Collecting and verifying forms from 300 cash boxes took Leger des Heils an enormous amount of time. Now, hundreds of employees use Elari, and their processes are more efficient than ever.
Due to the accounting terminology used in financial systems, Leger des Heils sought advice from various healthcare institutions. They recommended using a complementary software package that integrates well with the AFAS financial system, so that employees without accounting knowledge could also work easily. In practice, this is certainly the case with Elari.
Leger des Heils chooses Elari
In 2012, Sander Bos was a group controller at Leger des Heils. One of his tasks was to build an efficient information system, including through the implementation of software from Elari and AFAS. He now holds the position of BIV/AO manager. In this customer story, he discusses the search for a method that would reduce the administrative burden.
“Our cash transactions used to be entered locally in Excel spreadsheets. We’d collect these from the financial departments and post them manually. The cash transactions were then sent for processing in the financial software we used, Finpak. This was a significant administrative burden. It took an enormous amount of time to collect the forms from around 300 cash boxes and then check them as well.”
First, a new financial software package
Once Leger des Heils had decided to eliminate this administrative burden, they sought an alternative approach. The first step was to select a new financial software package to replace Finpak. This package had to allow for restricting the access rights of location managers and cashbook administrators, with a data entry screen where they could enter data themselves.
“The software packages we reviewed required accounting knowledge. The entry forms contain terms that are difficult for a cash manager to understand. We chose AFAS, but wanted to supplement it with a package that could also be used by our employees without accounting knowledge.”
“With a selection team consisting of several financial administrators from different locations and colleagues from IT, we visited a number of healthcare institutions for reference. We were looking for a solution where ease of use and an existing integration with AFAS were our top priorities. The healthcare institutions indicated that they use Elari. Elari also has a client funds feature, which is an important feature for us as well. Ultimately, we presented the use of Elari in combination with AFAS as a business case during an executive meeting.”
“Elari was up and running within a month.”
Sander Bos, BIV/AO Manager at Leger des Heils
500 users in Elari
For the implementation of Elari, Leger des Heils provided data entry sheets, which were then imported into the system. Within a month, Elari was operational at the first location. For the remaining locations, they opted for a phased rollout.
“We decided to invest time in training the local cashbook administrators to stop working in Excel spreadsheets and start using Elari instead. It takes time to get employees to break their old habits. It’s the same with AFAS, where they have the option to import or manually enter bank statements, just as they’re used to.”
Leger des Heils now has more than 650 users and nearly 400 bank and cash books in Elari.
“For our social services division, we rely primarily on client funds and the cash books. But we also rely on Elari for our church organization. There, we have 100 cash books in which the treasurers process all transactions entirely in Elari.”
Elari simplifies cash transactions
When asked what benefits Leger des Heils derives from using Elari, Sander has a clear answer: “A massive boost in efficiency, the simplification of cash transactions, and the simplification of client funds. There’s less administrative burden on the organization, which means less administrative work.”
“At Leger des Heils, we distinguish between primary and secondary processes. Our primary process is helping people. That’s where we want to excel. With Elari and AFAS, we use best-practice basic tools for our secondary process, which allow us to focus on our goal: helping people.”
