In tandem with their System 36 financial information software, they had been running a campaign
fundraising package that tracked donations from donors. This package was developed by IMS
(Innovative Management Systems), a computer software firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
currently serving more than 200 United Way organizations and other nonprofit agencies. Thus, when
IMS released a Windows-based campaign fundraising package written in Microsoft's Visual FoxPro
language, Borcherding and his staff determined that a Windows-based, Y2K-compliant financial
information package written in Visual FoxPro would be the ideal compliment to their upgraded
campaign fundraising software.
Borcherding consulted with Sal Cina, president at IMS, who recommended the Visual AccountMate
(VAM) LAN financial software from AccountMate Software, located in Marin County, just north of
San Francisco. As an authorized AccountMate Business Partner, the folks at IMS had confidence that
the VAM solution would provide the United Way of Central Illinois with all the functionality and
flexibility they would need to hit the ground running in the new millennium. Also, with VAM's easyto-
modify Visual FoxPro source code, they could enjoy seamless integration with the IMS campaign
fundraising package. Best of all, with a new fully integrated multiuser system, staff would reap the
benefits of greatly enhanced efficiency and productivity, and the elimination of the "musical desk"
scenario they had endured for so long.
After viewing a demo version of Visual AccountMate, Borcherding and his colleagues were
convinced that they finally had the solution they had been seeking. They loved VAM's GUI interface
and the ease of navigation throughout the system. Add in the facile point-and-click action and the
overall flexibility of the system and they were ready to move. Borcherding purchased a 6-user license
of Visual AccountMate LAN and under the direction of Sal Cina and his programming staff at IMS,
a customized version of the software was installed in the spring of '99.
The United Way of Central Illinois and Visual AccountMate Keep on Giving
The benefits of their new system were readily apparent. Most noticeable to the entire staff was the
overall ease of data entry and the ability to make changes after data entry errors. They found the
method of data entry in AP and AR much easier than before, especially creating and making changes
to invoices.
Another area of significant improvement was their ability to preview reports without having to print.
This enhanced flexibility yielded considerable cost and paper savings. The recurring invoice function
in AR and AP also generated tremendous time-savings. For example, the UWCIL owns a building in
which several non-profit businesses rent office space. Since they bill their tenants monthly for rent,
the accounting staff simply goes into the recurring invoice function in AR and with just a few
keystrokes, generates invoices for all the tenants.
The integration of data between the VAM system and the IMS campaign fundraising package is a
tremendous plus. Staff can quickly and easily pass all the pledge drive information, along with all
pertinent day-to-day accounting data over to their Visual AccountMate financial system. For
example, when a donor makes a pledge, they have the option of paying at the time of the pledge or at
a later date. Pledges go into VAM as a revenue item, and a payment on a pledge is a deposit to a cash
account and reduction to the appropriate accounts receivable account. All other transactions are
posted to the appropriate chart of accounts (e.g., pledge write-offs).
For nonprofit businesses, "funds and functions" are key components of the accounting system and
Visual AccountMate's flexibility enables UWCIL to set up their chart of accounts to conform to
these requirements. This flexibility can best be illustrated in the way segments of account numbers
are set up. Account numbers in the UWCIL chart of accounts include a fund segment, account
segment and a function segment, as well as other segments, if needed. In VAM, when creating
specific account numbers, users actually have the option to mix and match these different segments.
Moreover, Borcherding and his colleagues can keep track of all activity relating to functions such as
fundraising, marketing communications, information & referral, and direct service programs such as
"Day of Caring" (gathering volunteers to go into the community to provide a broad range of services
to individuals in need). "Visual AccountMate and the IMS campaign fundraising software have
worked together so seamlessly, leading to a dramatic improvement in our productivity and
confidence in the accuracy of the information we are getting. It takes almost no time to get the
information we want whenever we want it," claimed Borcherding.
Borcherding also issues a glowing report of their AccountMate Software Business Partner, IMS. "We
have been working with IMS for 10 years and they have always been so responsive to our needs.
They believe in giving us the opportunity to offer our input about activities in the field, as well as
proposed changes to the system that reflect our needs. Plus, from a technical support standpoint for
their campaign fundraising package and the Visual AccountMate software, they handle all of our
questions and concerns with skill and diligence. We're delighted with the service we have received
from IMS," said Borcherding.
Company Sidebar
In the last five years, the United Way has raised 12.5 million dollars to fund local services.
Approximately two-thirds of United Way funding supports programs for children and families. The
United Way effort provides job training and independent living skills; assists homebound seniors,
and makes sure counseling is available for families in crisis.
The United Way of Central Illinois (UWCIL) funds 53 programs of 27 member agencies. Corporate
giving by a few local corporations and organized labor unions is directed to cover all operating
expenses, allowing 100% of donor contributions to be used to meet community needs. UWCIL
reviews and funds programs in the following fields of service:
- Care of Young Children
- Emergency Assistance, Food, Shelter and Clothing
- Family Support, Counseling and Employment
- Service to Seniors and People with Disabilities
- Youth Services and Educational Programs
- Health Care, Substance Abuse and Dependence
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