Road Commission Increases Efficiencies and Fiscal Accountability, Saves Resources

Microsoft Dynamics Customer Solution Case Study

Overview “We use Great Plains and WennSoft every day— Country or Region: United States from our inventory module to payroll, labor, and Industry: Government equipment. The best part is how easy it is to find Customer Profile the data we need in such a familiar Microsoft The Marquette County Road Commission maintains state, county, and environment.” local roads in Michigan’s Upper Mary Herman, Associate Accountant, Marquette County Road Commission Peninsula. The Road Commission must ensure reporting and funds are accurate Larger than the state of Rhode Island, Marquette County is to fulfill its charter. Michigan’s largest county, with a population of approximately Business Situation 64,000 within its 1,873 square miles. The Marquette County State and federal government funding requires that the Road Commission Road Commission serves and maintains approximately 1,482 report its financial activity annually, and it miles of state, county, and local roads. Annually, the Road wanted to streamline processes and strengthen fiscal accountability. Commission’s financial managers report financial activity to residents, township officials, county board members, and state Solution The Road Commission implemented of Michigan departments of treasury and transportation. To Microsoft® Business Solutions–Great make this reporting easier and more cost-effective, the Road Plains®, now a part of Microsoft Dynamics™, and deployed WennSoft Commission partnered with Anderson, Tackman and Company Job Cost and Time Track to integrate (ATCO) and WennSoft—both Microsoft® Gold Certified Partners and improve data gathering and reporting. —to implement Microsoft Business Solutions–Great Plains®,

now a part of Microsoft Dynamics™, along with WennSoft Job Benefits  Improved process efficiencies and Cost and Time Track. Since that deployment, the Road higher value of assets Commission has been able to access valuable information more  Better access to timely, useful information easily and quickly, improve process efficiencies to save time  More effective use of resources and cut costs, and integrate operations to achieve a greater  Better reporting and strengthened fiscal accountability level of financial accountability. Situation spreadsheets to get the exact information The Marquette County Road Commission they needed.” in Michigan comprises approximately 75 employees, including administration and ATCO is a Certified Public Accounting firm engineering staff, drivers, equipment with a focus on financial management operators, and mechanics. Winter software consulting for businesses using maintenance (plowing, sanding, and the Microsoft® Business Solutions–Great salting) in addition to road construction, Plains® business software. street paving, controlling vegetation, and roadside ditch maintenance are the To develop and deploy a solution, the Road responsibility of the commission. The Road Commission chose to collaborate with two Commission must maintain a fleet of tri- partners: WennSoft and ATCO. WennSoft axle specialty trucks and heavy equipment, develops and supports service paving tools, tractors, snowplows, and management, job cost, and equipment street sweepers. Because the Marquette management solutions that improve County Road Commission receives the efficiency, expedite reporting, and create majority of its funding from state and cost saving opportunities for customers. federal road funds, it must file financial reports annually. Reporting requirements Solution include the cost of jobs, types of jobs, cost The Marquette County Road Commission by activity, time tracking, purchasing, sales, implemented Microsoft Great Plains payroll, inventory, and assets. software, now a part of Microsoft Dynamics™, and the WennSoft products as Until 1999, the Road Commission used their new integrated solution. With the DOS-based software for its accounting. WennSoft Job Cost and Time Track Reports were limited to those modules extending the fixed asset and preprogrammed in the application, and payroll modules of Microsoft Great Plains, much information was referenced by the Road Commission was able to gain a looking for the previously printed monthly flexible solution for their job costing, time reports. The Road Commission’s general tracking, fixed asset management, general ledger functioned as its job-costing system ledger, purchasing, payroll, human and their fixed asset records were resources, inventory, and bank maintained as part of their accounting reconciliation. The decision to purchase software. this solution was based on two factors: Components of the software would allow “With the old system, the Marquette the Road Commission to set benchmarks County Road Commission employees were for jobs, and its employees were familiar very limited in what information they could with the Microsoft environment, which get out of it,” says Lee Larsen, Senior would allow ease of use and minimal Consultant for Anderson, Tackman and training time. ATCO helped the Road Company (ATCO). “Many times, Commission implement the Microsoft Great employees would print out reports and then Plains and WennSoft solution. manually take the data and enter it in Tracking Projects and Assets Employees use the WennSoft Job Cost The new solution allowed state, county, and Time Track modules to track labor and township roads, construction projects, costs, equipment usage, inventory, and and pieces of equipment to be set up as purchases. WennSoft also was able to individual jobs. The full integration between provide the technical software that ensures Microsoft Great Plains and the WennSoft the Road Commission can report modules helped enable employees to sufficiently on the different construction and access information easily, use tools they’re maintenance jobs, as well as equipment already familiar with, and choose from profitability. multiple analysis and reporting options. The integrated Microsoft Great Plains solution The Job Cost and Time Track modules runs on the Microsoft Windows Server™ from WennSoft seamlessly integrate with 2003 operating system, with the Microsoft Microsoft Great Plains. The software Office System, including the Microsoft environment in Wennsoft is straightforward Excel® 2002 spreadsheet software. for someone who is familiar with Microsoft, because both of the WennSoft modules The Road Commission uses Crystal use the same programming language as Reports reporting technology and Microsoft Microsoft Great Plains. Business Solutions for Analytics–FRx®. Employees can extract data from one “In working with the road commission, it is integrated database and then use Crystal easy to see how the integration between Reports and Microsoft FRx to report to the the Time Track module, fixed assets, and Road Commission board. job costing make the lives of the data entry people much easier,” says Mike Meyer, Delivering Meaningful, Insightful Information Solutions Consultant for WennSoft. “The Employees also use Microsoft FRx integrated solution provides one point of software for the Road Commission monthly entry for all information relating to financial statements for use by the road employees and equipment.” commissioners. Microsoft FRx software pulls information from the general ledger so With the WennSoft Time Track module, employees can create a single, Road Commission employees can perform comprehensive financial report book. Now, their Job Cost payroll data entry in one Road Commission employees can organize place. Also using Time Track, the Road financial reports, charts, and even Commission employees can record the nonfinancial documents in a logical, hours that each piece of equipment has sequential order. Previously, Road been used on individual jobs. This Commission employees were limited to information can then be filtered down to reporting only what was preprogrammed in payroll and reported on through Job Cost. the DOS-application or manually generated This data is important because reporting reports. the labor and equipment hours is a requirement of the state of Michigan, and is Building an Integrated, Comprehensive calculated as part of the cost of each job. Solution Additionally, the WennSoft modules have capabilities that facilitate tracking the equipment at an even more detailed level. Process efficiencies have helped enable “Instead of spending The Road Commission has millions of the Road Commission to better track dollars in equipment, or assets, so it needs equipment, equipment usage, and job time searching through to be able—reliably and accurately—to estimates to actuals at a very detailed Microsoft Excel track equipment on the job, and to track level. The employees can properly allocate equipment usage. all labor and equipment time to the correct documents and various segment of each job. other locations for the “It’s a comprehensive solution,” adds Mary Herman, Associate Accountant for the Better Access to Timely, Useful Information information, now it’s all Marquette County Road Commission. “Not Meeting the Road Commission’s highly in one place—in the only are all of the road jobs set up, but we customized business-specific needs has have set up vacation and training time, as never been easier—all details of the WennSoft Job Cost well, so everything is in one place.” hundreds of jobs are now easily accessible module.” in the WennSoft Job Cost module. The “It’s a comprehensive Benefits general ledger in Microsoft Great Plains solution.Mary Herman, Associate Not only Accountant, are The availability of useful information in a has now been pared to only a few hundred Marquette County Road Commission timely manner is a key benefit. Employees accounts, most of which are posted in all of the road jobs set can streamline their processes and, summary only. up, but we have set up ultimately, save time. Extracting data has become easier, and tracking and reporting “Instead of spending time searching vacation and training equipment and jobs is more efficient. Now through Microsoft Excel documents and time, as well, so the Road Commission can demonstrate various other locations for the information, stronger fiscal responsibility and now it’s all in one place—in the WennSoft everything is in one accountability. Job Cost module,” says Herman. place.” “We use Microsoft Great Plains and Mary Herman, Associate Accountant, WennSoft every day—from our inventory Marquette County Road Commission module to payroll, labor, and equipment. The best part is how easy it is to find the data we need in such a familiar Microsoft environment,” says Herman.

Improved Process Efficiencies and Higher Value of Assets Rather than focusing on the systems that run its organization, the Marquette County Road Commission can now focus on making the most of its resources. “With Microsoft Great Plains, WennSoft, Crystal Reports and Microsoft FRx, we’ve been able to streamline our processes,” says Herman. More Effective Use of Resources “Auditors can look for a specific transaction The Road Commission does its own and tie it to the general ledger.” payroll, and the state requires that it do extensive data entry and recording; therefore, saving time is extremely “Whether it’s job information for the important. The WennSoft Time Track foreman or financial comparisons for the module has added a single point of entry Road Commission management and for the Road Commission’s payroll where board, the data has been extracted into a the application pulls from all of the jobs. useable format—and most importantly, the Employees no longer need to re-key data. auditors are pleased,” says Larsen. Eliminating this step saves an enormous amount of time when working with thousands of transactions a week as the Road Commission employees do. “Once we became proficient with our integrated solution and could eliminate much of the re-keying of data, the Road Commission was able to allow one employee to go part-time,” adds Herman.

Better Reporting and Strengthened Fiscal Accountability Complementing both Microsoft Great Plains and WennSoft, employees use Crystal Reports and Microsoft FRx to modify and create their own reports, thus helping to ensure they are providing the appropriate information in the most practical format. Additionally, compared with the previous system, Crystal Reports and FRx allow employees of the Road Commission to deliver more information quickly. The Road Commission can provide these accounting reports to the township and state government, as well as the public, not only in less time than before, but also with higher accuracy.

Since the Road Commission has been using the new solution, auditors have been impressed with the new reporting results, especially the drill-down capabilities in the WennSoft Job Cost module. Herman adds, For More Information Microsoft Dynamics For more information about Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, products and services, call the Microsoft adaptable business management solutions Sales Information Center at (800) 426- that enables you and your people to make 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft business decisions with greater confidence. Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- Microsoft software such as Microsoft of-hearing can reach Microsoft text Office, which means less of a learning telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) curve for your people, so they can get up 892-5234 in the United States or (905) and running quickly and focus on what’s 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 most important. And because it is from United States and Canada, please Microsoft, it easily works with the contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. systems that your company already has To access information using the World implemented. By automating and Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com streamlining financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes, For more information about WennSoft Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, products and services, call (262) 317- processes, and technologies, increasing 3715 or visit the Web site at: the productivity and effectiveness of your www.wennsoft.com business, and helping you drive business success. For more information about Anderson, Tackman and Company products and For more information about Microsoft services, call (920) 432-6661 or visit the Dynamics, go to: Web site at: www.microsoft.com/dynamics www.atcogb.com

For more information about Marquette County Road Commission products and services, call (906) 486-4491.

Software and Services  Technologies  Microsoft Dynamics − Crystal Reports − Microsoft Business Solutions for Analytics–FRx Partners − Microsoft Business Solutions–Great  WennSoft Plains 7.5  Anderson, Tackman and Company  Microsoft Office System  Partner Solution − Microsoft Excel 2002 − WennSoft Job Cost and Time Track  Microsoft Windows Server System™ 7.5 © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational Microsoft Windows Server 2003 purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, − EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, FRx, Microsoft Dynamics, Excel, the Windows logo, Windows Server, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, FRx Software Corporation, or their affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. FRx Software is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published January 2006