CU: Cenla FCU
Category: Improved Reporting
Cenla FCU here implemented ReportIT in May 2005, a web-based software tool by IntegraSys that officials say has created more flexibility, saved time and streamlined the monthly reporting process.
To put it bluntly, said Chris Chelette, Information Systems Specialist, whose job requires running monthly reports, the difference is "like night and day."
With the old system-"an old 16-bit program with closed data bases"-Chelette said he was very limited in what he could access at any given time.
"Running all those reports-like allowance for loan loss, portfolio yields, member reports and board packets-used to take me a day or two to sift through and pull out the necessary information."
With ReportIT, Chelette said, everything is automated. "I set up the system to run reports at five or 10 minute intervals and it saves a lot of time."
It's easy to use and includes comprehensive reporting capabilities such as multiple formats, report scheduling, queries and storage.
Chelette said the program saves the $67-million Cenla FCU time by offering flexible functionality such as the ability to select and query hundreds of fields to garner information. Instead of his old method of having to pull up 12 different fields, than narrowing data into four fields to get usable data, he says he simply captures the fields he needs to run the report in a single step.
"Now I can cross data bases and pull loan histories, share balances and (other data) all into one report," he said. In addition, he can capture and disseminate information in multiple formats to help streamline the distribution of information within the CU. Chelette said he also uses ReportIT to manipulate reports in the Microsoft Excel program and runs targeted reports for senior staff. "This system has worked pretty well the whole way around," he said, adding that he has no complaints. "I really enjoy it."
The biggest challenge was learning new syntax, he said.
"After that, it was easy," he said. "You couldn't pay me any amount of money to go back to the other system."
Chelette said he suspects there's a huge financial benefit for the CU, but he hasn't calculated it. "It is something that I have wanted to do," he said, offering an example of time-saved alone.
"The first of each month and the first of each quarter, I used to spend one or two days just searching through data bases," he said. "With the new system, I come in at 8 o'clock and am finished in about two hours."
Since implementing the program as a beta testing site for IntegraSys during the first quarter of the year, Chelette said, he's been contracted to help other credit unions get on board with it.
Alicia Bell, marketing and public relations director for Frisco, Texas-based IntegraSys, said company policy prevented her from disclosing pricing details about the product.
But Chelette estimated his set-up costs to be about $1,500. In addition, credit union users pay a data access fee of "a couple of cents a month per member," he said.