ERP Needs Assessment System

The vendor is required to provide to search for robust enterprise resource planning system to handle utility billing and financial business processes.
• Reduce work arounds
• Integrate all revenue processing
• Enhance reporting and exporting
- Key stakeholders
• Finance staff – daily frontline users
• Utility billing staff – daily frontline users
• IT – software application maintenance and support
• Department management – budget input, reporting, and variance analysis
• City residents and business owners.
- Current software design - finance:
1. Tyler new world hosted on premise
○ Financial management
• General ledger
• Budgeting – prepared in excel and imported
• Procurement – decentralized (used very little due to internal process in place)
• Accounts payable – centralized
2. Positive pay for amount, check #, and payee
• Project codes
• Revenue collection - decentralized
• Miscellaneous billing - decentralized
• Accounts receivable
• Capital asset management (not utilized/not user friendly) – maintained in excel
• Bank reconciliation (not utilized/not user friendly) – manual reconciliation using excel
• Year-end processing (not utilized/data not in proper format)
3. Stand-alone software manually integrated into new world through journal entries
○ Online revenue collection on the city’s website
○ Paycor – HRIS payroll system
○ XPlor – park & recreation
○ City works – currently hosted on premise
• Permitting & licensing
4. Shadow systems that pull from new world data files
○ Microsoft office excel, access, power bi – some hosted on premise, some on the cloud
○ Laserfiche (city’s document manager) on premise (considering cloud based)
5. Council approval for weekly warrant: council does not have access to ERP software. 
• Invoice detail is only available outside the ERP system through board docs and accessible to authorized users (city personnel and council). 
• Board docs links to power bi (weekly warrant) which links to LASERFICHE (invoice document).
- Current software design – utility billing:
1. Tyler new world hosted on premise for water (city community) and sewer
• Revenue collection
• Cycle billing
• Exception/final/out of cycle billing
• Penalty process
• Meter rates
• Work orders (all manual)
• Collection reporting
• Adjustments/refunds/NSF
• Payment processing
• Customer information
• General customer service
2. Integrated software
• Tyler payments – online payment processing (in place of BridgePay)
• Creditron – image scanner for checks
• Itron – meter reading software
3. Non-integrated software/services
• Tyler notify
• Call hub – customer notification system
• Infosend – Tpa billing processor from xml file
• City works – pw utility work orders
- Design scope finance:
1. Reports
• Understandable, readable, and clear
• Customizable – save/quick access to favorite settings
• Email capability
• Export capability to excel, pdf or other platform
2. Chart of account structure
• Fund/department/account
• Exclude certain revenue/expense accounts from budget process
• Project codes
3. General ledger journals
• Audit report by user; changes, approval & posting
• Export to excel or pdf
• Import manual JE’S and data summaries from other software
• Create reversing entry from accrual je
• Manual je for adjustments/correction
• Correct je by reversal
• Release prior year prepaid to proper GL accounts
• Attach support documents
• Ability to change journals from other modules 4. Revenue collection
• Ability to accept variety of payment methods including cash, check, e-check, credit card, apple pay, and google pay and pass along any transaction fees to the patron
• Ability to “block” online payment options for selected users
• Full integration with online revenue receipts
○ Revenue streams on our website: food & beverage, ambulance, hotel/motel, gun range, and others
• Change GL codes after posting
5. Miscellaneous billing
6. Budget – current process is excel worksheets imported into the ERP system
• Detail data entry by GL code
• Easy data entry for department heads
• Permission based by manager/department
• Lockdown data by finance
• Audit report for changes
• Optional comments/notes
• Attach support documents
• Budget book preparation including narratives and charts by fund/department
• Interactive budget on website
7. Asset module
8. Grant module
9. Bank reconciliation
• How can this work with various online payment processors?
10. Overall finance options
• Customizable – save/quick access to favorite processes
• Fewer clicks to drill into data
• Simple data inquiry
• Simple permission setup by user/position
• Year-end audit reporting
- Design scope utility billing:
1. Reports
• Understandable, readable, and clear
• Customizable – save/quick access to favorite settings
• Capability to email and export to excel, pdf, or other platform
2. Revenue collection
• Cash drawer with POS printer that includes patron address, acct number, and payment type
• Ability to pass along any transaction fees to the patron
• Integration for online bank payments
• Ability to “block” online payment options for selected users
3. Cycle billing
• Audits – view usage (high/low/negative), meter changes, and rollovers
• Recalculate and print new bill – meter misread
• Recalculate and print several new bills (as many as 6) – ERT failure
• Bill non-metered consumptions
• Create “out-of-cycle” bill when necessary
• Seasonal averaging
• Bill non-metered consumptions
• Export capability
• Send bills out of the country
4. Work orders – meter rereads, shut offs, etc.…
• Integrate utility billing work orders with Trimble/city works API for public work staff
• Data entry for correct meter read from work order
• Read inactive meters
5. Final billing
• Ability to auto draft checking or credit card
6. Penalty process
• “Maintain” penalties and/or shutoff notices for those on payment arrangements
• Exempt certain accounts from penalties
7. Meter rates
• Mass rate change – but selective to remove charges that do not change
• Store historical rate data
• Easily change and/or correct a rate setup
• Pro-rate meter rates when necessary
• Flat rates when necessary with ability to prorate on number of days
8. Collection reporting
• Option to use various dates like delinquent, move out, or particular overdue date
• List accounts with transfer options
• Send letter direct from ERP software
• Send delinquent notice on final bills
• Flag accounts already sent to the state for collection
9. Refunds
• Integrated with finance module for check printing
10. Payment processing
• Ability to accept variety of payment methods including cash, check, e-check, credit card,
IVR, apple pay, and google pay
• Ability to pass along any transaction fees to the patron
• Void or reverse any credit/debit card payment with ease
• NSF processing – send notice direct from ERP software
11. Customer service/inquiry
• Add free form notes/remarks on customer accounts
• Transfer balances as needed
• Easy inquiry for any customer data (balance, prior payments, collection letter, etc.…)
• Customer self-help / online portal
• Budget billing
• Payment arrangements
• See all accounts on a particular street
12. Integrated software
• Tyler payments – online payment processing (in place of BridgePay)
• Creditron – image scanner for checks
• Itron – meter reading software.
- Contract Period/Term: 4 years