Child-Care Accounts Receivable System (CCARS)
The ChallengeFairfax County enrolls approximately 8,000 elementary school students in school-age childcare (SACC) programs and offers a variety of programs (before and/or after school during the school year, as well as spring, winter, and summer day camp). The County offers sliding-scale fee schedules and multiple subsidy types, with charges for services based on a complex set of business rules. Families are billed in advance of services, and future-dated and retroactive enrollments, cancellations and fee changes are permitted.
The County’s childcare registration system and the accounts receivable system were not integrated. The County’s flexible approach to meeting changing family needs resulted in hundreds of changes per month, many of which required manual adjustment journal entries to correct family accounts. The volume of accounting adjustments created a large backlog of accounting transactions. Families received bills each month that were confusing and often did not reflect recent payments or status changes. Support for the existing system was difficult to obtain, and no upgrades to the system were feasible.
The Solution
Dynaxys developed the Web-based Child-Care Accounts Receivable System (CCARS), which performed accounts receivable services as well as other administrative, accounting and billing functions. To resolve accounting and billing issues, Dynaxys —
- Created a daily interface with the SACC registration system.
- Analyzed registration data patterns using a complex set of algorithms.
- Automated calculation and journalization of accounting adjustments.
- Implemented an efficient and accurate monthly billing and validation process.
- Provided online PDF versions of all customer invoices.
- Hosted CCARS on its own servers and delivered supporting accounting services.
Fairfax County's new accounts receivables system enabled it to —
- Eliminate its backlog of accounting journal entries;
- Produce accurate and up-to-date customer statements and invoices (CCARS automated over 95% of the billing adjustments, exceeding the contractual requirement of 85%);
- Migrate to a flexible, scalable, Web-based application; and
- Produce accurate and timely financial reports, which allowed program staff to focus on financial analysis and program management.
