Government estimates that its new financial information management system could make $2.7 million in costs savings over a five-year period.The new upgrade from the old JD Edwards World software to the EnterpriseOne (E1) version, which is currently being carried out, goes live on Wednesday and will cost $6.8 million.It will offer a number of benefits and efficiencies including a better audit trail and work flows, as well as savings in time and waste, according to Assistant Accountant General David King.Mr King told The Royal Gazette that Government would change its preferred payment method from cheques to electronic transactions and its purchase orders from manual to system-generated.The switch in software versions will mean a move from green screen to more intuitive, browser-based technology.The old version was installed in 1994 and Government conducted a two-year review of the system in 2005 looking at the use of the software and where the gaps were in the technology.Seeking to break away from the old technology that would require RGB programming to develop, which itself would be both costly and hard to achieve given the scarcity of programmers in that field, Government opted instead for a system that would have all of the features it needed built into the new software.The new system would also deliver a more efficient work flow, said Mr King.For example, he said, in the past, to pay an invoice it would have to be submitted and keyed into the system before the paperwork was taken to a supervisor for approval and sent to the Accountant General’s Department.With the new system the physical task and time taken to move the paperwork from person to person will be reduced and now the individual dealing with the invoice can scan and e-mail it to their supervisor for the necessary approvals.“One of the most frustrating things for the public can be the time it takes for Government to make a payment,” said Mr King.“But as a department we normally pay within five days of receiving the paperwork.“So this new system will provide a better level of accountability and efficiency in that you will be able to track where the items are going and where the hold up is.”It will also cut down on the amount of paper generated and waste produced in addition to freeing up storage space and costs, he said.Mr King said that each department would interface with the Enterprise Resource Planning system by sending its data via a server to his office in order to report the financial information consistently, accurately and on time.Government currently issues more than 1,200 cheques a week at a fee of $1.50 per cheque to cash with the bank but the new electronic method costs 20 cents per transaction, representing a cost saving of $1.30, he said.The new payment process would also reduce the cost of paper stock, printing and printer upkeep, said Mr King. While the majority of Government employees are already paid electronically, the paying of some by cheque will soon be phased out.He said that vendors who do business with Government would also be encouraged to change over to the electronic method, as Government reduced the cheque run from twice a week to once a month from December. New vendors will only be able to receive electronic payments.Furthermore, Government will now have an Enterprise licence meaning that it can add new users to its system at no extra cost, while other systems will be removed resulting in further expense savings, said Mr King.The first phase of the roll-out, which started in January 2009, he said, goes live next week. The second phase will take effect in a year to 18 months, adding new modules including vendor self-service. This will provide vendors with a login to the system and thus the ability to update their personal and bank account information as well as being able to see the current stage of the payment process.Other features at step two will include employee self-service, which will allow employees to see their payment history and track vacation leave, an expenses module which records Government credit card payments and an application for time sheet review and processing.Indeed the system has undergone no less than four practice go-live test and five stress tests to make sure it works properly and can handle the necessary capacity. There are contingency plans in place in the event that something should go wrong, according to Mr King.Consultants had trained his team in the new system and they in turn had trained 80 percent of Government employees using materials they had developed themselves between January and May 2011.“All of that information can now flow through electronically and there will be huge efficiencies to be gained by utilising this system,” he said.“This will mean that monumental leaps can be made in the future in the way that the Bermuda Government does business.”For more information on the new Government system and what it will mean to you contact 279-2621 or e-mail e1info[AT]gov.bm