Case Study: Non-Profit

ERP helps not for profits like Breast Cancer Network

ERP solutions trusted by Ronald McDonald House Charity

MYOB Advanced Case Studies

Breast Cancer Network Australia

"Advanced delivers transparency for organisations like ours."

Background

Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) is the peak national organisation for Australians affected by breast cancer, and consists of a network of more than 120,000 members and 288 Member Groups. Widely recognised for its innovative fundraising activities, the ever-increasing complexity of managing its revenue streams put serious pressure on its business systems. BCNA moved up to MYOB Advanced.

The Problem

System not geared for future changes

“I wasn’t unhappy with Exo; it just no longer suited the way our organisation was headed,” Allison Southwell, Head of Corporate Services recalls.

“In recent years the size of our organisation has doubled. With donors becoming more savvy and wanting more information on what their donations are being used for, the level of detail that we need to provide in our reports has increased.”

The Solution

Integration and serious reporting

BCNA trusted the MYOB brand, and the MYOB Partner recommended a closer look at Advanced. “It looked like a good package and its reporting and integration capabilities really impressed me,” says Allison. “The consultants we dealt with were more than accommodating. They helped us work through the issues and showed how we could design Advanced to both help us now and into the future. They questioned how we did things and made us realise that we didn’t need to necessarily do it the same way in Advanced, which made us think about our improving our processes.”

Allison wanted to implement a sub-accounts structure within Advanced, to handle the issue of project management. It gave BCNA the capability to produce reports based on any dimension within a project, such as Event, Programme, Source and Funder.

The Outcome

Detailed project costing achieved

With Advanced’s project costing capabilities, Allison can now (for example) set up projects funded by federal government through Cancer Australia and break it down into various revenue streams, delivering detailed accounts for projects that can run for periods ranging from several months to three years.

Salesforce captures about 80% of BCNA’s income, so integration with Advanced reduces data entry and the risk of errors, while delivering a transparent audit trail. Advanced also opens up a path to great autonomy for system users in accessing live information.

Summary

Before

Lack of depth in reporting
Slow data entry and recovery
Difficulty handling diverse revenue streams
Lack of capacity for future expansion

After

Drill-down capability for greater detail in reporting
Integration with CRM speeds up data management
Sub-accounts structure enables better revenue control
Cloud structure saves costs, improves access
Future-proofed for greater efficiency and better information delivery

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Cancer Trials Australia

"To obtain that level of detail involved so many manual steps it took two days to process. Now it takes one hour. Efficiency gains were one of the key drivers in implementing MYOB Advanced."

Automation drives efficiency, scale allows further growth for Cancer Trials Australia

Cancer Trials Australia (CTA) works closely with member hospitals across the country, taking responsibility for the financial and regulatory administration of the hospital’s cancer clinical trials. At present CTA manages over 700 clinical trials nationally. MYOB Advanced has streamlined the financial administration, improving data transparency, reducing manual tasks and setting the stage for further growth.

Complexity at scale

Cancer Trials Australia facilitates the administration of clinical trials conducted at member hospitals across Australia. The vast majority of these trials are funded by international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Each trial relies on a tailored contract, with consideration of hospital defined fees for multiple trial-based activities such as CT scans and blood tests. CTA tracks all trial-based activities, linking them to each hospitals’ trial specific fee schedule, and thus ensuring hospital costs are recovered for all activities performed.

With upwards of 700 trials under management at any one time, and 25,000 transactions per trial per annum, this is a complicated accounting task.

The Problem

No data transparency or automation

CTA Finance Manager Michelle Button says their previous system didn’t deliver the level of detail the company required.

“We could only raise lump sums – we were unable to detail the make-up of those sums. The functionality to provide that level of detail simply wasn’t available in our previous system, so we’d have to track that detail manually on spreadsheets”.

CTA required a financial system that could detail specific trial activities per patient within each individual trial.

“We also required automation and additional scalability to support our continued growth. The challenge was to automate our processes as much as possible, within a highly scalable financial package.”

The Solution

Better integration, more oversight

Through a process of use-case assessment, CTA determined that MYOB Advanced would deliver the required functionality and were encouraged by MYOB’s long-standing reputation, which “mitigated our transition risk significantly,” says Michelle.

MYOB Advanced’s cloud-based system was advantageous too.

“Our previous financial system was hosted locally, so every upgrade had to be deployed on individual computers. Remote access while travelling was also problematic. Having MYOB Advanced in the cloud enables additional flexibility; in theory we can work from anywhere.”

Key customisations eliminate much of the manual work.

“Automated uploading of data not only enhances efficiencies, it also helps maximise data integrity, by avoiding manual data entry,” says Michelle.

The Outcome

Detailed reports at the push of a button

CTA is pleased with the elevated quality of data and reporting. Michelle points to one example; CTA uses the Project Module to evaluate each trial as a whole, which is invaluable for communicating with clients. “We’re able to export all the data into reports and provide summaries for our hospital members”, she says.

This detail helps CTA ensure transparency, and delivers huge time savings.

“To obtain that level of detail involved so many manual steps it took two days to process. Now it takes one hour. Efficiency gains were one of the key drivers in implementing MYOB Advanced,” enthuses Michelle.

Summary

Before

Reporting lacked transparency and detail
Existing system was not scalable
Manual work required days of additional manpower and risked data integrity
Lack of integration with other systems
Local system tied team to the office

After

Transparency and detail in reports
Scalable solution allows for future growth
Automation delivers reporting at the push of a button
Integrated with other systems
Cloud-based nature frees team to work remotely

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Wellington City Mission

"We needed a lot from the system, and it was all done for a great price.”

Keeping Wellington City Mission’s vital services running smoothly

Wellington City Mission is a large organisation with complex needs. Switching to MYOB Advanced has helped simplify and streamline day-to-day management and financial reporting, making it easier to keep vital services running smoothly.

Background

The Wellington City Mission helps hundreds of struggling Wellingtonians every day, providing everything from food parcels and hot meals to social work, education, and rest home care.

After successfully using Greentree to manage their finances for years, the Mission needed a new software solution. Although Greentree had worked well, it was server-based in the organisation’s premises and the Mission needed the flexibility of a cloud-based solution.

“Our strategy led us to believe that we should go to an online subscription model for our key software requirements. That was the client management system, finance and fundraising,” says Corporate Services Manager Chris Gray.

The Problem

Remote working, preparing for disaster

The onsite server-based system had been working well for the mission, but it meant staff couldn’t access information remotely if access to the building was compromised. This made things difficult in times of crisis. For example during the Wellington earthquake, the Mission had no access to office and servers for a couple of weeks. A cloud-based system would offer flexible working conditions and allow staff to work from any location from any device. It also needed to handle reporting for different business areas, record profits and losses for the entire organisation, and offer remote data storage.

The Solution

Affordably cloud-based flexibility

Of the various solutions they looked at, Advanced delivered the reporting and flexibility they needed.

Chris says, “It does run proper cost-centre reporting, that can be easily coded through to different parts of the business. Users can then log in and see that themselves, which is very beneficial.”

He explains that having all the financial information in one place that’s accessible to all managers offers “fantastic flexibility.”

The Wellington Mission management team worked with the MYOB business partner to implement MYOB Advanced for financial management and reporting, and may add modules in other areas such as fundraising and client management.

The Outcome

Great oversight at a great price

MYOB Advanced helped simplify tracking and financial reporting in a complex, multi-faceted organisation.

Management now have a good overall view of the different businesses, including the Mission-run rest home, where managers can track their own progress and check monthly financial reports.

Staff can access MYOB Advanced anywhere, at any time. In a business with multiple offices and facilities all over the city, this is vital. Staff can input data or check numbers from anywhere, which helps speed up processes and saves time better spent helping clients.

The software has the flexibility and capacity to adapt to the Mission’s future needs as well.

Summary

Before

Server-based with no remote access
Potential loss of data especially in emergency
Difficult to maintain and make changes
Difficult and expensive to keep up to date
Difficult to protect from automated security threats

After

Cloud-based solution with remote access
Data and information backed-up in cloud
Ability to code transactions to different departments
Overall view of organisation finance for management

BCNA

CTA

WCM

MYOB Advanced

MYOB Exo Case Studies

Ronald McDonald House

"We were impressed by the workflow and system integration benefits offered by Exo."

MYOB Exo delivers consistency, efficiency for charity

To work smarter and improve efficiencies with its financial management and reporting, Ronald McDonald House Charities upgraded to MYOB Exo.

Background

Ronald McDonald House Charities is a global charity, providing accommodation and other support for the families of seriously ill children. To work smarter and improve efficiencies with its financial management and reporting, Ronald McDonald House Charities upgraded to MYOB Exo.

The Problem

Difficult reporting issues

Ronald McDonald House Australia has an annual income stream of around $21 million.

Each House Chapter administers the accommodation independently, runs its own fundraising programmes, and keeps its own set of accounts. To consolidate this at a national level was a laborious manual task, and concern was growing about effectiveness, efficiency and accountability.

The House Chapters and national office had been using MYOB Premier (donated by MYOB in around 2000). Each Chapter had its own way of accounting for income and expenses, which was becoming an increasing headache for the national office.

“Consolidating all the information into one report could take us up to eight weeks,” says Adam Blatch, General Manager, Governance & Business. “It was a very messy, complicated process, involving lots of spreadsheets and other paperwork. We wanted a standard chart of accounts and consistent accounting practices, so we started to look for a new business system.”

The Solution

Integrated business management

One of the House Chapters had already implemented MYOB Exo, and recommended it to the National office. The whole new system went live at the beginning of 2017.

Exo was set up to provide a central information systems and technology environment that had individual databases for all 13 House Chapters, but with controls that allow that much-needed consistency in reporting across all the separate entities. The national office now runs a consolidated Exo database with a single GL structure.

Exo was also integrated with Phocas, a web-based Business Intelligence software providing live financial information to all House Chapters. The Exo solution was deployed in the Cloud, not only as a cost-saver but to provide web-based communication with all the chapters across the country.

The Outcome

Centralised system, major time savings

Ronald McDonald House Charities now has a standard chart of accounts and consistent accounting practices across all its House Chapters.

Automation and EDI have replaced much of the manual labour and paperwork. This has especially benefited the payroll structure, which is now handled centrally, in-house. The centralised database ensures that any changes to pay rates or workplace legislation are consistently correct.

The integration of Exceed CRM has automated invoicing and eliminated double-entry issues. Exo has also allowed the introduction of analysis codes, for consistency and clarity in reporting fundraising.

Summary

Before

Disparate accounting practices
Data never up to date
Consolidation slow and difficult
Concerns about transparency

After

Central database and GL
Live view of data
All chapter houses have better information
Major time savings
Transparent information trail
Cloud deployment enables nationwide communication

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Community Solutions

"Our audit trail is now impeccable."

This NFP is now transparent and ready for growth Community Solutions is a not for profit (NFP) community service organisation that brings together the resources of communities, businesses, government and individuals to target issues of concern and opportunity in regional communities. Founded in 1999, today it has more than 250 staff, over 100 volunteers across 18 service sites in regional Queensland, but this growth had put tremendous pressure on internal systems.

The Problem

Crumbling under the weight of data

When they first started out, Community Solutions were using MYOB Premier. “It was a good system”, says Beth Miller, Group Accountant at the organisation. “Internally, we liked its simplicity – and externally most people were familiar with it. Our accountants and auditors all knew their way around. Some of our staff had also used it before”, she adds.

Then Community Solutions merged with another NFP”. Almost overnight, the volume of our data doubled”, says Miller, “and Premier just couldn’t cope”. Performing tasks became frustrating, and Community Solutions didn’t really have the range of reports they wanted, to keep a watchful eye on what was going on beneath the surface.

“Almost overnight, the volume of our data doubled.”

The Solution

Preparing for future growth

The organisation spent about three months looking at possible replacements before considering MYOB Exo. “Exo seemed to have what we were looking for”, says Miller - “flexible reporting, an SQL database and local support”.

Exo also gave Community Solutions the ability to integrate payroll and accounting, something that was important given their large, decentralised workforce. Miller adds, “It was priced right too. “Quickbooks might have been a little cheaper, but it wasn’t really suited to our organisation. It wasn’t compatible with our existing IT platform and didn’t seem to cater very well for future growth.” Exo, on the other hand, did.

“Local support was important to us as was a good relationship with our provider.”

Configuring MYOB Exo

At the start of the process, Community Solutions created a simple document that listing their requirements. At the top of the list was flexible reporting. They also had a number of specific customisation requests, chief amongst which was the ability to budget and track revenue and expenses on four levels: organisation, business unit, program and site. In its general ledger, standard MYOB Exo only has three (branch, account and sub-account).

So that Community Solutions could get profit and loss and budget comparison reports at each level, each programs was treated as branches and linked branches together via a common report code to create a business unit. Each site could then be a sub-account in the applicable profit and loss accounts.

“This configuration allowed us to utilise as many standard reporting and budgeting features as possible,” says Emery” and support the posting of payroll information into this chart structure”.

The Learning curve

According to Miller, the MYOB partner was extremely helpful. “They helped train us in the run up to the launch and made sure they were on site for our first week after go-live.” Training was done using classroom-style training on laptops with genuine data – to make the whole experience more meaningful. In the early days there was some resistance, admits Miller. “That said,” she says, “there’s always a learning curve with new software. Emery thinks Community Solutions adapted to Exo very quickly”

“They helped train us in the run up to the launch and made sure they were on site for our first week after go-live.”

Outcome

A tailored solution

Several months down the line, the improvements are obvious, says Miller. “Thanks to Exo’s SQL database, we can write customised reports that focus on areas that are specific to our particular business strategy and nobody else’s. “We run reports by site and/or by program – depending on which manager needs them – and we can drill down into income or cost items easily too. “Perhaps most importantly though,” Miller adds, “our audit trail is now impeccable”. Not for Profit organisations are accountable for the funds they get allocated by the government. Through Exo’s reports, Community Solutions can be much more transparent about their transactions and the use of those funds. According to Emery, it’s for this reason more than anything that Exo stands out in this sector. “This sort of budgeting and reporting is too complex for most accounting systems – but not Exo.”

Summary

Before

Increase volumes of data overnight occurred due to a merger and the existing system could not keep up
A lack of transparency on transactions and how funds were being used
Limited range of reports resulted in limited visibility on what was going on beneath the surface
Existing solution could not be customised to specific requirements

After

Flexible, customisable reporting that focuses on specific business areas
An integrated payroll and accounting solution (important for this large decentralised workforce)
Can easily drill down into income or cost items
Audit trail is now impeccable and can budget on four levels

RMH

Community Solutions

MYOB Exo