ivue Accounting and Business Solutions 2.0 for Utilities

Transcription

1 ivue Accounting and Business Solutions 2.0 for Utilities ivue Accounting and Business Solutions (ABS) 2.0 are designed to help today s utility enterprises use powerful information to increase business results by improving productivity, reducing costs, streamlining operations and enhancing customer service. A completely integrated suite of applications, ivue Accounting and Business Solutions allow you to quickly and easily perform a full range of accounting, sales, marketing and other business-management functions. ivue is designed specifically to meet the needs of utility companies like yours. This customer-centric design facilitates marketing and selling a variety of diversified utility and energy services, including electricity, propane, natural gas, Internet, security systems, pagers and more. Flexible and easy to use ivue Accounting and Business Solutions are designed to work the way you work, and feature a single point of data entry, integration among all applications and unparalleled ease of use. ivue s flexibility gives you the power to define and create open fields to suit your specific needs. With ivue s support of an unlimited number of open fields, you can identify the field label and the type of information to be captured, such as date, numeric amount or alphanumeric information. As a user-defined feature, you can also configure the field length, Help, ToolTips, order of sequence within the table and whether the field is required. In addition, you can predefine a set of values in order to validate and ensure accuracy of your data collection. ivue also provides a powerful query builder that allows you to create simple and fast data queries that can be organized and sorted to your specifications and dropped into a third-party spreadsheet without having to involve your technical staff. Scalable to meet your needs today and in the future ivue is scalable to fit the needs of every utility large or small. Implement the features you need now and add new features as your needs or markets change. Flexible, affordable and multi-platform compatible, ivue is the information management revolution you ve been awaiting. Integration helps you provide outstanding customer service Information is power: the power to see, respond and take action. Total integration of ivue Customer Information System (CIS), Accounting and Business Solutions (ABS) and Engineering and Operations (E&O) data means fast, efficient service for your customers as well as your employees. View a customer s account status, billing and payment history, diversified National Information Solutions Cooperative ivue Accounting and Business Solutions 2.0 for utilities include the following applications: ivue General Ledger ivue Purchase Order ivue Accounts Payable ivue Material Inventory ivue Payroll / Labor ivue Employee Self-Serve ivue Fleet Management ivue Work Order ivue Asset Management ivue Miscellaneous Receivables ivue Bank Reconciliation ivue Budgets ivue Cash Register ivue Installment Loans

2 services used, view scheduled tasks, check inventory levels, see capital credit allocations, check service orders, view employee information through the web-based employee self-serve product and much more, all quickly and easily through ivue. Designed to put you in control NISC s ivue integrated enterprise solution is built using the latest technology, tools, processes and design techniques. ivue uses a robust relational database for greater efficiency, speed and flexibility. The power behind the ivue solution is a rich graphical user interface (GUI) that utilizes an open architecture. ivue solutions also feature comprehensive online help. For your accounting and business functions, ivue really adds up. With ivue, data from the accounting, billing and engineering applications are all integrated. For systems that offer diversified services, the ivue Accounting and Business Solutions delivers a multi-business enterprise-wide accounting solution. That makes it easy to generate invoices, work orders, purchase orders, track sales and returns, share customer information with the CIS and E&O products, create custom forms, reports and queries. You don t need to worry about data imports, conversions or format compatibility. ivue puts you in control of all the data you need. NISC s full suite of graphical accounting and business applications, from General Ledger to Payroll to Accounts Payable and from Purchase Order to Work Order, offers your utility flexible software integration capabilities for streamlining your operations. The bottom line: ivue represents a revolution in data management, developed specifically for the needs of systems like yours. ivue General Ledger In today s economic environment, you need to constantly monitor your utility s financial situation. ivue General Ledger is designed to be the central hub of your financial system, providing you with powerful data you need to make informed decisions. ivue General Ledger feature highlights: Full integration with all ivue applications Multi-company capabilities with individual or consolidated totals Customizable division up to 4 digits and account/subaccount format up to 10 digits Separate associations for departments and activities Historical transactions retained for comparison and other analysis One-time, recurring and auto-reversing entries Multiple periods open simultaneously with proper security Up to a 600-character extended reference per transaction to enhance audit trail Activity-based accounting Spreadsheet style journal-entry screen Budgeting by any division, account, department and activity code combination ivue General Ledger is designed to be the central hub of your financial system. It provides powerful data you can use to make informed decisions, full integration with all ivue applications, multi-company capabilities with individual or consolidated totals and much more.

3 ivue Purchase Order The ivue Purchase Order solution is the business front-end application for the ivue Accounting and Business Solutions suite of applications. ivue Purchase Order sets the standard for other applications as it maintains purchase order information, reduces manual work and saves time keying information. ivue Purchase Order feature highlights: Requisitioning capability Software-generated purchase orders Purchase order and electronic signature capabilities Invoice/line items expensing option Track discounts by vendor Integrates with other ivue applications including General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Material Inventory, Work Order, Fleet Management, Asset Management and more Request quotations to multiple vendors Integration available to support vendor managed inventory agreements Purchase order creation available from work order pick lists Blanket purchase order capability Purchase/requisition security limits by user Tiered authorization hierarchy for requisitions and purchase orders with notification capability Ability to update inventory/general ledger at an estimated cost upon receiving, but prior to invoicing Ability to estimate taxes, freight and discounts Automated requisition creation based on monthly inventory minimum levels Multiple receiving for a single purchase order with the ability to require receiving before the entry of the invoice for noninventory items Option to require accounting assignment during requisition/ purchase order entry Ability to define over-receipt tolerances, allowing for a warning or requiring authorization above defined tolerances ivue Accounts Payable Managing cash resources for one or multiple companies can be the difference between a positive fiscal period and a negative one. ivue Accounts Payable solution is designed to assist you with cash flow by maximizing cash control. With ivue Accounts Payable, each invoice can be paid immediately or accrued for payment later. By using the due date and monitoring discounts, you can make the best use of your cash resources. The cash requirement functions can automate the decision process of paying invoices. The ivue Accounts Payable solution also computes the cash required and can produce a suggested payments listing. ivue Accounts Payable feature highlights: Integrates with other ivue applications including General Ledger, Fleet Management, Work Order, Purchase Order, Asset Management, Capital Credits, Material Inventory, Bank Reconciliation and Consumer Information System. ivue Purchase Order helps you quickly and efficiently maintain purchase order information, reduce manual processing and save time keying information.

4 15-character alphanumeric vendor identifier Electronic 1099 filing with optional filing by division Software-generated checks with reprint options Direct Deposit (NACHA standard) with notification Wire transfer capability Miscellaneous credit tracking with automated or manual application Available and lost early payment discount tracking Add vendors on the fly Historical trial balance Use-tax calculation capability Ability to establish recurring invoices Ability to restrict AP/GL accounts to a single vendor Ability to assign default account distribution to a vendor Ability to preview the GL Accounting distribution with overhead distributions applied on invoice entry ivue Material Inventory ivue Accounts Payable is designed to help you improve cash flow by effectively maximizing cash control. With ivue Account Payable, each invoice can be paid immediately or accrued for payment later. Simplify your daily inventory procedures with ivue Material Inventory. This powerful application allows you to efficiently manage valuable assets by tracking past requirements, discounts and deliveries. ivue Material Inventory also allows you to increase your purchasing power, control stock levels and lower expenses. Historical balancing reports are standard features of ivue Material Inventory. Highlights of ivue Material Inventory include: Multiple locations Look up by item and description Inventory can be captured for count and updating at a later date while ongoing business continues History by item and purchase order Purchase order activity by vendor and item Items grouping for analysis Unfilled purchase order reporting Item reorder point options Integrates with all ivue applications Inventory by reel with tracking by quantity or sequence Active/inactive items Price information based on average value or last purchase price Serialized inventory Attachable bitmap images Historical stock status balancing report Ability to distribute stores expense at time of each charge out and/or at end of period Capability to track item quantity for items expensed upon purchase (exempt material) Allow negative inventory levels by inventory groupings Ability to predefine accounting distribution for expensed items at the item level (non inventory and exempt items) ivue Material Inventory helps you manage valuable assets by tracking past requirements, discounts and deliveries. You can use it to increase your purchasing power, control stock levels and reduce expenses.

5 ivue Payroll / Labor The NISC ivue Payroll application offers one of the industry s most comprehensive payroll solutions. It s reliable, on time, flexible and accurate. Whether your organization provides payroll for one or multiple companies, ivue Payroll delivers complete information that s properly reported, easily updated and allocated in the labor distribution. What s more, ivue Payroll features fully automated inter-divisionalized entries. Like all ivue Accounting and Business applications, the Payroll / Labor application does not require redundant information to be reentered. Payroll entry by exception increases the efficiency of managing your payroll information and ensures accuracy of data that s been entered. With its robust flexibility and security, ivue Payroll simplifies the process of delivering timely and accurate employee compensation. ivue Payroll / Labor feature highlights: Integrates with ivue General Ledger (standard defaults available), Work Order, Fleet Management, Miscellaneous Receivables and Bank Reconciliation 401(k) processing, automated file creation for NRECA formats and additional options for third-party investments Section 125 processing Flexible pay periods Date sensitive pay rates, deductions, taxable benefits and direct deposit setup. Alternate pay rates by employee Multiple state reporting Unlimited number of pays, deductions, paid time off benefits, taxable benefits and taxes. Direct Deposit (NACHA Standard) Special situations such as bonus options and more Flexible accrued labor options Labor distribution by employee Dependent tracking Employee review ratings and tracking Automatic increase in vacation and other accrual hours Automated labor distribution, with detailed historical reporting and inquiries available Automated distribution to allocate non-payroll related costs 941 reporting Electronic W-2s Third-party sick tracking with W-2 and 941 capability Automated group term life calculation Mass change capability for pay rates, deductions, benefits and paid time off Automated Federal Income, FICA, FUTA and State Income tax table updates Reliable, on time, flexible and accurate, the ivue Payroll application is one of the industry s most comprehensive payroll solutions. It delivers comprehensive information that s properly reported, easily updated and allocated in the labor distribution.

6 ivue Employee Self-Serve ivue Employee Self-Serve gives your employees convenient access to personnel-related information and functions, allowing your staff to operate more efficiently. This application uses many of today s top technologies, including HTML and Java, and is available for use on any web browser. The ivue Employee Self-Serve solution doesn t require any additional hardware or software. As a web-based application, ivue Employee Self-Serve offers the security you and your employees expect. Supervisors have access to data for the employees they re responsible for, while other employees have access only to their own information. ivue Employee Self-Serve includes: Timesheet Entry. With ivue Employee Self-Serve Timesheet Entry application, employees may enter their work hours anytime online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This web-based time entry system allows rapid entry of the hours worked during the timesheet period. Fleet Management Service and Usage. Utility employees will also be able to enter any service, usage and expense information. Totals. Totals may be accumulated by several methods, including day of the week, task and more. Timesheet Report. The Timesheet Report can be printed through the browser and is formatted to display, at a glance, the activity of the employee during a specified period of time. The Timesheet Report lists detail information, summary information, or both, and lookup and drop-down lists are available for many items to reduce errors in data entry. Timesheet Approval. Your supervisors are able to approve timesheets submitted through Employee Self-Serve s Timesheet Approval tool. A listing of the employees under their supervision is presented and timesheet approval requires only point and a click to complete. Totals are available, along with the ability to enter comments pertaining to a particular timesheet. Vacations and other paid time off. Employees are able to view their paid time off balances and absence history within Employee Self-Serve. Just choose the Paid Time Off menu item to display available and used vacation, sick leave and other paid time off codes. The Absence History menu item will display the day and hours the employee was absent. Paid tome off tracking of requests and approvals are integrated with Microsoft Outlook calendar entries. ivue Employee Self-Serve provides convenient access to personnel-related information, and offers the security your employees expect.

7 ivue Fleet Management ivue Fleet Management provides an efficient way to maintain fleet asset information, both accounting and service events, for your company. ivue allows all fleet assets to be grouped by class to better handle distribution of expenses. Expense dollars flow into Fleet Management from various applications and can be allocated to fleet assets based on usage, current expense proration, fixed dollars or purchase price. These expenses can then be distributed from Fleet Management into General Ledger accounts based on a meter usage, direct labor hours, or fixed rate per unit of usage and on to the Work Order application for subsequent capitalization. All service events can also be scheduled through entry and then tracked using ivue report options. ivue Fleet Management feature highlights: 15-character alphanumeric fleet asset identifier Ability to establish service schedules for each fleet asset Ability to establish service intervals by usage or days Report capabilities show pending service and service history Multiple meters per fleet asset Direct integration from Asset Management allows depreciation expense to flow directly to Fleet Management Ability to attach a fleet asset, such as a boom, to a base fleet asset and expense each fleet asset separately Ability to have service only fleet assets attached to the base unit Ability to allocate expenses by usage, current expense, number of fleet assets in a particular class, purchase price, fixed rate per unit of usage or direct labor hours from the ivue Payroll/Labor application Clearing and expense account number flexibility Integration with the General Ledger, Work Order, Asset Management, Accounts Payable, Payroll Labor, Material Inventory and Purchase Order applications Tracking of historical cost per mile Ability to track licensing, CDL and multiple warranty information ivue Fleet Management provides an efficient way to maintain your company s fleet asset information. With ivue Fleet Management all fleet assets can be grouped by class to better handle distribution of expenses.

8 ivue Work Order System ivue Work Order System is a completely integrated solution that reduces errors and automates most repetitive tasks associated with work order accounting processes. By using all Work Order System applications, including ivue Asset Management, your utility will realize great time savings, improved information flow and availability as well as increased data integrity. The ivue Work Order accounting system provides fully automated divisionalized accounting entries, as well as subsidiary detail for construction, retirement, expense tracking, accumulated depreciation and fixed asset accounts in the ivue General Ledger solution. ivue Work Order feature highlights: Integrates with ivue Customer Information System, Purchase Order, Accounts Payable, Material Inventory, Payroll/Labor, Fleet Management, Miscellaneous Receivables, General Ledger, Asset Management, and Staking and Mapping software Blanket work order capability Estimation capability 15-character alphanumeric Work Order identifier Software generated RUS 219 Form Option to delete or abandon work orders Loan tracking supports amendments, the inquiry of original loan, the dollars used and the amounts remaining Work orders can be reopened, if necessary Multiple work order types Expense tracking work orders Multiple taxing districts per work order closing Multiple construction, retirement and aid to construction/retirement general ledger accounts set up at the work order level Detailed information from interfacing applications Ease of transferring work order costs to other work orders or directly to the general ledger Automated pick list functionality User defined engineering codes to track miles of line and other statistical information Automated allocation to active work order of overhead work order charges Automated work order closing procedures with backout capability Ability to update plant based on standard costs and/or direct material charges Work Orders can be grouped and tracked by projects Up to 99 user-defined cost categories Historical reporting 20-character alphanumeric assembly code Global change of assembly unit identifier Multiple estimate code calculations for installation and removal of labor, overhead and materials MultiSpeak standard design codes of Pole, Wire, Neutral and Miscellaneous, per assembly unit ivue Work Order System is an integrated solution that reduces errors and automates most repetitive tasks associated with work order accounting processes. With ivue Work Order System you benefit from time savings, improved information flow and availability and increased data integrity.

9 ivue Asset Management System Using ivue s Asset Management your company can easily track both plant and general plant assets. These assets can be grouped and reported on by business entity, location, tax district or department. The application now allows your organization to track assets by using the traditional average costing method or the newly designed vintage costing method. The system not only tracks and reports these balances in a variety of ways but also calculates depreciation. In addition, depreciation expense is automatically transferred to the Fleet Management application for the distribution of the assets depreciation. The additions and retirements are seamlessly transferred from the Work Order and Accounts payable applications. The system can also create the RUS Special Equipment Summary, if required. ivue Asset Management feature highlights: Depreciation calculated by months to depreciate, percentage of asset, a combination or a percentage of the General Ledger account balance Vintage Depreciation method for detailed tracking throughout the life of individual asset components Integrates with ivue Purchase Order, Accounts Payable, Work Order, Material Inventory, General Ledger and Fleet Management Depreciation and retirement accounting specified at the general ledger account asset level 15-character alphanumeric asset identifier Detailed tracking by asset of additions, retirements and depreciation Calculating standard costs based on materials and labor Average unit cost, standard unit cost and salvage value are stored by asset General plant tracking and depreciation Tracking of property value by tax district Special Equipment capitalization including the RUS Special Equipment Summary ivue Asset Management allows you to track both plant and general plant assets, and to report these assets by business, entity, location, tax district or department.

10 ivue Miscellaneous Receivables ivue Miscellaneous Receivables offers robust functionality for performing counter sales and customer orders through Point-of-Sale functionality along with monthly billings. Through integration with the ivue Material Inventory application, ivue Miscellaneous Receivables will provide real-time information for Point-of-Sale counter sale transactions or a detailed order tracking system. ivue Miscellaneous Receivables maintains up-to-date information on customers, orders and invoices as well as provides subsidiary detail to support the accounts receivable balances in the General Ledger application. Through integration between ivue Miscellaneous Receivables and the ivue Billing Solution, your customers can receive a single bill. ivue Miscellaneous Receivables feature highlights: Supports sales, returns and trade-ins Barcode scanning Credit card swipe and authorization Return tracking Serialized inventory Warranty tracking Allows for multiple accounts receivable general ledger accounts Multiple order types: standard, monthly, recurring and quote Flexible pricing options including unlimited price groups Shares a central customer with the Consumer Information System User-defined payment terms Multiple statement formats: balance forward and open balance Integrates with ivue General Ledger, Work Order, Purchase Order, Material Inventory, Cash Register, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Installment Loans and Consumer Information System Custom-defined invoice and statement messages Rapid payment entry and payment reversal functionality Multiple banks for payments Electronic Funds Transfer (NACHA Standard) Transfer option to Utility Billing Write-off functionality NSF charges Miscellaneous credit apply and reversal, as well as miscellaneous credits auto-apply option Credit refund ability using accounts payable Prints special forms on demand: invoices, orders and statements Historical open balance reporting

11 ivue Bank Reconciliation ivue Bank Reconciliation ensures real-time, reliable cash balance that you can depend on by delivering an integrated solution to quickly reconcile your bank statements to ivue s General Ledger. Whether your company utilizes one or more bank accounts ivue s bank reconciliation will easily track checks, electronic payments, deposits, electronic deposits and transfers. What s more is the information from Capital Credits, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Miscellaneous Receivables and General Ledger are tightly integrated with Bank Reconciliation. The reconciliation process can save time and ensure accuracy by quickly identifying the items to clear. In addition, Bank Reconciliation allows for transactions to be imported and cleared through a simple import process, which can be easily customized by bank account to match your banks electronic output. Bank Reconciliation feature highlights: Integrates with ivue General Ledger, Payroll Labor, Accounts Payable, Miscellaneous Receivables, Capital Credits, CIS, Cash Register, E-Bill, Kiosk and more On-screen bank reconciliation from bank statement to the GL cash account Single point of entry for all check void processes User-defined file formats for the import of your banks reconciliation files Transaction inquiry and drill down to source application Check signature security and multiple signature authority can be defined with each bank Secured access to payroll information ivue Cash Register The ivue Cash Register application provides for the comprehensive management of payment collections for stand-alone and/or integrated application posting activities. With ivue Cash Register you can efficiently administer, track and report the activity for multiple deposit groups constructed of one or more cash drawers. ivue Cash Register feature highlights: Integrates with the ivue Consumer Information System and ivue Accounting and Business Solutions Optional equipment interfacing: scanning devices, receipt/ endorsement printers and physical cash drawers Individual cash drawer controls, user security and balancing Utility defined payment activities and modes of payment Activity alerts including cash drawer cash minimums/maximum limits exceeded, credit rating and notes Preliminary and final deposit reporting ivue Bank Reconciliation delivers real-time, reliable cash balance and offers integration with ivue general Ledger Payroll / Labor and more.

12 ivue Installment Loans Set up, calculate and track your customer and employee loan balances using the ivue Installment Loan solution. Direct interaction from ivue Miscellaneous Receivables or ivue Consumer Information System updates each loan as it is paid. ivue Installment Loans feature highlights: Integrates with ivue Miscellaneous Receivables, Consumer Information System and General Ledger Unlimited loans per customer Automatic loan calculator Daily interest calculation with pay off amount Amortization schedule inquiry and reporting Multiple loan adjustment methods Unlimited loan types Overpayment options for early payment of principle or apply to next payment Additional Information Learn more about ivue Accounting and Business Solutions 2.0 for Utilities. CALL VISIT ivue Installment Loans allow you to set up, calculate and track your customer and employee loan balances. National Information Solutions Cooperative Lake St. Louis, Missouri Mandan, North Dakota ( )