Rand Aid cuts administration costs in half with Pick-based system

The Rand Aid Association, a private welfare organisation caring for older persons, manages its complex resident, financial and catering systems on a Pick database system designed by Pick Value Added Reseller (VAR) Computers 10. The Pick-based system provides Rand Aid with the flexibility and scaleability to expand and meet the growing needs of this dynamic organisation and has resulted in a 50 percent reduction in operating costs

The system, developed by Computers 10, runs on a Pentium server with a fibre optic network installed providing access to 25 users. The initial system was a basic debtors, creditors, stock and general ledger program. Since then it has grown to include a fully integrated dispensary and catering system.

Leon Ghavalas, executive director of the Rand Aid Association says: "The system works like magic. Our clients are the frail and elderly and we therefore need to maintain enormous quantities of personal details. These range from medical information such as doctors` names and medication requirements through to next of kin and even banking, will and funeral preferences. We needed a system that could integrate all this information and stretch to accommodate evolving needs. The Pick-system does all this."

"Moreover," he continues "the system has given Rand Aid financial control over its stock of materials and debtors system that has resulted in an approximate 50 percent reduction in operating costs."

The pharmaceutical system keeps track of each resident`s medication requirements, including who obtains medication from private or government sources as Rand Aid is required to provide the government with fortnightly medication needs. Computers 10 have developed a program that facilitates tracking this information and generating the necessary reports. Working from individual resident charts, the system calculates requirements per resident, by medication type, by ward and by complex - checking against stock levels, the system then generates the order that is submitted to government.

Another significant advantage of the system is that it has simplified debt collection procedures to the extent that Rand Aid has virtually no debts to collect each month. The debit order system extracts the debtors information from the Pick database, converts it into a DOS format and transmits the information via Beltel to the bank.

The Pick system provides Rand Aid with rapid access to reliable and up-to-date data. All financials are balanced and reconciled daily. By the 7^th of each month senior management receives detailed financial statements comparing budget versus actual data for the entire organisation, broken down by cost centre. Barely two weeks after the financial year-end provisional statements have been produced and handed to management.

"We have reaped significant savings from our catering system alone," continues Ghavalas, "We prepare more than 2000 meals per day and have to consider special dietary requirements such as meals for people who can only have soft or low cholesterol diets. With the system we have implemented a cook/chill system. Working on a 42-day menu cycle the system calculates raw material requirements to produce the finished meals. This is all integrated with our financial system which further eliminates the need to recapture financial information associated with catering."

Each month Rand Aid is required by law to generate statistical information for Government use, this is quickly and simply accomplished from the information maintained in the database.

As a result of reductions in government subsidies Rand Aid is developing alternative means to generate income. Rand Aid plans to offer similar welfare organisations access to its total administration package on a bureau basis. The bureau would offer dial-in access to its central server for its retainer clients along with telephone help and technical assistance.

"As our administration system has allowed us to halve our administration costs we believe that we can help other welfare organisation do to the same," concludes Ghavalas.