Serenic Navigator is the best

I have done 2 implementation of the software: in 2007 with Action Against Hunger USA and 2015 with International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. I love the dimensions, the multicurrency features, A/P, Bank, G/L AND AwardVision, as well as the great reporting capabilities (using the Cube). IAVI wanted an accounting solution that integrated with Awards management, Budget, Purchase Requisition and Purchase Orders. Also we wanted a system that could work with multiple currencies, didn't require customization, very user friendly, and integrated well with Microsoft products. The software had to be supported and maintained by a dynamic company with an excellent reputation and strong experience working in the not-for-profit sector. The software had to be easy to connect to from anywhere in the world (via Citrix or any other web-based protocol) and offer the possibility of migration to a cloud-based hosting environment. IAVI was looking for a solution that would provide easy consolidation between multiple subsidiaries, strong analytical functionality, and powerful reporting capacity. Last but not least, excellent support and maintenance services were essential, both from the original manufacturer and from a robust network of third party consultants and vendors. Coming from a complex system entirely customized that required a dedicated team for maintenance on an on-going basis, we were looking for an off-the-shelf, user-friendly product requiring minimal maintenance. 1. IAVI wanted to find a solution that could be used more widely than just by the accounting team. A real management tool. 2. IAVI wanted to stop working in silos and have the financial information stored in one place for use by all of the various stakeholders (purchasers, budget managers, project managers, grant managers, accounting and payroll staff, senior management,'). 3. IAVI wanted to run a powerful financial system without needing a dedicated technical support team. 4. IAVI wanted to report in real time and readily close the books on a monthly and quarterly basis. 5. IAVI wanted a system that could easily manage the authorization and coding of expenses. 6. IAVI wanted a solution that provided a great audit trail. When you buy the Serenic Navigator, you become part of a big family of fantastic professionals. Serenic maintains a very personalized relationship with all its clients. Also each Serenic client can learn from other Serenic clients via the NGO usergroup.

Pros

1. IAVI implemented the Awardvision grants management tool as a full component of our financial processes
2. Thanks to Serenic Navigator's very powerful reporting tools (i.e., Jet Reports and Cube), grant managers can now create reports directly from the accounting software, and budget managers can view their actuals vs. budgets in real time.
4. IAVI now seamlessly produces quarterly consolidated financial statements via the Cube.
5. IAVI is using the Navigator workflow management process and a few basic validation rules to streamline the authorization and allocation of expenses to Fund/Award and Project.
6. The drill-down functionality of the software makes it easy to navigate through accounting transactions and provides a great audit trail.
IAVI made an extensive use of Attributes to pool expenses together according to the management requirements.

-IAVI has cut in half the time required to produce quarterly financial statements.
-IAVI virtually eliminated miscoding and the subsequent need to reclassify expenses.
-IAVI has decreased from 4 weeks to 2 weeks the time required after the end of a pay period to upload the allocated payroll into the financial system.
-IAVI has reduced to zero the time required for uploading corporate credit card expenses post-approval.
-IAVI has real-time balances on all authorized POS without relying on external systems (ContractCentral).
-IAVI has received timely and attentive customer support for all issues submitted.

Cons

The Revenue Recognition module is maybe too complex.

Archdiocese of San Francisco

Serenic Navigator is an excellent software program for most modules. However, we have had on-going issues with the Deposit and Loan module that would make it hard to recommend to other like organizations. Originally we had hoped to be able to use the Investment module for our investment pool but I doubt this will ever be possible.

Pros

Functionality of all modules that we use except the D&L module. The ability to export to Excel is very useful but a certain amount of formatting is always required.

Cons

The Deposit and Loan module it very difficult to use effectively.
The A/R module could be easier.

Serenic is a highly functional fund accounting package great Microsoft Excel interface.

The product is moving to the web if it's not already there exclusively. I prefer my older version that lives on my own network.

Pros

Trying to do fund accounting in QuickBooks or some other non-funding accounting package is a lot of work. Serenic takes all the work away plus gives you extra "dimensions" you can use to tag your transactions for filtering for other purposes. Love the ability to easily generate a spreadsheet with whatever fields I want for rows and columns.

Cons

Their isn't really any customer support through the company. The company assigns a consulting firm to you for your support -- you don't even get to vet them or choose one yourself.

Good Product still need to be developed for International Charities

I've been using Serenic for many years and the product has been very capable to deliver and manage the financial and Grant information. Easy to enter data and many options to extract the info I've clearly been able to do my job. I always missed the guau factor, some of the functionalities are added a posteriori and the work with the client is not as proactive as should be: field connect is delivered after particular requirements instead of perceiving since the begging that was a space in the market. I recommend the development team exploring strategic initiatives that could be consider more medium term investment.

Pros

Robust construction

Cons

Not web based or easy to deploy overseas with limited broadband

Decent HR Payroll system

We manage the entire HR employee data using this application. It is a system of records for a company of 4000+ employees.

Pros

The ability to customize the fields, run meaningful reports to pull all the data fields, quick search to bring employee data, feature to build, schedule and run interfaces with other HR applications.

Cons

Launch of the navigator, server distribution to balance the load, difficulty in finding the data from back end sources of multiple similar looking tables.

Diocese of Fargo - Serenic Review

We selected Serenic Software in 2006 because it was able to handle usual GL activity, as well as Deposit & Loan Fund transactions, and provided for allocations for foundation tracking of funds. We only wanted to invest time and resources in one application. We have been very happy with the choice and the way Serenic meets our needs.

Positive experience, would recommend this software!

Pros

I appreciate the product because it definitely helps me achieve my fundraising goals.

Cons

The customer service can be a bit slow to respond at times.

Very limited

We originally started using Navigator because our benefits coordinator recommended the system. Once set-up, we found many flaws in the system. It did not help us streamline our HR processes at all. Onboarding was even more difficult than before. We were unable to load any of our existing forms into the system to filled out electronically, so we still had to email or print them for the employee. Employees reported many difficulties logging into the system and trying to use it.

Pros

The only thing Navigator accomplished for us was being able to store personnel files in one place electronically.

Cons

We could not use it for onboarding, did not allow any place for us to keep notes on employees. It was difficult to navigate. Did not offer any features that we needed.

Satisfied user

Our company requires a very dynamic and roust GL system to fit our unique needs. Serenic Navigator does the job well and we're very happy with it. The GL dimensions allow us to be very flexible in capturing not just financial data but also statistical information. When we hit a roadblock, Serenic Tech support never fails to quickly offer solutions to our problems.

Serenic Review

Pros

It's easy to use, intuitive and fits well with my organization's needs. It's a strong product that works as it's supposed to.

Cons

It can be difficult to get a tech support person on the phone. Serenic isn't always as responsive as I'd like.

My view about Serenic Navigator

Pros

The quality provided is top-notch, and always good to use. It seems the company has a great process in place to ensure customers stay happy.

Cons

There are some inconsistencies noticeable.

The software has limited features

The app has some inconsistencies when are very inconveniencing to the users.

Pros

Only the Navigator tool seems efficient while using this software

Cons

It has very limited data analysis tools, which is not sufficient for streamlining the human resource department. It is not efficient for onboarding services. The app also hangs when multiple users are logged in the system