Seguin Implements Citywide ERP Software
Organization Profile
Industry: Municipality
Tyler Client Since: 2015
Number of Employees: 450
Tyler Products Used: Incode ERP, Incode Utility Billing, Incode Court, EnerGov, Tyler Content Manager
Population: About 30,000
Founded just 16 months after the start of the Texas Revolution, Seguin is one of the oldest cities in Texas. From its early days serving as the home station of the Texas Rangers to leveraging the New Deal to revitalize public buildings and navigating a current housing boom, Seguin has seen a lot of change over the years. With true Texas grit and ingenuity, the city has solidified itself as an adaptable, thriving community built with an eye toward the future.
Its software systems in 2015, however, were rooted firmly in the past. For years, Seguin had struggled with its legacy AS/400 system, and departments across the city felt the burdens. To process payroll, HR relied on employees to fill out paper time sheets and leave requests, which were sent to supervisors for approval before they were entered into the system. The budget process also required each department to complete paper-based request forms and break their budgets into quarters before they were routed to finance for entry.
It didn’t stop there. Requisitions, purchase orders, and vendor payments were all manual. Even something as mission-critical as reporting was tedious and time-consuming. As Director of Finance Susan Caddell described, “There was a lot of paper pushing.” More than that, it simply wasn’t meeting the needs of a growing city.
Together with representatives from the city’s HR, utility, and IT departments, as well as an outside consultant, Caddell began the search for a new ERP system that could better support its citywide operations.
“Preparing our request for proposal involved reviewing all the department needs at the current time as well as anticipating their future needs,” Caddell said.
Choosing a Software Solution for the Years Ahead
Unlike many cities in Texas, Seguin’s electric, water, and wastewater operations are municipally owned, making utilities a large focus in its search for a new provider — and something that stood out about Tyler Technologies’ Incode® solution.
“We needed a vendor that could grow with us, particularly on the utility side of our business,” Caddell said. “One of our utility IT staff members was able to speak with a Tyler developer during the selection process. That’s what really sold us.”
The benefits of a one-vendor solution stood out as well. “With Incode, everything integrates with the general ledger, and the modules all talk back to each other,” Caddell said. “Integration was a big thing.”
Achieving Significant Time and Cost Savings
Today, the city has transformed its once-manual time sheet and leave request process with the introduction of Incode Employee Self-Service. Once time off has been approved by a supervisor, it is automatically routed to HR for payroll processing. Pay stubs have also been significantly reduced with an increase in direct deposit enrollment and email advices.
It was very important that our new system would be able to expand with future technological needs. We selected Incode not only for its current features, but its ability to grow with us.”
Susan Caddell
Director of Finance, Seguin, Texas
With Incode, employees now have increased visibility into budgetary data, making them more conscious of departmental spending. Whereas departments previously relied on bimonthly reports manually generated by the finance department for budgetary insight, they are now responsible for entering their budgets, adding budget details, and corresponding notes, which they have access to throughout the year. All documentation is uploaded to Tyler Content Manager™, the city’s electronic document management solution, for easy, on-demand reporting.
“Our paper usage has been cut down considerably because we no longer have to print unnecessary budget reports or make so many copies,” Caddell said. “That’s probably been our biggest win since implementing Incode. We have saved a great deal of time and operating costs.”
In addition to eliminating 2.5 five-drawer file cabinets from its office, Seguin has realized significant time and resource savings as well. The time spent processing reports has been cut in half, requisitions can be turned around in 20 minutes instead of two days, and the number of checks issued for vendor payments has decreased by 60%.
The future is bright for the city of Seguin, and, best of all, with Incode it involves a lot less paper, fewer manual processes, and greater operational efficiency.