Case Study: Light Regional Council

Entering a new market with a property and rating solution comes with a whole host of changes to ensure legislative compliance. You might think 'rates are rates' across Australia, but there is a huge difference in the manner in which each state legislates what can and can't be done, further compounded by the fact that no two councils operate quite exactly the same.

From the beginning, our engagement with Light Regional Council was special. They were less interested in buying software and more interested in building a partnership with a company that would grow and develop...well, in much the same way they are growing and developing. Located north of Adelaide in South Australia, Light Regional Council is experiencing significant growth as both greenfield and brownfield developments get underway. While growth is important, LRC has also had a strong focus on ensuring the cultural heritage of their area is protected and enhanced.

Anyone with only a passing exposure to local government in regional Australia knows that resources are at a premium these days. Any efficiency gained in one area can have dramatic effects on service delivery. Andrew Steven, Financial Controller at LRC commented that implementing CouncilWise has opened "new avenues for efficiency gains and enabling us to improve our business practices and processes."

Over the past two years working closely with LRC, there has been a standout feature of our partnership - listening and learning. "Their customer service is very comprehensive and good – the built in help and guidance function is very detailed, but most notably is how frequent and responsive their online ticketing and assistance offerings are through both their management and support staff. They are very quick to respond to email/ticket queries and if necessary very open to meeting online or in person in order to address any training or system development requests. Any issues or bugs that had been identified were openly communicated to us and efficiently rectified to ensure as little disturbance to our operations," commented Andrew Steven from LRC.

The brief? Migrate LRC from their legacy product into a modern property and rating solution. To our delight, LRC did not ask us to "make it work like the last system did" - they were interested in improving processes, standardising approaches to regular activities. Essentially, gaining efficiencies. As we have experienced in Tasmania, Victoria and the Northern Territory where feedback from clients has been instrumental in localising our product to suite the specific needs of clients, Light Regional Council has been closely involved in ensuring our software is just right for South Australian councils. Andrew Steven continues, " Our relationship with them has been productive and beneficial to our daily operations. With their commitment and drive to continuously provide and maintain their quality product, I would be more than comfortable and confident in engaging with them."

We think our property and rating solution is pretty awesome, but it didn't happen because "we know best". What makes our product awesome is the partnerships with councils we have built over the past 25 years, and the continuous feedback they provide regarding how THEY need the product to work.

Are we right for everyone? No. But if you are like Light Regional Council and seeking a partnership with your software vendor, then yeah, we might be right for you.