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About
Volunteers of America, Michigan is a charitable organization founded and driven on Christian values and principles. Its programs address the needs of the community's disadvantaged, focusing on all levels of its continuum of care. They believe in the dignity of every person and strive to help them achieve self-sufficiency. The organization encourages service to God by serving others. Programs range from housing for the elderly to homeless services to veterans programs.
Situation
The financial solution previously used by the organization fell short in many important areas. It was a cumbersome, slow system that always required programming at year end to adjust reports. It also didn't have a drill-down filter and wasn't very user friendly. Charles Buck, Director of Finance for Volunteers of America, Michigan sought a new Windows-based system from a stable company that could solve these business pains.
Buck contacted other Volunteers of America organizations that use Microsoft Dynamics® products for their opinions. Working with Microsoft® Gold Certified partner First Tech Direct, Buck decided on Microsoft Dynamics® GP as the right business system for the organization.
Solution
Microsoft Dynamics GP provides Volunteers of America Michigan with a stable, reliable system that allows them to easily access information. The solutions user-friendly interface and intuitive functionality have helped increase efficiency. "Our workload has increased but our time hasn't," Buck says. "We're actually working smarter and better, and using less time."
Buck says the accounting department's workload has increased by 20 percent without requiring any additional employee hours. "Our timeline has changed-we used to put out financial reports on the 20th business day and now we do it by the 10th," he says of the monthly reports.
Detailed Reporting, Better Security
According to Buck, when reports produced by the organization's previous system needed to be customized, a costly consultant had to be called in to make the desired changes. "With some quick training, we were able to jump in and do our own reports in FRx," he says. "It's user-friendly and we're able to customize them ourselves." Plus, the format of the new reports is suitable for the organization's board to utilize. Previously, reports needed to be reformatted in Microsoft Excel before going to the board. "Our directors are happy with the ability to get detailed reporting and our ability to provide information faster," he adds.
The detailed security of Microsoft Dynamics GP also enables the organization to maintain control of data while allowing appropriate personnel access. "It goes from a very broad perspective to a very narrow perspective based on that persons access rights," says Buck. "It's fantastic for internal controls within the company." For example, an employee may be able to view a report onscreen but their security access may prevent them from printing out the report.
The security will also allow Volunteers of America, Michigan to incorporate electronic payments. Directors will be able to access the reports they require, but security controls can prevent them from editing any data which ensures the integrity of all the information.
Benefits
Microsoft Dynamics GP provides Volunteers of America Michigan with many direct benefits today and is flexible enough to adapt to the organization's needs in the future. Some of today's benefits include:
Reliability - The combined stability of Microsoft Dynamics and Microsoft SQL Server provides the organization with a reliable system that's easy to maintain.
Easy access to data - Though easy, customizable reporting and drill-down capabilities, up-to-date data is easily accessed at any time by decision makers.
Security - Detailed controls allow the organization to manage access to data.
Volunteers of America touches the mind, body, heart - and ultimately the spirit - of those they serve, integrating their deep compassion with highly effective programs and services.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Date Published: October 2003
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