Victorian disabilities care group Melba Support Services has become an Australian leader in delivering support services tailored to the needs of each individual since using Microsoft Dynamics NAV from Melbourne-based EBS.

Melba, which assists persons with disabilities in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, has overhauled its funding model, moving from the traditional group-based Block Funding to a more individualised service model.

After thoroughly evaluating its options, Melba Support Services selected Microsoft Dynamics NAV from enterprise resource planning specialist, Evolution Business System (EBS). Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a business solution that delivers comprehensive business management functionality for small and midsize businesses and organisations. 

Melba Support Services Acting Business Manager Karen Gibson said Microsoft Dynamics NAV had given Melba Support Services greater control, visibility and accessibility to client details. “One of the main differences of an integrated system is that our information is now up-to-date and we know exactly where we are every day,” she said. 

“We can get out our reporting in a really quick manner. If people have a query, we can look at it on the screen and see what is really going on.  When the managers ask us a question, we’re able to get into the system, right down to the invoice level, to find out what transactions are happening.

“With families and their funding, they need to know how their money is being spent. Each of those people needs to know how much funding they have and how much they have left at a given point in time. To do that, we need to report at the individual level about what is being spent and how they’re going with their funding. That’s really important when we’re spending other people’s money.”

Funded by both government and the community, Melba operates two Community Connections day services, which support almost 80 people to identify and work towards achieving their immediate and long-term goals. Melba also manages seven residential care homes, through its Community Living Support Services, which assist 42 people, many with significant health and physical needs, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Melba owns a fleet of 17 buses that enable the people that Melba supports to actively participate in the community.

Ms. Gibson said Melba chose Microsoft Dynamics NAV because it needed accurate, up-to-date and secure financial reporting, “We could see ourselves growing and, with individualised support, we needed a system that could give us a lot more information that we could get to easily and provide reports for our service users and families at a detailed level,” she said

“We wanted something that was flexible enough to grow with us because we were looking to expand our organisation. We were looking for something to help us improve our reporting as well: We needed a system that was both easy for us to use and easy for our families to read the reports that we provided.

“What makes Melba unique is that we do work with the people we support and their families and really listen to what they want, helping to provide a range of choices in their lives. The NAV system helps us do that. “

Ms. Gibson said Melba had decided to partner with EBS because it was a reputable, very professional company that was also local. “EBS is very professional in their approach,” she said.

“They would listen to us - we’re all about listening to people, so we liked that EBS would listen to us - and helped us to find solutions for what we wanted. We really enjoyed working with them from the early stages and we’ve found them very easy to work with going forward.

“Some of the things we wanted were a bit different because we were trying to lead the area in individualised support. Nothing was too hard for EBS. They’d go away and come back with solutions for us. They responded well to what we were asking and we really enjoyed working with them.”

To discover more about Microsoft Dynamics NAV, call Evolution Business Systems (EBS) on 1300 303 973 or email info@ebsys.com.au.

About Evolution Business Systems (EBS) http://www.ebsys.com.au

Evolution Business Systems (EBS) specialises in business management solutions that give you the freedom to focus on your business. EBS does this by automating your core business processes and integrating your specialist business applications to deliver the right financial management solution. With deep expertise in leading financial applications including Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Arrow Financials, EBS works beside clients to ensure their software solves problems rather than creating more. EBS has a detailed implementation strategy that is tailored to customers in terms of timelines, requirements, risks and responsibilities as well as project variations and external requirements. While it does not sell or support hardware or site network environments, EBS informally partners with selected specialists in these areas to provide clients with a “total solution”.’

Evolution Business Systems Pty Ltd
PO Box 1115, Camberwell, VIC 3124
p 1300 303 973 f 1300 858 973
e info@ebsys.com.au w http://www.ebsys.com.au

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