Florida Utility Improves Efficiency by Aligning Microsoft Dynamics
Mission: The Loxahatchee River District is a public utility located in Jupiter, Florida. As an independent special district, their mission focuses on water reclamation, environmental education, and river restoration. In addition to providing sewer services for the roughly 31,000 residents in North Palm Beach County and Southern Martin County, Florida, the Loxahatchee River District promotes environmental stewardship by providing education opportunities for their residents and visitors.
Industry: Regional Sanitary Sewer Provider
Location: Jupiter, FL
Company Size: 50-200 employees
Products: General Ledger, Budgets, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Banking, and Fixed Assets
Replaced: Microsoft Dynamics GP
It was very easy to switch over. Over my lifetime of working in accounting, I’ve switched over to a lot of systems, and this was the easiest, most seamless transition I’ve ever had.
Innovative Cloud Solutions Helps Loxahatchee River District migrate to a Cloud ERP
With Microsoft Dynamics Business CentralKey Results for Loxahatchee River District
Accounting team can work remotely when needed.
Streamlined and seamless user experience.
Efficient and timely reporting.
Modern user interface to more easily navigate between work spaces.
The Challenge
Data Visibility Disconnect
The Loxahatchee River District Accounting Department began using an on-premise version of Microsoft Dynamics GP in 2001 to manage all accounting functions, including receivables, accounts payable, and fixed assets for a budget of $16M, with $15M in operating expenses.
Overall, they found GP user-friendly, easy to run, and met their needs as an accounting software system. As a result, the department stayed with GP for nearly 20 years, updating to newer versions as needed through 2016.
However, although it worked well for accounting, keeping this legacy system presented some challenges. While the Accounting Department continued to perform most of its functions in GP, the rest of the organization was starting to use Power BI for reporting needs, but GP wasn’t a good tool for PowerBI reporting. This disconnect prevented the visibility of accounting activity and reporting across all other business functions.
The Solution
Migrate from GP to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Given their decades of success with Microsoft Dynamics GP and the opportunity to increase their visibility with other business sectors, the decision to move the Accounting Department to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central was simple. The anticipated ease of migrating to another Microsoft product and the benefits of moving from an on-premise to cloud-based system were additional benefits.
The move would add Purchasing to the functionality the District was already using in GP, which included General Ledger, Budgets, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Banking, and Fixed Assets.
Innovative Cloud Solutions was chosen as the project winning bid. The installation and migration began in July of 2021 and was completed in October 2021.
The Results
Expectations Exceeded
The initiative of transitioning to one cloud-based ERP system resulted in an overall streamlined user experience, and the capability for efficient and timely reporting from PowerBI reports built with BC tables.
In addition, while the accounting staff typically works in the office, there are situations where remote access is needed. Director of Finance and Accounting Kara Fraraccio noted the benefit of cloud-based accessibility when not on site. “BC is a lot easier to use remotely. The remote desktop interface required to access GP was often frustrating. Now, all I need is an internet connection to access BC.”
The Impact of a Strong Partnership
Working with Innovative Cloud Solutions (ICS) was pivotal to the overall project success. From project planning to installation and migration to training and troubleshooting, the ICS installation team provided support every step of the way. Weekly check-in meetings kept the project on pace, provided transparency into the project status, and the opportunity for questions and challenges to be quickly addressed.
Accountant Cheryl Cripe used the on-premise Dynamics GP system for several years and was a little hesitant about adopting a new system. However, since going live in October, her experience has been very positive, “It was very easy to switch over. Over my lifetime of working in accounting, I’ve switched over to a lot of systems, and this was the easiest, most seamless transition I’ve ever had.” Cheryl remarked. She attributes this to the streamlined user experience of the more modern, cloud-based ERP and the immersive, detail-oriented approach from the ICS team.