In the Village of Walnut, Illinois, City Clerk Tiffany Miller and Treasurer Autumn Wolf suddenly found themselves struggling with a clunky utility billing system. Deposits weren't matching up, and the stack of training PDFs weren’t helping.
After 14 years working in municipal water, Tiffany went looking for a new utility billing software.
A helpful referral
When Tiffany and Autumn started looking at alternatives, the landscape was discouraging. Most options were either prohibitively expensive for their water district or just variations on the same clunky system they were trying to escape.
Then Tiffany heard about Current Software from a trusted peer, a city clerk in Sheffield, Illinois, who was having success with the platform.
Tiffany and Autumn attended demos with several vendors over a few weeks. Current Software stood out immediately.
"Current Software is incredibly streamlined, requiring way fewer clicks to get things done like handle payments and deposits all in one logical view of the platform," Tiffany explained. “The pricing was the best value option for us.”
Unlike the training PDFs they'd received previously, Current's product was designed to equip the Village of Walnut team to use the platform effectively on their own.
Tiffany and Autumn made their decision and pitched it to the village board, which approved the switch.
Saving clicks and time
Tiffany and Autumn were nervous about a long, painful migration. The previous migration had resulted in messy and missing data, like missing credit for accounts that had paid in advance and some accounts were incorrectly set up as one unit when it was really a multi-unit complex.
Instead, the implementation was smooth. The data transfer went perfectly — all accounts lined up accurately, and credits were there. The platform was intuitive, and most importantly, it just worked.
Current Software led them through a somewhat unique go-live process. The first time any utility manages a billing cycle in the platform, the Current Software support team goes through it with them. So customers receive training and also complete the migration all at once with Current Software.
"It's easy," Tiffany said simply. "After years of dealing with systems that required workarounds and endless clicking through screens, Current Software is straightforward."
Now, the billing process is faster and cleaner. Corrections are easier to make.
“What used to take at least 1 full work day now requires only 1-2 hours thanks to the simplicity of steps,” said Tiffany.
For a small team managing everything from billing to customer service, those saved clicks add up to hours each week. When you're wearing many hats in a small municipal office, simple and efficient tools are essential.
Village of Walnut found the right features at the right price point.
Better to have it and not need it
Tiffany and Autumn still reach out to Current Software for help occasionally and know to expect prompt, high-quality support. And they're also fully equipped to handle their billing processes on their own and better serve their community.
Like many Current Software customers, Tiffany and Autumn have quickly come to prefer leaning less on support and more on the intuitive platform itself.
"We want to do it on our own," Tiffany said about tasks like correcting bills. The platform helps lead the way.
The peer recommendation that started it all
Tiffany found Current Software the same way many utilities find solutions that actually work: through another clerk, general manager, or office or billing manager.
For utilities evaluating their options, peer validation matters more than any sales pitch.
Village of Walnut made the switch to a new utility billing software, and it worked. So when other Illinois clerks ask Tiffany about billing software, she has an answer ready.
Want to learn more about how Current Software can help your utility? Click here to book a live demo.