Enterprise Resource Planning Software

The vendor required to provide enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, including overseeing the implementation of any proposed third-party software.
- General
•    The ERP will function as the central repository for enterprise data, handling financial accounting, procurement, enterprise reporting, and must interface with the districts’ current human resources, utility billing, and asset management systems.
•    It will define general business rules and workflow processes for transactions related to financials, procurement, and must interface with current human resources, payroll, utility billing, and asset management and system
•    Ensuring integrated, secure access to the ERP platform is a top priority for the district.
•    The transaction flow, including notifications, should be easily configurable according to district business rules and policies, with intuitive user interfaces that support mobile device access whenever possible.
•    The new ERP integrates seamlessly with other district systems not selected for replacement, ensuring consistent, timely, and accurate data sharing.
- Accounting
•    Financial management environment is constrained by an overly complex chart of accounts, inconsistent coding practices across departments, and manual, error-prone processes.
•    Multiple funds, ongoing fund-to-fund reconciliation issues, and debt activity tracked outside the system, primarily in excel, add to the administrative burden. 
•    The existing segment structure (fund, department, program, account) is generally understood, but the lack of formal onboarding and training, as well as the presence of dormant or redundant accounts, contributes to inconsistent usage.
•    Financial transactions initiated by departments require manual approval from finance, project-related journal entries are labor-intensive, and integrations with systems such as Kronos and great plains are limited, resulting in duplicated effort and delays.
•    To address these challenges, the district seeks to implement a modern ERP system that streamlines transaction processing, enhances project and grant accounting, and improves the clarity, consistency, and usability of the financial structure.
•    The new solution should support a simplified and logical chart of accounts, standardized departmental coding practices, and automated workflows that reduce manual journal entries and improve accuracy. 
•    Enhanced reporting tools with integrated data sources, drill-down capabilities, and reduced reliance on excel are essential for strengthening financial oversight, transparency, and audit readiness. 
•    The district also aims to improve project budgeting and the tracking of work in progress, define qualifying project expenditures, and allow for controlled workflow overrides when appropriate. 
•    The new ERP should reduce complexity, reinforce data quality, and increase efficiency across financial operations, supporting the district’s long-term modernization goals.
- Asset management
•    Implement an asset management solution within the new ERP system that provides a centralized, consistent, and reliable method of tracking assets throughout their lifecycle.
•    The district aims to strengthen asset classification, improve documentation of additions and retirements, and enhance integration between asset records, financial data, and maintenance operations. 
•    The new system should also support automated depreciation, standardized workflows, and reporting tools that improve transparency and accuracy for audits, regulatory reporting, and capital planning. 
•    Ultimately, a modern asset management solution will allow the district to better understand the condition and value of its assets, reduce the administrative effort required to maintain asset data, and support more informed decision-making regarding repair, replacement, and long-term investment.
- Budget
•    Budget development process is highly manual, decentralized, and dependent on spreadsheets, hard copies, and invoices collected throughout the year. 
•    Although the district maintains a two-year budget, extensive annual adjustments result in a de facto yearly process, driven largely by vendor price updates researched each may through august. 
•    Budget requests are submitted using excel files, and early-year expenditure slowdowns often shift staff workload into the fourth quarter. 
•    The capital planning process, staff conduct research each spring, develop project-specific budget sheets that span a five-year planning horizon, and rely on grassroots identification of needs rather than a comprehensive asset replacement strategy. 
•    Programs are defined within the CIP documents, but long-term planning is constrained by decentralized information and limited integration with other financial processes.
•    Modern ERP system that enables fully integrated operating and capital budget development, long-term forecasting, and centralized submission of budget requests. 
•    The new solution should provide tools for multi-year planning (e.g. 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 years), including the ability to develop, analyze, and adjust CIP budgets within a structured workflow while ensuring consistency across departments. 
•    Integrating the budget process into the ERP will allow staff to phase out spreadsheet-based submissions, improve visibility into projected costs, and streamline board approvals when project thresholds require additional funding. 
•    Strengthening long-term forecasting and improving the connection between asset needs and capital planning will also support the district’s efforts to evaluate future service levels and financial sustainability. 
•    Ultimately, the district aims to reduce manual workload, improve data accuracy, and create a more transparent and strategic budget development process.
- Customer billing
•    The district manages a large and diverse customer base, with approximately 50,000 active accounts that may include multiple service types such as drinking water, recycled water, and wastewater. 
•    Billing is conducted on a bi-monthly cycle across eight billing cycles and uses tiered and uniform rate structures, flat rate base charges, entitlement rates for low-income residential wastewater customers, and consumption measured in cubic feet. 
•    While payment plans are available, the district does not disconnect water service for nonpayment, instead leveraging its ability to lien properties and collect through the annual county property tax assessment, and budget billing is not currently offered. 
•    Customer account responsibility is tied to property ownership, though renters can be designated as responsible parties.
- Human resources
•    Human resources environment relies on at least three-core but separate systems 
•    Documents are therefore stored across multiple system platforms, resulting in differing workflows impacting efficiency. 
•    Job classifications are now stored exclusively in Neo-Gov; however, working files (job classifications, salary schedules) are stored on the internal network drive. 
•    Position control is tracked using an excel spreadsheet that includes historical notes explaining changes, however with the recent implementation of Neo-Gov, position control can now be tracked within this web-based platform.
•    Integration between Kronos and great plains requires customized exports. 
•    Hiring managers complete manual personnel action forms that are stored in SharePoint, and paper employee files continue to be used alongside digital records.
•    The new ERP system will support broader HR functionality. 
•    Regardless of the chosen approach, the new ERP must integrate with Neo-Gov for personnel evaluations. 
•    A modern HR environment should centralize employee and position data outside of the Neo-Gov -managed areas, reduce reliance on spreadsheets and paper files, and support automated workflows for personnel actions and training requests. 
•    Integrations with systems such as target solutions will be necessary to streamline the tracking of certifications and job requirements.
•    The district aims to modernize HR operations, reduce manual effort, improve data accuracy, and create a more seamless and unified HR environment while maintaining key in-person elements, such as exit interviews.
- Time entry and payroll
•    Time entry and payroll processes; however, Kronos requires integration with existing financial systems that impact efficiencies employees’ clock in through time clocks, the Kronos mobile app with geofencing, designated phone lines, or desktop terminals, and all employees, including exempt staff, are required to submit accurate time sheets. 
•    Supervisors subsequently approve time sheets and receive automated reminders. 
•    Payroll reviews all timesheets and may at times process timesheets on behalf of employees who are on leave.