NT Government Streamlines Forms Design and Output Process
Australia's Northern Territory (NT) Government has streamlined the production of accounts receivable forms using FormTrap from SSA Global.
The need for an electronic document design and delivery system was identified by the NT Government because of the need to produce accounts receivable forms at the regional level. Accounts receivable is processed at the parent, rather than the sub-ordinate organisational level within the SSA Masterpiece/Net financial management system. There was a clear need for a product that could readily and easily be used to identify specific data and remote print to the six DCIS processing regions.
Prior to the FormTrap implementation, forms output was being handled by a stand-alone mainframe product that provided limited formatting and font type options. In the past, the forms produced by the NT Government had been criticised for the �harshness� of font type. One of the criteria for the new document design system was the flexibility of delivery of a client-friendly printed document.
The FormTrap electronic document design and delivery system is now used to draw data from all government agencies out of the SSA Masterpiece/Net application. Once the data has been processed on the central FormTrap server, the file is split into smaller files by agency or region, and directed to a queue for printing, in one of six regional locations.
The first forms to undergo the FormTrap transformation were the Reminder and Final Notices, which are produced on a daily basis. The implementation was straightforward. A production date of 30th May 2003 was targeted for full implementation across the 24 Agencies that utilise MPAR. A single agency was converted to the �FT process� on 8th May, in an attempt to iron out any glitches, with the remaining agencies being converted before the target date.
Firstly, a webcast was used to demonstrate the creation and output of documents to key stakeholders. Next came on-site training and installation, the latter taking two days. Thorough testing uncovered one processing issue, which was solved before the first live run.
This project has been conducted by the Department of Corporate and Information Services (DCIS), a department that provides a bureau service to most NT Government agencies. Within the next 12 months, DCIS will migrate Accounts Receivable statements and invoices to the new system, and then gradually implement the email and fax functionality of FormTrap.
In designing the forms, the NT Government have a single template used by all agencies, with variable data such as agency name, agency logo, remittance address and text trailer being handled by substitution files.
By centralising the production of forms, the NT Government ensures more professional and uniform looking documents across the whole of government. In addition, the cost, time and manpower associated with the processing and output of forms has been greatly reduced.
FormTrap is a versatile solution, with the ability to automatically capture, process, manipulate, monitor, store and deliver information from legacy and new applications, via any medium, be it the Web, email, fax or mail. Implementation is fast and return on investment is typically six months.
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