Discover how a pillar of support for at-risk youth in Chicago used Cosmos to streamline report distribution and improve data accuracy, freeing up more time to focus on its mission.
The support we’ve received from Cosmos has been far superior to what I was expecting. Their team has been instrumental in helping us get everything we need out of the tool.
Before Cosmos, distributing financial reports for 40+ business segments required a full 8-hour day of manual work monthly. Cosmos’ automated templates now complete this task in under 60 minutes, saving approximately 84 hours annually and freeing up time for higher-level financial analysis.
Mercy Home manages reports for multiple stakeholders, including department managers, directors, and executive leadership. With Cosmos’ customizable templates, reports can be tailored to specific audiences, automatically ensuring each group gets the financial insights they need.
As Mercy Home continues expanding its services and financial operations, Cosmos provides a scalable reporting solution that accommodates more complex financial structures and additional reporting segments without adding administrative burden.
For over 135 years, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls has provided housing, education, and support services for at-risk youth in Chicago. With a mission-driven focus, its financial operations must be accurate, efficient, and transparent, but outdated reporting processes were slowing it down.
Following their migration from Microsoft Dynamics SL to Business Central in 2022, the finance team faced significant challenges with their legacy reporting system. Management Reporter lacked critical data validation features and required extensive manual intervention – a particular burden for a nonprofit with limited administrative resources.
When their Business Central implementation partner, Boyer & Associates, introduced them to Cosmos, Mercy Home saw an opportunity to eliminate these inefficiencies and modernize their financial reporting.
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Before, I had to run every report in one document, manually separate tabs, and send them individually. Now, it’s one click and done!
After evaluating multiple reporting solutions, Mercy Home selected Cosmos based on its seamless Business Central integration. The implementation process took just four weeks, with the Cosmos team providing tailored training.
“The transition was remarkably smooth,” notes Porter. “Within our first reporting cycle, we were already seeing significant time savings, and by month three, we had completely eliminated our manual report distribution process.”
With Cosmos, Mercy Home transformed its financial reporting process—eliminating manual tasks, improving data accuracy, and setting the stage for more efficient budgeting.
One of the most significant advantages was automated report distribution and sending financial reports to the right stakeholders with a single click. Instead of manually compiling reports, separating tabs, and formatting emails, the team now uploads a template, adjusts key details, and schedules the reports to be sent automatically. This feature has saved a day’s worth of work every month. Angela Porter, Controller at Mercy Home, explains: “Before, I had to run every report in one document, manually separate tabs, and send them individually. Now, it’s one click and done!”
Beyond time savings, Cosmos has improved financial data accuracy and transparency. The system’s structured data retrieval process makes it easier to identify missing business segments or discrepancies before reports are finalized, ensuring that stakeholders receive accurate and complete financial data. Porter emphasizes how this has given her more confidence in her reports: “With Cosmos, I can easily verify that all my business segments are accounted for before sending out reports. That level of confidence in our financials just wasn’t possible with our old system.”
Looking ahead, Mercy Home plans to expand its use of Cosmos for budgeting and forecasting. By consolidating financial data into structured report templates, they anticipate reducing errors and improving department efficiency. Instead of spending hours manually compiling budget reports, the team can focus on financial planning and analysis—ensuring leadership has clear, accurate projections. Porter recognizes this transition’s value: “The time savings from Cosmos have been significant. What used to take an entire day every month now happens automatically, which lets me focus on more strategic financial work.”
By modernizing its financial reporting with Cosmos, Mercy Home has gained valuable time, improved accuracy, and enhanced its ability to provide transparent financial insights across the organization. As the nonprofit continues its mission of supporting at-risk youth, its accounting team can now spend less time on administrative reporting tasks and more time ensuring financial stability for the future.
The time savings from Cosmos have been significant. What used to take an entire day every month now happens automatically, which lets me focus on more strategic financial work.
