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Case Study: Canadian Cancer Society
The BC and Yukon Division of the Canadian Cancer Society
is a community based organization of volunteers whose
mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement
of the quality of life of people living with cancer.
The CCS offers funding for research, practical and peer
support for cancer patients, advocacy for public health
issues and creative approaches to prevention.
The Challenge
Several years ago it became clear that the CCS’
accounting system was not Y2K compatible. In researching
solutions, CCS realized that their current system was
outdated and lacked many of the capabilities other systems
could offer. Overall, it was difficult to manage and
control month-to-month transactions, according to Fred
Inglis, Director of Finance and Administration for the
BC and Yukon Division of the CCS.
Previously, payables were entered in each regional
office’s system and then mailed to head office
and keyed into the Divisional system a second time.
The new system would have to eliminate this double accounting
process and also meet the strict budget requirements
of a non-profit organization.
RSC Delivers the Solution
The RSC Group is in the business of providing system
solutions. In this case, RSC prescribed Great Plains
eEnterprise software. Modules were wide-ranging and
included General Ledger with FRx Advanced, Accounts
Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory Control, Sales
Order Processing, and Advanced Purchase Order Processing,
among others.
Great Plains eEnterprise sophisticated financial management
functionality was augmented with several additional
products: Integration Manager by Great Plains, GST PST
Distribution Module by Encore Business Solutions Inc.,
ChequeScribe by Telgate Equipment Corporation and Terminal
Server by Citrix Systems, Inc.
“Great Plains provides industry-leading solutions
that are flexible and accessible,” says Suzan
Riedel, Senior Consultant with The RSC Group.
“CCS faced challenges integrating programs and
accessing data with its previous system. With eEnterprise,
it was able to build its own imports for transactions
originating in other applications, and generate custom
reports using standard reporting tools such as Excel,
Word and FRx Reports.”
All Systems Go
The new system was implemented first at the CCS head
office in Vancouver during January 1999. Within six
months, all six regional offices were up and running
with Great Plains eEnterprise.
Overall, the new system has streamlined CCS systems
and provides far better reporting capabilities. “People
are far happier with our reporting capabilities,”
says Fred Inglis.
Benefits
Flexible financial reporting for the six regional offices
Streamlining of processes and reduction in errors by
integrating Donor Tracking and Emergency Aid System
transactions
Security assignment for different levels of users
within the regions
Centralized database and system controls
The system is also easier to work with, according to
CCS staff. And by “training the trainer”
at CCS, the RSC Group helped create a group of self-sufficient
users.
“We think it’s a great system,” says
Fred Inglis. “There is no easy implementation,
but RSC helped us through the process and got us where
we needed to be.”
The project was an all around success according to
RSC’s Suzan Riedel: “The system was implemented
on time, and under budget, but most importantly, CCS
and RSC established an excellent on-going relationship.
CCS does not hesitate to come to us for assistance in
meeting new business requirements.”
“We all recognized that the CCS plays such a
valuable role in our community. We like to think that
by providing this excellent new system, RSC is lending
a hand in the fight against cancer.”
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