200 likes | 372 Views
eMARS Upgrade . Commonwealth of Kentucky Ed Ross, Controller March 21, 2007. eMARS Upgrade . Upgrade from MARS client/server to eMARS web architecture Delivered on time and under budget of $11.5m Live July 2006 to support BFY 2007 Statewide implementation including all agencies
E N D
eMARS Upgrade Commonwealth of KentuckyEd Ross, ControllerMarch 21, 2007
eMARS Upgrade • Upgrade from MARS client/server to eMARS web architecture • Delivered on time and under budget of $11.5m • Live July 2006 to support BFY 2007 • Statewide implementation including all agencies • Supports over 4,500 users
eMARS Upgrade • Functional Scope: • General Ledger • Budgeting • Procurement & eProcurement • Accounts Payable • Accounts Receivable • Cost Accounting • FHWA Billing • Fixed Assets • Travel • Reporting warehouse • Checkwriter • Bank deposit and reconciliation • ePayment
Upgrade Innovations and Benefits • Web browser interface • Consolidated technical architecture • Shared functionality to agencies without custom development • Advantage CheckWriter
Upgrade Innovations and Benefits • Web browser interface • Eliminated client-side software • Eliminated software distribution and associated resource demands • Consolidated technical architecture • eMARS consolidated to a UNIX/Oracle platform • Eliminated MARS’ combination of platforms
Upgrade Innovations and Benefits • Delivered shared functionality to agencies without custom development • Advantage ePay • Integrated, shared web-service for processing e-commerce transactions across the state • Today 43 “merchants” or state agencies use ePay • Provides a central, secure and auditable system for e-commerce without limiting the agencies capabilities for online business
Upgrade Innovation and Benefits • Advantage CheckWriter • Provides high-volume disbursement and offset capabilities • Checks or EFT are issued to payees based on input file. Payees do not necessarily have to be vendors • Accounting entries are summarized prior to posting, providing huge processing efficiencies • Agencies maintain control over the triggering of payments, e.g., child support payments
Upgrade Innovation and Benefits • Advantage CheckWriter(continued) • All Commonwealth payments issued through eMARS • Annual volume of about 10 million payments for over $15 billion • 90% of payment through CheckWriter • Provides offset capabilities for any payment due to enterprise nature
Bank Reconciliation • Daily file received from bank on cleared checks • Job compares bank account, check number and check amount to ensure match between bank and accounting system • Match problems remain on table ready for processing the subsequent day
Bank Reconciliation • Deposits are currently reconciled manually by assigning deposit ticket number and deposit date • Because the bank frequently knows about EFT deposits prior to eMARS, this will continue to be reconciled manually
Bank Reconciliation • Daily process to adjust transactions that should have been recorded against another bank account both within the accounting system and at the bank through the generation of an ACH file
Bank Reconciliation • Activity at bank captured in 16 categories • Cash activity in eMARS divided into 16 categories based on reporting criteria • Activity at bank and in eMARS totaled on a daily basis, and any differences reconciled
Bank Reconciliation • Reconciliation process supported by a number of exception reports: • Outstanding Checks • Checks cleared at bank, but not posted in eMARS • Outstanding Deposits • Deposits made at bank, but not posted in eMARS • One-sided journal vouchers in eMARS
ePayment Gateway Shared Services Solution • Single Merchant Service Provider (MSP) contract for all of State Gov’t & available to outside entities • Transitioned a collection of disparate payment processing solutions into an infrastructure based online service supporting transactions end to end • Enabled enterprise reconciliation control, audit trail, automated accounting system deposit update, and reporting capabilities for all online and swipe applications
ePayment Gateway Shared Services Solution (continued) • Lowered the barriers to entry for departmental web application development by using a common (proxy based web service) API to the MSP • Virtual Terminal Website allows for ad-hoc transaction processing, refunds, reporting, and batch administration
ePayments Gateway • Swipe Transactions- Ave near 400,000 swipe transactions per year for $25M. These transactions have an automated deposit process into the accounting system. The Commerce Cabinet and primarily the State Parks system make up this amount. • Deposit Concentration- the Parks system and other out of town entities use the Virtual Terminal to transfer local deposits to the concentration account each day at minimal cost.
ePayment Gateway • Web Transactions • 2006 Dollars = $333M and Count= 344,000 • Seeing dollar volume in ACH and transaction counts in Credit Cards. • Year to Year increases slowing
Leading Organizations Web Transactions
Training • Distance learning • End user training provided through distance learning tools • During project – through combination of classrooms and remote “virtual” classrooms • Ongoing – through remote classrooms and recorded sessions available online • Increased available of training to users while reducing the travel requirements • Required fewer trainers