Florida Healthcare Agency Chooses Microsoft Technology to Heal Its Reporting Maladies

Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare will switch to Microsoft Dynamics GP to expand its capabilities for financial reporting and purchasing.

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 4 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced that Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare has selected Microsoft Dynamics GP as the technology it will use to cure its previous accounting and reporting pain points.

Lakeside Behavioral is a not-for-profit agency serving people with mental illness and substance-use disorders in Orange County, Fla. The company, with $37 million in revenues, maintains 165 inpatient beds and a number of outpatient programs. The agency had been operating with a UNIX-based software system known as CMHC/MIS, which is specific to the healthcare and behavioral healthcare industry. But the software's accounting capabilities for general ledger and financial reporting were weak, and it offered no inventory management capabilities. Much of the reporting required manual processes such as entering data into Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets.

"The financial software we've been using most likely will be phased out in the next couple years. We wanted to be ahead of the curve with Microsoft Dynamics GP," said Carla Caponi, CFO of Lakeside Behavioral.

After considering other products, including Sage Software, Lakeside Behavioral chose Microsoft Dynamics GP version 10.0 because of a number of advantages that it offered, including the following:


-- Integration. The Microsoft Dynamics solution works like the Microsoft
Office system and other Microsoft products that the agency is using, so
it is familiar to users and works with their existing Microsoft
technologies.
-- Time savings. The agency's previous software was outdated and
cumbersome, requiring data to be manually entered into Excel
spreadsheets. Microsoft Dynamics GP will save considerable time through
its robust reporting capability, and the ability to view real-time
refreshable information from Microsoft Dynamics GP in Excel, Microsoft
SQL Server Reporting Services or SmartLists.
-- Improved reporting. With Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft FRx
software, Lakeside Behavioral gains flexible and reliable reporting
options previously unavailable to its staff. In addition, now reports
can be stored electronically in a central location for easy access via
the Internet or Microsoft Office Outlook, ending the agency's practice
of printing, sorting, stapling and stuffing reports into intracompany
envelopes.
-- Proven technology. Lakeside Behavioral liked that Microsoft Dynamics GP
was widely used by other companies that had gone through a similar
selection process; and because it is familiar to many accounting
professionals, future hires in finance will be easier to train.
-- Advanced features. The agency felt Microsoft Dynamics GP offered a wide
set of features that the organization could grow into so that the
technology would continue to support Lakeside Behavioral as it expanded
in size and in its scope of work.



Lakeside Behavioral is working with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner InterDyn-CFO Consulting of Orlando, Fla., to implement its new Microsoft solution. InterDyn is installing a number of modules that will automate much of Lakeside Behavioral's business processes, including general ledger, payables, bank reconciliation, financial reporting and distribution modules for consumables, improving accuracy and business productivity and significantly accelerating the reporting process. With online financial statements, management will be able to drill down to source documents, instead of flipping through multiple spreadsheets.

"Microsoft Dynamics GP ultimately will mean executives can put their hands on business information in a more timely manner to help them make better decisions with less data manipulation," said Jeff Petersen, business development manager at InterDyn-CFO.

The new system also will enable the agency, for the first time, to expense consumable items to various departments and to establish a purchase order process. "Lakeside has never had a formal purchase order system," Caponi said. "We anticipate that with Microsoft Dynamics GP, we will be able to accumulate better information about our vendors and our purchasing habits to help monitor and control spending."

The Microsoft Dynamics GP business management solution will be integrated into the agency's ADP software and the CMHC/MIS clinical package, while replacing CMHC/MIS's general-ledger software.

"With its Microsoft SQL Server platform, Microsoft Dynamics GP will enable Lakeside Behavioral to integrate all its information into a single database for faster, more accurate accounting and reporting," said Michael Park, corporate vice president for U.S. Dynamics business at Microsoft. "The agency will be a healthier organization, with technology that will contribute to its growth and its mission in the community."

About Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare

Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare is a private, not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization that provides comprehensive community behavioral healthcare services to the Orange County, Fla., community. Lakeside has been serving the community for over 20 years.

About InterDyn CFO-Consulting

InterDyn is a global partner for Microsoft Business Solutions, with more than 500 certified professionals in locations around the world. InterDyn is dedicated to the sales, consulting, service and support of all Microsoft Business Solutions, including Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It supports more than 3,500 customers worldwide.

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.