EMS Software is an enterprise space management, event, class and resource scheduling application acquired and now supported by Accruent in June 2018.
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Bonterra OneCause
Score 9.0 out of 10
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OneCause supports fundraising with online and event fundraising solutions that help nonprofits reach more and raise more. Since 2008, OneCause states they have helped 14,000 cause-driven organizations to raise over $8B through more than 90,000 fundraising events and campaigns.
Accruent EMS is well-suited when it comes to room utilization and transparency but with regards to onboarding other departments such as A/V and Catering, it becomes a challenge because there are other software that meets the needs of these departments that EMS does not have. The use of multiple systems for other departments is a nuisance especially with inventory mangement.
They are very well suited at assisting with troubleshooting at registration. They are very helpful at the end of the event, where we are collecting payments and closing out auction items. The ticket process is confusing, and the table seating process is cumbersome.
It's user friendly. By doing a little self-exploration one can find out the many features that EMS offers.
It is simple to add or remove conference rooms and provide details of the conference rooms.
I appreciate that there are different ways of reserving conference rooms. This allows each user to feel comfortable in their use of EMS by finding what works best for them.
Incredible complexity on the back end. While its highly configurable nature lends to flexibility, it also makes it a challenge to manage.
Support has not been as quick as we'd like when we've needed to reach out.
Most likely due to the company recently changing hands, we had real trouble with their billing department attempting to double charge us for our services, and sorting it out took 6 months of back and forth.
Auto-numbering items in auctions need to be editable. Right now, when you add items, they are numbered consecutively, and you can't edit them. I want all of my items to be numbered together by item type. We always have last-minute additions, but there is no ability to renumber.
Accruent EMS has always been a one-stop-shop for our organization when it comes to scheduling conference rooms, offices, apartments, services, etc. It has a wide array of reporting, and what isn't set up as a standard report, can usually be created as a query to report on the information you are looking for. Accruent EMS has pushed out new releases with updates to bugs and other add-ins and stays current and up-to-date with market trends.
We are a very small non-profit and are actually looking to use another service just to cut costs, but we may not stay with them and will coming running back to OneCause if we can't make the other option work! The ONLY reason to move would be to reduce the over-head cost of the platform.
Most new users would greatly benefit from (or possibly require) at least some training on how to use EMS, but the training doesn't need to be extensive for the users to get comfortable with it. Most functions are easy and straightforward, so users tend to not have many issues with it.
Use of the software is generally fine, but the setup and implementation are not always intuitive. Though the knowledgebase is robust and covers a lot of areas (and the support team is pleasant and knowledgeable), the event setup process (particularly when setting up payment and bank information) can be a bit cumbersome and should really be streamlined
Currently I can only access EMS from my work computer, from in my office, on campus. While I'm sure this isn't an Accruent issue, and mostly our IT issue, Accruent hasn't exactly stepped up and tried to help when these issues have been addressed.
The only other software we use in conjunction with EMS is Epaper Signs by Visix. Once we worked out the initial bugs, the integration has been seamless. It does not slow down our software or cause any errors. Our signs are updated every 15 minutes with any problems.
Since the merger, our team has found that there are a select few of the tech team that can actually support our questions. More often than not, we have already tried the suggestions that they give us and they are either unable to answer our questions and submit them as update suggestions or they have to be sent to supervisor for an answer. Once or twice in the last year we have received bad advice that resulted in system issues. Prior to last year, the customer support system was at the top of the list of tech support departments that I have ever had to deal with, especially during our upgrade to 4.0.
Shelbe was my point person and she was available for me at absolutely anytime. No question was stupid or obvious in her eyes and she always gave me the exact responses and resources I needed to succeed. Could not be more complimentary of this software! Just have to convince my team to use it for more areas now!
We hired OneCause to guide us through our first event after we signed up with them. The staff they sent were pros. They gave us professional guidance and support. Once we had been shown the ropes, we knew we could take the reins and confidently run our next event
It was great but could have been a little better. I feel like there are different ways to use some of the software and some of that was not explained. I think at the time the training was great but now that we are more experienced with the product I can see we missed training based on what part of EMS the instructor thought we were going to use.
I think one of the biggest things is to step back and see how you want your organization to function and use the product prior to quickly diving in and configuring. I think some (based on some EMS Live conference sessions I attended) built their systems on how they used their old systems or old processes, but thinking about how you want your organization to function moving forward will help you configure it the best way and make the necessary changes from the start rather than having to go back and adjust.
I don't know if my insights are key but I can say that implementation was done in-house without any outside support for the solution. The staff influencing the solution had very little technical expertise and ability as well which showed just how easily the software was to implement.
[Accruent] EMS is very robust, and a great all in one solution for hospitality and Event management needs. I have dealt with a few other software solutions in the past that try to handle event planning and management, but have run into the need to have multiple solutions to handle all those needs.
We looked at Auctria and GiveSmart, though we didn't go into great detail with either. We ultimately selected OneCause based on the recommendation of another local school that used it for its auction software. The customer service and support as we made this decision and transition was a confirmation for us.
We purchased the client, web version, and Outlook plug-in. I'll be honest, we haven't pushed the email part, but I did test it and liked it. After the old program we placed, I have simply been gun-shy about implementing another email plug-in. However, the client for the super users to get department alerts, etc. and the web version for all users to create reservations has been fabulous and easy to use and understand.
The most noticeable improvements in our usage of EMS is our ability to process requests more efficiently using a standardized form that has a professional presentation. Before we began using EMS, we processed our parking requests by simply typing an email with a few details. Pricing was jumbled in with the wording and clients often did not read the fine print. EMS has definitely made an impact with projecting a professional image to our clients when they receive confirmations and invoices.
