Volunteering England selects Access to provide greater visibility to members

New management information system brings greater clarity for budget holders and efficiencies for the entire organisation

Colchester, Essex - 6^th April 2010 - Access, the mid-market consulting, software and solutions provider, announces today that Volunteering England, the national volunteering development agency for England, has chosen to implement Access Dimensions and FocalPoint across the organisation.  Access will help Volunteering England provide its budget holders with improved and more readily accessible management information, reducing the need to work through the finance department to gain insight into income generated and the costs incurred by projects and events.

Graham Galvin, Director of Corporate Services for Volunteering England, said: "With over 20 budget holders looking to access management information, we needed to implement a solution that would provide the required level of visibility while integrating with other IT systems used within the business.  The ability for budget holders to now directly access management information will help us streamline our back office functions and provide a timelier service. We particularly value the web-based interaction of the new solution due to the level of flexibility it provides users."

Volunteering England relies on a CRM package to manage customer contacts, memberships and process sales receipts.  Access Dimensions and FocalPoint will work alongside this system to ensure data is passed seamlessly to the finance team in any required format.  It will help reduce the current level of manual processing required to relate it to sales and membership subscriptions.

The FocalPoint web portal will also enable users to electronically record their expenses and time spent on projects.  Employees will have the ability to submit timesheets and expense costs incurred by working offsite with members at any time, from any location.  Historically, the timesheet reporting had not been fully integrated with the finance system and expense claims were submitted manually to the finance team.

Volunteering England is one of a growing number of contracts won by Access over the past year, meeting the demand for organisation-wide solutions.  Jon Jorgenson, Director for Access, commented: "Our customers are increasingly finding themselves unable to mange wider business processes through legacy finance systems.  Access is working with many not-for-profit organisations that are looking to address this issue by implementing a cost-effective solution that functions across the business. By choosing the Access business and finance suite, driven by the organisation's workflow, employees can work remotely while seamlessly accessing the information they need in a timely manner."

For further details on Access contact Matt Newman on 0845 345 3300. Alternatively, keep up-to-date by following Access on twitter, @theaccessgroup.

About Access

• Access is a consulting, software and solutions provider, serving the mid-market.
• The consulting services are backed by more than 65 accredited consultants, providing business software expertise. They operate nationally out of nine offices in the UK and Ireland.
• The software portfolio provides solutions to meet the needs of the whole organisation, helping to reduce complexity and increase efficiencies at every level. In addition to accounting and finance, Access also offers manufacturing software, professional services automation, and accounting for carbon emissions reporting. Other software solutions include distribution and warehousing, HR and payroll, document management, service and contract management and CRM and sales automation.

Accreditations and memberships:

• Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA)
• HM Revenue & Customs: Payroll Standards Scheme  

Awards 2008 and 2009:

• Accountancy Age Award 2008 and 2009 for the best 'Mid-tier Software Package'
• SIFT Media Software Satisfaction Award 2008, for the second year running, in the category of best 'Mid-Range Software'
• SIFT Media Software Satisfaction Awards 2009, Green Software Provider of the Year Award
• Construction Computing Awards 2009, 'Construction Accounting Software of the Year' and shortlisted for 'Environmental Product of the Year'
• Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2009 'IT in Manufacturing' accolade won by customer, Renthal, for its use of the Access Supply Chain solution 

About Volunteering England

Volunteering England is the national volunteering development agency for England, committed to supporting, enabling and celebrating volunteering in all its diversity.  Its work links research, policy, innovation, good practice and grant-making in the involvement of volunteers.  Members and partners range from national charities to voluntary agencies across the length and breadth of England; from NHS Trusts to arts organisations; from local community projects to government think-tanks.

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