INTO University

The challenge for INTO University Partnerships

Overcoming front-to-back office disconnects 

Due to rapid growth and numerous partners using their own accounting systems and processes, INTO University Partnerships (INTO) had no central coordination for its financials. The challenge was even greater given that the systems didn't connect to Salesforce, INTO's CRM for managing and processing thousands of student applications.

Their primary pain points were:

• Isolated student data: Staff at university drop-in centers were unable to resolve student financial queries on-site because they could not locate scattered student data.
• Unscalable revenue tracking: Revenue recognition was managed entirely through manual spreadsheets, making the process highly confusing, creating a lack of clear historical logging.
• Front and back office divide: Legacy financial solutions like Oracle NetSuite and SAP were evaluated but rejected because they deepened the disconnect.
• No centralized financial coordination: Due to rapid global growth and multiple partners operating distinctly, accounting platforms had no central coordination for global financials.

Seeking to eliminate these isolated environments and establish a reliable, scalable operation, INTO moved away from disparate systems to implement a unified cloud accounting platform.

How Certinia helps INTO University Parnerships

Connecting international education finances to drive efficiency globally

Built on the Salesforce platform, Certinia FM Cloud offers fluidity across business data. INTO eliminated the need for spreadsheets and reduced the revenue recognition period from two days to one. As a result, they gained insights into accurate student finances globally and are now able to serve customers more effectively on a global scale.

Immediate clarity for on-site student support

Now, with a few clicks, staff members can easily look up pertinent student data to answer financial questions and resolve problems on the spot. This visibility ensures that university staff are fully equipped to deliver accurate customer service without delay.  

Simplified expansion with central accounting

Rolling out new partnerships is significantly easier with a central accounting system. Instead of managing individual IT infrastructures at each university site, the INTO team has saved time and money because it now only manages a single consolidated chart of accounts. 

Financial analysis and compliance

Instead of wasting time gathering information, the finance team can now easily view and analyze data in real-time. Operating within a single source of truth eliminates manual data manipulation, freeing professionals to focus on strategic insights and audit readiness. 

Certinia's impact on INTO University Partnerships

• Certinia unified global accounting data to manage hundreds of international agents and thousands of student invoices seamlessly. 
• Automated their processing to empower 86% faster revenue close rates.  
• Centralized global operations onto a single chart of accounts fixing the issue of separate IT platforms across multiple university sites.  
• University staff gained data access to resolve student financial queries instantly on-site, accelerating compliance and customer satisfaction with a 75% faster time to invoice.