CC 02-04-2025 Item No. 5. Attachment B - RFP Needs Assessment
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 1
Make the mark.
CITY OF CUPERTINO, CA
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report
OCTOBER 2023
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Contents
1 Executive summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Project overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 SWOT analysis ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Key current state observations ......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Action plan considerations ................................................................................................................................................. 9
2 Gap analysis: Observations and opportunities .................................................................................................. 11
2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11
2.2 Detailed observations and opportunities log ............................................................................................................... 11
3 ERP marketplace assessment ................................................................................................................................ 26
3.1 Vendor consolidation ........................................................................................................................................................ 26
3.2 Summary comparison: Tier 1 versus tier 2 ERP ........................................................................................................... 26
3.3 Vendor marketplace overview ........................................................................................................................................ 28
3.4 ERP marketplace trends.................................................................................................................................................... 29
4 Cost estimate ............................................................................................................................................................ 31
4.1 Cost estimate ...................................................................................................................................................................... 31
4.2 Cost assumptions ............................................................................................................................................................... 31
4.3 Total cost summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 32
5 Action plan ................................................................................................................................................................. 34
5.1 Plante Moran recommendation ...................................................................................................................................... 34
5.2 Plan of action considerations........................................................................................................................................... 34
5.3 Project risks ......................................................................................................................................................................... 38
5.4 Implementation best practices ........................................................................................................................................ 39
5.5 Proposed timeline .............................................................................................................................................................. 40
Appendix A: Application migration plan ..................................................................................................................... 41
Overview ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Application migration plan ........................................................................................................................................................... 41
Appendix B: Application interfaces ............................................................................................................................. 43
Appendix C: Action Items .............................................................................................................................................. 44
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1 Executive summary
1.1 Project overview
1.1.1 Project background
The City of Cupertino (City) relies on Tyler Technologies’ New World ERP system, originally purchased in 2014,
to support its 212 users across six departments. Now, the City looks to explore new software solution options
that will meet its current and future needs. To support these efforts, the City engaged Plante Moran to conduct
an ERP needs assessment that identifies opportunities for improvement and guides the City through a
competitive bidding process for new ERP software. Plante Moran collected questionnaires and conducted
interviews with process owners and department end users at the City. The Plante Moran team developed an
understanding of the organization to better understand the City’s unique requirements. This discovery effort
will set the City up for success as it moves into the selection process for a software provider. Upon receiving
vendor responses to the RFP, Plante Moran will support the City in evaluating its options and ultimately
selecting a new system to support its current and future needs. This report provides observations identified in
the questionnaires and interviews as well as provides guidance for expectations of the ERP landscape that will
be evaluated next.
1.1.2 Project scope
The City engaged Plante Moran to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its ERP environment and related
business processes. The scope of this project includes the following functional areas:
Finance Human resources Other
Accounts payable Benefits management General and technical
Accounts receivable and
miscellaneous billing
Employee self-service Reporting
Bank reconciliation Learning management Conversions
Budgeting Performance management Interfaces
Contract management Personnel actions and employee
profile
Fixed assets Position control/budgeting,
classification, and compensation
General ledger Recruitment
Grant and project accounting Risk management
Lease management Payroll
Project management Time and attendance
Purchasing
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1.1.3 Project objectives
Plante Moran and the City identified the following key objectives for the project:
Document an ERP needs assessment including the existing observations and opportunities for
improvement, an application migration table showing the plan of ERP-related technology, a
marketplace overview, a cost estimate, and implementation recommendations.
Develop technical and functional requirements to capture the City’s needs for a new ERP system.
o Release a request for proposal (RFP) documenting the City’s needs for a new ERP system.
o Procure, through a competitive process, a system that can support the City’s current and future needs.
1.1.4 Project approach
The project team took the phased approach outlined below to assess the City’s business processes:
• Initiate project
• Define project
organizational
schedule
• Develop project
charter and plan
• Schedule interviews
• Request information
• Conduct educational
demonstrations
• Review information
• Conduct stakeholder
and departmental
interviews
• Conduct executive
interviews
• Develop functional
and technical ERP
requirements
• Finalize requirements
following the City’s
review
• Review draft
assessment report
• Finalize and present
assessment report
The approach described above was highly participative and included significant input from stakeholders across
the entire organization to ensure an accurate understanding of current state conditions.
The process for implementing new technology not only focuses on the technology itself but also aims to
enhance existing business processes across the City. The key current state observations discovered during our
interviews with City staff are discussed below.
Project initiation
(December 2022)
Conduct interviews
(January 2023 –
March 2023)
Draft requirements
(March 2023 –
May 2023)
Finalize needs
assessment (June –
July 2023)
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1.2 SWOT analysis
The following SWOT analysis including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats based on provided
documents and executive, department, and process owner interviews with City staff. The City has many
strengths as outlined below and can improve many of their weaknesses with a new ERP system. Both
opportunities and threats should be considered during the next phase of the project with the ERP selection.
1.2.1 Strengths
Departments have a Citywide perspective and have a positive working relationship with others. During
departmental and process discussions, staff often mentioned what information other departments and staff
needed to complete daily functions. Not only do staff understand their own roles and responsibilities for
various business processes, but they are aware of who in the organization needs to conduct the remainder of
the process. This shared understanding will help support implementation discussions in configuring workflows
for business processes and considering the reports that people need.
Resourceful staff developed creative solutions to fill gaps created by software limitations. Where legacy
software does not provide functionality or reports, staff lean on their impressive technical skills to build tools
to solve problems. For example, the current ERP does not provide the ability to run reports on performance
evaluation dates resulting in most of the process occurring outside of the system. The department built a
Microsoft Access (Access) database that staff use to generate a report each week for who is up for an evaluation
in the next 30 or 45 days, depending on the nature of the evaluation. Additionally, staff in payroll built
Microsoft Excel (Excel) tools for calculating overtime based on a variety of inputs as a check against pay in the
legacy system before running payroll. Staff are resourceful in developing methods to complete their work
despite system limitations.
Strengths
•Departments have a Citywide perspective and
have a positive working relationship with others
•Resourceful staff developed creative solutions
to fill gaps created by software limitations
•Staff are receptive to best practices
•Dedicated IT team creates useful tools for the
City
Weaknesses
•Software does not provide modern functionality
or integrations required by City staff to
complete their jobs
•Staff are burdened by manual tasks that could
be performed by a modern system
•Limited reporting capabilities requires staff
intervention to obtain information
Opportunities
•Integration could reduce redundant data entry
•Leverage ERP workflow capabilities to increase
staff time spent on value add activities
•Adopt best practices for achieving outcomes
•Develop cross-functional staff
Threats
•Dated security in New World
•Configuring a system to mirror current
processes reduces return on investment
•Limited City resources to support
implementation staffing
•Comfort with customized solutions
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Staff are receptive to best practices. Forward-thinking staff throughout the organization provided direct
feedback about their current processes that aligned with industry best practices. This will make it easier for the
organization to transition to a new system, considering the functionality and reports that could be possible in a
new system. For example, staff in finance requested the ability to create versions of a budget and house them in
the system. Budget versioning is common in modern systems and provides organizations the ability to see
different scenarios that could impact the budget in the future. Staff across all functional areas expressed
interest in the modern capabilities mentioned.
Dedicated IT team creates useful tools for the City. The IT department is supportive of the organization and
dedicated to making improvements. During multiple interviews, staff mentioned that IT built custom
applications for internal use that effectively solve problems. For example, IT leveraged Microsoft Power Apps
(Power Apps) to build a Training Management Application. The learning management system allows users to
register and receive reminders for upcoming trainings. Additionally, IT built a custom new hire transaction
form through Power Apps that allows employees to sign off electronically. The creative and helpful IT
department’s central role in the implementation will benefit the City’s users.
1.2.2 Weaknesses
Software does not provide modern functionality or integrations required by City staff to complete their jobs.
Though the legacy software may have met the needs of the City in 2014, the needs have outpaced the abilities
the system can provide, creating functional gaps. Modern systems will meet more of the City’s requirements,
such as adaptive reports, flexibility in calculations, and audit trails for approval steps—all of which were
mentioned as limitations in the current system. Additionally, modern integrations do not exist with the City’s
legacy systems. Though the City implemented integrations where possible, software limitations push staff to
record data in duplicate systems and create manual workarounds, increasing additional efforts and the risk of
data entry errors or data loss. The City should implement an ERP system that can meet the needs of the entire
organization.
Manual tasks burden staff and constrain resources. Staff spend valuable time responding to emails,
performing manual calculations, and duplicating data entry in various systems or shadow systems (such as
Excel). This culminates in pain points across the organization: supervisors may not have time to complete
evaluations in a timely manner, HR staff reenter benefit information already provided somewhere else by
employees, and staff may not have adequate time to train others in their department because they are so
focused on their manual tasks. With modern software, the skills of the staff can be used in ways that provide
more strategic value to the City.
Limited reporting capabilities requires staff intervention to obtain information. Since the current ERP
system does not have user-friendly reporting capabilities, staff manually intervene to obtain the information
they need. This requires running multiple reports to extract data in a usable format, which can be a time-
consuming process. This is seen in instances such as multi-year reporting for budget, reconciling the bank with
the general ledger, benefit deductions, and vacancies. While administrative services staff members are willing
to help develop reports and dashboards, their assistance may not be fully utilized by all departments, resulting
in reporting challenges.
1.2.3 Opportunities
Integration could reduce redundant data entry. Today, many systems operate independently rather than as a
part of a larger framework of software. The City should choose to use this software selection as the opportunity
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to purposefully choose integration points. By allowing systems to share data with one another, the need for
redundant data entry is reduced, which in turn reduces the reconciliation necessary later. By building
integrations where data needs to be captured across applications (e.g., connecting the timekeeping systems to
the payroll module of the ERP), reports can be quickly generated in formats supportive to unique use cases.
Leverage ERP workflow capabilities to increase staff time spent on value-add activities. Much of the time
currently spent on various processes is on tasks outside of the system where manual intervention is required
due to system limitations. Some examples include doing calculations outside of the system, doing approvals
outside of the system, and other workarounds. By moving all these activities into a single system, the workflow
to move to the next step can also be done in the system, which would reduce the amount of time spent outside
of the system. This would give staff more capacity to dedicate their time to value-add activities.
Adopt best practices for achieving outcomes. Throughout the selection process, staff may discover that
although the outcomes that they desire may be consistent with current outcomes, the process of achieving
those outcomes may change. As the City invites software vendors to demonstrate their applications, Plante
Moran will help build purposeful demonstration scripts that encourage the vendors to show the attendees the
way their processes will look in the future. The City should review these to ensure that they key pain points are
covered so that vendors can show detailed benefits. For example, request that vendors walk finance staff
through the benefits of a daily bank reconciliation and how it flows to other processes. By approaching the
selection with an open mind, staff will recognize and act on potential efficiency gains.
Develop cross-functional staff. As staff lean on the new system to coordinate workflows and reduce manual
efforts, train them in new areas to support personal and organizational development. Though staff may not
currently have the time to pick up new skills, the City should be purposeful in having staff overlap in future
skill sets. Not only will this support succession planning, but staff can support each other and pick up
responsibilities when coworkers are out of office. Consider cross-training staff so that multiple people develop
an understanding of how to complete various processes. This shared knowledge will reduce reliance on a single
individual for a single process, create reliable backups so that staff can take time off, and ensure that processes
are completed on time. This also supports succession planning for the future.
1.2.4 Threats
Dated security in New World. Staff reported that security concerns exist in the system due to system
limitations/configuration. As legacy software becomes more dated, cybersecurity enhancements are more
limited in nature. Eventually, the vendor stops applying security patches altogether, requiring the need for
modern software.
Configuring a system to mirror current processes reduces return on investment. Redefining processes with
new systems does not happen overnight, and it is often easier said than done. It can be natural to revert to
existing processes in the legacy system because they are more comfortable for staff. Though challenging, make
sure staff approach the transition with an open mind. As the City releases and receives vendor responses to the
RFP, recognize the value in asking vendors about best practices and recommendations they offer to improve
City processes. Ensure vendors consider and communicate future practices in their discussions with the City.
Discussions about any necessary policy changes prior to the implementation will streamline change
management opportunities down the line.
Limited City resources to support implementation staffing. Implementations vary in duration, and vendors
could propose timelines between nine months and two years. Choosing an implementation approach based on
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this number alone may not capture all the needs of the City. Consider the staffing requirements necessary to
achieve a timeline, the support a vendor will provide throughout the implementation, and expectations for
testing, building integrations, training, and other key areas. The City may opt for additional vendor support, a
dedicated project manager, or some backfill for staff. The City must meet to define these plans early in order
for implementation to be successful.
Comfort with customized solutions. IT provides a high level of support to staff right now, including custom-
written solutions such as the learning management system. These may be difficult for the ERP marketplace to
replicate. The City should be willing to consider different ways to do things in order to fully leverage an ERP.
1.3 Key current state observations
There were a number of consistent observations identified throughout many of the reviewed process areas.
Plante Moran recognized the following themes as opportunities to improve the overall effectiveness of the use
of ERP within the City.
Finding Description
1. Impressive tools
created internally
In-house staff create and utilize advanced tools created to bridge the gap left by
legacy software. The City keep tools updated with data and find the information
they need quickly, even if it is not all in one place. Staff are trained and understand
their day-to-day tools well beyond what many organizations use them for. In fact,
the City found that staff could utilize an easier option than implementing bank
reconciliation in the legacy system.
2. Limited system
functionality for
major processes
The City is not able to fully leverage their current ERP system for major processes,
such as budget preparation, benefits enrollment, and personnel actions, due to the
lack of functionality that the current ERP system can provide. This results in
shadow systems and other workarounds completed outside of the system.
3. Manual processes Since there is limited system functionality for some major process areas, affected
business processes require the use of various spreadsheets and paper forms that are
passed between departments. This does not allow the City to take advantage of
electronic approval workflows, controls, or efficiencies in these processes.
4. Unused system
capabilities
Some system capabilities, such as contracts and bank reconciliation, are not
currently being used because of limited system functionality at the time of
implementation. The City created workarounds for these processes in the meantime
but will be using the ERP selection as an opportunity to revisit the marketplace for
these modules.
5. Reporting
challenges
Some areas within the City reported difficulties with report development and
obtaining key information. This necessitates running multiple reports and
performing manual manipulation to extract data in a usable format. Consequently,
staff hours are spent performing these tasks or performing duties with limited data.
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Finding Description
6. Decentralized, non-
standardized
processes
Processes are decentralized across departments, and the timing and
system/application used to complete the processes can vary based on the
department’s preference. This makes it difficult to track the status of these
processes and leads to confusion around staff expectations. Change management
will include the idea that departments are consistent in processes so that the
system can track activity.
7. Fragmented
business processes
The City uses many supporting applications to manage many business processes.
Most of these systems are disconnected, so staff must manually enter data in
multiple systems or spreadsheets. For example, the City uses New World as the
financial system of record but CobbleStone for contracts. This leads to extra time
spent entering data in multiple places, creates the opportunity for errors, and limits
opportunities for automation and electronic routing of workflows in the current
system environment.
8. Adequate process
flows
Given the current system limitations, several of the City’s overall processes follow a
well-designed process flow but may not be possible in the system, requiring manual
intervention, spreadsheet calculations, and other workarounds. The staff are
completing these processes well given the limited capabilities of the system.
Automation will make these processes significantly easier in the future, and staff
seem excited about how their business activities can leverage modern software.
9. Reliance on
institutional
knowledge
City staff-built tools support the ability for them to do their own jobs efficiently,
and others in the organization lean on them for that knowledge. However, because
of how much time and effort tasks take to complete, staff have become specialized
at their role. As they leverage modern technology to streamline their business
activities, the City should put an emphasis on developing cross-functional staff who
can backfill responsibilities as necessary.
1.4 Action plan considerations
Plante Moran recommends that the City replaces New World because it does not meet the City’s business needs.
While the City has already decided to replace their current ERP solution, Plante Moran recommends the
deployment approach of a vendor-hosted or cloud/software as a service (SaaS) ERP solution. The associated
benefits are outlined in the action plan. However, the City should review and consider the plan of action
considerations outlined below and detailed in the action plan, including the application migration strategy in
Appendix A: Application migration plan.
• Adopt best practices for resource management to ensure a staffing plan is in place and a governance
structure is established to support the process. ERP system implementations are complex, and these
initiatives can only be successful at organizations with strong project governance, per section 5.2.1.
• Plan for change management early on to ensure that upcoming changes are communicated to those
involved in a timely manner. Project success often comes from having a clear idea of how leadership
envisions the City being run and then using new systems to facilitate turning this vision into a reality.
• Establish a communication planning process since this project will affect most, if not all staff at the
City.
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• Increase process standardization to leverage the use of a shared system and process for common
functions across the City, which will make it easier to manage these processes from a single system.
• Build an interface between applications that are identified in this report to allow the data to flow more
seamlessly between City applications and external applications to reduce manual data entry and
shadow systems. Plan for City resources and costs for interface development for the City’s other
applications, in addition to ERP-related costs. The City should also plan for staff time to help with data
extraction, conversion, and cleansing, in preparation for the ERP implementation.
• Streamline business processes based on the best practices and future state process maps to promote
efficiency, save the City significant time, and reduce potential errors associated with manual
processes.
• Improve reporting with robust reporting capabilities in a system that can be easily accessed by users.
• Establish training and documentation for new systems and business processes to ensure that staff are
given the amount of support needed during and after the implementation, such as ongoing training.
• Enhance internal controls within business processes that will be supported by the ERP to ensure the
appropriate people are doing the appropriate tasks in order to eliminate duplicate or manual entries.
1.4.1 Timeline overview
System selection
June 2023 –
November 2023
Contract
negotiations
November 2023 –
December 2023
ERP
implementation:
Financials
January 2024 –
January 2025
ERP
implementation:
HCM
September 2024 –
September 2025
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2 Gap analysis: Observations and opportunities
2.1 Overview
Through a series of interview sessions with City staff, Plante Moran identified key observations and opportunities related to existing business processes
and systems. While the following listing is in-depth and covers many areas, these observations and opportunities should not be viewed as a
comprehensive list of all observations defined during the assessment phase of the project, as the current environment has a range of observations
related to functionality, integration, and process challenges. The observations and opportunities discussed below are those that were of a significant
nature based on our conversations and experience.
For reference, Plante Moran has grouped each issue and opportunity by their process areas. Potential policy considerations or items that should be
discussed prior to implementation have been marked with an * in the opportunities below. The City should consider these and have discussion to address
any decisions that need to be made prior to implementation. These are all listed in Appendix C: Action items for further consideration.
2.2 Detailed observations and opportunities log
2.2.1 Issue and opportunities: Finance
Accounts receivable and miscellaneous billing
Observations:
• There is limited department accessibility in the accounts receivable module. Departments do not have access to enter or view customer invoices,
so a paper form is used to send requests to finance to generate customer invoices. This process increases the chance of delay in the issuance, and
the status of an invoice to be generated is not available for departments to see.
• Customer set up is limited in New World. There is no opportunity to set up customers by department or set up one customer with alternate
views. Late notices and dunning letters are prepared manually and sent via U.S. mail.
• The City uses multiple systems for activity and payment management but the integration to New World is limited, if at all. ActiveNet, the
payment system, does not support the fund/accounts, requiring manual and retroactive efforts to align payments to the correct path.
• Developer deposits are recorded through the miscellaneous billing module. Finance staff receive money and record it as unapplied credit. When
an expense and invoice are paid, an invoice is created in miscellaneous billing to record the revenue to offset the expense.
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Opportunities:
• The City can leverage workflow capabilities of future systems to create customer invoices. Ideally, the place where departments submit the
invoice, including the amount and detail, is housed with the customer history so that staff in finance do not have to look at different systems.
With workflow, appropriate staff would be able to see the status of the process.
• During interviews, staff mentioned the desire for recurring invoices at a certain interval. New systems can allow staff to generate these invoices
with the ability to make edits such as date and description.
• Modern systems offer secure integrations that would allow ActiveNet to perform its payment functions and send data to the ERP without
manual efforts by staff. The City can map the way payments hit funds/accounts during and after implementation.
• Future systems can record deposits correctly, making the ability to report on accounts easier.
Accounts payable
Observations
• The City utilizes “temporary” vendors who do not register in the legacy system because they receive a one-time payment. Searching for these
one-time vendors is difficult and requires background knowledge from staff to look for a specific payment or timeframe to find the vendor.
• U.S. Bank doesn’t provide the ability for users to download a report in desired formats, making it difficult for finance to easily break down the
purchases by expenditure codes.
Opportunities
• Utilize a vendor portal to submit documentation so that vendors do not have to come to City Hall. Additionally, the City can configure the portal
so that vendors can run their own aging reports.*
• Map an integration with the bank to create a payment transaction with purchase cards. Based on bank codes, it can map the ERP system codes
for the general ledger and generate reports in a usable format.
• Modern systems can accommodate using two- or three-way matching of purchase orders, invoices, and the receipt of goods to provide for auto
processing of invoices that meet the specificized requirements.
Bank reconciliation
Observations
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• The bank reconciliation process is manual. There is a module in New World, but it is not used as staff reports that it is complicated, and the
manual process is easier.
• As noted in the accounts receivable section above, the lack of integration between New World and ActiveNet creates manual processing of
transactions and timing differences between the deposits to the bank and the recording in New World.
Opportunities
• The City currently utilizes a monthly bank reconciliation process. Consider utilizing vendor demonstrations to see how more frequent bank
reconciliation runs can be drilled down to the transaction level and are easier to process. It should also be shown how payments coming in can
be rolled up to their associated bank run. This will be helpful in pursuing change management policies across the organization to align a
business process with best practices.*
Budget
Observations
• OpenGov is the starting point for budget preparation, but adjustments to the proposed budget are performed outside of the system in Excel
spreadsheets. When departments make changes, they highlight their changes in a different color on the spreadsheet. This process is time
consuming for finance to look for the highlights, and it relies on departments to remember to make the highlight before exiting. If a
modification doesn’t receive the highlight or finance doesn’t catch it, the change is not updated in OpenGov.
• Departments struggle to input a budget request due to current system limitations in OpenGov. Although OpenGov’s format is familiar and has a
simple interface, the system limits staff trying to create a form to input their budget into.
• The City utilizes OpenGov for budget preparation and New World for budget control. However, the two systems do not have the same level of
detail, causing staff to keep multiple windows open so that they can see discrepancies between the two, which is frustrating and a time burden.
• Carryovers are not currently tracked in a system. Instead, carryovers are performed annually in Excel. The finance team then processes the
journals for New World. Ideally, this is performed on an ongoing basis, where effective dates allow adjustments to take action as configured.
• There is inconsistency between the grants budgeted for and the grants received by departments. A consistent policy across the organization
should be considered for when to input a grant into the system.*
Opportunities
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• The base budget process should include open and documented communication between departments and the central finance office. Instead of
managing budget requests on Excel with colors, modern ERPs allow departments to submit a change to their budgets with fields for
documentation/descriptions that trigger approval.
• Best practice for budget preparation includes versioning at multiple levels. Modern systems can track entire versions of the budget and mark
different statuses along the way. Additionally, these systems can also track different types of transactions for adjustments, such as increases for
additional funding.*
• Financial consultants hired by the City created different Excel models of sales tax, CPI, and vacancy factors so the City could leverage for budget
planning. When a scenario changes, finance manually updates each model. Consider utilizing the ERP to create different scenarios that flow to
each version of the budget (e.g., high, low) in place of the existing spreadsheet.*
• Consider implementing different approval processes for different types of budget adjustments. For example, a budget transfer between
departments will have a different approval process than the workflow necessary for new grants in the budget.*
• Finance keeps accurate records for purposes of encumbrance carry-overs and should seek to proactively build that process within the new ERP.
Right now, finance maintains a calendar to know when to ask departments if they are carrying an encumbrance forward. The City should
leverage the carryover ability of modern systems for open purchase orders at year end to reduce Excel use in this area.*
• The City uses OpenGov for position budgeting, which allows salaries and benefits to be uploaded to the budget. However, because the system is
separate from the ERP, staff are not able to track actual spend versus what was budgeted for a certain position. This also makes it more difficult
for staff to calculate vacant positions in the budget. In the future state, information will flow from payroll to the budget to quickly show a
forecasted number for a vacant position based on the actual salary and benefits for that position.
• Modern systems can set alerts at different levels of the budget. While some restrictions would be set to the program level, others could be at the
project level to prevent overages. The City could decide which level(s) of the budget alerts should be at.
• Multiyear reports are difficult to run due to an antiquated system. Modern systems allow users to run reports for desired date ranges, including
over multiple years.
Contract management
Observations
• Some contracts require Council approval. To comply, City staff export the draft to the Legistar, receive updates, and reincorporate them back
into CobbleStone. This process can be time consuming and cause delays in contract approvals.
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• Contracts in CobbleStone do not show changes over time. Often, attorneys make edits on the contracts before they are finalized, but CobbleStone
does not maintain a history of those edits.
• It can be difficult for staff to understand where contracts stand in the process with updates to terms and conditions.
• While the vendor portal in CobbleStone has the capability to upload documentation, it is not fully utilized, and vendors will send their own
statement of work that is different from the City’s template.
• Manual effort is required to pull a purchase order from New World into CobbleStone and LaserFiche.
Opportunities
• The future ERP includes the ability to house all contracts in a central location that can tie to purchase orders. Staff should be able to see the
amount spent against the contract and the balance of each in the same place where contract history is kept.
• Implementing a new system can present an opportunity to reconsider data retention policies. The City can choose to build an integration from
the ERP to LaserFiche for data retention or utilize the ERP for that capability.*
• A fully leveraged vendor portal can allow City staff to maintain a history of communication with vendors across the organization. Additionally,
staff can build standard forms into the system such as an agreement or statement or work that guides vendors to submit them consistently.
Fixed assets
Observations
• There is no option within the purchase order module to talk to the fixed assets module currently, even if there is a button there for users. If
there is a purchase in New World, it will not flow to the fixed assets module. Without the link, it can be difficult to record the purchase on the
associated financial statements. Users are not able to identify a fixed asset during the procurement stage.
• Depreciation is currently manually calculated through Excel. Best practice includes utilizing prebuilt depreciation rules and schedules in the
ERP to provide real-time reports on depreciation with less manual intervention.
Opportunities
• Utilize the ERP to establish a link between purchasing and fixed assets. Purchases made should flow through the fixed assets module for actions
such as capitalization and depreciation.
General ledger
Observations
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 16
• The current general ledger system is extremely easy to navigate for staff, and that ease to maneuver should be essential for a new system.
• Reports are extremely limited in the current system. The standard reports from the software do not include all the data fields desired, and the
system is cumbersome in its ability to generate custom reports.
Opportunities
• Due to the more comprehensive nature of modern ERP systems, out-of-the-box reports provide a much more granular level of detail. Users can
configure their own reports beyond those that come standard and customize their own dashboards with reports valuable specific to them.
• Utilize notification for vendors nearing the $600 threshold to require a 1099. The new system should be able to automatically generate 1099
forms for the appropriate vendors.
• Auditors currently ask for documentation down to the transaction detail. Modern ERPs allow these reports to be easily accessible, and the City
can allow for third-party access to the system, if desired, to review the appropriate documentation. Determine if the City would like to allow for
third party access to the future ERP system.*
Grant and project management
Observations
• Grants are tracked by departments outside of New World, in Excel spreadsheets include details around the amount applied for, the status,
money received, and money spent against the contract. Because this is outside of the system, there is manual effort required to check all the
fields from the spreadsheet with the actual details.
• Departments handle and processes their own invoices and send them to finance. Finance will invoice them against the expenditures. This
process is manual, does not provide visibility into approval steps, and results in a decentralized process where departments have an inconsistent
process with the City’s finance office.
Opportunities
• Modern ERPs include both grant and project modules. These elements can be tied together because a project can be funded by one or more
grants, and one grant can fund multiple projects. Define what the grants and projects process should look like in a future ERP system.*
• Utilize the user-defined fields in a new system to track transactions at different levels of the organization. Although money is set aside now for
programs and not for projects, the future state capabilities can allow the City to see the money planned for and spent by a project. Users with the
appropriate clearance will have the ability to drill down from the program level to the project and transaction levels, providing more reporting
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 17
flexibility. The City, which utilizes this capability in limited areas now, should prioritize training and vendor demonstrations to ultimately
achieve the full potential of the user-defined fields.
Lease management
Observations
• Lease agreements are currently tracked using spreadsheets. Generating invoices to customers is manual, which requires duplicative efforts to
ensure that information is correctly tracked in the financial system.
• DebtBook is used to check payments and record journal entries given when the City acts as the lessor, but the invoicing is done in New World,
which requires a manual reconciliation process at the end of the year.
Opportunities
• Utilize the system to automatically create invoices based on information input into the preconfigured fields (with workflow approval). Invoices
in modern systems will feed into the general ledger automatically.
• Leverage the ERP to accommodate reimbursement and disbursement contracts. Utilizing the ERP will allow for easier audit history on changes
to contracts, including the ability to see prior versions and who made changes.
• Ensure that requirements feature the ability to set up and track both sides of a lease: the City as the lessor and the lessee in accordance with
GASB87. Lease invoices would reconcile in live time with journal entries.
Purchasing
Observations
• A contract or quote is stored in CobbleStone, with copies made for Google Drive and New World. This requires duplicate effort and time to
ensure that documents are properly stored and can be found later on.
• There are no notifications for approvals in New World, and any outstanding tasks are not individual to certain staff members; instead, all tasks
for finance are shown together at the top of the screen.
• Purchase cards are reconciled monthly with bank statements compared to what departments enter in for transactions, with use tax paid
quarterly. Sales tax is calculated manually on a spreadsheet.
Opportunities
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• With a modern system, staff will have the option to upload documentation for purchases. Future process discussions should include referring to
the ERP as the source of record without documents stored elsewhere.
• City staff expressed the desire to catch a payment that should not be paid due to various reasons, such as incorrect year, dates beyond a fiscal
year, etc. utilizing some sort of flags or notifications in the system. Systems may have the ability to provide warnings and hard-stops for
payments when dates are beyond a fiscal year to prevent paying an invoice against a purchase order in the wrong year.
• The ERP should provide the ability to apply sales tax to the merchandise and the shipping and handling when applicable. In the future, this
calculation should be done in the system rather than in separate spreadsheets.
• The City should discuss the means of storing records in the future. Municipalities utilize both a modern ERP or LaserFiche for this capability,
usually deciding between one of the two. Modern systems build the integration to LaserFiche often.
2.2.2 Observations and opportunities: Human capital management
Classification and compensation
Observations
• New World allows predetermined classifications and steps to be tracked in memorandums of understanding, with a corresponding grade for
each class and five steps. However, all grades show as active, and the process for cleaning up grades and reflecting only those active is
cumbersome to keep updated.
• Tracking budget by position number is no longer as clear as in the past for multiple reasons. Transferring of divisions is difficult to include in
the number, part-time reporting is done differently, and some departments have not kept up with cleaning up their numbers. This can be
confusing for staff to know which position numbers are the most up to date.
• Every job currently has its own position number. When someone leaves a position, a new position must be created, then HR staff zero out the
budget for the old position. This process is manual and results in more job numbers than necessary.
• Departments are not currently aware of their budgets for recruiting because positions are not consistently tracked or understood when they
become vacant. Standardization is required in terms of how to handle, convert, and fill positions. Part-time hires require a manual justification
for approval to communicate that there is a vacancy.
Opportunities
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• City staff mentioned that they are open to developing a new set of position codes. Consider establishing new position codes to everyone in a new
ERP system following a consistent numbering schema. Confirm that setting up new position numbering would be agreeable, ensure that the
approach is communicated clearly to departments in the organization, and that end users receive training on the standard.*
• Utilize vendor demonstrations to see how cost of living adjustments can be processed and tracked in a modern system using mass pay change
capabilities. Include demonstration script items to pull both historical COLA amounts and forecast what they may look like in the future.
• Modern systems allow users with the appropriate security access to run reports on staff impacted by a potential mass update. These changes
would be visible from the personnel file view or the history of the mass update.
• Reporting on positions and vacancies will no longer need to be in a spreadsheet. With the new ERP software, HR staff can see recruitment
patterns across the organization, including metrics such as turnover, recruitment, and trends in changes. Real-time knowledge allows
organizations to make proactive decisions about how to address job openings and utilize available budget. The system should be able to track the
relationship between positions over time without manually creating new job numbers each time a position is filled.
Employee benefits
Observations
• The CalPERS portal for pension and health benefits requires duplicative entry. Any changes in enrollments are entered in multiple places which
can be time consuming, especially during the open enrollment time frame when there are many changes.
• California passed the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to supplement the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but the system does
not currently differentiate between the two. FMLA hours are currently tracked in Excel spreadsheets rather than a centralized system causing
pay codes to not be up to date in this area.
Opportunities
• A simplified enrollment screen for staff can be configured so that all plans that they are eligible for pop up. Staff should be able to enroll in
benefits from the ERP and have their benefit elections flow to each benefit provider for enrollment.
• Include requirements for self-service capabilities that allow for staff to view and manage benefits, dependents, and contributions. The
organization can use these fields as triggers for other actions. For example, by keeping track of dependents in the system, staff with the
appropriate security can run a report to see how many dependents will turn 26 within a certain date range, allowing the organization to be more
proactive in changing the benefit enrollment and the payroll deduction associated with it.
• By requesting an interface with CalPERS (or ensuring an easy upload is possible), staff would no longer need to enter pension and health data in
duplicative places. Additionally, reconciliations between the ERP and CalPERS would be handled by the interface .
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• The City will benefit from the modern capabilities of ERP systems to generate standard ACA and IRS reports. Staff mentioned the current
manual process to record correctly with the dates listed, and the future solution should clear up any interpretation on codes from the IRS.
Learning management
Observations
• The City has transitioned from using Excel to the custom-built internal Power Apps Training Management Application (TMA) for learning
management functions. The application allows employees to register and receive notification for upcoming trainings. IT built an impressive
application that has the opportunity to grow with the organization. City staff may have comfort with this tool created just for their use which
may result in limited interest in moving to a new learning management system.
• Certification completions are currently tracked on an Excel spreadsheet, and continuing education is the responsibility of the employee or the
department. This can be a risk if required certifications or licensures are not renewed in a timely manner.
Opportunities
• The City should consider utilizing a learning management system as part of the ERP to reduce the manual efforts necessary to maintain the
TMA. Modern systems can automatically generate certificates of completion, tie them to employee profiles, and record completion statistics.
Consider which trainings from the TMA should be brought into the new system.*
• The City can leverage the ERP to build centralized processes for continuing education. With the ability to report on certifications and education,
supervisors and department heads can be more proactive in assigning internal and external training opportunities. Keeping skills and language
proficiency attached to an employee record can cut down on the effort necessary to currently build a personnel file.
Performance management
Observations
• Every week, HR staff run a report in Access to generate a list of employees due for an evaluation. The process is consistent across the
organization so that reminders for annual evaluations are given 30 days in advance while evaluations that drive step increases are 45 days in
advance. This Access database interacts with Microsoft Word and Excel to generate necessary information and the form for the supervisor.
However, staff often must remind supervisors to complete the evaluations.
• Evaluations tied to step increases require evaluators and HR to communicate ahead of the time the step increase may come into effect. If the
evaluator does not inform HR of the step increase decision in time, staff may receive pay inconsistent with their performance evaluation
decision and eventually require retroactive payments which requires manual efforts from payroll.
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• The City does not currently dedicate as much time as they would like to succession planning because other manual processes and components of
the performance management process consume staff time.
• New World defaults one hire date per employee. The system should recognize one date as the date for evaluations between original date of hire,
promotion date, or re-hire date.
Opportunities
• Consider using the implementation to move toward narrative-based performance reviews. This would look more like a coaching model than a
five-point scale and would support evaluators in providing objective feedback, supporting the organization’s ongoing development. If the City
opts for new forms to support narrative-based reviews, ensure that staff receive training on the new approach and understand its benefits.*
• While the new system can provide periodic reminders to supervisors to get their evaluations in on time, the City may benefit from additional
accountability for supervisors. Examine if the process for delayed feedback should include an alert to department heads or if supervisors should
be evaluated based on their ability to evaluate others.*
• Leveraging a system to support various HR processes will allow staff the time to do succession planning. Consider discussing promotions and
succession planning in performance discussions.*
Personnel actions
Observations
• The City has different forms for different types of personnel actions. PDF forms exist for promotions, new class moves, and transfers, while new
hire forms work through Power Apps. While these forms may work to solve current work activities, they can cause some confusion of what to
use in which instance.
• Retroactive payments happen often due to the timing and duration of processing personnel actions. This often includes email communication
that may not be visible to others in the organization who would like to see an audit trail for personnel actions.
Opportunities
• Future actions and communications should be housed in the ERP to provide one source of truth with consistent processes and transparency
throughout the organization. Workflows for approvals on actions including forms within the system will eliminate the use of more manual
forms outside of it.
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• Effective dating can be configured in the system to apply current rates to an employee until a certain date. For example, if an employee is
promoted as of a date in the future, their pay would remain on the current rate until the desired date when the new pay rate is effective. This
lessens the burden on HR staff to get the change done right on time and on payroll staff who should not have to complete as many retros.
Recruitment
Observations
• The City currently uses NeoGov for recruitment, a software common in the public sector to complete recruitment activities, and has chosen to
continue using it in the future. NeoGov is not fully utilized currently, nor connected with the current ERP system, resulting in duplicate entry.
• While the City explored integrations, New World limited the opportunities. NeoGov has APIs available to build a modern integration, but New
World’s integration approach is more dated, so City staff waited for the procurement of a new ERP to build the integration. Maintaining a dated
integration may have cost more time and effort than not having one at all.
Opportunities
• Building an integration between NeoGov and the future ERP will allow information to flow through the organization to cut down on the manual
reentry. For example, if a candidate completes an application through NeoGov, the ERP can utilize workflow to internally provide visibility in the
application process through the onboarding process. Additionally, the employee profile can prepopulate with the information already submitted
on the job application portal.
Risk management
Observations
• The City utilizes a third party for risk management, which meets the needs of the City moving forward. There is no need for this functionality to
be included in an ERP at this time since the City will continue using the third party.
Opportunities
• Explore ways to work closer with the third-party risk administrator, JPA, to get information and reports the organization will need moving
forward. Try to use this process to mitigate duplicative record keeping between the access HR has in a portal versus the spreadsheet for internal
claims.*
• The City often requests information about types of injured workers, number of injuries by department, and most frequent types of injuries,
which can be time consuming. Consider building an integration to receive these reports in live time as the data is collected by the third party.
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Self service
Observations
• Employees do not currently update their own information. User self-service is currently limited to the ability for employees to view their own
W-2s and paystubs. To make changes, staff must submit forms to HR, who make the updates to the system.
• Current software allows negative accruals and time off, which is difficult to keep consistent across department and job role.
Opportunities
• Common self-service capabilities include ways for employees to pull their own benefits and calculate their own pay as they make their benefits.
Additionally, employees should be able to initiate changes to their personnel record and request time off. For each request, employees should be
able to see where the process stands in the workflow.
• The system should have rules to prevent negative accruals and time off. The City can configure whether a warning is given (that still allows the
employee to submit a request that would result in a negative accrual) or a hard-stop on the request and should consider this change.*
2.2.3 Observations and opportunities: Payroll and time tracking
Payroll
Observations
• Staff often enter their time correctly, and the payroll process is quick when there are no errors. However, problems may arise when part-time or
seasonal employees are getting used to the system. If an error is only caught at the file upload stage, payroll staff must reach out to HR to update
the timesheets. The delay in rule application between the timesheet and payroll requires staff to be more attuned to potential errors.
• Staff members may select the wrong code when they enter their time. Because of the system limitations, payroll staff alert employees by email
to modify the change and show them where the correct codes are kept.
• Payroll often tracks data in Excel spreadsheets, which require significant upkeep. Verifying FLSA, timesheets, and accruals takes time and effort
to reconcile with the current software. For example, employees working fewer than 40 hours a week should not get an accrual, but the system
still accrues it for them. The spreadsheets allow payroll staff to catch the errors.
• HR consults payroll staff for personnel activities that require pay calculations. For terminations, the City cuts a check to pay vacation time out
which requires HR to consult with payroll; payroll pulls up the spreadsheet for the calculations necessary before validating numbers. This
process requires manual effort which could result in inaccurate payments since calculations are done manually for validation purposes.
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Opportunities
• In a future system, considerations should be given as to the payroll code visibility. Ideally, the position is tied to job title so that employees do
not have the option to select the wrong code. This ERP selection and implementation provides the opportunity to clean up pay codes and only
bring in those necessary. For example, seasonal staff should only have access to record time against pay codes within their job title.*
• Consider utilizing this selection as an opportunity for staff to leverage direct deposit or a pay card situation for those who would like their pay
more easily accessible, with the goal of avoiding cutting paper checks.*
• In a new system, the City can configure workflow for certain personnel actions in the same place all the calculations are stored. For example, HR
can initiate a termination workflow that includes steps for paying out remaining benefits and converting remaining vacation time into pay. Any
necessary approvals would be built into the workflow and provide an audit trial in accordance with City requirements.
• Employees can leverage self-service portals in the future system to see pay stubs and W-2s as they can now with the added functionality of
making changes to their deductions, changing banks, etc. from their portal, with the appropriate approvals.
• Utilize a requirement for the new system to generate a report as a .csv file in accordance with CalPERS requirements.
Timekeeping
Observations
• While scheduling is decentralized, all employees record time in the same way (through the HR portal). Payroll staff utilize reports from the HR
portal; to make sure that all time is approved, they download a .csv file that gets uploaded to New World for payroll processing. This process
requires a few systems and steps to ensure that scheduling is aligned with the recorded time and ultimately uploaded to New World.
• The system is not currently able to accommodate blended rates for bilingual pay. The City relies on manual workarounds for calculating time-
and-a-half for the base rate of pay as well as the modifier so that all pay is considered for bilingual pay.
Opportunities
• Modern ERPs provide payroll staff greater flexibility for approving time. Consider utilizing the functionality of a soft close to run payroll before
it is posted (finalized).* This allows departments to have time to check for errors and does not require payroll staff to reach out to department
supervisors to remove approvals and send back to employees. Best practice for approving time is that the employee reviews their own time
before sending to a supervisor. If there are errors, the supervisor should either send back to the employee to make adjustments or provide
notification to the employee that their time has been changed before sending it to payroll for final approval.*
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• Consider coding holidays in the new system for when a blended rate of pay is triggered for all employees. For example, if employees in Parks and
Recreation work on July 4, the system should recognize that day as a holiday and automatically factor in the blended rate of pay calculation.*
• Ensure that different job classifications can be paid at different frequencies in the new systems. The system should be able to accommodate
bimonthly and monthly pay for people who are paid based on attendance (e.g., council members).
• Consider integrating with CityWorks so that work order time can be reconciled with payroll time. This may improve reporting considerations
across the organization to calculate spending against a project that includes details such as time, asset spend, and payments to vendors.*
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3 ERP marketplace assessment
Generally, ERP solutions evolved out of a desire to provide the functionality of two or more systems, such as
financials and HR, in an integrated software solution. ERP software solutions experienced their first major
growth in private sector businesses in their manufacturing and supply chain operations. Over the years, these
solutions were enhanced, configured, and tested in public sector organizations. With these enhancements,
those solutions originally developed for private sector organizations could now be deployed in a public sector
setting.
This section provides an overview of the ERP marketplace, organized as follows:
• Vendor consolidation
• Tier 1 versus tier 2 ERP
• On-premise versus cloud-based ERP
• Vendor marketplace overview
• ERP marketplace trends
3.1 Vendor consolidation
Consolidation among public sector software vendors has left a fewer number of vendors providing services to
the public sector than in prior years. Organizations such as Harris, Oracle, CentralSquare, Infor, Accela, and
Tyler Technologies have acquired competing software products over time and, to varying extents, marketed,
licensed, implemented, and supported each of them. As such, the remaining vendors have a larger installed
base per vendor. It is anticipated that, over time, these vendors will reduce, not increase, the number of ERP
solutions that they will maintain and support for the public sector. This consolidation of solution offerings is
typical in the software industry as a result of their desire to create a sustainable business model. Thus, it is
important during the due diligence and contract negotiation process to consider any future product plans
available from software providers, with the purpose of maximizing solution longevity and avoiding expensive
capital outlays for upgrades and replacements.
3.2 Summary comparison: Tier 1 versus tier 2 ERP
Tier 1 vendors offer broad solutions designed specifically for the private sector. In recent years, these solutions
were enhanced, configured, and tested in public sector organizations. With enhancements, these solutions
originally developed for private sector organizations are now being deployed in a public sector setting.
Tier 2 ERP software providers originated and offer specific vertical solutions designed for the public sector,
including fund accounting, encumbrance accounting, sophisticated budgeting, grants management, etc., and
capabilities that are pervasive in this segment. These solutions are frequently deployed in medium-sized public
organizations.
The table below identifies some of the key differences between tier 1 and tier 2 software providers on issues
such as support requirements, cost of implementation services, cost for major version upgrades, software
support channels, and other factors.
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Tier 1 Tier 2
Sample
representative
vendors
• Infor (CloudSuite)
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Oracle (Fusion Cloud and Netsuite)
• SAP
• Workday
• Cayenta
• Harris
• OpenGov
• Tyler Technologies
Design
considerations
• Developed product for private sector and
later adapted for public sector
• Many modules specific to public sector
• Larger organizations with greater R&D
budgets, offer more robust technology
• Robust development tools
• Scalable to leverage most robust
development and database environments
• Primarily designed for public sector
• More prescriptive functionality and less
conducive to customization without altering
source code
• Often leverage common municipal
technology standards (e.g., Microsoft SQL
database); some support Oracle
• Environments leverage third-party tools
(database, report writer, etc.)
Ongoing
technology
support
resource
requirements
• Cloud solutions do not require significant
technology FTEs
• Also impacted by level of integration with
other organizational systems
• Cloud solutions require similar technology
resources as tier 2
• Also impacted by level of integration with
other organizational systems
Software
functionality
• Core modules have robust functionality
• Typically have significant configuration
options enabling a wide range of options to
accomplish business processes
• May lack public sector-specific features;
however, functionality is increasing over
time
• License costs per user are typically more
expensive than tier 2
• Incrementally less robust functionality for
core components
• HR/payroll solutions are frequently less
robust as compared to tier 1 offerings
• Many vendors offer additional public sector
modules, such as fleet management, request
for service, etc.
• License costs per user are typically less
expensive than tier 1
Implementation
services for new
installation
• May require multiple FTEs to implement
• Requires significantly greater
implementation vendor resources than tier 2
to implement, including key staff who are
full-time to the project
• Software implementers are typically
integrators/channel partners
• Vendor “homework” approach has the
organization responsible for many
implementation tasks
• Frequently implemented with organization
resources not dedicated to the project
• Rarely requires full-time vendor staff to
implement
• Software vendors also implement their own
solutions
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Tier 1 Tier 2
Staff required
for
implementation
• Requires more functional staff to maintain
and update configurations in order to
manage the application
• Requires less functional staff to maintain
and update configurations in order to
manage the application
Ongoing
support staff
required
• Support required includes administering new system accounts and access controls,
configuration changes to support continuous improvement of business processes, and
preparation and testing of new updates
Cost model for
major version
upgrades
• SaaS solutions include all upgrades and updates
Software
support channel
• Mixed; some direct, some through
implementer or value-added reseller
channel
• Primarily direct vendor support
Hosting options • Most offer multi-tenant cloud deployments • Combination of multi-tenant cloud and
single-tenant hosted deployments
3.3 Vendor marketplace overview
Today’s ERP marketplace is ever-evolving, with frequent changes in offerings, consolidations, pricing, and
deployment approaches. To help the City understand the current marketplace, the following table is provided.
This table is based on recent proposals analyzed by Plante Moran and other marketplace activities and, thus, is
subject to changing offerings. The listing is not intended to be all inclusive, but rather to provide a better
understanding of some of the major vendors active in the marketplace. This list focuses on ERP systems that
contain core financials and HR functionality and expanded functionality when applicable. There are additional
best of breed systems in the market that focus on individual areas including time and attendance. Following
this table is a legend describing each component.
Vendor
Financial
HCM
Cayenta
CentralSquare
Ceridian
Edmunds
GovSense
Infor
Kronos UKG
Microsoft
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Netsuite
Oracle Cloud
OpenGov
Tyler Technologies
SAP
SAP ByDesign
Workday
Legend:
Financials: Financial functionality, with modules potentially including general ledger, procurement, budget,
miscellaneous billing, and accounts receivable, contract management, bank reconciliation, and fixed assets.
HCM: Human capital management functionality, with modules potentially including employee record, payroll,
personnel actions, benefits management, employee self-service, performance management, learning
management, position control, recruitment and application tracking, and onboarding.
3.4 ERP marketplace trends
The ERP marketplace is rapidly changing, with the available vendors, solutions, functionality, deployment
methodologies, and more changing every day. Included below are key trends in the marketplace to help
summarize what changes Plante Moran has observed and expects to see moving forward.
Government staffing levels. In response to the immediate and severe financial impact of COVID-19,
government staffing resources have ebbed. Consequently, municipalities are relying on additional functionality
and automation to allow fewer or the same number of staff to accomplish more
Movement to the cloud. A decade ago, most vendor solutions proposed were on-premise solutions, but in
recent years this has shifted to almost all vendors proposing solutions in the cloud. While cloud solutions were
previously thought of as a security concern and privacy issue, it is now seen as an approach that allows
organizations to utilize best-in-class technical infrastructure and cybersecurity without internally developing
these tools and resources.
Best-of-breed solutions. Today’s ERP solutions have significant functionality within the areas of core financial
and human resources functionality. However, for more specialized areas, there has been a movement toward
utilizing best-of-breed solutions to satisfy one specific area of functionality. Some functional areas where this
is happening include timekeeping, learning management, recruiting, debt, and investment management.
Transparency. With the increased ease of sharing information online, there has been an increased desire by
both the public and public sector employees to provide more transparency around public sector operations.
This includes open dashboards of financial data, making details of ongoing and planned projects available,
sharing details on staff salaries, and more. Today’s solutions are helping to facilitate the publishing and access
of this information.
Analytics focus. As the volume of data managed within ERP solutions has increased, the need and desire for
analytics around this data has increased as well. Many of today’s solutions have increased functionality to
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 30
report on data, perform complex analytics and modeling, and export this data to other systems to perform even
further analysis.
Use of advanced tools. Technology advances have operationalized many technologies that were not previously
feasible for use in the public sector. Robotic process automation is being utilized for routine tasks such as
invoice entry and document creation, where human input is limited or not necessary. In other areas,
technologies such as artificial intelligence are being used to pull insights from data automatically or
proactively perform customer outreach.
Increased attention to security. As the number of cyberattacks rises alongside the amount of personal
information stored within ERP solutions, there has been an increased focus on cybersecurity both from
vendors and public sector organizations alike. This focus has resulted in increased cybersecurity staffing,
additional discussions of cybersecurity differentiators, and planning for data recovery in the case that an
organization’s data is compromised.
Implementers utilizing agile development. Within larger software providers, there has been a movement in
recent years toward adopting agile development versus the typical waterfall methodology. This approach
focuses on a more iterative process rather than the more sequential approach of the waterfall methodology.
The goal of this change is to move toward a more collaborative approach to implementing ERP solutions, which
involves a much higher level of interaction and review throughout a given project, rather than waiting for
significant tasks to be completed.
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4 Cost estimate
4.1 Cost estimate
The following document includes an updated cost estimate for the City of Cupertino over a 10-year horizon,
including both external costs (software, implementation and training services, project management,
integration and conversion services, etc.) along with internal costs (project management, staffing required,
etc.) based on FTE cost provided by the City. This cost estimated includes the following information:
1. Cost assumptions
2. Total cost summary
a. 10-year cost estimate, including external costs only (graph)
b. 10-year cost estimate, including external and internal costs (graph)
c. Total cost of ownership, including all external and internal costs (table)
4.2 Cost assumptions
The cost assumptions below outline any assumptions made to determine the cost estimates that follow.
1. The cost assumptions below outline any assumptions made to determine the cost estimates that follow.
2. Plante Moran gathered the data required for this cost estimate from vendors, and Plante Moran’s
internal database of proposed and negotiated costs, which provides insight on hardware, applications,
licensing, implementation and other related services costs for over 50 similar governmental entities.
3. The cost ranges represented above are intended to represent the typical range of vendors that we
would expect the City to select from, other vendors may bid outside of these ranges.
4. This estimate assumes that the City will utilize a vendor-hosted or cloud deployment model.
5. Implementation costs are assumed to include all one-time fees paid to the vendor.
6. Hardware costs are not included in this cost estimate as this is for a vendor-hosted solution.
7. Project contingency is estimated to be 20% of the one-time vendor fees.
8. Internal implementation costs are estimated based on the FTE cost provided by the City, which is on
average $70/hour. This was multiplied by 160 hours (assuming each month has 4 weeks at a 40-hour
work week) resulting in a monthly FTE cost of $11,200 or an annual FTE cost of $134,400.
9. Implementation is estimated to take 18 months on the low end and 24 months on the high end based on
benchmarking data and Plante Moran’s prior implementation experience but could vary by vendor.
10. The project period costs below include one-time and ongoing costs for the first two years of the
project, which is the estimated time period for fully implementing a replacement ERP solution.
11. Implementation project management costs are based on a .5 FTE for the low-cost estimate while the
high-cost estimate is based on 1 FTE. This cost is calculated using a standard implementation hourly
rate but may differ depending on inflation, duration, and selected vendor for project management.
12. 100% of the one-time costs as assumed to be incurred in year 1 of implementation.
13. Inflation is assumed to be 5 percent annually in the total 10-year cost summary.
14. Implementation costs include vendor costs for the duration of the implementation including: initial
configuration, data migration, integration, training, project management fees, etc.
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 32
4.3 Total cost summary
This section summarizes the potential total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis for the City’s ERP environment.
These costs include various system costs, such as ongoing maintenance, software subscription fees, and
implementation services, for each option. The following graph illustrates the 10-year comparison of cumulative
costs for each option. The first graph only includes external costs, while the second graph also includes
internal costs. Following the graphs is a table representing the detailed costs for both external and internal.
These costs do not represent the functional benefits or time efficiencies gained with each option.
4.3.1 10-Year cost estimate, including external costs only
4.3.2 10-Year cost estimate, including external and internal costs
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 33
4.3.3 Total cost of ownership
City of Cupertino TCO Summary - Updated January 2025
Cost category Cost type Tier 1 Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 2
Low scenario High scenario Low scenario High scenario
One-Time Costs
Hard Costs
Vendor implementation costs Vendor $1,412,371 $3,133,388 $489,747 $1,738,605
Implementation project management Consultant $280,500 $583,000 $280,500 $583,000
Project contingency Contingency $282,474 $626,678 $97,949 $347,721
Total One-Time Hard Costs $1,975,346 $4,343,066 $868,197 $2,669,326
Soft Costs
FTE Internal 3 6 2 4
Duration (Months) Internal 18 24 18 24
Total One-Time Soft Costs $604,800 $1,612,800 $403,200 $1,075,200
Grand Total One-Time Costs $2,580,146 $5,955,866 $1,271,397 $3,744,526
Ongoing Costs
Hard Costs
Subscription fees Vendor $198,309 $892,907 $138,504 $532,658
Total Ongoing Hard Costs $198,309 $892,907 $138,504 $532,658
Soft Costs
Internal support FTE Internal 0.5 2 0.5 1
Total Ongoing Soft costs $67,200.00 $268,800.00 $67,200.00 $134,400.00
Grand Total Ongoing Costs $265,509 $1,161,707 $205,704 $667,058
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 34
5 Action plan
5.1 Plante Moran recommendation
Plante Moran recommends that the City replace the current ERP solution that does not fully meet the City’s
business needs. Plante Moran recommends the deployment approach of a vendor-hosted or cloud/SaaS ERP
solution. This offers the following key benefits:
• Best-in-class cybersecurity and disaster recovery expertise is included
• An upgrade pathway is more defined, reducing the risk of falling behind
• Customizations are avoided as a rule
• A cost-effective infrastructure and technical staffing solution
• Scales with City growth, without the need to purchase additional infrastructure or hire staff
• A cloud-first approach matches the mix of options in the vendor marketplace
With this option, the City should review and consider the plan of action considerations below, including the
application migration strategy outlined in Appendix A: Application migration plan.
5.2 Plan of action considerations
5.2.1 Project staffing and governance structure considerations
Since an ERP replacement will impact most staff at the City, it is critical to establish a plan. This process of
executing the recommendations and implementing a new system will require a well-coordinated and organized
governance structure in which to operate and manage the project. ERP system implementations are complex
and these initiatives can only be successful at organizations with strong project governance.
As the City moves forward with the replacement project, process and technology changes will be significant
and will impact all departments. Policy changes will also need to be considered and implemented to realize the
full benefits of implementing a new solution. Potential policy considerations have been marked with an * in the
opportunities above and are ones that the City should consider prior to implementation.
Strong project management is also critical for deployment and becomes increasingly important with the
investment in a new ERP system. Therefore, it will be essential to continue to rely on the existing project
governance structure that:
• Considers the needs of a variety of stakeholders
• Enables the City to make decisions efficiently and effectively
• Ensures that project communication is flowing to the right individuals at the right time, including
those who are part of the project team and those external to the project team
• Empowers the project team to enforce policies
The following recommended strategies will help the City prepare for the implementation phase of a system
selection project. The strategies below are listed in the order that they should occur.
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 35
1. Confirm a formal governance structure to coordinate the selection of the new system using the current
teams identified in the project charter as a basis, with the intent that structure can be leveraged and
specific roles can be redefined for design, implementation, and maintenance phases of the system.
2. As part of the RFP process, request information from vendors as to the optimal City staffing structure
and time commitment required for a successful system implementation, including ongoing support
and maintenance of the system. This will allow the City to plan for implementation efforts with a
greater understanding of vendor-specific resource needs.
3. Prior to launching the implementation phases of the project, establish expectations with the City staff
as to the time commitment that will be required for a successful implementation.
4. With the assistance and advice from the selected vendor(s), institute an implementation governance
structure that is well staffed and supported by executive management within the City. The governance
structure from the selection phase may be used as a starting point.
5. Establish policies to sunset or retire legacy solutions, supplemental applications, and side systems in
conjunction with the new system implementation so that they do not perpetuate an environment of
dual information tracking. Utilize the application migration plan as a starting point.
6. Establish data retention requirements to guide and manage the scope of required data conversion.
Ensure data retention requirements are properly considered and applied before, during, and following
the system implementation and data conversion process.
7. Establish an appropriate backfill strategy and plan to free up staff resources who will play a significant
role in the implementation (as identified in item three above). It is important to recognize that staffing
circumstances during implementation can significantly affect the rollout of the implementation so
start to plan for backfill now to ensure the key resources are available for implementation.
8. Review the change management support provided by the vendor. Based on this plan, establish a change
management plan designed to reflect the needs of the stakeholders. It is beneficial to establish a
change management process early on to evaluate/measure organizational impacts as part of the
decision-making process, document decisions, and communicate the net benefits to the organization.
9. Develop a process to discuss proposed business process changes from the provided future state process
maps and from the vendor, gather the necessary approval for these changes, and communicate these
changes throughout the City.
10. Review and consider the level of efforts outlined in the staffing table below to plan accordingly. The
City should consider these estimates when planning for the various phase of implementation and
revisit this throughout the implementation to ensure people are involved to the appropriate levels.
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 36
The table below represents estimated City staffing for each implementation phase based on our experience
with software implementations and our knowledge of the City. However, this may vary for the City based on
the vendor selected, staff preferences, and the project plan provided by the vendor.
Time commitment by role and implementation stage
Role/phase Project
initiation
Discovery and
configuration
Testing and
training Go-live Post go-live
Duration One month Approximately
five months
Approximately
five months One month Three months
Project sponsor 15% 15% 5%–10% 15% 10%–15%
Project manager 100% 50% 50%–75% 100% 50%
Subject matter experts
(SMEs) 25% 50% 75%–100% 75% 50%
Training lead 0% 25% 50% 25% 10%
Technical team 10% 25% 40%–60% 50%–75% 25%
This is an estimate to assist the City with planning. Assumptions informing these numbers are listed below.
• Effort estimates for subject matter experts are for each subject matter expert. Each phase will have
multiple SMEs based on how the City is organized. These SMEs must be knowledgeable about the City’s
needs.
• The table above is a sample for tier 2 system implementation. A tier 1 system implementation may
require more significant resource commitments for each role.
• If there are separate testing staff, the workload for the subject matter experts could be lessened.
• If there is no training lead and end-user training is not purchased from the vendor, training tasks will
need to be completed by SMEs. This will vary based on the vendor timing of their training approach.
Some vendors perform an initial training, then discovery, then full-on training following. Others
perform all training after discovery.
• This estimate assumes the City will utilize a vendor-hosted or cloud model, as recommended.
• This estimate assumes City IT staff will manage security, conversions, and interfaces.
• This staffing estimate is based on vendor data and Plante Moran's prior implementation experience.
• This staffing estimate is based on Plante Moran's assumption of a reasonable finalist selected vendor
based on Plante Moran’s experience working with the City and understanding requirements, staffing
environment, etc. Based on the finalist selected vendor, the monthly hours estimated could increase or
decrease by approximately 25%, as each vendor will have a staffing plan that may vary.
• The implementation duration above is based on the benchmarking data from potential vendors that
would propose paired with Plante Moran's implementation experience. This duration could change by
approximately three to six months based on the selected vendor and services purchased.
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 37
• Plante Moran recommends planning for the staffing in the estimate above, as well as some level of
contingency (e.g., 10%) in order to mitigate project risks.
In consideration of these factors, Plante Moran provided an example listing of resources needed below based
upon the likelihood of the City selecting a SaaS vendor solution. The areas listed below are a sample of
functions that will need to be provided at times during the implementation. For example, the payroll expert
will be needed during the phase for payroll and project hours will vary during the phase.
During implementation, the following City staff may be required:
• SMEs, in their functional area, to assist with the following functions:
o Participate in analysis and design sessions
o Provide expertise on current City processes
o Create future state processes
o Test system configurations
o Verify data conversions related to their functional area
o Participate in user acceptance testing
o Participate in training (possibly as the trainer for other staff if using a train-the-trainer model)
• Technical staff to assist with the following tasks:
o Custom report development
o Security administration
o Data conversion
o Interface development
o Forms design
o Testing coordinator
o Database/system administration
• Project management office, including the following roles:
o Project sponsor
o Project manager
o Technical lead
o Project administrator
For ongoing activities, the following City support staff may be required:
• SMEs’ functions:
o Update dashboards and reports as needed
o Participate in continuous improvement efforts including updating configurations
o Provide functional knowledge and assist with training new staff/users
• Technical staff functions:
o Custom report development
o Security administration
o Database/system administration
o Patches and updates
o Help desk: Application support
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 38
5.2.2 Change management
Implementation projects like this one will have significant change management aspects associated with the
large amount of process redesign that will likely occur on the project. It is critical to consider these potential
changes and impacts early on as project success comes from having a clear idea of how leadership envisions the
City being run and then using new systems to facilitate turning this vision into a reality. When software
implementations do not meet expectations, it is often due to people issues, not necessarily the technology.
Research indicates a correlation between the success of a change initiative and how well the people’s concerns
are recognized and understood. That is why applying a change management methodology is critical to the
success of such an initiative. The purchase and implementation of new systems and related technology is done
to assist in meeting organizational objectives and improving performance. Organizational performance is also
impacted by the people of an organization and the processes used to complete work. Throughout the project,
the goal is to balance the needs of the people, process, and technology.
5.2.3 Communication planning
As one of the first steps of change management planning, the City should develop a communications plan to
guide the project from inception through post-implementation. By its nature, replacement projects will affect
many staff across the City. For this reason, a communication and change management team is recommended,
comprising key “change agents” within each City department, to nurture buy-in and get department staff
committed to taking relevant actions. Such team members will be involved in educating staff about the impacts
and benefits of the project and will also be “inspiration agents” by helping staff find ways to discover their
potential, overcome barriers, and celebrate successes. These staff should monitor what is working, what isn’t
working, and what needs to be changed—and provide regular feedback on progress to department staff.
Acknowledging the diverse City audiences that will be involved and impacted by this project, a communication
plan should be developed to create awareness and make the project relevant by effectively communicating the
impacts to both internal and external stakeholders. Sample objectives for a communication plan may include:
1. Distributing information to employees in a timely manner about project benchmarks and progress
2. Using various media to provide information concerning the project in places that can be accessible
3. Ensuring all information available to project resources is updated and accurate
4. Reducing confusion among employees by providing a sole directive/source for all project information
5. Providing clear channels of communication within which City project staff can operate, which can
expedite solutions to issues that arise during selection and implementation and after its completion
6. Encouraging ongoing feedback from employees across the City
5.3 Project risks
Staff constraints. A successful implementation is highly dependent upon staff being engaged and available
throughout the process. The availability of staff may be limited given current staff resources that already have
a significant level of responsibilities, and the ERP implementation will only add to this workload. Furthermore,
the staff required for an implementation are typically those with the most knowledge about business rules and
needs, which tend to be staff who are in high demand regardless. Backfilling these positions or temporary staff
augmentation has been successfully used by other organizations to provide capacity to sustain operations while
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 39
key staff subject matter experts participate in the selection and implementation phases. However, the potential
lack of an appropriate staffing plan would result in a risk to project success.
Managing staff expectations. The selection and implementation of a new ERP system will result in significant
functional improvements across all areas of the City. However, it is critical that all departments are kept in
mind during the decision of which solution is best for the City and the implementation of the selected solution.
This may require some compromise across the organization to ensure it meets everyone’s needs. This needs to
be communicated to staff so they can expect that they may need to compromise on some functionality. Their
expectations also need to be managed in terms of what will be asked of them in future state processes.
Implementing process improvements. Regardless of the level of planning done prior to implementation, the
ERP project will be a significant effort for the City. Throughout the project, it will be easy for staff to fall back
on forcing the existing manual processes into a new system, resulting in unnecessary customizations or an
inability to gain the efficiencies that a new system will bring. Continuing to strive for process improvements
will need to be a key area of focus throughout the project. Requesting best practice options from the selected
vendor will promote process discussions and improvements.
Replacing shadow systems, including customized solutions. Spreadsheets are a popular tool across the City,
and some may think that utilizing such shadow systems is a more comfortable approach than moving business
processes and data storage into a new, unfamiliar system. However, doing so will leave the City with significant
process inefficiencies, risk of data loss, opportunity for data entry error, and lack of data sharing. As staff
evaluate the new functionality and processes within a new solution, it is critical for everyone to be open-
minded to leveraging the system for more. Additionally, there are a few custom-written solutions utilized by
the City currently, such as the learning management system, which should be considered with the new ERP.
Executive sponsorship. One of the biggest challenges during implementations is the lack of executive-level
staff that are consistently and visibly committed to the project. Ensuring that leadership at the City is available
to support the project, clear roadblocks, and review and approve major changes is vital to the project’s success.
5.4 Implementation best practices
As the City prepares for implementation, it is important to ensure that several factors are considered during
this period so that the future state ERP environment is as efficient as possible. Although there are many
detailed tasks outlined within Section 3 of this report, some high-level strategies are outlined below as well.
Increase process standardization. Standardize the use of a shared system and process for common functions
across the City. By gathering needs across City stakeholders, a new solution should be able to support most City
business processes and reduce the use of shadow systems. By standardizing the system in which the processes
are performed, it will be easier for the City to manage these processes from a single, accessible system.
Interface applications. Leverage the listing of all required and desired interfaces for the future state based on
the interface information outlined at the end of this report. Developing interfaces between City applications
and with applications external to the City allows data to flow more seamlessly across systems, increasing data
integrity, minimizing manual reconciliations, eliminating shadow systems, and reducing data entry time.
Streamline business processes. Redesign and streamline business processes based on established best
practices and recommendations outlined in the future state process flows. Elimination of manual and paper-
based processes and replacement with automated, electronic workflows and approvals will save the City
significant time and reduce errors associated with manual processes.
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 40
Improve reporting. Enhance reporting capabilities, including user-friendly, user-driven, and flexible reporting
tools with distributed, secure access to all users. Establish expectations around reporting and train all users to
be able to obtain reports in a new system. Having more robust reporting capabilities would reduce the need to
manually create reports on various spreadsheets to track information needed.
Training and documentation. Train staff on new systems and business processes early on. This can start with
a one-time outreach to determine what the current training needs are so that staff are given the current
support needed. However, this will not provide ongoing support for the City. An ongoing training plan needs to
be developed to ensure that new staff are trained, there is training available on infrequent tasks (e.g., budget
development), and documentation continues to exist to assist staff with performing tasks.
Enhance internal controls. Improve internal controls within business processes that are supported by the ERP
system, either currently or as part of a new system’s implementation, depending on the project timeline and
urgency of the controls needed. Modern systems can handle many controls that can be configured during
implementation to help protect against unintended transactions, duplicates, and similar concerns. These
should be configured, then monitored on a regular basis to help support a reduction in the need to review
transactions manually. There is a need for process and policy-related conversations to occur prior to this stage
to ensure the correct people are doing the correct tasks.
5.5 Proposed timeline
System selection
June 2023 –
November 2023
Contract
negotiations
November 2023 –
December 2023
ERP
implementation:
Financials
January 2024 –
January 2025
ERP
implementation:
HCM
September 2024 –
September 2025
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 41
Appendix A: Application migration plan
Overview
A list of the City’s key existing applications identified through the assessment process has been assembled and
presented below.
*Legend: (Preliminary system migration plan)
Replace (R): The City is intending on replacing this application.
Consider (C): The City is considering replacing this application with an integrated ERP solution, based on the
strength of the finalist vendor offering and cost/benefit of the replacement module.
Maintain (M): The City is intending on retaining the application, not replacing it.
Interface (I): The City is intending on keeping the application and interfacing/integrating it with the selected
ERP solution.
Application migration plan
Current ERP application Application notes/description Migration plan
Accela Business license system with daily import to the current
financial system I
Microsoft Access (Multiple) Schedules and reminders for employee evaluations, merit
increases R
ActiveNet Accounts receivable, bank reconciliation, and Parks and
Recreation revenue I
CalPERS State reporting for pension and health benefits I
CityWorks Asset tracking for Public Works I
CobbleStone Stores contract and quote details with routing and approval C/I
DebtBook GASB 87 details are stored here to support journal entries M
E-Suite/HR Portal Portal for employees to enter time and see timesheets C
Microsoft Excel (Multiple) Lease agreements, asset details, budgeting/forecasting,
tuition reimbursement, recruitments, and outstanding
check determination
R
GovDeal Third-party company utilized for asset disposals C
GovInvest Pension costing and OPEB cost/liabilities, labor costing
through negotiations R
LaserFiche Document storage, FOIA requests I
NeoGov Job postings and recruitment I
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 42
Current ERP application Application notes/description Migration plan
New World Systems – Tyler
Technologies
Financials, purchase orders, contracts, vendor information R
NextNight Homegrown application for CIP management in DPW M
OpenGov Budget preparation and budget approvals R
PayPal report Cash receipts reconciled against bank deposit I
Power Apps - TMA (Training
Management Application)
Learning and training system built internally C
RFP Application In-house system created for RFPs, bids, contracts, etc. C
Sedgwick Tracks information for risk management, including the
claim and associated investigation C
Square Point of sale system for Parks and Recreation integrated
with the financial system I
US Bank Manages purchasing cards, bank statements, and bank
entries I
Wells Fargo Portal Houses bank accounts and generates a monthly bank
statement I
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 43
Appendix B: Application interfaces
Application 1 Direction Application 2 Data flow description
Accela ⟶ ERP Payment/revenue data
ActiveNet ⟶ ERP Revenue collected in Parks and Revenue
CalPERS ⟷ ERP Benefit elections
CityWorks ⟶ ERP Asset information and time spent on workorders
ERP ⟶ GovDeal Asset disposal information sent to a third party
NeoGov ⟷ ERP Job classifications, applicant information, and
recruitment data
ERP ⟶ PayPal Cash receipts reconciliation with bank deposits
Square ⟶ ERP Revenue collected in Parks and Recreation
US Bank ⟷ ERP Purchasing cards, bank statements, and bank entries
Wells Fargo ⟷ ERP Bank statements and bank entries
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 44
Appendix C: Action Items
All items including an * in this report are potential policy considerations or items that should be discussed
prior to implementation. The City should consider the following items and have any required discussions to
address potential decisions that need to be made prior to implementation. They are categorized by three
different types of potential changes that may be required:
1. Policy – Changes that may require reviewing or updating the policy currently in place.
2. Process – Changes that may require revisiting and revamping the process in a new ERP.
3. System of Record – Changes that may require considerations about which system to use.
Beyond reviewing the action items listed below and in the supplementary spreadsheet, it is suggested to assign
a responsible owner and due date for each item below to ensure that any required actions are completed.
Process area Action item Category
Accounts
payable
Utilize a vendor portal to submit documentation so that vendors do not
have to come to City Hall. Additionally, the City can configure the portal so
that vendors can run their own aging reports.* Policy
Bank
reconciliation
The City currently utilizes a monthly bank reconciliation process. Consider
utilizing vendor demonstrations to see how more frequent bank
reconciliation runs can be drilled down to the transaction level and are
easier to process. It should also be shown how payments coming in can be
rolled up to their associated bank run. This will be helpful in pursuing
change management policies across the organization to align a business
process with best practices.* Process
Budget
There is inconsistency between the grants budgeted for and the grants
received by departments. A consistent policy across the organization
should be considered for when to input a grant into the system.* Policy
Budget
Best practice for budget preparation includes versioning at multiple levels.
Modern systems can track entire versions of the budget and mark different
statuses along the way. Additionally, these systems can also track different
types of transactions for adjustments, such as increases for additional
funding.* Process
Budget
Financial consultants hired by the City created different Excel models of
sales tax, CPI, and vacancy factors so the City could leverage for budget
planning. When a scenario changes, finance manually updates each model.
Consider utilizing the ERP to create different scenarios that flow to each
version of the budget (e.g., high, low) in place of the existing spreadsheet.*
System of
Record
Budget
Finance keeps accurate records for purposes of encumbrance carry-overs
and should seek to proactively build that process within the new ERP. Right
now, finance maintains a calendar to know when to ask departments if they
System of
Record
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 45
are carrying an encumbrance forward. Modern systems include a process to
allow carryforward of open purchase orders at year end.*
Contract
management
Implementing a new system can present an opportunity to reconsider data
retention policies. The City can choose to build an integration from the ERP
to LaserFiche for data retention or utilize the ERP for that capability.*
System of
Record
General ledger
Auditors currently ask for documentation down to the transaction detail.
Modern ERPs allow these reports to be easily accessible, and the City can
allow for third-party access to the system, if desired, to review the
appropriate documentation. Determine if the City would like to allow for
third party access to the future ERP system.* Policy
Grant and
project
management
Modern ERPs include both grant and project modules. These elements can
be tied together because a project can be funded by one or more grants, and
one grant can fund multiple projects. Define what the grants and projects
process should look like in a future ERP system.* Process
Classification
and
compensation
City staff mentioned that they are open to developing a new set of position
codes. Consider establishing new position codes to everyone in a new ERP
system following a consistent numbering schema. Confirm that setting up
new position numbering would be agreeable, ensure that the approach is
communicated clearly to departments in the organization, and that end
users receive training on the standard.* Process
Learning
management
The City should consider utilizing a learning management system as part of
the ERP to reduce the manual efforts necessary to maintain the TMA.
Modern systems can automatically generate certificates of completion, tie
them to employee profiles, and record completion statistics. Consider
which trainings from the TMA should be brought into the new system.*
System of
Record
Performance
management
Consider using the implementation to move toward narrative-based
performance reviews. This would look more like a coaching model than a
five-point scale and would support evaluators in providing objective
feedback, supporting the organization’s ongoing development. If the City
opts for new forms to support narrative-based reviews, ensure that staff
receive training on the new approach and understand its benefits.* Process
Performance
management
While the new system can provide periodic reminders to supervisors to get
their evaluations in on time, the City may benefit from additional
accountability for supervisors. Examine if the process for delayed feedback
should include an alert to department heads or if supervisors should be
evaluated based on their ability to evaluate others.* Process
Performance
management
Leveraging a system to support various HR processes will allow staff the
time to do succession planning. Consider discussing promotions and
succession planning in performance discussions.* Process
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 46
Recruitment
Revisit the capabilities used in NeoGov to review unused functionality,
including onboarding capabilities, generation of an offer letter, and
sending a confirmation within the application. Performing these functions
in NeoGov would lessen the integration burden with the ERP. Since many
organizations utilize NeoGov for their recruitment activities, it may be
worth discussing with others on how they best utilize the system
capabilities.* Process
Risk
management
Explore ways to work closer with the third-party risk administrator, JPA, to
get information and reports the organization will need moving forward.
Try to use this process to mitigate duplicative record keeping between the
access HR has in a portal versus the spreadsheet for internal claims.*
System of
Record
Self service
The system should have rules to prevent negative accruals and time off.
The City can configure whether a warning is given (that still allows the
employee to submit a request that would result in a negative accrual) or a
hard-stop on the request and should consider this change.* Policy
Payroll
In a future system, considerations should be given as to the payroll code
visibility. Ideally, the position is tied to job title so that employees do not
have the option to select the wrong code. This ERP selection and
implementation provides the opportunity to clean up pay codes and only
bring in those necessary. For example, seasonal staff should only have
access to record time against pay codes within their job title.* Process
Payroll
Consider utilizing this selection as an opportunity for staff to leverage
direct deposit or a pay card situation for those who would like their pay
more easily accessible, with the goal of avoiding cutting paper checks.* Policy
Timekeeping
Modern ERPs provide payroll staff greater flexibility for approving time.
Consider utilizing the functionality of a soft close to run payroll before it is
posted (finalized).* Process
Timekeeping
Best practice for approving time is that the employee reviews their own
time before sending to a supervisor. If there are errors, the supervisor
should either send back to the employee to make adjustments or provide
notification to the employee that their time has been changed before
sending it to payroll for final approval.* Process
Timekeeping
Consider coding holidays in the new system for when a blended rate of pay
is triggered for all employees. For example, if employees in Parks and
Recreation work on July 4, the system should recognize that day as a
holiday and automatically factor in the blended rate of pay calculation.* Policy
Timekeeping
Consider integrating with CityWorks so that work order time can be
reconciled with payroll time. This may improve reporting considerations
across the organization to calculate spending against a project that includes
details such as time, asset spend, and payments to vendors.*
System of
Record
ERP Gap Analysis and Action Plan Report – For Internal Discussion Only PLANTE MORAN | 47
Mike Riffel
Engagement Partner
312.602.3539
mike.riffel@plantemoran.com
Brian Pesis
Project Director
303.846.1260
brian.pesis@plantemoran.com
Nina Rajcevic
Project Manager
312.602.4748
nina.rajcevic@plantemoran.com