Buckinghamshire picks our revenues and benefits software

*On 1 July 2021, Northgate Public Services rebranded as NEC Software Solutions.*

8 June 2021: Buckinghamshire Council is moving its Revenues and Benefits administration to a fully cloud-based solution delivered by Northgate Public Services (NPS).

The switch to the NPS Revenues & Benefits software will enable Buckinghamshire Council, which was formed after merging five councils in April 2020, to consolidate and streamline its Revenues and Benefits IT systems.

Adopting one Revenues and Benefits solution will help Buckinghamshire to work more efficiently, automating many day-to-day tasks. Residents and businesses will be able to do more for themselves online such as move to electronic billing, apply for discounts and reliefs or set up direct debit payments using NPS’ Citizen Access suite.

The solution brings all the data on residents and businesses from the five councils together in one place, meaning customer queries can be dealt with instantly. The browser-based nature of the NPS solution means staff can access everything they need whether they are working from home or in the office.

Cllr Tim Butcher, Deputy Cabinet Member for Resources at Buckinghamshire Council said: “The former councils used different systems to manage their Revenues and Benefits. Now, as a unitary council, we are working with Northgate to provide a single, improved customer experience.

“Our vision as an innovative council is to create positive changes for local people, communities and businesses and that includes innovating and improving our services by working efficiently and making best use of technology.

“By automating some of the processes, we can free up our staff from routine tasks and use their skills and expertise elsewhere. Giving our officers a complete picture of any individual’s circumstances will transform our service. It will allow us to offer the best possible support for our residents.”

The NPS solution enables emails and scanned documents to be automatically indexed and stored in one place, reducing the need for information to be keyed in manually. This will save valuable time for the council.

Roger Birkinshaw, Executive Director for Government and Housing at Northgate Public Services said: “Creating one Revenues and Benefits solution will lighten the load for council staff and improve all aspects of their service. The move will also drive savings for the council by reducing the maintenance costs that are associated with maintaining multiple systems.

“It’s great to be part of this journey with Buckinghamshire, helping them empower their residents and staff.”