A Small Town with Big Responsibilities
The City of Herreid is a small community on the South Dakota border, known as “the last stop before you get to North Dakota.” Home to about 500 residents and approaching its 125th anniversary, the town relies on Finance Officer, Keith Hall, and Deputy Finance Officer, Alan Allbee, to keep the office running. Like many small town offices, they handle everything from payroll and billing to customer service. With no extra staff to pass things off to, every hour saved makes a difference.
Moving to gWorks Cloud
When the City moved from its old SimpleCity system to gWorks Cloud in early 2024, Keith expected there would be bumps and learning curves. The first months took patience, but working through those adjustments, Keith and Alan both agree that their work is a lot smoother now.
Everything Connected in One Place
What stands out most is how connected the system is. Instead of bouncing between separate processes for accounts payable, receivable, and payroll, everything now ties together in one place. That connection has cut down on duplicate work and made the flow of information more reliable.
Cloud Benefits for Staff and Residents
Working in the cloud has also taken away some of their common headaches. Manual backups are no longer needed, and they can keep multiple tabs open to move between tasks without losing progress.
Payroll, in particular, has been much easier. What once consumed half a day can now be done in minutes. Keith especially likes the simple step-by-step processes throughout the software that guide you through, making daily work faster and less stressful.
Residents have noticed improvements too. With FrontDesk, they can register their utility accounts online, pay their bills, and trust that their payments go straight into the City’s financial records without staff having to key them in. That’s led to fewer lines at the counter, less paperwork, and less back-and-forth for everyone.
Better Support and Easy Training
Support has come a long way. With a new service portal and more support staff available, Keith has noticed that questions get answered a lot faster now. They also find it easier to train new staff. Once someone learns the basics, the system is straightforward to learn and teach to others.
More Time to Serve the Community
Looking back, Keith and Alan see how these changes have added up to less hassle, smoother workdays, and more time for residents. And they're looking ahead to new possibilities. Keith mentioned, “As gWorks continues to grow, we'll be able to to offer more things for the community that will help us make things easier and smoother for them."