 The City of Ashland is located in the Heart of Ohio between Cleveland and Columbus, just west of Interstate I-71. Its community truly enjoys the best of both worlds: the quietness and safety of a small town, mixed with the technology and opportunities of a large city. With more than 21,000 people, Ashland covers 9.43 square miles.
"The Ashland Advantage" is a popular phrase used widely by the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce. The most apparent advantage is location. Ashland is located along I-71, equidistant between Cleveland and Columbus. This provides companies with an enormous benefit in the transportation area, and businesses located in Ashland are perfectly located to take advantage of these resources. Another advantage is Ashland University, which is a true partner within the local business community.
Ashland has been an SSI customer for more than 15 years. Nancy Boyd, Director of Finance, describes the relationship: "We have been a client of SSI since very early in the history of the company. SSI has been with us as we went from a very old NCR bookkeeping machine into the NCR I-Tower computer age, and from typing the annual state report (back when secretaries dreamed about having a word processor on their desk) to the modern days of Microsoft Word and report writers."
eGovRelational Helps Ashland Meet Growing Requirements
"We have watched SSI keep pace in a very fast-moving industry. In the spring of 2002, I attended an SSI user group meeting at which they talked about the capabilities of eGovRelational. I knew that the GASB 34 requirement was around the corner. Also, I saw that eGovRelational would make it easy to use Crystal Reports, which has capabilities that far surpass the IQ Reports we had been using. And, we can get additional training at any number of places since Crystal Reports is so widely used and supported."
Officials and Administration Find Reports Easier to Manage
"With eGovRelational we are able to print reports on a laser printer (8 ½ x 11) rather than green bar paper. These reports are now much easier to manage. Elected officials and administration are very pleased with this improvement."
eGovRelational Simplifies Many Processes
"We derive many more benefits from the system. For example, the end-of-year reset for budgetary and payroll has a window that walks you through the process. And, because eGovRelational is a Windows-based program, it takes fewer key strokes to complete a task."
"Also eGovRelational supports functions to transfer SSI data into Microsoft Excel and Word documents, which will be a plus as we prepare a CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) and a PAFR (Popular Annual Financial Report) in the near future."
SSI’s People Are Very Supportive
"The support from SSI has been excellent. During the transition, five different SSI personnel came to Ashland to assist us."
"It was difficult to convince our staff that this was a move forward since they were accustomed to the old system. But, eventually everyone has bought into and has seen the benefits of eGovRelational." |
