Foods Resource Bank Gains Competitive Advantage with QuickBooks Hosting
Trapp Technology saves us $5,000 per year. That’s a lot of money for FRB. Every dollar we save on operations can be spent on fighting hunger.
— Lori O’Neil, Financial Coordinator, Foods Resource Bank
Customer: Foods Resource Bank
Web Site: www.FoodsResourceBank.org
Country or Region: Chicago, IL
Industry: Non-profit fighting world hunger
Partner: Trapp Technology
Website: www.TrappTechnology.com
Foods Resource Bank (FRB), headquartered outside Chicago, Illinois, promotes a Christian response to world hunger. FRB’s six full-time employees and numerous part-time staff, interns and volunteers raise money to help people in developing countries grow their own food. More than 200 U.S. growing projects raised $3.3 million in the last year to support 62 overseas programs. FRB’s 15 member organizations and 59 local partner organizations work in more than 30 countries around the world. All of the programs focus on developing small-holder agriculture, often in the most remote and poorest regions. FRB uses Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting and InterWeave for Salesforce/QuickBooks integration.
Foods Resource Bank (FRB) saves $5,000 per year with Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting allowing the organization to devote more resources to fighting world hunger. Less down time and faster processing allow busy staff to do more, while greater reliability and improved functionality reduce user frustration. FRB feels confident and comfortable with the improved data security of sensitive donor information. The ease of switching to Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting makes it easy for FRB to recommend it to others.
Business Needs
Problems with Hosting
Three years ago Foods Resource Bank (FRB) implemented InterWeave by Integration Technologies, Inc. to integrate their Salesforce.com data with QuickBooks to eliminate duplicate data entry. Initially their QuickBooks software and data were hosted on ITX.
A little over a year ago, problems with a QuickBooks upgrade interrupted operations. “After the upgrade, nothing seemed to work; it was chaotic,” stated Lori O’Neil, financial coordinator at Foods Resource Bank. “Dymtro at InterWeave got on the system to fix the problem because nobody at ITX could. Things started going downhill from that point.”
Using QuickBooks on ITX made it difficult to produce and email reports. “It just wasn’t worth it to try to create the reports,” explained O’Neil. “And the multi-user version of QuickBooks that we used would often lock everyone out making a reset of the ITX server necessary.”
ITX began charging to reset the server when problems occurred. And, response times were going downhill. With the loss of a skilled support tech at ITX, other problems surfaced. “We lost confidence in ITX,” stated O’Neil. “Sometimes I couldn’t get into QuickBooks for a whole day and I had to say to my people, ‘It’s not working again.’”
Data Security
FRB’s CFO uses QuickBooks daily to check bank account balances. Sensitive data hosted on ITX, like account numbers and donor information, made data security a concern. The reputation and fund-raising capacity of the organization depended on securing sensitive data.
Solution
Trapp Technology Hosting
In 2013, Bruce Magown, CEO at InterWeave, suggested that FRB switch to Trapp Technology Hosting. Most of his customers had been using Trapp Technology for some time. “I don’t know why you haven’t done it yet,” stated Magown. He mentioned to O’Neil that costs were less with Trapp Technology and that data security was better.
O’Neil looked at information on the Trapp Technology website and talked to their sales people about costs. “They were very professional,” stated O’Neil. “I never questioned whether I should make the move.” FRB decided to switch to Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting based on InterWeave’s recommendation, its lower cost and other factors. “It seemed like a no brainer,” explained O’Neil. “We also liked that our auditors would have their own login.”
To switch from ITX to Trapp Technology, FRB did a full backup of QuickBooks and followed the simple instructions on the Trapp Technology website. InterWeave supplied the login information for the Trapp Technology server to complete the switch. “The conversion took almost no time at all,” stated O’Neil. “It was exceptionally easy to switch because Trapp Technology was exceptionally confident and helpful in setting us up and helping us log in.”
Trapp Technology employs carrier-class equipment, dedicated severs and regular automated backups to provide a better cloud experience for business. Since converting to Trapp Technology FRB has had no problems with hosting. “So far, it’s been awesome. InterWeave works things out directly with Trapp Technology so I don’t have to call support anymore,” explained O’Neil. “I’ve not had one problem. It just works and I love it!”
Benefits
Costs Less than Half
FRB pays Trapp Technology less than half of what they paid ITX for hosting. “Trapp Technology saves us $5,000 per year. That’s a lot of money for FRB. Every dollar we save on operations can be spent on fighting hunger. $10 gives one person the tools to feed themselves for a year.”
Saves Time
O’Neil works more efficiently since moving to Trapp Technology. “I’ve noticed that processing on the Trapp Technology server is faster overall,” explained O’Neil. “Printing in particular is faster. And, with the elimination of down time, Trapp Technology saves me at least a few days per year. I always have more to do than I have time for, so I’m spending the extra time on other things.”
Improved Functionality
Generating, printing and sharing reports works more smoothly because of Trapp Technology’s seamless integration with the user’s desktop. “It’s easier to extract information and move it someplace else,” stated O’Neil. “I expect that I will discover more functionality as I dig into it.”
Reliable and Secure
Trapp Technology’s advanced data security and dedicated servers make FRB’s QuickBooks application and Salesforce integration more reliable and secure. “I don’t have to fight it,” explained O’Neil. “I know that it’s going to work. I don’t have to stop and call support and the data is absolutely secure. I feel very confident and comfortable with data security on their hosting service.”
Satisfaction
FRB is happy with their decision to switch to Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting. “Trapp Technology has given us a more stable base for all of our financial information,” stated O’Neil. “I’m completely satisfied. I would encourage other organizations to switch to Trapp Technology. Moving over is easy, setting up is easy, and you don’t have to call support.”
For a printable copy of this Case Study Foods Resource Bank case study.