Waipā District Council is proving that local government can deliver both immediate efficiencies and make future-focused investments, with its strategic adoption of technology creating time and cost savings and better outcomes for ratepayers.

Since implementing leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider TechnologyOne's fully integrated OneCouncil platform, the council has transformed the way it handles procurement, contracts and accounts payable (AP), reducing processing costs by 66% and manual data entry by 1920 hours.

Prior to the change, the council relied heavily on time-consuming, paper-based systems.

Richard Henderson, Manager of Information Services at Waipā District Council said, “There was no traceability, no integration, and lots of manual handling. If a supplier invoice went missing, we were basically checking inboxes to figure out where it was in the payment process.”

Implementing OneCouncil established a single source of truth for Waipā, with Financials providing real-time visibility of spending, Contracts Management ensuring tighter financial controls, and AP Automations matching 95% of invoices to purchase orders automatically – helping eliminate errors, fraud risk, and payment delays.

“Our procurement policy prioritises supporting local tradespeople, so not only are we improving our transparency and auditability, but by ensuring our contractors and suppliers are paid accurately and on time we contribute directly to the local economy,” he said.

As councils across the country face growing financial pressure, Waipā offers a glimpse of what’s possible when local governments use their technology investments to their fullest potential.

“We’re not bringing in modern tools just for the sake of it. We’re constantly on the lookout for new innovative and ways of working that allow us to be as efficient as possible so we can make the most of the ratepayer dollar,” Mr Henderson said.

“Embracing a single source solution like OneCouncil saves us from managing a range of disparate systems. There is a whole raft of things we don’t have to worry about because integration, performance, and security are all taken care of by TechnologyOne and we haven’t added extra layers of complexity by trying to mould the new technology around old processes.”

Ben Malpass, Executive Vice President for Local Government at TechnologyOne said, “Local governments across New Zealand have invested heavily into digitising core systems in recent years but using new technology with old processes won’t deliver return on that investment.”

“Waipa District Council demonstrates that complementing new capabilities with new ways of working is key to realising the benefits of innovative technology. We are thrilled to be working with them as they continue to deliver more efficient services and greater value to their community.”

Leveraging more than 37 years' experience working with councils across Australia and New Zealand, TechnologyOne's purpose built OneCouncil SaaS ERP solution helps local governments modernise and adapt to the evolving landscape and be able to do more with less.