Case Study: City of Isle (MN)
A data migration miss
In Mille Lacs County, Minnesota — with about 800 people and just over 400 service connections — City of Isle had been stuck in a long, frustrating migration process when gWorks acquired their previous provider UBmax. The migration process from UBmax to gWorks was a year in the making and still not complete.
City clerk Jamie Minenko and deputy clerk Georgia Bjerk — who already wear many hats — were stuck managing Isle’s utility billing across two different systems. To make things worse, the data wasn't coming over cleanly. The transition still had not achieved active billing through gWorks, and this small but mighty team in Minnesota was having to deal with numerous billing errors.
"The system sent bills to people who no longer lived here," Jamie recalled. "Bills were the wrong amount or going to the wrong people. It was just a mess."
Unfortunately, utility management experts at consultancy Raftelis have found that 80% of utility billing solutions are considered unsuccessful after just one year, and Isle was experiencing that firsthand.
The right fit
When Isle started looking for a new solution, they knew they needed something that was easy to use but still packed with the features they relied on like service orders, delinquency management, and digital tools for customers. However, they weren’t seeing quality alternatives that were affordable for their small city.
Jamie did her due diligence, conducting demo after demo with different utility billing vendors. In addition to Georgia, Jamie brought the public works director and two council liaisons into the process to evaluate the options together.
What set Current Software apart was how closely it matched their beloved UBmax system, which Isle used successfully since 2012.
"If you have ever used UBmax successfully, Current Software is going to be exactly what you want because it's so user friendly," Jamie explained. "Current Software’s platform is all about putting the customer information you need in front of you instead of having to search and search through 19 screens for one answer."
Unlike other vendors who only offered quote request forms online and impersonal email exchanges, Current Software’s team made a personal connection with the Isle team.
“What you’re offering at Current Software is really unique,” said Jamie. “Small systems have been overlooked for too long!”
Making the move
After signing with Current, Isle was up and running by the time the next billing cycle came around.
The onboarding process for Isle took six weeks:
- Project kickoff to agree on schedule and key personnel
- Export data from legacy provider into Current
- Produce bills in old and new systems; compare billing accuracy
- Follow-up on any parallel process inaccuracies
- Train the Isle team to make sure they were set up for success
- Conduct go-live exercise together
The migration process was smooth, with accurate data from day one. And anytime the Isle team had a question, answers were readily available. “Current’s support has truly made this transition a dream,” Jamie shared.
The results
- Fast & smooth migration From start to finish, Isle fully transitioned in just six weeks.
- Extremely user-friendly Isle's staff got the hang of the new system quickly, saving their team an estimated 15-20 hours per week once onboarded. "Everything is just so easy and intuitive,” said Jamie. “Current Software is designed to lead you through the whole process." Jamie had to run billing herself for the first time in a year when Georgia was out sick one day. "I kind of went into panic mode,” Jamie remembered. “But I just went into Current Software and took it step by step. The platform makes it so that you can't mess up."
- Happier residents Isle's residents have responded enthusiastically to the new customer portal. "We got great feedback on the new customer portal from our residents. The majority of them love it,” said Jamie. “They can go in and they can put in all of their own private account information. We don't have to handle it. They don't have to give it to us. And they appreciate that very much." Some residents particularly appreciate being able to pay their bills at any time — even in the middle of the night or on weekends when city offices are closed.
- Reliable support Whenever they needed help, Current's team was responsive and ready to assist. "I can't speak highly enough about the support I got in those first few weeks of learning the platform," said Jamie. “The intuitive platform and personalized support from real people on the Current Software team gave us the confidence to master the tool fast and be able to run with it on our own.” The support went beyond just answering questions. When Isle needed to implement Minnesota's unique tax roll process for delinquent balances, the Current Software team worked with Jamie and Georgia to figure it out together.
- Customization that works Isle needed specific features that fit their community's needs, and Current Software delivered. Current Software equipped Isle to segment bills, make bulk changes, or change only an individual account. "So much is customizable," Jamie explained. "If my city has a trash flat fee, I can add it, but another city doesn't need to have that on their bills.”
A big win for Isle
Switching to Current Software turned out to be a great decision for Isle. Jamie and Georgia got the cloud-based system they wanted with the functionality they'd come to expect from other established systems like UBmax.
Perhaps most importantly for Isle’s aging community, the transition to Current Software was seamless and went largely unnoticed.
"We were able to make the bills that our customers were used to seeing look exactly the same,” Jamie said. "No one even realized we switched utility billing systems except for us. That was huge."
Jamie estimated that Current Software saves the Isle team about 15-20 hours on billing per week. Now Isle's team can focus more time and resources on what really matters — serving their community.
Want to learn more about how Current Software can help your utility? Click here to book a live demo.