REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
Subject:
Financial Management & Utility Billing Software
Due Date/Time:
March 28, 201412:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
Submit To:
Chris Wilson
Village of Beverly Hills
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Table of ContentsSection Title ____ Page
1 Schedule 2
2 Overview 3
3 Guidelines & Process 6
4 Scope of Work 10
5 RFP Response Format & Requirements 14
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1 ScheduleListed below are important dates and times by which the actions noted must be completed. If the Township finds it necessary to change any of these dates or times, the change will be
accomplished by addendum. All dates are subject to change.
Milestone Expected Completion Date
Issue RFP February 28, 2014
Deadline for Questions March10, 2014
Response to Questions March 19, 2014
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2 Overview2.1 Background
The Village of Beverly Hills solicits sealed written proposals for the implementation of an integrated Financial Management and Utility Billing system and related modules, data conversion, training, implementation assistance, integration and ongoing software support, in accordance with the terms, conditions and specifications outlined in this Request for Proposal (RFP).
2.2 Existing Software
The Village is currently using the following Fund Balance software modules: o Accounts Payable o Cash Receipts o General Ledger o Budgeting o Payroll o Utility Billing 2.3 Scope of Work
The Village is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced software vendors to provide a fully integrated Financial Management and Utility Billing software application package. The Proposer shall prepare a response that clearly represents the experience of the firm in the municipal environment, functionality of the software package, and outlines an accurate representation of all costs. The following modules are included in the scope:
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For the purposes of this proposal, vendors should assume a fully integratedimplementation including installing the software purchased, training and conversion of data from the current systems. All modules should be provided by one vendor unless otherwise noted.
Data Conversion - The Village requires conversion of existing Fund Balance data. A separate breakdown for data conversion is included in the pricing spreadsheet.
Training - The Village requires on-site training for each of the modules to be provided. The vendor will be responsible for developing a training plan in collaboration with the Village and delivering on-site training to end-users. A separate breakdown for these interfaces is included in the pricing spreadsheet.
System Interfaces - The Village requires a number of system interfaces/integrations with both internal and external systems. A separate breakdown for these interfaces is
included in the pricing spreadsheet. 2.4 User and Data Volume Estimates
Number of Employees on Payroll 50
Number of Financial & Utility Billing System Users 4
Number of Accounts Payable Vendors 250-300
Estimated Number of Accounts Payable Checks per Month 150
Number of Utility Billing Accounts 4,200
2.5 Proposal Due Date and Opening
Sealed proposals must be received on or beforeMarch 28, 2014 at 12:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time), at the Village Offices, 18500 W Thirteen Mile Road, Beverly Hills, MI 48025. Any proposal received after the specified time will be returned unopened. The Proposer is solely responsible for ensuring the proposal is received on or before the deadline.
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3 Guidelines& Process3.1 Proposal Submission
3.1.1 One (1) executed original and five (5) copies (and attachments and exhibits, if applicable) must be submitted in sealed envelopes to Village of Beverly Hills, Attn: Chris Wilson, 18500 W Thirteen Mile Road, Beverly Hills, MI 48025, on or before 12:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time, March 28, 2014. Late proposals will not be considered. All proposals must be signed by an authorized representative of your organization. Faxed or e-mailed proposals will not be considered.
3.1.2 Any questions concerning this RFP should be directed to Chris Wilson via email at [email protected]. Responses to e-mail questions will be posted on the Village’s website, www.villagebeverlyhills.com. Respondents will not receive personalized or individual email responses. Respondents should check this site on a regular basis for responses to questions, as well as for any amendments or other pertinent information regarding this RFP.
3.1.3 Responses to all Appendices sections in this RFP must be completed using the templates provided by the Village.
3.1.4 In addition to the paper copies requested above, please submit an electronic copy of your entire RFP response on CD/DVD in .pdf or Microsoft Word format. 3.1.5 Please provide one printed and one electronic copy of your completed Pricing
Worksheets and other pricing-related documents on the above mentioned CD/DVD. The Pricing Worksheets are described in Appendix A.
3.1.6 All forms and questionnaires must be completed using the electronic versions provided with this RFP.
3.2 Evaluation Process
Conformance with RFP Guidelines and Submittal Requirements – The vendor must follow all RFP guidelines and submittal requirements, including the completion of
required forms and templates.
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System Functionality – including how well the system meets the overall needs of the Village.Software Maintenance, Updates, and Support – including the vendor’s process and methodologies for software maintenance and updates, as well as the vendor’s
methodology, experience, and infrastructure for providing technical support.
Overall System and Technical Description – including the maturity of the software solution, the use of current technology that is in line with the Village’s capabilities, the proposed environment, and the overall architecture (e.g. MSSQL, Windows and/or browser, .NET, runs in virtual server environment, etc.).
Company Background and Experience – including the vendor’s financial and organizational stability, as well as the firm’s experience performing work of a similar nature to that solicited in this RFP.
Project Understanding – including how well the vendor demonstrates its understanding of the Village’s project goals and objectives, and how it perceives its role in carrying out the responsibilities required by this implementation.
Project Staffing and Organization – including the experience level and competence of the proposed consultants and organizational staff in performing similar work for other clients and the comparability of that experience to the business and technical
environment of the Village.
Project Work Plan and Schedule – including the vendor’s demonstrated understanding of the overall scope of work for this project and the proposed project approach and methodology
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preclude the vendor from further consideration in this procurement. Please provide the level of detail as defined in the pricing worksheets. Clarification may be sought for incomplete responses. If clarifications are not received by the specified due date, they will be considered non-responsive and precluded from evaluation. All items not defined in the scope must be shown separately as optional modules or tasks, and priced separately.9
3.3 Limitations3.3.1 All information and materials submitted will become the property of the Village. Vendors should not submit proprietary or confidential business information unless the Vendor believes such information is critical to its presentation. Such information should be clearly identified as such. The Village will protect such proprietary or confidential information only to the extent which the law allows. 3.3.2 This RFP does not commit the Village to award a contract(s) or pay any costs
incurred in the preparation of a proposal in response to this request. 3.3.3 The Village reserves the sole right to accept or reject any or all proposals
received as a result of this RFP, to negotiate with qualified contractors, or to cancel this RFP in part or in its entirety.
3.3.4 Each proposal shall include a statement indicating whether or not the firm or any individuals working on the contract has a possible conflict of interest and, if so, the nature of that conflict.
3.3.5 Information must be furnished complete, in compliance with the terms, conditions, provisions and specifications of the Request for Proposals. The information requested and the manners of submission are essential to permit prompt evaluation of all proposals on a fair and uniform basis. The response must follow the RFP Response Outline provided in Section 5.
3.3.6 Accordingly, the Village reserves the right to declare as non-responsive and reject any proposal in which material information requested is not furnished or where indirect or incomplete answers or information are provided.
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Scope of Work &Requirements
4.1 General Requirements
Village of Beverly Hills intends to acquire and implement a suite of applications that will meet present and future needs. The selected vendor(s) will implement a system that is based on proven solutions that use current technologies. The software vendor’s solution must specify all required hardware, software and professional services. It is imperative that the vendor’s solution must offer the following:
All modules should be integrated, fully functional solutions with multiple levels of processes and approvals.
The system should facilitate the exchange of information by supporting electronic messaging and mail functions.
Security functionality should be flexible, provide controls that meet the latest auditing standards and are in accordance with best practices in the industry.
Basic financial processes such as closing year-end and opening new fiscal year should be automated and require no developer intervention.
All systems quoted should provide user-defined fields and export functionality into Excel and .pdf formats as well as provide flexible standardized reporting.
The system should provide customized ad-hoc report writing capabilities.
4.2 Implementation Plan
The Village of Beverly Hills requires that each vendor prepare a detailed Implementation Plan outlining the required tasks, estimated hours, responsibility, major deliverables, and timing. At a minimum, the RFP response will cover the following areas:
Implementation approach
Environment installation, including supporting software (OS, DBMS, etc.) and hardware platform installation and configuration, if necessary. The vendor shall be responsible for assisting the Village with configuring all required environments, including testing, training, and production.
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Design and development of customized reports4.3 Data Conversion
It is anticipated that data conversion will occur when migrating to the new application. The successful vendor(s) is expected to assist the Village in the conversion of both electronic data as well as the coordination and planning related to manual data conversion (e.g. hand keying) to the new system. The Village expects the successful Vendor(s) will be responsible for overall data conversion coordination, definition of file layouts, and automated data import and validation into the new software. It is expected that the Village will be responsible for any manual data conversion (e.g. hand keying), as agreed upon and running reports to assist in the conversion
Describe your scope of data conversion services and approach of how the services will be provided. Please detail the scope of data to be converted.
Describe the roles and responsibilities between your team and the Village related to data conversion activities.
4.4 Integration
It is expected that information would be entered only once into the system and then transferred electronically to other required systems. Modules within the system should be integrated in real-time with each other so that batch processes are not required to transfer information from one area of the system to another.
The following tables contain a listing of current and/or desired application interfaces and their likely need in a future integrated software environment.
Item Integration Item Source System Target System 1 Export of Payroll direct deposit
data Payroll Comerica Bank
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Export of W-2 Files Payroll
IRS & State of Michigan 3 Send positive pay file to bank Payroll Comerica Bank 4 Import cleared checks from bank
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5 Export retirement data Payroll MERS
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Export retirement data Payroll
ICMA, State of Michigan 7 Export Customer ACH Payment
File Utility Billing
Comerica Bank
8 Export / Import of Meter Read
Information Utility Billing
Meter Reading Equipment 9 Export Accounts Payable and
Payroll outstanding check to State
of MI HRS Pro software. Bank Rec HRS Pro 10 Import Master Parcel data to Utility
Billing Accounts BS&A Assessing Utility Billing 11 Import Master Address/Parcel data
to Accounts Receivable Accounts BS&A Assessing
Accounts Receivable 12 Import Tax Billing data into Cash
Receipts BS&A Tax
Southfield Township 13 Export Tax Receipts into Tax
Program Cash Receipts BS&A Tax
14 Import Journal Entries from BS&A Tax Program when Tax Billing is
Created BS&A Tax General Ledger
15 Export Delinquent Utility Bills
to Tax Program Utility Billing BS&A Tax 16 Export Delinquent Accounts
Receivable to Tax Program
Accounts
Receivable BS&A Tax 17 Import Delinquent Personal
Property Tax Billing data into Cash Receipts
BS&A Delinquent
Personal Property Cash Receipts 18 Import Delinquent Personal
property Tax Receipts into General
Ledger General Ledger
Southfield Township 19 Import Building Department
information into Cash Receipting
BS&A Building
Department Cash Receipts 20 Export Building Department
Receipts Cash Receipts
BS&A Building Department 21 Import Special Assessments into
Cash Receipts
BS&A Special
Assessments Cash Receipts 22 Export Special Assessment
Receipts Cash Receipts
Southfield Township
4.5 Training
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matter experts and they will conduct the end user training in a “Train the14
5 RFP Response Format & Requirements5.1 Cover Page
Show the name of Proposers agency/firm, address, telephone number, name of contact person, date, and the proposal number and description.
5.2 Table of Contents
Include a clear identification of the material by section and by page number. 5.3 Executive Summary
Limit to one or two pages.
Briefly state the Proposers understanding of the work to be done and make a positive commitment to perform the work.
Give the names of the persons who will be authorized to make representations for the Proposer, their titles, addresses and telephone numbers.
Provide an official signature certifying the contents of the Proposers responses to the Village’s Request for Proposal.
5.4 General Information
Name of Business.
Mailing Address and Phone Number.
Names and contact information of persons to be contacted for information or services if different from name of person in charge.
Normal business hours.
State if business is local, national, or international and indicate the business legal status (corporation, partnership, etc.).
Give the date business was organized and/or incorporated, and where.
Give the location of the office from which the work is to be done and the number of professional staff employees at that office.
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List all contracts, business agreements or other business relationships with computer hardware and/or other software vendors. List the names of the vendor and state the relationship. List all MIS services, computer hardware and/or software products marketed by the firm, its parent firm or any subsidiary firm.
5.5 Tab 7 – References
Specify three (3) municipal references with similar characteristics to Beverly Hills.
No. Municipality and Population
Contact Information (Name, Title, Phone Number)
