The Association des techniciens en évaluation foncière du Québec (ATEFQ) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring together assessment technicians in Quebec. It represents its members since 1983, which now counts 250 members. 

The Challenge

Since 2011, the Association has had a custom Claris FileMaker application. This app allows them to manage information about its members and the invoicing process for the various services offered to them. 

However, the app was not connected to the ATEFQ’s website. The renewal and membership process, as well as registrations for the annual conference were also managed manually. The objective was therefore to automate tasks to be more efficient by avoiding double entry and reducing the risk of error. 

Electronic transmission eliminates the processing and management of paper correspondence, both for sending and receiving information and payments.

The ATEFQ wanted to automate several tasks to improve the experience of its members within the association:

• Membership and online payment of new members 
• Renewal (including updating information) and online payment for active and former members 
• Registration for corporate events (each event may include several activities with different prices) 
• Registration for events must be possible on an individual or corporate basis for both members and non-members 
• Online invoice issuance and 
• Electronic transmission of tax receipts 

The Solution

The app developed by Direct Impact Solutions offers several types of electronic forms for membership subscriptions and renewals, conference and other event registrations as well as personalized tax receipts. It also offers an online payment platform. This solution is made possible due to an integration between the Claris FileMaker platform, the EventBrite event management system, and the Paypal payment platform via the various available programming interfaces (API). 

All members are asked to complete and validate their information on the various electronic forms. Transmission is instantaneous and much more user-friendly. The ATEFQ greatly appreciates the ease of processing information as well as the integration of data directly into their database.

The Benefits

Several benefits have resulted from the investment in the new app, including: 

• A 50% reduction in information processing efforts, allowing the elimination of postage and travel costs. 
• Better quality of the data collected. 
• Due to simplified management, faster access to information allows for a greater amount of analysis and monitoring. 
• Remote management, securing and archiving forms and transaction tracking. 
• More collaborative work while ensuring coordination and homogeneity of operations. 
• The ability to meet the needs of the new generation of members who requested the option to renew online.