Non-Profit: Case Studies

Our client is one of US’s largest public defender offices, providing legal representation and advocacy free of cost to people facing charges in criminal, family, and immigration courts. Having almost doubled in size over the past five years, the client’s IT capabilities hadn’t kept up with the new scale of the organization. This had been exacerbated by the sudden shift to remote work due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Executive Director saw the need for transformation across all aspects of IT and wanted to think strategically to ensure the change would serve the organization for years to come. Recognizing that achieving this vision would require additional expertise, she asked Anoteros to lead the development of a three-year strategy for IT.

We assembled a team comprising infrastructure and IT service delivery experts and quickly went to work assessing the current state of IT. Through meeting with IT staff, analyzing the network and systems, and conducting an IT satisfaction survey with leaders across the organization, we were able to identify the areas of issue and opportunity. We guided IT and executive leadership on a series of decisions that established the future principles under which IT would operate, for example, making an intentional decision to use cloud-based vs. on-premise services wherever possible, and deciding to optimize the use of the client’s existing investment in the Microsoft environment. We then applied these principles as we formulated recommendations for the future state. We developed a pragmatic roadmap for transforming the organization’s network, security, and data center infrastructure that prioritized increasing security and resiliency. In parallel, we developed recommendations on organization and role design for the IT department, identified areas for skill development, and outlined opportunities for service management process improvements.

IT and executive leadership were thrilled that they had a clear strategy for IT for the first time ever, with a pragmatic roadmap to implement the changes over the next three years and associated expense forecasts to build into the organization’s budget. The client asked us to continue providing support for implementation, for both specialized infrastructure expertise and ‘virtual CIO’ services to guide solution selection decisions and ensure the implementation remains on track.

Our client is a public health entity dedicated to improving the lives and health of New York City residents. The client sought assistance with implementing a new cloud-based finance accounting system to meet its needs for greater automation and advanced reporting capabilities. To support this transformational project, Anoteros was asked to provide project management services and financial systems expertise.

We assembled a team comprising a program manager, a finance consultant who was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with deep product knowledge, and a post-production support team to assist the client team with transitioning from the legacy system to the new solution. Anoteros provided strategic and tactical guidance for redesigning the chart of accounts and assisted with system configuration, testing, and development of extracts for conversion of historical data.

Anoteros helped the client implement the core modules for the new solution – General Ledger, Accounts Payable, and Account Receivable – on time and on budget. Based on the strength of our performance, Anoteros was selected to lead Phase 2 – implementation of the Procurement and Billing modules as well as to provide additional services to the project in the areas of change management, communications, and training-related services.

Our client is one of the US’s largest public defender offices, providing legal representation and advocacy free of cost to people facing charges in criminal, family, and immigration courts. When the Executive Director engaged us, each of their practice areas was using different case and document management systems to manage the workflow and client records for their cases. The capabilities of each system varied, and some of the platforms were outdated and not able to meet the client’s current security and resiliency standards. The siloed systems made it difficult to handle cases that involved multiple practice areas, and there was significant manual effort involved in analyzing case data and preparing reports that our client’s funders required, as well as additional IT burden to manage multiple systems and vendors. The client had already begun researching options for a new, unified, case management system and the Executive Director engaged Anoteros to bring expertise in technology sourcing and to accelerate the process.

We mobilized an Anoteros team to drive the selection process forward. Our business analysis experts held workshops with each practice area to understand their day-to-day working processes and then document detailed functional requirements for the new systems. In parallel, we began reviewing the functional capabilities of the potential vendor systems, as well as using Anoteros’ IT expertise to define service level, system, and security requirements. Once the requirements were defined, we issued a detailed Request for Proposal and then held a series of scripted demos where representatives from each of the practice areas were able to review each product’s suitability for their own unique workflows. The client selected a case management system that was designed specifically for legal case management but built on a Salesforce platform, providing significant capability to customize workflows across the legal practices. We also assisted the client with selecting a document management system that could easily integrate with the chosen case management system. We developed a high-level implementation plan and led contract negotiations with the vendors.

Anoteros enabled the client to conduct a rapid business analysis and selection process, reaching a selection decision within just 12 weeks. Our team complimented the client’s legal practice expertise with application, security, and sourcing expertise, together allowing for a comprehensive and diligent selection process. Anoteros is thrilled to now be assisting the client with the implementation of the chosen systems.

Our client is one of the few independent, community-based, providers of integrated addiction treatment and primary care services in the United States, serving New Yorkers with substance use disorder who are disproportionately low-income. Without the resources of major healthcare systems, many independent providers had faced challenges with New York State’s Medicaid redesign transition, as they had gone from billing most of their services through a single-payer (the State) to billing around ten different managed care payors. Our client estimated they had lost 5% in revenue during the transition, an amount that was the difference between operating surplus and loss for this non-profit organization. They were also implementing a new electronic health record system. The CEO hired Anoteros to evaluate the end-to-end revenue cycle process and provide recommendations for improvement.

We assembled a team with a mix of expertise in provider billing, payor claims processing, and healthcare technology. To understand all aspects of the revenue cycle we met with staff from finance, IT, and clinical departments as well as the third-party billing vendor, reviewed service and billing data, and assessed the relevant capabilities of both the clinical electronic health record system and the billing system. We took a methodical approach to assess the current process and systems, identify the gaps, and use that analysis to inform recommended actions. Recognizing that “every dollar counts” we did not wait until the final report to share our recommendations, ensuring that leadership was informed immediately when we found a significant issue, so that adjustments could be made in the current billing cycle.

The client did not have the resources of a major provider system, so we placed a lot of importance on ensuring our recommendations were realistic, actionable, and prioritized. Our work provided the client – and their Board – with a comprehensive understanding of the gaps and issues in their current process and enabled them to take a step-by-step approach to address the issues over the following months.

Our client is a non-profit organization based in New York City. The client was on its third human resources and payroll (HR) system in ten years and was frustrated that the current system was not meeting its needs. There was significant manual effort and calculation involved in running payroll each cycle, and employees and managers found the system hard to use. There were also defects which the vendor had not been able to resolve.

The client approached Anoteros for support in sourcing a replacement system, with a clear goal that the new system must meet the client’s need for both the short and long-term.

Anoteros recommended a more thorough selection process than the client had used for its past system selections. This started with a current state assessment where we shadowed and held workshops with the HR and Finance teams to map their current processes and identify where there were issues, gaps, and opportunities. The assessment identified opportunities for improvement not just in the technology but in policies, process, and roles. Using the insight garnered from the assessment, Anoteros developed a list of 650 business requirements for the new HR system and broader recommendations for policy and process improvements.

Perhaps the most significant finding from the assessment was that the client’s current-basis pay approach was an impediment to fully automating the payroll process. The client’s current system simply wasn’t built for it, and therefore had been configured to “fit a round peg into a square hole”, which explained why the current process required so many manual interventions.

Anoteros conducted a market scan to identify HR systems that could meet the client’s requirements, including a current-basis pay approach, as the client was considering in parallel whether to move to arrears-basis and did not want to force that decision due to a system selection. From the market scan, three vendors were identified and we worked with the client to conduct a thorough Request for Proposal, demo, and selection process. After presenting the options and recommendation to the leadership team, the recommended vendor was approved and we then led the contract negotiations process.

When Anoteros and the HR team presented the preferred vendor recommendation to the client’s leadership team, along with the recommendation to change the pay approach from current-basis to arrears-basis, both recommendations received unanimous approval, with the robust approach giving the leaders confidence that they were making the right decision for the organization.

In the contract negotiations, we realized 28% in savings over the term of the contract and secured substantial protections for the client related to data security and system resiliency.

We are now thrilled to be leading the implementation process for the client.

Our client is a non-profit organization based in New York City. Following a robust selection process, the client asked Anoteros to manage the implementation of their new human capital management (HCM) system. In addition to the system change, the client had decided to change its pay cycle from semi-monthly current basis to bi-weekly arrears basis. The client also sought Anoteros’ assistance in rolling out this significant change to its staff alongside the system change.

Anoteros provided the following support to the client throughout the implementation project:

• Pay cycle change management: We helped the client develop employee communications and a loan program that would assist employees in managing the shift to arrears pay.
• Project management: We acted as client-side project manager, ensuring the vendor was delivering as expected and that client team members were also fulfilling their responsibilities.
• Business analysis: We worked alongside the HR team and the vendor as they configured the new HCM and helped to ‘translate’ between business needs and system capabilities.
• General ledger expertise: We supported the client’s Finance team in working with the vendor to design a custom post-payroll general ledger export.

The transition to the new system was successful, with no payroll errors. The time taken to run payroll is significantly reduced due to increased automation and elimination of reconciliation ‘re-work’ that is inherent to current basis pay cycles. Additional interfaces with benefits carriers have reduced manual data input and transfer. Supervisors report a much easier timecard approval process, and HR has automated several previously manual processes. In addition, the client’s Finance team has eliminated all manual manipulation that they previously had to do on the HCM general ledger export.

The client is a large NYC-based nonprofit that is primarily grant funded. The organization had been leveraging a simplified version of Sage Intacct that was implemented and supported by a boutique accounting firm for years. The client was often challenged with effectively keeping up with its operational accounting needs and providing timely and detailed financials to key stakeholders and funders. Though the experience with the system had not been overly positive, the Finance leadership team was willing to consider staying with a reconfigured version of the system.

Anoteros provided the client support through its pivotal decision making process, bringing in a consultant with a decade of nonprofit and Sage Intacct experience to conduct an initial assessment. The outcome of the evaluation was a decision to leverage a new Sage Intacct implementation partner with support from Anoteros to guide the client through the re-implementation of the solution.

Anoteros provided specialized experience in the non-profit sector, facilitating in-depth and ultimately crucial planning sessions to determine a blueprint for the reconfigured solution. Coupled with the Sage Intacct expertise of the implementation partner, all three parties were able to deliver an effective and efficient solution to meet the client’s requirements.

After a successful re-implementation, the client is now configured on a more robust, easy-to-use, and deliberate configuration of Sage Intacct that has allowed it to reclaim crucial time previously lost due to the shortcomings of the legacy system. Since go-live, the client has taken on two additional implementations with the Anoteros team, SAP Concur for expense management, and DataBlend for its integration needs. The client continues to improve and invest in its systems to optimize its finance and accounting functions.