Manage your entire organization with one solution and enable access from anywhere, anytime. Contact Quisitive to learn about your options or to book a Business Central Migration Assessment.
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Quisitive helps CFSA Launch Kinship Navigator Platform
Learn how Quisitive helped CFSA launch Kinship Navigator Platform to improve public access to financial aid and keep families together.
Quisitive helps CFSA Transform Child Welfare in DC
In this case study:
Client: DC Child and Family Services Agency
Industry: Public Sector
Products and Services:
Microsoft Power Platform
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Azure Cloud
Location: Washington, DC
“The Kinship Navigator app helps us to achieve our mission of keeping families together. Any delays in families trying to access services could mean that a child is separated and ends up in foster care and this application solves that.”
Agency Director, CFSA
About CFSA
The DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is the primary public child welfare agency in the District of Columbia, entrusted with the crucial responsibility of safeguarding child victims and those vulnerable to abuse and neglect, while also providing vital assistance to their families. As a dedicated agency, CFSA is committed to ensuring the well-being and safety of children in the community, working diligently to prevent harm, intervene in cases of maltreatment, and support families in need.
The Need for Online Access to Social Assistance
The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the inefficiencies ca used by manual forms and systems in place for the public to apply for assistance and essential child welfare services. The agency knew that to provide the best possible support to children and families, it needed to modernize its processes and make the application processes efficient and accessible online and mobile. More specifically, the agency wanted to make it easier to administer a subsidy program that gives financial aid to grandparents and close relatives caring for minor children whose parents cannot care for them.
CFSA partnered with Quisitive and collaboratively, they undertook a tight seven-month transformative project to introduce a Kinship Navigator platform to streamline child welfare subsidy application processes, optimize accessibility, and bolster support for DC’s community. The Quisitive team worked closely with the Agency to create a public-facing portal and mobile app to process subsidy applications. The result has been a transformation is how the public and staff process and track applications, and has resulted in more families gaining access to essential financial aid that helps to keep children safe and with their families.
Getting the Kinship Navigator App Up and Running
Through close collaboration with CFSA, Quisitive’s team conducted extensive discovery and research, pinpointing pain points in existing workflows and strategically devising automated processes for a comprehensive and user-friendly public website and application. Leveraging Microsoft’s Power Platform Power Pages, Dynamics 365, and Azure Cloud, as the core technology stack, Quisitive was able to develop an intuitive website and mobile application that allows families to submit applications, upload documents, and track important information they need to receive essential services and financial aid.
“Our experience with Quisitive was great. We were under a very tight deadline they brought a team together with different skills across user experience, software development, and mobile development. It is amazing how much work we got done in a short timeframe and produced an excellent product.”
Issa Barkett, Project Manager, CFSA
“When designing the Kinship Navigator platform, we needed to ensure that grandparents and close relatives could access the app and web portal easily. We used a user-centered design to ensure the platform was simple to use and could help these families navigate this process as easily as possible.”
Mark Nagao, Power Platform Solution Architect, Quisitive
Keeping DC Families Together
Since the rollout of the Kinship Navigator program, CFSA has experience a drastic uptake of applications for social services. Close to 8,000 families have accessed and used the app and website.
- Reduction in foster care entries
- More families gaining access to vital services and support
- Better child safety and security
- Faster processing of applications and reduced administrative time and costs
“The Kinship Navigator app helps us to achieve our mission of keeping families together. Any delays in families trying to access services could mean that a child is separated and ends up in foster care and this application solves that.”
Robert L. Matthews, Agency Director, CFSA
“We were behind the times. Most people expect to be able to do most things from their phones. They can order food and shop—so why not be able to access essential services the same way and just as easily.
Working with Quisitive was seamless. They became an extension of our team. They took the time to understand our organization and users and brought our vision to life.”
Working with Quisitive was seamless. They became an extension of our team. They took the time to understand our organization and users and brought our vision to life.”
Kinship Program Manager, CFSA
Empowering Child Welfare: A Transformative Journey with Quisitive
Quisitive’s indispensable role in revolutionizing child welfare services in DC has left an enduring positive impact on vulnerable children and families, reinforcing the power of technology in fostering positive change and social well-being.
“We loved developing this solution with CFSA. Knowing that this technology impacts people’s lives and helps make their situations better is very rewarding, and is why we do what we do.”
Mark Nagao, Power Platform Solution Architect, Quisitive
Related posts
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On-Demand: Practical Power Platform
Watch how Microsoft Power Platform can revolutionize your organization's productivity and efficiency in this on-demand webinar.
Watch now: Easy to Implement Solutions that Can Deliver Value to Your Organization Today
Discover how Microsoft Power Platform can revolutionize your organization’s productivity and efficiency.
In today’s fast-paced business landscape, organizations need agile tools that can provide immediate value. Microsoft Power Platform offers a suite of low-code and no-code solutions that empower users to create custom applications, automate processes, analyze data, and build intelligent chatbots – all without extensive coding knowledge.
Whether you’re a business user, developer, or IT professional, this webinar is designed to equip you with practical knowledge and actionable strategies to maximize the value of Power Platform within your organization. Don’t miss this opportunity to revolutionize your digital transformation journey and unlock new levels of productivity and efficiency.
This on-demand webinar covers:
- Rapid App Development using Power Apps
- Workflow Automation with Power Automate
- SharePoint Integration
How to Apply Multi-Select Filters in Power Apps
Power Apps with Combo Box
In this step-by-step tutorial video, we will learn how to build multi select filters in Power Apps. We will apply multiple filters to PowerApps Gallery including multiple item selections using combo box, multi-select checkboxes and multi select buttons.
We will build these gallery filters keeping delegation in mind (No delegation warning) & work with multiple data sources like Dataverse & SharePoint.
I will showcase how to filter a multi select choice column based on a multi select combo box control.
Trick is to go around the IN non-delegable Operator and use Equals (=) which is a delegable function. I will also cover a new function called “Index” in Power Apps.
This video covers the following:
- Multiple Item Selection based Filters
- Combo box control to filter Gallery for SharePoint List & Dataverse
- Multi select checkbox-based filtering
- Multi select button-based Gallery Filter
- Multi Select Filter on Multi Select Choice Column
- Reset filters
- Delegation Workaround
- Index function
Looking for additional assistance with Power Apps?
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Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation
Learn how Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has been able to improve productivity, ensure the accuracy and accessibility of financial insights, and increase the understanding of cost drivers for better decision-making with Business Central and custom apps developed by Quisitive.
Streamlining Non profit ERP: Small charity migrates to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in less than four weeks with the help of Quisitive.
Client: Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation
Industry: Non profit
Products and Services: Dynamics 365 Business Central
Country: Canada
“We knew it was time to look for a new ERP solution that could meet our financial management needs and support a remote work environment brought on by the pandemic.”
Vice President, Finance & Administration, ORCF
Overview
The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (ORCF), an Ottawa-based non-profit, struggled to manage finances effectively due to an outdated ERP system. The lack of multi-segment coding made it challenging for ORCF to allocate costs accurately and report activities to tax authorities. Additionally, the solution’s on-premises server was approaching end-of-life, causing further complications for the organization.OCRF realized the need for a modern cloud ERP solution to address these issues and improve financial management and reporting.
After careful consideration, the organization partnered with Quisitive and migrated to Dynamics 365 Business Central. With Business Central and custom apps developed by Quisitive, ORCF has been able to improve productivity, ensure the accuracy and accessibility of financial insights, and increase the understanding of cost drivers for better decision-making.
About ORCF: The Voice for Cancer Survivorship in Eastern Ontario
Founded in 1995, ORCF supports cancer patients and survivors in Eastern Ontario. The foundation operates two main business lines: fundraising and patient support delivery, providing person-centered care to cancer patients. ORCF achieves its mission by offering innovative cancer research, a world-class clinical trials program, and increasing access to care in the region. ORCF’s patient-focused approach and commitment to providing high-quality cancer care and support has earned ORCF a reputation as the voice for cancer survivorship in Eastern Ontario.
The Challenge: Relying on a Legacy On-Premises ERP System & Server Approaching End-of-Life
Before launching Business Central, ORCF’s on-premises ERP system was causing significant challenges for the organization. The systems’ shortcomings increased manual work, errors, and confusion regarding the organization’s financial landscape. To overcome these challenges, ORCF recognized the need for a modern cloud-based ERP solution that could provide advanced features such as multi-segment cost coding, automated workflows, and robust controls that could operate seamlessly in a remote work setting.
ORCF’s decision to migrate to Business Central with Microsoft Partner, Quisitive, was based on several factors:
- Quisitive’s excellent reputation in the local non-profit market
- The non-profit pricing offered by Microsoft
- The multi-segment coding feature of Business Central
- Automated workflows for approvals
- Business Central’s off-the-shelf functionality
- Quisitive’s ability to develop custom applications for employee expense approvals and credit card reconciliation, which would round out the scope of the project needs
Getting Started with Business Central in Less Than Four Months
ORCF’s finance team worked closely with Quisitive to plan and launch Business Central in just four months.
“We knew it was time to look for a new ERP solution that could meet our financial management needs and support a remote work environment brought on by the pandemic," says Jason Kempt, Vice President, Finance & Administration at ORCF.
The implementation process also involved Quisitive creating custom Business Central apps to streamline processes and improve efficiency. One of the custom applications created was an employee expenses app that allowed users to scan receipts and enter expenses, which would then be routed for approval. The credit card reconciliation app automated data entry and eliminated the need for paper. Statements were sent to cardholders and imported into the app, which would then translate the expenses and route them to the unit for approval.
Implementing Business Central and Quisitive’s custom apps resulted in significant time savings and improved organizational efficiencies. The ORCF was also able to generate more accurate and accessible reports. The workflows for purchase requisitions and employee expenses were much more user-friendly and efficient than the previous processes, which staff members were very pleased with.
“Implementing Business Central was smooth and efficient thanks to Quisitive’s expertise and support,”
Vice President, Finance & Administration, ORCF
Getting Started with Business Central in Less Than Four Months
Since launching Business Central, ORCF has experienced substantial enhancements in its financial management processes. Multi-segment coding has enabled them to understand cost structure more effectively, while automated workflows for approvals have streamlined operations, saved time, and enhanced productivity. With real-time reports based on accurate data, ORCF now has the information they need to make informed decisions quickly. Overall, Business Central has been a game-changer for ORCF, providing them with the necessary tools to efficiently manage their finances and support their mission.
Improved Productivity and Efficiency
Automating requisition and expense workflows and enabling cloud-based document storage and retention in Business Central has resulted in faster delivery of month-end reports and easier day-to-day financial management. ORFC’s finance team can now complete tasks more efficiently and accurately, allowing them to focus on more strategic and value-adding activities.
“Business Central has made our entire organization more productive and informed,” said Jason. “The multi-segment reporting helps non-financial users understand the cost behaviour of our business and we can produce timely financial data and reports without Excel," says Kempt.
Enhanced Accuracy of Cost Allocation with Multi-Segmented Reporting
Business Central’s multi-segment reporting (or dimensions) has improved the accuracy and allocation of costs. By eliminating the need for manual work to allocate central costs to business activities, dimensions have provided a deeper understanding of cost behavior within the organization.
Increased Accountability and Better Decision-Making
With Business Central, ORCF can easily toggle between budget accountability and the full cost of business activities, including support functions with different budget holders. This visibility has increased accountability on the expense side and facilitated informed decision-making. By providing a clear picture of cost drivers for business activities, Business Central has empowered ORCF to allocate resources more effectively.
Streamlined Expense and Credit Card Reconciliation
Quisitive’s custom-built employee expense and credit card reconciliation apps for Business Central have significantly simplified ORCF’s reconciliation process. With the employee expense app, employees can easily upload photos of receipts or attach PDF invoices to an online form, freeing up their time and streamlining the process. The credit card reconciliation app automates data entry, reducing the chances of errors and saving time for both employees and managers.
“The employee expense app is great,” said Jason. “Employees can take pictures of receipts or attach PDF invoices and upload to an online form—which automatically routes for approval. This app has saved a lot of clerical time and puts the onus to code things properly on the business user. Lastly, the approved document makes a properly coded A/P entry in Business Central for the accounting staff to post.”
“With the new credit card reconciliation app in Business Central, manual data entry has become completely unnecessary,” continued Jason. “Because the corporate credit card user pre-populates the form with transactions from the bank via CSV upload, everything is done quickly and without errors. This has saved us days of work and ensure our costs are accurately reported.”
“With the new credit card reconciliation app in Business Central, manual data entry has become completely unnecessary.”
Vice President, Finance & Administration, ORCF
Greater Accessibility & Flexibility
As a cloud-based solution, Business Central offers ORCF complete accessibility and security. Staff can now access the system and data from various devices, allowing them to work remotely or in different locations. Additionally, automatic updates and upgrades eliminate the need for IT staff to manually install updates on a server or individual devices, ensuring that all users are using the latest version.
ORCF continues to enhance its financial management processes in Business Central while exploring more advanced features to identify opportunities for improvement. With their focus on becoming more proficient in the core product, including the fixed assets module, ORCF aims to stay ahead of the curve. Their dedication to leveraging technology and innovation to support their mission highlights their commitment to driving success for the organization and the community they serve.
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Is a Custom App Dev or a Low-Code Solution Right For You?
Discover which approach is right for you with this infographic.
After identifying your business problem, the next step is to choose a platform for developing your application solution.
Which option is right for you? Explore the differences between custom application development and a no-code, low-code solutions like Microsoft Power Apps.
Download the infographic to compare these two platforms and determine which is best for your business needs.
Want to learn more about how Quisitive can help?
Fill out the form to connect with an expert and learn how Quisitive can help you find the right application platform for your organization.
Quisitive is an
award-winning
Microsoft Solutions Partner
About Quisitive
Quisitive is a premier, global Microsoft Partner that harnesses the Microsoft cloud platform and complementary technologies, including custom solutions and first-party offerings, to generate transformational impact for enterprise customers. Quisitive has consistently been recognized as a leading Microsoft Partner with 16 Specializations and all 6 Solution Partner Designations. Quisitive’s Microsoft awards include the 2023 US Partner of the Year Winner for Health and Life Sciences, 2023 US Partner of the Year Winner for Solutions Assessment and 2023 US Partner of the Year Finalist for the Industrial and Manufacturing vertical.
This is the third post in a series introducing the Product Owner Advocate as a beneficial role on a project using Scrum. Especially if your product owner doesn’t have the time to commit to scrum. Here is how we defined the role briefly:
The product owner advocate is a role that allows a business analyst to provide the TIME necessary to support a Scrum team while keeping the AUTHORITY with the product owner. This BA represents the interests of the product owner to the Scrum team and ‘advocates’ for the product. They are committed to the product and are invested in spending time with the product owner, to understand their priorities, desires, biases, etc., as well as the scrum team where they represent the product owner.
In today’s post let’s look at the third and fourth in a series of responsibilities and see how the product owner advocate would work with the product owner and the scrum team.
- Prioritizing and assigning business value to the backlog
- Defining the backlog
- Explaining the backlog to the scrum team for estimating
- Providing clarification and detail during sprint planning and the sprint
- Participating is sprint reviews
- Participating in sprint retrospectives
- Representing the product to the organization
Explaining the backlog to the Scrum team for estimating
There is an ongoing responsibility in Scrum that the team should ‘scrub the backlog’. This allows the team to understand the backlog items that are not in the current sprint, and to estimate those items so that planning future sprints is simpler. The advocate would be the primary resource for the team as they are scrubbing the backlog. The time the advocate has spent with the product owner to prioritize and define the backlog could then be translated to the team during the scrubbing exercises. Many questions the team may have regarding the backlog could be handled by the advocate. The product owner could then be consulted on more serious or difficult questions rather than have to work through the minutiae.
Providing clarification and detail during sprint planning and the sprint
As with backlog scrubbing, the advocate could be the primary resource for the team during planning and especially during the sprint. Quick questions could be asked and basic decisions made allowing the team to focus on the product. Difficult questions could then be taken to the product owner for feedback by the advocate.
Some may argue that this is breaking the rhythm of scrum and that the product owner would need to be available to make a decision or answer a question right away, and that having to go ask will just delay the activity. I would argue that anything that the advocate would need to take to the product owner would probably need thought and discussion with others to resolve and the product owner would probably need time to consider the question even if they were fully engaged.
Again, we are assuming that the product owner has limited time to spend as product owner but still has product owner authority.
In the next post we’ll look at:
- Participating is sprint reviews
- Participating in sprint retrospectives
- Representing the product to the organization
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Choose The App Platform That Is Best For You
Download the Road to Modern Apps infographic
The Road to Modern Apps infographic can help you choose the platform that best fits your situation.
Application modernization is the vehicle to accelerating your application’s performance, time to market, and ability to innovate. But deciding what platform to use to build or modernize your app can be overwhelming and confusing.
Ready to start your app modernization journey?
Fill out the form and our team will reach out to you shortly.
Quisitive can help you figure out the right turn to take to modernize your apps and reach your desired destination
If you are interested in our Innovation Workshop or want to talk to an App Development Consultant, send us an email at
[email protected]
[email protected]
About Quisitive
Quisitive is a premier, global Microsoft Partner that harnesses the Microsoft cloud platform and complementary technologies, including custom solutions and first-party offerings, to generate transformational impact for enterprise customers. Quisitive has consistently been recognized as a leading Microsoft Partner with 16 Specializations and all 6 Solution Partner Designations. Quisitive’s Microsoft awards include the 2023 US Partner of the Year Winner for Health and Life Sciences, 2023 US Partner of the Year Winner for Solutions Assessment and 2023 US Partner of the Year Finalist for the Industrial and Manufacturing vertical.
This video is a beginner’s guide to Solutions in Power Platform. I will provide an Overview of Solutions, cover concepts of building Power Apps and Power Automate flows inside solutions, bring your existing App & flows in solutions, export & import Solutions, setup Environment Variables, connect to SharePoint & Dataverse, Managed and Unmanaged Solutions, Solution Publisher, discuss how Environments & Solutions are linked, perform application lifecycle management (ALM) & move solutions across development, test (QA) and production environments & more.
Solutions are used to transport apps and components from one environment to another or to apply a set of customizations to existing apps. A solution can contain one or more apps as well as other components such as site maps, tables, processes, web resources, choices, flows, and more.
Solutions are the mechanism for implementing application lifecycle management (ALM) in Power Apps and other Power Platform products, such as Power Automate.
Video covers the following:
- Where to build Apps and flows?
- What are Solutions?
- Are Solutions premium?
- Environment Strategy
- Default environment challenges
- Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) in Power Platform
- Build a Solution – with new Apps and flows
- Build a Solution – with existing Apps and flows
- Environment Variables
- Export & Import Solutions
- Solution Publisher