What’s the best way to design a software system for users who live and breathe facilities management? Ask the people who live and breathe facilities management how the software could make their lives even easier!
Our one-on-one conversations with ebase clients and our user group panels provide us with an endless supply of inspiration for how we can enhance ebase modules to better serve our users.
ebase Introduces Financial Reporting Integration
A recent example of how client feedback inspired a terrific update is the development of our Facility Rentals Financials API and a new set of financial tools. API stands for Application Programming Interface, which, in layperson’s terms, is a tool that allows two applications or modules to talk to each other.
The ebase Facility Rentals module users we spoke with pointed out that the financial reporting and reconciliation process can be very time consuming. They also told us that in some cases, too much time was being spent having to explain billing charges to those who had rented their facilities.
Armed with that feedback, the ebase development team got to work collecting additional input from a variety of users with facility rental and accounting responsibilities. In less than 3 months, ebase introduced a new Facility Rentals Financials API and a set of financial tools that offered users a range of new features, including:
- New financial reporting options available directly within the Facility Rental module
- More detailed transactions that are displayed so administrators can easily view all charges and credits on each permit and export them directly to Excel
- A new Signature Field in Facility Booking PDFs that can be requested based on the Permit Type
- Accounting reporting updates that support new accounting features
- A new tool that guides administrators through setting up rules to apply costs to bookings and permits automatically or manually based on a list of conditions, including Space Type, Facility, Time of Booking and Date Range. This feature ensures additional costs for things like premium spaces or holiday bookings are automatically invoiced as required.
Seventy ebase users are already taking advantage of the additional functionality that the Facility Rentals Financials API offers, and the feedback has been fantastic. According to one user:
“The new update has really cut down on the time we spend asking for reports to be pulled, and trying to explain billing history and upcoming charges to renters. It has streamlined it so we can defer them to their online account and they can let us know if they have any questions. It really does help from the auditing side with having the itemized statements and receipts too.”
Another user reported that the Facility Rentals Financial API gives her additional confidence in the fiscal year end numbers that she’s asked to pull and report.
Are you interested in learning more about our ebase Facility Rentals Module? If so, schedule a call to discover all the ways ebase modules can help you and your team save time and streamline your facilities management tasks.
You can also find a Facility Rentals Module overview here and read about how one of Canada’s largest school boards is using the Facility Rentals Module to streamline cancelled bookings.
