Capital improvement

The city of Augusta, ME is implementing a new electronic online payment solution to improve the efficiency of its financial services department. Augusta, the capital of Maine, has chosen PayMode from Clareon to automate critical city functions.

"The City of Augusta strives to adopt technology that enables us to increase municipal operating efficiency and improve core business processes," says Michael Lombardo, assistant city manager for Finance and Administration. "In city government, we are constantly challenged to do more with less, and anticipate that by making payments electronically, we will be able to significantly increase overall productivity, saving us time and money."

With the new solution, remittance information travels in tandem with payments digitally, linking with existing accounts payable and accounts receivable systems. The city's suppliers, vendors and service providers will be enrolled to ensure quick receipt of value. The software, according to Clareon, enables efficient initiation, approval and transmission, as well as receipt, posting and reconciliation of payments. It is also said to require no changes to existing systems, internal payment processes or bank relationships.

Augusta works with more than 1,200 public and private sector vendors, including some that are already part of the Clareon system. Those who aren't enrolled now will be soon. In addition, the software will be integrated with the Augusta's accounts payable system, allowing the city to make electronic payments without requiring changes to its workflow.

Augusta chose the system after evaluating its performance for the state of Maine, another Clareon customer.

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