batch payment processing solution

Batch Payment Processing Solution Palm Beach County Tax Collector Request for Proposal

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Palm Beach County Tax Collector

Batch Payment Processing Solution

Request for Proposal


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Contents

Contents ............................................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 4

1.1. Purpose of the Document ......................................................................................... 4 1.2. Confidentiality ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Terms and Conditions of the Proposal ...................................................................... 4

2. Business Background ..................................................................................................... 6 2.1. Palm Beach County Tax Collector ............................................................................ 6 2.2. Palm Beach County Tax Collector Batch Processing ................................................ 6 2.3. Palm Beach County Tax Collector Branch Operations .............................................. 6

3. Current Systems ............................................................................................................. 7 3.1. System Interfaces ..................................................................................................... 7 3.2. High Speed Hardware Environment.......................................................................... 8 3.3. Remote Branch Office Environment .........................................................................10 3.4. Transaction Volumes ...............................................................................................10

4. System Scope ................................................................................................................11 5. Statement Of Business Requirements ...........................................................................11

5.1. Functionality ............................................................................................................11 6. System Requirements ....................................................................................................18

6.1. Technical Requirements ..........................................................................................18 6.2. Security and Control Requirements .........................................................................22 6.3. Audit Requirements .................................................................................................24 6.4. Target System Performance ....................................................................................26 6.5. Vendor Proposed Solution – Overview ....................................................................27 6.6. Vendor Proposed Solution – Detailed Description ...................................................27

7. Vendor Requirements ....................................................................................................27 7.1. Supplier Profile ........................................................................................................27 7.2. Maintenance and Support ........................................................................................29

8. Implementation Requirements .......................................................................................30 8.1. Implementation Plan ................................................................................................30 8.2. Data Conversion ......................................................................................................31 8.3. Project Organization ................................................................................................31 8.4. Training ...................................................................................................................31

9. Selection Process ..........................................................................................................32 9.1. Objective .................................................................................................................32 9.2. Timetable.................................................................................................................32 9.3. Contacts during the selection process .....................................................................33 9.4. Selection Criteria .....................................................................................................33 9.5. Contract Negotiation ................................................................................................34

10. Proposal Response Format ..........................................................................................34 10.1. Summary of Proposal ............................................................................................34 10.2. Supplier Profile ......................................................................................................35 10.3. Compliance to User Requirements ........................................................................35 10.4. Compliance to Business and System Requirements ..............................................36 10.5. Compliance to Implementation Requirement .........................................................36 10.6. Cost .......................................................................................................................36 10.7. Contracts ...............................................................................................................37

11. Glossary .......................................................................................................................38 12. Appendix ......................................................................................................................38

12.1. Appendix A – High Level Process Flow .................................................................39 12.2. Appendix B – Daily Mail Distribution Process Flow .............................................40


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12.3. Appendix C Records Retention ..............................................................................40 12.4. Appendix D Sample Contract Draft ........................................................................42 12.5. Appendix E – Project Once Process Flow ..............................................................49 12.6. Intentionally Left Blank ...........................................................................................49


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1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose of the Document

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is in response to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s (PBCTC) needs and contains specific requirements to be met by the vendor’s proposed solution. The objective of this project is to select and implement a flexible remittance processing solution that can handle the changing remittance processing landscape, and reduce redundant/manual work processes. Mail processing times average 10 to 14 days during the peak of tax season (November and December), which results in higher call volumes into our Call Center to find the status of their payment. The PBCTC is looking for a solution that will reduce hand touches which creates delays from rejected mail transactions. Clients will often mail a second check thinking their initial payment was lost in the mail and fearing on missing out their early payment discount. Duplicate payments are forwarded to the Finance Department to issue a refund check to the client. Innovation and our current workflows is necessary for improving efficiency in processing received mail through the posting updated payment status on our website.

This remittance processing solution will provide PBCTC’s personnel a streamlined approach to processing payments and will be easily adaptable to meet the changing remittance processing landscape.

Time-scales for vendor selection are very aggressive, with the objective of completion of implementation by September 29th, 2017.

The solution will support the business processes of the PBCTC either directly or through the vendor’s use of a third-party solution. In addition, the remittance processing solution will need the ability to interface with Thomson Reuter’s Aumentum software (Tax Collection Software) for real time data lookup and updating the payment status.

Vendors should respond to the price component of this RFP to include the following:

Software Acquisition and Installation

Server Hardware Acquisition and Installation: The PBCTC reserves the right to purchase the hardware directly from a different vendor/manufacturer.

Implementation Services

The vendors are required to review this document and submit their response as per the schedule included in this document.

1.2. Confidentiality

This section has been intentionally left blank.

1.3. Terms and Conditions of the Proposal

RFP Responses

The closing date for receipt of proposals is: 10/07/2016 at 5:00PM

Response to the RFP shall be delivered to: Pat Bradley, Chief of Tax Services


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The proposal should be clearly labeled:

“Proposal to Palm Beach County Tax Collector for the Supply and Implementation of a Batch Payment Processing Solution”

A Vendor Submission Form will be submitted together with the RFP. An electronic copy of this document called RFPBatchProcessing.docx (Microsoft Word) is included as part of the RFP packet for this purpose.

PBCTC management reserves the right to accept or decline late proposals at its absolute discretion.

The proposal should include the name of the person to whom PBCTC may address any questions relating to the proposal.

Respondents should provide four complete copies of the proposal. Only two copies of any accompanying documentation are required. One electronic version of the proposal in Microsoft Word is required, plus one electronic version of the Microsoft Excel cost worksheet.

Pat Bradley should be contacted for supplementary information relating to this RFP using the contact details contained in the Vendor Submission Form. All requests should be written. E-mail is acceptable.

PBCTC reserves the right to distribute any questions with PBCTC’s reply to any vendor if it deems appropriate.

Preparation of Responses

The preparation and submission of the proposal shall be made without obligation to acquire any items included in the proposal, or to discuss the reason why the proposal is accepted or rejected. PBCTC will notify acceptance or rejection in writing to the vendor.

The requirements specified in this RFP reflect those presently known. PBCTC reserves the right to vary, in detail, the final requirements.

PBCTC will not be responsible for or pay any expense incurred in the preparation of any proposal or in PBCTC’s evaluation of it.

PBCTC may require that all or part of the successful proposal be included in the contracts.

All prices shall be consistently in US dollars and all unit prices, charges and totals should exclude tax.

Respondents should provide a clause by clause response to the RFP as specified.

General information, which is not specifically requested, should be attached separately and clearly labeled "Supporting Material".


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Contract

This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase.

PBCTC reserves the right to accept all or part of the proposal.

PBCTC requires that contracts covering the provision of services and equipment requested in this RFP be negotiated to the satisfaction of PBCTC.

All vendors are required to acknowledge that they agree to the conditions set out in this section.

2. Business Background

2.1. Palm Beach County Tax Collector

Collects various taxes for every local government agency that has the power to levy taxes.

Serves the county as its agent for the administration of Local Business Tax Receipts and Tourist Development taxes.

Serves the state as an agent for The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, The Department of Environmental Protection, The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and The Department of Revenue.

Serves the public as an educational resource.

2.2. Palm Beach County Tax Collector Batch Processing

The batch processing department is responsible for processing the mail received using high speed automated mail processing equipment. The equipment provides high speed scanning of checks and stubs and creates batches of work that is uploaded to host systems (third party vendors) for processing. The staff is responsible for reviewing rejected transactions and reconciling reporting differences.

2.3. Palm Beach County Tax Collector Branch Operations

The PBCTC has 7 remote Service Centers located throughout Palm Beach County to serve the public.


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The Service Centers process transactions for all services offered to the public, and the PBCTC accepts Cash, Checks, and Credit/Debit cards as forms of payments.

Branch Operations procedures require that all checks collected on a processing day be scanned the next morning prior to their scheduled armored car pickup. The checks are scanned under the designated till (cash drawer) that is used when researching transactions.

Document scanning is also a function performed at the branch offices to research supporting documentation for transactions. Examples include, parking permit applications, Business Tax applications, etc.…

3. Current Systems

RT Lawrence Corporation software is currently used for the batch processing of mail payments. The environment is comprised of Microsoft servers using SQL, and a file server to store information.

The current format of payments being processed include the following;

- Stubs, attachments, and checks - Full Sheets, attachments, and checks - Checks only

3.1. System Interfaces

The batch processing of payments requires interface capabilities to a hosted 3rd party tax application, the State of Florida motor vehicle system (FRVIS), and also allows banking deposit of funds electronically (Image Cash Letter / ICL).

The hosted 3rd party tax application requires an output text file in a comma delimited format for each work type.


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Interfacing to the Motor vehicle renewal system involves the following;

1. After reviewing all the transactions, we generate an output file from the remittance software that is placed on a local server.

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) application is configured to look for the file in a certain folder. In the DHSMV application, we load the output file and their application transmits it to DHSMV’s central servers for analysis and posting.

2. After analysis, they send back an input file to our local server. The input file is essentially the same as the output file, but with additional fields added which tell us if the registration was renewed or not.

If it was renewed (TRANS_ID not null), there is a Transaction ID we need to pull from the file (for step 3 below).

If it was not eligible to be renewed (TRANS_ID null), we need to reject the associated transactions from the remittance processing application. Additionally, we need a report generated showing what was rejected and why it was rejected (ERROR_CODE, ERROR MESSAGE).

An additional report is also needed showing overs and shorts.

3. We need the input file to be manipulated such that the TRANS_ID field is pulled from each registration that was renewed, and from this create a file (simple list one TRANS_ID per row) to load back into the DHSMV application to initiate the printing of all the registration documents.

3.2. High Speed Hardware Environment

The current high speed hardware environment consists of the following;

- Opex 7.5 Mail Extractor

- Opex 3600

- iTran 7780


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High Level Flow of Mail

Project Once refers to the process implemented to minimize the handoff of mail to other departments by having a cross-trained staff using automated systems for processing mail immediately.

The server environment consists of a database, processing, and storage servers.

See Appendix A and B for more detailed process flows.


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DMV Findings

34% of transactions are rejected on the Opex 7.5 for the following reasons;

• Multiple stubs and check(s)

• Insurance information needs to be updated in FRVIS prior to processing payment

• Correspondence attached

• Change of Address

• Check upside down

• $0 renewals should be rejected up front to prevent going through the batch verification only to be rejected. The amount of transactions with a $0 amount is minimal.

Property Tax Findings

• 90% of IPP bills were processed on the Opex 7.5 in September 2013.

– Property Tax payments processed on the Opex 7.5 in January and February 2012 average 75%.

3.3. Remote Branch Office Environment

The remote branch offices are equipped with a Panini Vision X desktop check scanner and Canon DR-3010C document scanner. The staff at each branch office scans all the checks collected for the previous day and also scans documents associated with various transactions. The scanned checks and documents are researched by staff in various departments in the organization using defined document templates.

3.4. Transaction Volumes

Daily transaction volumes for branch locations:

Location Checks White Mail

North County 350 80

PGA 10 N/A

Downtown Branch 334 110

Government Center 3rd Floor 1000 175

Royal Palm Beach 595 53

Belle Glade 90 120

Central Service Center 631 180

South County 630 180


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Transaction volumes using high speed mail processing equipment:

Transaction Volumes

Month Certified BTR DMV PT Misc Total Received Mail

January 1,286 1,016 14,327 7,729 2,088 26,446

February 1,056 13,820 4,668 4088 19,544

March 1,841 15,589 23,696 4088 41,126

April 1,293 14,360 2,171 4088 17,824

May 1,383 20,865 1,516 4088 23,764

June 1,421 18,907 11,959 4088 32,287

July 1,318 8,555 17,888 206 4088 27,967

August 1,223 9,548 15,648 4993 31,412

September 1,328 6,511 13,693 10,994 7,592 40,118

October 995 149 14,394 153 5475 21,166

November 4,177 17,238 101,048 19,223 141,686

December 2,294 18,513 44,242 9,682 74,731

4. System Scope

The primary goal of a new solution is to reduce the time to process payments and a goal of scanning all mail the same day it is received. In addition, scanned payments should be easily searchable at any stage in the process.

The system functionalities that the PBCTC is looking for is categorized into the following:

5. Statement Of Business Requirements

5.1. Functionality


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Note:

SD – Standard Requirement is standard to application software no modification needed.

MC – Moderate Change Application software will satisfy this requirement with moderate modification (to be

accomplished within two days)

SC – Significant Change Significant customization (beyond two days) is needed to satisfy the requirement.


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No. Requirement Description SD MC SC Comments

General

1. Support for mixed-operation processing and virtual batching

o Mixed operation processing is defined as

the ability to scan multiple work types together. The software would then identify and classify the type of documents being scanned and batch them into like types.

Example: 5 envelopes are scanned; 3 contain tax payments, 2 contain motor vehicle payments. The software should virtually batch the contents into 1 tax batch and one motor vehicle batch.

2. Business rule capabilities

o User-configurable business rules for

payment processing such as calculations based on stub fields, check fields, etc.

3. Zoned-field extraction

o Examples include:

Detecting address changes and generating a report (PDF, etc.) of everything with an address change.

Check boxes

Etc.


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4. Customized work flows by criteria

o Example:

Based on scan line criteria, route to different users or users with different roles.

5. Optional customized programming

o As needs grow and change, as well as

legislative changes that may occur and be outside of our control, we may require custom programming to accommodate such changes.

6. Custom reporting

o Capability to generate custom reports

7. Ability to deposit funds either physically or electronically for the various operations (Property Tax, Business Tax, DMV).

8. System should read the name and address information from checks for processing refunds

9. System should have logic to identify the position of the routing# and account# on cashier’s checks. Some cashier’s checks have the routing# followed by the account#, and sometimes the account# is first followed by the routing#

10. System should have the ability to perform real-time lookup of payment amount due from third party application or local database.

11. Second pass hot files should be processed in any order, and not only the order in which the work is processed.


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12. System should have the ability to change the orientation of the checks and/or stubs and also capture the MICR and scan line information even if paper is scanned in a different alignment.

13. System should provide a management dashboard with real time statistics on amount of work received, in process, queued, and completed.

14. System should have various reports for balancing

- Unencoded Checks Report - Rejects Report - Account Number Detail

Report - Over/Short Report - Batch Collections Report - Bank Tape Register Report - Direct Deposit Report - Check 21 Rejects Report - Bank Deposit Slip Report - Batch Total Report - Other Reports

DMV

1. The system should have the ability to read the 1 and 2 year amounts from the stubs and should be able to apply logic to automatically process the transaction if the amount of the check matches either the 1 year or 2 year stub amount.

2. Donation boxes on the back of DMV stubs need to be scanned so that the amounts can be automatically calculated by the system

3. System should have the ability to read the vessel type from the stub.


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4. The system should have the ability to scan parking applications electronically.

5. The system should have the ability to read multiple DMV stubs when clients do not separate the stubs.

6. $0 DMV renewals need to be processed separately than other transactions.

Property Tax

1. System needs to be able to scan property tax returned mail. Envelopes contain a single or multiple bill stubs. The envelope also contains multiple informational inserts. Thickness will vary year to year based on the number of inserts included.

2. Need to have the ability to scan returned mail (all stubs in envelope) and create an output file in a user-defined format that is uploaded into a third party tax application (Reuters – Aumentum).

3. System needs to read the postmarked date on the envelope to associate the proper discount period for processing. 4% discount needs to have envelope postmarked in November, 3% discount for December, January for 2%, and 1% for February. Client needs to be able to set these dates in system (configurable option) without a change request.

4. Application should provide multiple rounding options when calculating the discount period to avoid rounding discrepancies between the mail processing application and the TCO Tax software. Client needs to be able to adjust rounding in system without a change request.

Business Tax Receipt


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1. Separate transactions that require BTR certifications. Staff needs to enter the certification information in the tax collection software (Aumentum) prior to processing the payments.

2. System should have the ability to process account numbers that contain 9 digits and also account numbers containing 10 digits.

3. System should automatically process stubs coded as 01 in the scan line. Items coded as 02 in the scan line need certification work to be entered in the tax system prior to processing the payment.

Remote Check Scanner

1. System should be able to extract bank routing and check account information from checks.

White Mail

1. System should have capability for branches to scan documents for transactions such as parking permit applications, Business Tax applications, etc.…

3rd Party Web Payment Providers

1. System should have the capability to scan batches of checks from 3rd party online bill payment providers, and provide staff sitting in front of the mail processing equipment the ability capture the PIN number for import into our collection system (Aumentum). An interface or table will need to be built for cross-reference in order to convert data (Parcel ID Number “PIN” to bill number), allow for verification, create an import file to update the payment status.


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6. System Requirements

6.1. Technical Requirements

Note:






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1. Application Integration Same Look and Feel Single Administration Single Programming Language

(Excellent integration means that the user feels like they are using applications from a single environment.)

2. Auto-Documentation, Flexible Reporting and Web Publishing (Readability of output. System should have a very flexible and powerful GUI based report writer or a facility to be able to export output into other reporting tools)

3. Web Enabled Application (Application runs on Internet environment. Should have extensive connectivity through EDI and should support popular standards like EDIFACT.)

4. Ease of Use Intuitive Interface Online Help Non-modal screen navigation

(User-friendly. System should use standard Windows icons, layout and make extensive use of shortcut features. It should have context sensitive help, and wizard-like natural language query.)

5. Connectivity to Office Automation (Ability to provide connectivity to PC based office automation products like MS Office, etc.)

6. Support for centralized component based environment (single tier deployment environment).


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7. Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) (The application package should be built around modern day Relational Database Management System, preferably SQL Server or Oracle.)

8. Standard DBMS connectivity to external data sources, Such as ODBC, OLE DB, JDBC. (ODBC at a minimum; others are bonus.)

9. Operating System (The application package should run on industry standard operating system, preferably Windows 7 or higher.)

10. Hardware Compatibility (Should run on the latest high-end PC Server technology and be portable to any mid-range business server.)

11. Multiple-User Access (Ability to provide concurrent system access to multiple users and it should not cause file or record deadlock. Provide fast response time to all concurrent users.)

12. The system should be able to cope with or should be:

Multi-Site Multilingual (e.g., Spanish, Creole, French) Ability to process inter-company

transactions

13. All raw data captured can easily be transferred to a report via a report writer.

14. Forms and reports can be printed to a specific printer according to user ID, company/division or other criteria.

15. Transaction volumes and amounts generated per location.


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16. Allow removal of all masters and transactions of selected transactions.

17. Year 2000 Compliance (The system must be Year 2000 compliant in all aspects.)

DBMS

18. ODBC/JDBC Support

19. Referential Integrity

20. Built-in Trigger

21. Stored Procedure

22. Row Level Locking

23. Journal, Commitment/Rollback

24. Online Save

25. Administration Tool

26. Open Platform (Could run on more than one platform, preferably SQL Server or Oracle.)

27. Online access to SQL Server 2012

End User Query Tool

28. Exploration Flexibility (Drill-down)

29. Administration

30. Export Capability to Office Automation Software

31. Web Publishing Output

32. Row and Column Level Security

33. Charting Facility

34. Reporting Facility


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35. Browser-Based User Interface

36. Performance Monitoring/Tracking

6.2. Security and Control Requirements

Note:






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1. Multiple User Classes (The system must allow for multiple levels of user classes. Each lower level corresponds to more limited access.)

2. Access Control (Access control should be based on menus/options.)

3. Screen Level Security (Entire screens or selective parts of screens should be accessible only to duly designated classes of users. Hence, a user belonging to a high-level class can access more screens than a user belonging to a lower level class.)

4. File, Record and Field Level Security (Specific files, records and fields are only accessible to duly designated classes of users. There are also different levels of accessibility. Users belonging to a specific class can either have read, write, update or delete rights. Users belonging to highest level of class or those in system administration group may have all the access rights.)

5. Access level based on location (i.e., users are classified on which location they can access).

6. Access Control to Client Data (Since we will be providing our Clients with access to information regarding their transactions, there must be a control in place so that the Client will have access only to information regarding him and him alone.)


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7. Password (Password should be readily changeable by the end users. The system should force users to change password at predetermined intervals. The system should be intuitive to detect and reject if password is used more than once during specified duration.)

8. Access to Operating System Prompt (Only the System Administrators should have access to the operating system prompt.)

9. System Housekeeping/Maintenance (The system should provide the ability for backups and other housekeeping without exiting to the operating system.)

6.3. Audit Requirements

Note:






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1. Full Transaction Traceability (All transactions will need to be audited to show the source of initiation of the transaction, the individual who worked on the transaction, and the date/time of initiation and completion of the transaction.)

2. User Logs (There must be full visibility of all systems activities of all users.)

3. Data Integrity (There must be mechanisms that verify the integrity of data. There must also be control mechanisms on the EDI front to ensure that any data transmitted is acknowledged back to the originator. This acknowledgment must be compared to the original transmission and any exceptions highlighted.)

4. Roll Back/Roll Forward and Mirroring (It should be possible for the RDBMS to roll back/roll forward using transaction logs. Mirroring of the database at the remote location will allow continuous operations, even if network connectivity to the central server is disrupted.)

5. Input/Output Interface Controls (There must be full controls on all input and output interfaces.)


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6.4. Target System Performance

Note:






1. Ability to Handle Volumes (The system should be able to handle the volumes as projected in Section 3.4, Transaction Volumes, without any degradation in system speed.)

2. 24 Hour Access (The system should provide 24-hour access. Day-end activities should not interfere with users’ access to the system. The system should allow for online backups and other housekeeping activities.)

3. Printers (The system should support a wide variety of laser printers.)

4. Performance Degradation (There should be no noticeable degradation in system performance for up to 300 users.)

5. Historical Data (The system should be able to maintain historical data online in accordance to PBCTC records retention guidelines. See Appendix C)


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6.5. Vendor Proposed Solution – Overview

Provide a narrative containing an overview of your proposed solution. Include brief descriptions of both hardware and software, and indicate how the system will help us meet our operational goals.

6.6. Vendor Proposed Solution – Detailed Description

Supply a complete description of your proposed solution. The description should include:

A system block (work-flow) diagram.

Details of the functionality and features as they relate to our stated requirements.

A detailed end-to-end workflow description.

Detailed descriptions of the hardware and software components.

7. Vendor Requirements

7.1. Supplier Profile

All vendors must give a comprehensive profile of their organization in the following format and order.

Organization

‘Organization’ concerns the structure and size of the company both in terms of its head office and other worldwide regional locations.

Please provide information as to whether the organization is independent or part of a larger conglomerate. If the latter, please provide details on the holding company.

Please provide corporate mission statement and strategic direction of the product. Also long term plan for addressing emerging technology

Please provide information as to whether the organization is the package manufacturer, reseller or value-added resellers (VARs). If the latter two, please also provide details of the company.

Please provide information of any company that merged with or was purchased by the organization.

Please provide information of any alliance or affiliation that with which the organization partners (e.g., tool or equipment supplier, standard groups, industry groups).

Please provide information of the organization statistics (e.g., geographic distribution, market share, reputation, company highlights, etc.).

Please provide information of your organization’s performance against others in the industry.


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Please provide information on how much the organization spent on research and development as a percentage of revenue for the last two years.

Product

‘Product’ concerns some basic information on the products of the company:

All products being marketed

How long the products have been in the market

Compatibility of different products marketed

By whom and where was the product developed

Platform the products are running

Connectivity strategy for product proposed

Location

‘Location’ concerns the location and size of operations at the head office and any regional offices.

For each location please state:

Number of employees by function (technical and non-technical).

Whether the offices are wholly owned subsidiaries of the main head office or if it is a third-party managed operation (VARs).

Also indicate the office from where an implementation would be managed.

Growth

‘Growth’ concerns the manner in which the company has progressed since its inception. Please provide information:

The year when the company was first established.

The place where the company was first established.

The size of the company per year since its inception in terms of locations and staff numbers and within this, the number of consultants.

If the company has been in operation for a number of years, please summarize up until the last five years, then provide detailed information from this period.

The history in sales and consulting revenue over the last five years: product sales, personal growth (local, regional and global) and R&D expenditure (money and man-hours).

Experience

‘Experience’ concerns the relative experience vendor has in terms of an implementation of this size related to the business activity and distance from the most local regional office. Please provide information as to the experience of


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your consultants and retention rate of your key support people in the last two years.

Reference Sites:

‘Reference sites’ concerns the location and relative suitability of sites where the package is already implemented and is currently operational. Please provide:

Number of reference sites by geographic area

Other locations

For each reference site, please provide the following:

Client company name

Client contact person

Client address (street, city, country, post code), email address, telephone and fax number

Client number of employees

Client industry

The package or module that was delivered

The date of the delivery

For reference locations whose software applications most closely match PBCTC requirements, please outline the business activities carried out at these sites and their use of your package. Please indicate the period of time each site has been in operation with the designated package and the degree of customization that was required.

Other Information

Please also provide us with any other information which you see as relevant, specifically any known weakness that the product has in terms of functionality or implementation/training requirements.

7.2. Maintenance and Support

Vendors are required to provide the following information related to the support and maintenance of the proposed solution.

Options available for support, names and addresses of Agents (if any) in the region.

Software maintenance charges and the spectrum of activities covered under such maintenance contracts (new release, bug fixes, etc.).

Software support availability (Help Desk, hotline, etc.) and duration for which they are available.

Response time to support inquiries from PBCTC.


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Standard hours during which support will be provided and out of hours support options and costs.

Uptime guarantees.

Number of staff in the software support team.

Frequency at which new versions of the software are released.

Release date for the first version of the software.

Release date for the current version of software.

Release date for the next version.

Product development plan for the proposed software solution and annual R&D.

Implications of modifications on upgrade, maintaining modification and potential costs.

Identify whether support is provided in house or subcontracted to third party.

Identify inventory method of maintenance and consumable parts for hardware.

8. Implementation Requirements

It is planned that a vendor will be selected by 11/18/2017 and contract negotiation completed 12/31/2016. It is PBCTC’s intention to commence operational use of the proposed system no later than 9/29/2017. Please use indicative figures for this section. PBCTC proposed the following order of priority in implementing the information system:

1. Equipment

2. Server Infrastructure / High Speed Software

3. Remote Offices

PBCTC is open to an option on the priority order of implementing the system if convinced with the alternative solution of vendor.

8.1. Implementation Plan

Vendors should include an implementation plan with a timetable for the implementation of the system, showing the recommended modules to be included in each phase and estimate effort required. The plan must indicate the specific tasks involved and the time frames required (both elapsed and staff days). Implementation plan must also indicate the set-up, testing, parallel and live run phases, the checks to be made at the end of each phase and the deliverables from each one.

Clearly state the standard acceptance and testing criteria that is usually employed.

Indicate what kind of performance bond the vendor is willing to provide to PBCTC ensuring a satisfactory performance of the system.

This implementation plan will be refined during initial scoping of the project.


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8.2. Data Conversion

As part of the project, data will need to be converted and loaded into the system. Conversion programs may need to be written to handle this task. Vendors must indicate how they propose to do this and the approximate effort and cost of this effort.

8.3. Project Organization

Provide details of the proposed project structure identifying key individuals, e.g., Project Managers and their roles, including the number and location of proposed analysis/development personnel. Due to the expected impact on the business processes, it is extremely important that the PBCTC obtain a thorough understanding of the organizations and individuals proposed for the project and the roles the PBCTC staff would be expected to play. Vendors should provide details of sub-contractors likely to be involved. Indicate the number of full time equivalent staff that will be required. Resumes or a personal profile should be provided for key personnel within the project.

It is desired to provide estimates of the required number of PBCTC staff and identify the skills required. Provide details for the following:

Number of Full Time Equivalent (separate IT and Business) required throughout the duration of the project

Key roles to be included from the business

Key roles to be included from IT

Provide details of governance roles including:

Steering committee

Project management

Number and frequency

Provide an estimate of the infrastructure required at the PBCTC for your implementation team:

Number of work desks

Number of telephones

Number of computers

8.4. Training

As part of the implementation requirements, training needs must also be identified for up to 100 operating staff and managers. This will have to be conducted on an individual basis or in small groups (up to 20 people) based on staff schedules and availability. The training needs of the IT staff for ongoing support must also be identified. Please include a training plan, clearly indicating what type of training can be imparted at what phase of the project and where, with due consideration for the remoteness and travel costs. The vendors must also indicate the number of staff-days of training and support provided free of charge.


32

List the documentation (systems and user manuals) provided with the standard software solutions. It will be necessary for the PBCTC to see samples of such documentation during the selection process (not to be supplied along with the Proposal).

Implementation costs should cover all effort required from initiation to post- implementation wrap-up.

9. Selection Process

9.1. Objective

The objective of the evaluation process is to select a reliable and experienced vendor, capable of supplying and installing a computer system with the functions required by the PBCTC, within the time frame identified in Section 6.2. In addition, the vendor should be willing and capable of providing ongoing maintenance and support of the solution.

9.2. Timetable

The key dates for the RFP issue, receipt, evaluation and implementation are currently as follows:

Completed By: Key Milestones Comments

9/1/2016 Distribution of the

RFP

9/16/2016 Pre-Bid Question

and Answer

10/7/2016 Submission of

Response to RFP

10/14/2016 Notify Qualified

Vendors

11/11/2016 Vendor Package

Solution

Presentation

Only qualifying vendors will

be invited to come to [place]

(at their own expense) to

demonstrate the product to the

project team

To be Determined Vendor Site Visits PBCTC reserves the right to

make at least one installed site

visit and/or contact reference

sites by telephone

11/18/2016 Announced Winning

Vendor


33

Completed By: Key Milestones Comments

12/31/2016 Contract negotiation Selected vendor enters into a

scoping period during which

time the following will be

produced: proof of concept,

final costing (including

infrastructure), final

implementation plan and

signed contract.

PBCTC retains the right to amend this schedule as it sees fit.

9.3. Contacts during the selection process

For all RFP clarifications until completion of the selection process, the primary point of contact will be: Pat Bradley, Chief of Tax Services

In order to ensure that any clarification is promptly made available, a secondary point of contact is: Michelle Morris, Batch Processing Ctr Manager

For an organized process of answering queries from vendors, questions/inquiries shall be e-mailed to the contact persons above. All questions/inquiries shall be responded within 1 business day from receipt of request.

9.4. Selection Criteria

Package selection will be based upon a number of criteria, as detailed below. The vendors are therefore required to consider how their package fits in with the criteria listed and clearly indicate this in their response document.

Selection criteria will be based upon:

Functional Fit

The functional fit between the package and the business needs, as documented in the Statement of User Requirements and its availability for implementation. This will also take into account the ease of use of the package, the quality of the documentation, the extent of the modifications required and the readiness and flexibility of the vendor to handle customization and adapt to any future changes in the business.

Supplier Fit

The quality of management, technical staff, financial and organizational stability of the company. Contractual arrangements, current customer base and the quality of the vendor’s support (i.e., assistance/troubleshooting, training, and consulting) will also be considered. Customization should be carried out by the vendors in such a manner that it can be incorporated into future releases of the


34

software. Vendor presence in the state where the PBCTC is operating will have a definite advantage.

Technical Fit

The package will be technically measured based on its seamless online connectivity to the application systems identified in the System Interfaces section and its flexibility and support on open architecture so that any future need to interface with other system would not cause any problem. It will also be evaluated on its stability of its platform (preferably Windows 2012), robustness of its database (preferably MS SQL), and adherence to defined security and control requirements, audit requirements and target system performance.

Cost

The overall costs of implementing the proposed solution for up to 300 concurrent users. A cost-effective solution that seeks to minimize overall cost of ownership

Implementation Strategy and Risk

Solutions that can be implemented quickly, are flexible and are able to meet present and future needs. A proposed implementation approach seeks to minimize risk.

9.5. Contract Negotiation

For the preferred vendor, the PBCTC will handle negotiations to agree on a contract. The agreed contract will stipulate that the equipment and application software specified will satisfy the functions as stated in this RFP, and will perform at a speed appropriate to the industry. It will include final costing and a complete implementation plan.

10. Proposal Response Format

This section outlines the format in which the suppliers are required to respond to this invitation. All suppliers will be required to provide the information as specified. Any other information that may be relevant to our decision making process must be supplied as addenda.

10.1. Summary of Proposal

The RFP document must have a summary section containing the following information:

Name of the package(s) being offered, version number, etc.

Broad functional fit to the specifications in the Statement of User Requirements

Hardware platforms recommended and alternatives.

Application environment

Number of sites where package is implemented. Number of sites for the version proposed.

Approximate cost of implementation broken down by:


35

o Software Acquisition and Installation

Application Software

Data Access Software

Database Software

System Management Software

Development/Testing Software

o Hardware Acquisition and Installation

Application/Database Server

Web Server

Backup Server

Document Scanners

Mail Processing Equipment

o Implementation Service

General Project Cost (Consulting, Travel Expense, etc.)

Installation

Customization

Maintenance and Support

o Other Costs

Summary of Strengths of the Recommended Solution

It is the vendor’s responsibility to highlight all costs related to the implementation of their solution. Key components that are required but not quoted for will be the responsibility of the supplier.

10.2. Supplier Profile

Vendor should detail in this section all details pertaining to the vendor requirements summarized in Section 6.

10.3. Compliance to User Requirements

Vendors should set out clearly in their proposal all information requested. The proposal should follow the same numbering system as this RFP. Vendors should respond to each requirement with a SD (Standard), MC (Moderate Change), or SC (Significant Change) answer.

The definitions are as follows:

SD Requirement is standard to application software no modification needed.

MC Application software will satisfy this requirement with moderate modification (to be accomplished within two days)


36

SC Significant customization (beyond two days) is needed to satisfy the requirement.

Where a specific requirement cannot be fully met, or an alternative solution is proposed, comments should be included (e.g., the cost of basic tailoring, how much time is needed, etc.).

The vendors are also required to provide printed report samples.

10.4. Compliance to Business and System Requirements

Vendor should fill out information pertaining to the business and system requirements summarized in Sections 5 and 6.

10.5. Compliance to Implementation Requirement

Vendor should detail in this section all details pertaining to the vendor requirements summarized in Section 7.

10.6. Cost

To assist the PBCTC in the evaluation and analysis of the costs associated with the proposal, vendors should present their pricing using the cost model provided. This cost model is in the Excel spreadsheet, PRICE.XLSX, on the CD enclosed with the RFP.

It is expected for the vendor to provide the application software (including third party software wherever applicable), database integration services and consulting.

Each heading should be expanded as required to show each item and clearly identify what is included within the associated charge. The charges should be separated into capital cost, one-time costs and ongoing charges.

It is expected that all charges and costs applicable to this proposal will be included in this section. Including, for example: handling, transportation, installation, training, maintenance and support, software upgrade, tools, travel, accommodations, and any other item that could be interpreted as the real cost of procurement and any on-going expenses due to the vendor. Costs are to be provided in US dollars.

Software costs should highlight the difference between standard core licenses, modules, and enhancement costs and third party software licenses. Wherever a vendor is supplying items of a different manufacturer, the manufacturer and model numbers must be indicated.

In this section, vendors are requested to provide details on the equipment required as a platform for the proposed system. The PBCTC requires that vendors provide estimates for the capacity and costs of all equipment for the proposed system.

Any charges applying to the proposal should be included with a full and itemized description.


37

All costs and prices quoted in the proposal are assumed to be valid until implementation is completed.

10.7. Contracts

The vendors must indicate nature of contracts and agreements they are willing to enter into. The information to be provided includes:

Agreeing to Sample Contract Draft terms and conditions

Payment terms - details of payment settlement options

Period for which the price quotes will hold

Guarantees against the system non-performance

Penalty clauses

Any other vendor constraints


38

11. Glossary

The following glossary defines certain terms that at times have been used in this RFP.

Term Explanation

DBMS Data Base Management System

EDI Electronic Data Interchange

EDIFACT Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and

Transportation

GUI Graphical User Interface

ICL Image Cash Letter

LAN Local Area Network

ODBC Open Data Base Connectivity

PC Personal Computer

RDBMS Relational Data Base Management System

Routers On the internet, a router is a device or in some cases, software is

a computer, that determines the next network point to collide a

packet should be forward toward its destination. The router is

connected to at least two networks and decides which way to

send each

Switch In telecommunication, a switch is a network device that selects a

path or circuit for sending a unit of data to its next destination. A

switch may also include the function of the router, a device or

program that can determine the route and specifically what

adjacent network point the data should be sent to. In general, a

switch is a simple and faster mechanism than a router which

requires knowledge about the network and how to determine the

route

TCO Tax Collector’s Office

WAN Wide Area Network

YTD Year To Date

12. Appendix


39

12.1. Appendix A – High Level Process Flow

Incoming Mail

Hand Sort

Manually

Is the Mail Clean

Mail?Yes

Set High Speed

OPEX 7.5

Stack DMV, PT

or BTR into

OPEX 7.5

Machine to

Open the

Envelope

Extract the

Contents

Scan the Stub

and Check

Can it be processed

on OPEX 3600?

No

Scan mail on

OPEX 3600Yes

Process in

Payment

Processing

Department

No

Create the

Batch

Verify the

Batch

Import to GRM

or FRVISPayment SortBalance

Bank Deposit

Process

Mail is considered

processed

Submit to FinanceFinance

Process

High Speed Machine Processes

Th

e B

rain

RT

L

Wells Fargo

Highest Level Process Flow: High Speed DMV, Property Tax, and Business Tax

Rev. 3/22/2016 MM

10-30 mins manual

process (1-3 staff)

DMV - 750 pieces completed in 20 mins (8 min run 11 min jam). 58% rejected


40

12.2. Appendix B – Daily Mail Distribution Process Flow

12.3. Appendix C Records Retention

- Records retention guidelines dictate how long information must be kept whether in paper or electronic form. The PBCTC must have the capability to find information electronically based on the published guidelines. Records retention for each business line varies, and the system must have a method for purging records that have met their disposal criteria.

- Tax -- Item #43 Receipts: Tax -- Retention: 20 anniversary years


41

- DMV – Item #68 Driver License Records: End of Day Reports – Retention: 1 anniversary year

and General Records Schedule GS1-SL for State and Local Government Agencies (current version is February 19, 2015); the retention period for the following category is:

- BTR – Item #221 Business Tax Receipt Records/Occupational Licenses -- Retention: 1

calendar year after expiration, revocation, or denial of business tax receipt/license.


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12.4. Appendix D Sample Contract Draft


43


44


45


46


47


48


49

12.5. Appendix E – Project Once Process Flow

12.6. Intentionally Left Blank

ANNE M. GANNON

PALM BEACH COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR

VENDOR SUBMISSION FORM

BATCH PAYMENT PROCESSING SOLUTION


Page 1

VENDOR SUBMISSION FORM PALM BEACH COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR


I. Instructions

1. Sealed Proposals: Responses to this RFP are to be submitted in a sealed envelope, clearly identified as:

Proposal to Palm Beach County Tax Collector for the Supply and

Implementation of a Batch Payment Processing Solution.

and mailed to: Mr. Pat Bradley Chief of Tax Services Palm Beach County Tax Collector P.O. Box 3715 West Palm Beach, FL 33402-3715 or delivered to: Mr. Pat Bradley Chief of Tax Services Palm Beach County Tax Collector Governmental Center 301 N. Olive Ave., 3rd Floor West Palm Beach, FL 33401 2. Questions and Additional Information: Requests for clarification or additional information are to be made to: Mr. Pat Bradley Chief of Tax Services [email protected] (email)

Ms. Michelle Morris Batch Processing Ctr Manager [email protected] (email)

No questions will be accepted after September 16, 2016. All questions are to be submitted via email. Responses will be transmitted to all proposers via email. All proposers are required to provide an email address for notification purposes.

3. Complete Cover Sheet (See Exhibit A)


Page 2

4. The proposer is required to complete the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form, Exhibit B.


Page 3

EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT A

COVER SHEET ANNE M. GANNON

PALM BEACH COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR PROPOSAL FOR BATCH PAYMENT PROCESSING SOLUTION

PROPOSAL SUBMITTED BY: FIRM ADDRESS TELEPHONE FAX EMAIL

This proposal contains all the information requested in the Request for Proposals including Exhibit B.

Signature Typed Name Title Date


Page 4

EXHIBIT B

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE FORM ANNE M. GANNON

PALM BEACH COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR PROPOSAL FOR BATCH PAYMENT PROCESSING SOLUTION

For purposes of determining any possible conflict of interest, all bidders/vendors, must disclose if the Palm Beach County Tax Collector, or her employee(s), are owners, corporate officers, employees, etc., of their business. Indicate either “yes” (if a Palm Beach County Tax Collector employee is also associated with your business), or “no”. If yes, give person(s) name(s) and position(s) with your business. YES NO NAME(S) POSITION(S) FIRM NAME: BY (PRINTED): BY (SIGNATURE): TITLE: ADDRESS:

Pricing

Respondent

Software Total CostAnnual Maintenance Cost

Hardware

Server Quantity Unit Cost Total CostAnnual Maintenance Cost

High Speed Mail Processing Scanner Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost

Annual Maintenance Cost

Check Scanner (Branch Office) Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost


Document Scanner (Branch Office) Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost


Implementation

Services Quantity Unit Cost Total CostAnnual Maintenance Cost

Training Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost

Other Costs Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost

batch payment processing solution

Documents