12/01/10

About two years ago ecomaine, a Portland-based nonprofit waste management company, switched from an antiquated accounting system to Great Plains, implemented by Gilchrist Scott. They have reaped the benefits ever since.

Eric Doane, ecomaine's Director of Finance and Administration, said the transition period between the old and new system was smooth.

"We had a lot of questions day to day and were able to call them for help," Doane said. "They have a good staff. We had a couple of points of contact there, but if they weren't available, we felt comfortable asking to talk with others."

Eric said the new system is much more user-friendly. While the finance and accounting departments mainly use the system, they are able to format and distribute reports for managers and the board of directors. They can complete a different analysis of these reports, Eric noted, and put it into a readable format. This is especially helpful when people have questions about expenses.

"It's also helped with our customer service a bit by making it easier and quicker to open new accounts," he added. "It's definitely more organized than our old system."

Working with Gilchrist Scott makes things more organized, too. Currently, ecomaine is partnering with Gilchrist Scott to have a new industry-specific program implemented, which has to interface with their existing general ledger. Eric said Gilchrist Scott is helping build those together.

But it is Gilchrist Scott's accessibility and business process savvy that makes them invaluable to ecomaine.

"They have taken the time to understand our business and what we need to maintain productivity," Eric said. "We can pick up the phone and talk directly to them without delay. When we need them here, they are on site to help."

It's this partnership that allows Great Plains to work so well for ecomaine.

"Gilchrist Scott are our partners in the software. We feel confident talking with anyone they have on staff about any problems or issues we have."

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