{"id":9932,"date":"2021-08-25T15:21:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T19:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=9932"},"modified":"2026-02-12T04:38:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:38:23","slug":"uesf-scales-efficiently-as-funding-doubles-during-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/uesf-scales-efficiently-as-funding-doubles-during-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"UESF scales efficiently as funding doubles during COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUESF scales efficiently as funding doubles during COVID\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-08-25T15:21:36-04:00\">August 25, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"UESF scales efficiently as funding doubles during COVID\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/uesf-scales-efficiently-as-funding-doubles-during-covid\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/andrew-sevillia\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/andrew_sevillia_profile.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Andrew Sevillia\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Andrew Sevillia<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Established in Philadelphia in the early 80\u2019s, the <a href=\"https:\/\/uesfacts.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Utility Emergency Services Fund<\/a> (UESF) is a public and societal benefit nonprofit that was founded to provide utility assistance in a city with one of the highest poverty rates in the U.S. The organization is committed to assisting the community\u2019s most vulnerable residents through a holistic, preventive, and cost-efficient approach. Today, UESF provides a one-stop shop with immediate resources that empower families to address the root causes of their utility and housing crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recently had the chance to talk with Tom Malecki, Director of Finance and Operations at UESF, to better understand how his team is using Sage Intacct to streamline financial operations. In our latest customer story, he describes how leveraging the full power of Sage Intacct\u2019s automated workflows helped his team save time and scale their operations, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since fully implementing Sage Intacct, UESF has seen the following improvements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shortened the monthly close process by 33%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sped weekly AP payments by 83%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduced non-program overhead by 12%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gained efficiency and confidence needed to support 166% contract growth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Informed strategic priorities through improved financial visibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>UESF had previously outsourced its finance function, relying heavily on paper-based processes and recording transactions in Intuit QuickBooks. However, since the nonprofit has several funding streams \u2014 including donations from for-profit utility companies, grants at the city and Federal level, and more \u2014 its old software was quickly outpaced by the challenge of keeping track of revenue and expenses for various restricted contracts. Eventually, UESF\u2019s partner migrated the financials from QuickBooks to Sage Intacct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-modern-processes-lay-the-groundwork-for-growth\">Modern processes lay the groundwork for growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the team saw initial benefits from moving to Sage Intacct, once COVID-19 drove everyone from the office to their homes, they fully realized the efficiency gains of shifting from paper-based processes to automated ones. \u201cCOVID-19 forced us to make full use of Sage Intacct\u2019s powerful workflows, and the impact was immediate,\u201d recalled Malecki. For example, AP payments for participants\u2019 rent and utilities that used to take 12 business days to get approved and processed now take just two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Malecki also appreciates knowing that recurring transactions are entered every single month without mistakes (such as someone forgetting to book depreciation or enter a Comcast bill that was delayed by physical mail). \u201cRunning recurring transactions is the first step in our close every month, and it saves at least a day\u2019s work. They\u2019re always accurate and I can see the history at any time for peace of mind,\u201d he shared. \u201cAt the beginning of the fiscal year all I need to do is adjust the deferred rent and rent expense based on what the new number is and after that, it&#8217;s going to get paid consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result of these and other improvements, the organization now closes its books 33% faster, which is critical as it expands. \u201cOver the last year, our funding more than doubled to increase financial assistance for vulnerable Philadelphians,\u201d noted Malecki. \u201cWith Sage Intacct in place, we have confidence that we can easily handle these higher transaction volumes and more complex reporting requirements because we\u2019ve decreased our non-program overhead by 12%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-maximizing-visibility-to-inform-planning\">Maximizing visibility to inform planning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/sage-business-cloud\/intacct\/product-capabilities\/extended-capabilities\/financial-reporting\/\n\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sage Intacct\u2019s multi-dimensional reporting<\/a> supports all of the organization\u2019s fund accounting needs. \u201cWe can track revenue and allocate expenses out to all the different grants, and then create reports to include in the invoices we send to our funders, each in their own preferred format,\u201d Malecki said. \u201cSage Intacct makes our monthly accounting much faster and easier. Even as we\u2019ve gone from 15 grants to 40, we\u2019re able to get invoices out within five days of month-end so we can manage cash flow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The organization\u2019s leadership can also monitor the cost and value of each program and break out utility assistance versus direct assistance spending to help guide the city council and other funders on where their investments will have the greatest impact. Makecki explained, \u201cWhen COVID first hit, everybody thought our money was all going to go to paying people\u2019s gas or electric bills. But back in April 2020, Sage Intacct showed that 95% of our funds were going to rental assistance, and we knew that would shift as those people struggled to pay their utility bills next. So we were able to shape a narrative and plan to secure more city funding for utility assistance based on the actual trends we saw in our reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personalized dashboards provide further visibility into UESF\u2019s impact. \u201cOur program directors know that the most accurate data always comes out of Sage Intacct, so when we provide reports, everyone feels confident that they\u2019ll get the insight they need,\u201d mentioned Malecki. Next up, the finance team is preparing budgets-to-actuals reports in Sage Intacct for even greater transparency and accountability across the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To find out more about how Sage Intacct is helping UESF save time and resources that can be reinvested towards its important mission, read our new customer story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Case Study &#8211; UESF<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Public Assistance Nonprofit Increases Impact While Decreasing Non-Program Overhead by 12%<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-2d8f098f-276d-4e3e-bd88-763c3bc202f5\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1345196516-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Clothes donated in a carton\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1345196516-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Established in Philadelphia in the early 80\u2019s, the Utility Emergency Services Fund (UESF) is a public and societal benefit nonprofit that was founded to provide utility assistance in a city with one of the highest poverty rates in the U.S. The organization is committed to assisting the community\u2019s most vulnerable residents through a holistic, preventive, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1446,"featured_media":15126,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348,46,44],"tags":[2,399,420,346,280,304],"business_type":[40,312,41],"lilypad":[],"context":[418,429],"industry":[451,58],"persona":[100,98,151],"imagine_tag":[209,436,230],"coauthors":[613],"class_list":["post-9932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-guides-templates","category-growth-customers","category-strategy-legal-operations","tag-accountants","tag-business-continuity","tag-cloud-financial-management","tag-cloud-technology","tag-your-story","tag-digital-transformation","business_type-small-business","business_type-accountants","business_type-growing-business","industry-healthcare","industry-nonprofit"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Andrew 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