By DANA RASMUSSEN | New World Systems

Imagine a community with a more efficient government: a government that uses less taxpayer money, time and resources.

New World Systems, a public sector software company based in Troy, Mich., helps make the idea of efficient governments a reality for more than 1,000 public sector organizations.

Using browser-based Microsoft .NET technology, New World offers a variety of options in its Logos.NET Public Administration Suite for local governments in the fields of financial management, human resources, community development and utility management. These options allow municipalities to do more with less, resulting in savings of both time and taxpayer money.

The communities of Waukesha County, Wis., and Battle Creek, Mich., became more efficient using New World’s public-sector focused Logos.NET solution.

Streamlining Waukesha County

For years, Waukesha County was burdened with a large, private sector focused Enterprise Resource Planning solution that came along with high maintenance costs, time-consuming database administration and mandatory expensive upgrades. Knowing the budget could not support these upgrades, officials had two choices:

• Continue with their existing ERP and lose support when they could not afford to upgrade.
• Look for a new provider.

In 2012, Waukesha County opted to select New World’s Logos.NET solution. This solution offered the configurability that the county needed. The Logos.NET software interfaced with the county’s existing systems and integrated with the Microsoft applications that Waukesha employees use every day. Designed specifically for the public sector, the software enabled the county to work more efficiently while saving time and money.

After implementing New World’s Logos.NET solution, the county realized that it would see a return on its investment in five years instead of eight years. The county expects to save approximately $2 million over that time period.

Bringing Battle Creek into the 21st Century

In 2007 the city of Battle Creek needed to upgrade its ERP solution and replace an outdated AS400 system. Administrators wanted an easy-to-use system that offered self-service tools for employees and citizens using current technology, which would simplify system maintenance. They were using a large ERP system focused on the private sector, which was no longer supported by the company. They chose to work with New World because its software solutions were the “most intuitive” and “best fit” for the city, according to the city’s purchasing agent, Christine Huff.

“It was a citywide decision,” Huff said. “After seeing New World’s software in multiple demonstrations, key users from every city department found it to be the best solution by far to meet our needs.”

With New World’s Logos.NET system, the city of Battle Creek streamlined business processes, reduced paperwork and provided residents and employees with access to more information online. City employees no longer had to print, copy and manually route purchase orders, nor did they have to distribute monthly reports as these documents could be scanned and attached through New World’s software. In addition, purchase requisitions referred to the proper individuals or channels thereby eliminating errors, saving time and cutting the costs of managing paperwork.

Since replacing its large ERP vendor with New World Systems, the city of Battle Creek has saved approximately $650,000.

Staying ahead of the game

Helping the public sector save time and money while maximizing resources is New World’s primary objective. One example of this commitment is providing the ability to integrate credit card processing into the Logos.NET ERP system. The company’s partnership with BridgePay Network Solutions, a transaction gateway company specializing in providing turnkey payment application solutions, helps New World achieve this goal.

BridgePay provides in-person and enhanced e-commerce solutions for government merchants by acting as a secured conduit between New World and a public service organization’s credit card service processor. This integration better protects customers’ sensitive credit card information by offering a secure connection that is Payment Card Industry compliant. New World customers and their citizens can process credit card payment transactions in confidence knowing that the latest technology is being used to encrypt, transmit and process personal information through BridgePay’s system.

In addition, New World works with Automated Merchant Services, a credit card processing company that specializes in the government sector and BridgePay partner, to provide a full range of merchant services and highly competitive pricing options.

“New World is providing a solution that protects its customers from the security breach situations that have plagued the likes of Target, Neiman Marcus and Home Depot, all of which did not offer secure processing environments,” Executive Vice President of Business Development for BridgePay Carlee Hudachko said. “No credit card data is stored at the point of sale. The integration with BridgePay eliminates errors and time associated with current double entry bookkeeping systems.”

In keeping with the theme of efficiency and innovative solutions, New World helps public sector organizations with their document management needs through its partnership with Laserfiche. Laserfiche provides Enterprise Contentment Management software, which in turn provides organizations with instant access to documents and information.

The partnership offers numerous benefits for professionals working in content management, human resources/payroll and community development including:

Content management

• Improve organizational efficiency with a central document repository
• Modernize and streamline business processes
• Reduce paper waste and printing costs with paperless purchasing and electronic invoicing

Human resources and payroll

• Reduce data entry
• Instantly attach applications, resumes, W-4 forms, direct deposit slips and disciplinary documents
• Update personal information, review pay stubs and make benefit selections

Community development

• Streamline projects through direct access
• Simplify permitting and licensing through eSuite self-service portal
• Control project planning

What’s next for New World

New World continuously enhances and integrates its software to protect its customers’ investments and ensure that its solutions work for the long haul. With input from its customer base, New World always looks for innovative ways to lower costs and increase efficiency for public administration organizations.