Bartholomew County is located in the Southeastern part of Indiana, covering 409 square miles. Columbus is its county seat. Agriculture, manufacturing and tourism make up the majority of its economy. It is home to more than 72,000 people.
Bartholomew County had used the same software in their auditor’s and treasurer’s offices for over eighteen years. The County Commissioners decided to replace this unsupported software product. They reviewed the latest software from several vendors including their current one. After lengthy evaluations, which included vendor demonstrations, they decided to switch to SSI’s eGovProfessional.
Bartholomew County Treasurer pleased with SSI
When Vernon Jewell changed roles from Auditor to Treasurer, he also adopted SSI’s system in the office. According to Jewell, who has served as head of the Indiana County Auditor’s Association, "I am very pleased with SSI and with their Treasurer’s program. I am particularly impressed that SSI has made changes to meet our specific needs. In fact, I have experienced few installs as problem-free as the Treasurer’s program from SSI."
SSI adapts their program to meet the County’s needs
Jewell continues, "There were times when the software didn’t work the way we currently did things, but we realized that the system was based on good business practices. In those cases, we benefited by changing our processes. With SSI’s program changes and our process changes, our operations have improved."
Pam Harrell, the Bartholomew County Deputy Treasurer said: I am very pleased with several enhancements SSI provided. One is an export/import function on payroll. It allows me to modify my file to match the current payroll numbers. I do not have to retype all the names, check numbers, or amounts. When it balances, I re-import the file. This has reduced a 4-hour process to 30 minutes.
"Another timesaver is a program SSI wrote that lets me download a file from our bank’s website and import it to automatically cash the cleared checks. Now, instead of manually cashing the checks, I run the program daily. This saves time at the end of the month when I balance the bank statement."
SSI provides an interface between the Auditor’s and Treasurer’s system
Jewell and Harrell look forward to using the interface between the Auditor’s and Treasurer’s system. According to Harrell, "The integration of these two packages has the potential to save hours of work. And we still have safeguards built in. I will have the capability to verify totals. I can then run a transaction report to authorize posting."
Jewell adds, "SSI’s is one of only a couple of systems available for Indiana that provides this interface between the Auditor’s and Treasurer’s offices."
SSI’s software is easy to use and it works
Harrell says that the software is so easy to use that she has only called support once or twice, and they have been very helpful. She has found the SSI team to be very competent and easy to work with when tailoring the system to Bartholomew County’s needs and when they provided training.
Jewell concludes, "Best of all, SSI’s software works just as they said it would."
SSI is installing its software in many other counties
Jay Rettig, President of SSI says, "The decision to transition to new software is not easy. However, our new county accounts will find, just as Bartholomew County has, that the benefits are well worth the change. We are looking forward to installing our software in many more Indiana and Ohio counties." |
