Vinemont approves purchase of new accounting software, raises business license fee
Aug. 9—VINEMONT — After the financial software company, Intuit, discontinued versions of its QuickBooks accounting software previously used by the Town of South Vinemont, councilmembers prepared for the start of the upcoming fiscal year by approving the purchase of a new program. Town Clerk Kayecea Sasser informed the council in July that QuickBooks would be moving to an online-only model with desktop versions of the software no longer being supported after May 31. Sasser said she had tested demo-versions of the online software, but had been notably unimpressed and was frequently unable to access certain documents from the cloud. Mayor Radginal Dodson said Sasser has instead been researching alternative softwares and consulting with other similarly sized municipalities in North Alabama. "She's twisted the tail on just about everything from here to California, trying to find something that will comply with the State of Alabama at a reasonable rate, but the short answer is, there ain't one," Dodson said. The software favored by Sasser came from CSA Software Solutions. She said the Town of Eva, located in Morgan County, gave the software a positive review after having recently transitioned from QuickBooks, and the town of Somerville, also in Morgan County, will soon be adopting the program. One benefit of the program will be the town once again having the capability to process payroll checks in house rather than having them issued through its accounting firm. This will save the town roughly $3500 each year in processing fees. While the software will come at a total cost of $8,799, Sasser explained to the council how they were given the option to spread the cost out over the course of monthly payments after an upfront payment of $3,000. Sasser said she plans to begin using the program at the beginning of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. Dodson said he predicted the costs for the software could be offset by around $1,400 per year after the council increased the annual business license fee from $10 to $14. "We may initially pay more, but then the yearly fee it costs to maintain this accounting software is paid for by the additional $4 we're going to charge the consumer," Dodson said. Dodson mentioned how the town has not implemented an increase in license fees for more than 10 years. Councilmember Chris Thompson was the first to offer support for the increase and was followed by unanimous approval. "I agree a hundred percent. Four dollars isn't very much of an increase and that is still pretty cheap," Thompson said. The town was also hopeful that approving the $15,000 purchase of two 2023 Gravlee commercial grade lawn mowers would be a cost saving measure in the long term. Dodson said the purchase would replace two of the town's diesel powered mowers. Dodson said the current mowers added significantly to last year's fuel costs totaling "way over $10,000" and had required an additional $5,000 in repairs last year. Public works director Mike Graves said the town mows approximately 26 acres at least twice each week. He said he believed the lower cost of traditional gasoline combined with the "bumper to bumper" manufacturer's warranty for the Gravlee mowers should cut the town's operational expenses. In other business the council:
* Renewed and amended the town's lease agreement with Girl Scout Troop #10288. The new agreement allows the troop to use the Vinemont Community Center for the next two years and adjusts the schedule for use to every other week rather than the first and third week of each month. Adopted the 2023-2024 Rebuild Alabama Transportation Plan which allows $20,000 from the town's gas tax fund be used to supplement the $40,000 cost to resurface Sheril St.
VINEMONT — After the financial software company, Intuit, discontinued versions of its QuickBooks accounting software previously used by the Town of South Vinemont, councilmembers prepared for the start of the upcoming fiscal year by approving the purchase of a new program.
Town Clerk Kayecea Sasser informed the council in July that QuickBooks would be moving to an online-only model with desktop versions of the software no longer being supported after May 31. Sasser said she had tested demo-versions of the online software, but had been notably unimpressed and was frequently unable to access certain documents from the cloud.
Mayor Radginal Dodson said Sasser has instead been researching alternative softwares and consulting with other similarly sized municipalities in North Alabama.
"She's twisted the tail on just about everything from here to California, trying to find something that will comply with the State of Alabama at a reasonable rate, but the short answer is, there ain't one," Dodson said.
The software favored by Sasser came from CSA Software Solutions. She said the Town of Eva, located in Morgan County, gave the software a positive review after having recently transitioned from QuickBooks, and the town of Somerville, also in Morgan County, will soon be adopting the program.
One benefit of the program will be the town once again having the capability to process payroll checks in house rather than having them issued through its accounting firm. This will save the town roughly $3500 each year in processing fees.
