United Church of Canada

With the advisory and mentorship support of 360 Visibility, the United Church of Canada was able to transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central from an older on-premises version of Dynamics NAV.

Project at a glance

Canada’s largest protestant Christian denomination – the United Church of Canada – needed an IT environment that could keep up with future growth and changes. As the organization was already using Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint, Dynamics 365 Sales, and Azure Cloud services, they wanted to transition their back office and accounting to the Cloud.

With the advisory and mentorship support of 360 Visibility, the United Church of Canada was able to transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central from an older on-premises version of Dynamics NAV. This upgrade allowed the organization to streamline complicated processes and integrations by leveraging standard functionality in Business Central.

The organization can now conduct business securely and remotely, reduce the future cost of ownership by significantly lowering the cost of subsequent upgrades to back-office systems and eliminated customizations that are no longer required. These changes helped the United Church of Canada streamline business processes, integrate with other applications, and perform complicated allocations and Fund Accounting procedures.

20 hours

The transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central saved the finance team over 20 hours per week previously spent on manual calculations and troubleshooting integration issues.

30%

By freeing up several servers, the United Church of Canada realized immediate cost savings of approximately 30% in IT infrastructure expenses.

The Tools

Products and services implemented

Service

Business Impact Assessment

Service

Dynamics NAV to Business Central Upgrade

Service

Cloud Infrastructure Advisory

Extensions

Fund Accounting Module

The Challenge

Modernizing an outdated infrastructure and ERP system

The United Church of Canada, the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada, faced significant challenges with its outdated IT infrastructure. Despite already utilizing Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint, Dynamics 365 Sales, and Azure Cloud services, the organization was struggling with an older on-premises version of Dynamics NAV 2013 for their back-office and accounting needs. This legacy system was inadequate in several critical areas:

  1. Evolving Audit and Compliance Requirements: The organization's financial operations were becoming increasingly complex, with stricter audit and compliance requirements. The existing system was not equipped to handle these demands efficiently, leading to time-consuming and error-prone processes.

  2. Remote Work Limitations: With the rise of remote and flexible work environments, the need for a cloud-based solution was more critical than ever. The on-premises system restricted the ability to conduct business securely and remotely, hindering the organization's operational flexibility and responsiveness.

  3. Integration Challenges: The on-premises Dynamics NAV 2013 system did not integrate seamlessly with the other cloud-based Microsoft applications in use. This lack of integration led to fragmented workflows, redundant data entry, and increased reliance on customizations and manual processes, all of which were resource-intensive and prone to errors.

  4. Future Growth and Scalability: As the organization prepared for future growth and changes, it needed a scalable solution that could adapt to new requirements without significant additional costs or operational disruptions. The outdated system was a significant barrier to achieving these goals.

Recognizing these challenges, the United Church of Canada sought a comprehensive and modern IT environment that could support their mission and operational needs effectively.

"With the upgrade to Dynamics 365 Business Central with Tangicloud’s Fundamentals fund accounting package, our organization has streamlined our reporting and audit process, which has saved our team countless hours! With stringent budgets, these changes allowed us much-needed breathing room to allocate funds to serve our mission better."

Harry Li
Controller - United Church of Canada
The Solution

Enabling comprehensive fund accounting and modernizing systems with Dynamics 365 Business Central

With the advisory and mentorship support of 360 Visibility, a Tier 1 Gold competency level Microsoft Partner in Canada, the United Church of Canada successfully transitioned to Dynamics 365 Business Central. This cloud-based solution provided a unified platform that integrated seamlessly with their existing Microsoft applications, including Office 365, SharePoint, and Dynamics 365 Sales. The transition allowed the organization to streamline complicated processes and leverage the standard functionality in Business Central, which significantly reduced the need for customizations. This move not only improved operational efficiency but also enhanced data accuracy and consistency across different departments.

The upgraded solution included comprehensive fund accounting functionality, which was crucial for the United Church of Canada's financial operations. With built-in reporting, simplified workflows, and modern integration capabilities, the organization could now handle audit and compliance requirements more effectively. The new system enabled the finance team to prepare and circulate budgets with strict accounting standards and provided precise information for external audits and compliance checks. This level of integration and functionality was instrumental in saving countless hours of manual work, as noted by Harry Li, the Controller at the United Church of Canada.

Additionally, the transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central provided significant cost savings and operational flexibility. By moving to a cloud-based system, the organization could conduct business securely and remotely, which was critical in the current work environment. The elimination of legacy integrations and customizations reduced the complexity and cost of future upgrades. The United Church of Canada could also free up several servers, leading to immediate cost savings in IT infrastructure expenses. Overall, this transition empowered the finance and IT staff to focus on their core tasks without the burden of manual calculations and troubleshooting integration issues, ultimately allowing the organization to allocate funds more effectively to serve their mission.

The Results

Achieving significant improvements in efficiency, compliance, and cost savings with Dynamics 365 Business Central

1

Enhanced Operational Efficiency:

The transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central streamlined complicated processes and integrated workflows, significantly reducing the need for customizations and manual data entry. This improvement led to increased accuracy and efficiency across the organization's financial operations.


2

Improved Audit and Compliance Management:

With the new system's built-in reporting and comprehensive fund accounting functionality, the United Church of Canada could more effectively handle evolving audit and compliance requirements. This capability saved the finance team countless hours previously spent on manual reporting and compliance checks.


3

Cost Savings and Resource Optimization:

By freeing up several servers and reducing dependency on custom integrations, the organization realized immediate IT infrastructure cost savings of approximately 30%. Additionally, the cloud-based solution lowered the future cost of ownership by simplifying subsequent upgrades and maintenance.


4

Enhanced Remote and Secure Operations:

The cloud-based Dynamics 365 Business Central enabled secure and remote business operations, which was critical in the modern work environment. This capability provided the organization with the flexibility to conduct business from anywhere, ensuring continuity and adaptability in a changing landscape.

 

"Our goal in working with the United Church of Canada was to provide a seamless transition to a modern, cloud-based solution that would not only meet their current operational needs but also position them for future growth and adaptability. By leveraging Dynamics 365 Business Central, we optimized their financial processes, reduced IT costs, and ensured they had a robust, secure platform that supports their mission and long-term objectives."

Barbara Allen
Vice President, Client Solutions - 360 Visibility

 

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