CUSTOMER STORY
HdL Companies
HdL Companies Partners with VFP for a Smarter Financial Operations Roadmap
Summary
HdL Companies, a national leader in revenue and tax administration for local governments, partnered with VFP Consulting for an independent Financial Systems Health Check. Using a “reverse-demo” approach, VFP assessed HdL’s Certinia environment across billing, AR, AP, reporting, and close processes. In roughly four weeks, VFP delivered 24 practical, prioritized recommendations to streamline operations and unlock the full value of HdL’s financial systems.
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Industry:
Government Services / Revenue Administration -
Agencies Served:
900+ Local Governments -
Solutions:
Certinia (Financial Management), AI Automation -
Region:
United States
The Approach: A Focused Systems Review and Prioritized Roadmap
As part of its ongoing investment in scalable systems and operational excellence, HdL engaged VFP Consulting for an independent viewpoint. VFP Consulting began with a focused Financial Systems Health Check designed to understand HdL’s current operational state and turn that understanding into a practical roadmap. Rather than starting with a generic template, VFP used a “reverse-demo” approach, asking HdL’s finance and accounting team to walk through exactly how billing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, reporting, and close processes were being completed. This allowed VFP to look past the technical configuration to see where the team had built workarounds, and where the root issue was process alignment rather than technology alone. In roughly four weeks, VFP delivered 24 practical, prioritized recommendations to HdL’s finance team.
Why HdL Chose VFP for an External Systems Review As HdL expanded, finance workflows, reporting needs, and system requirements evolved with the organization. The company wanted an independent assessment of how its existing Certinia investment could better support current operations while creating a stronger foundation for continued growth. Over time, organizational growth, staff transitions, evolving workflows, and varying levels of system familiarity created an opportunity to further optimize Certinia and ensure it continued to support the organization’s current needs.
To maximize the value of its investment, HdL sought a partner with deep platform expertise and the ability to understand its unique workflows and existing customizations. VFP was selected for its distinct human-centered consulting approach, which prioritizes understanding how teams operate, where manual processes can be streamlined, and how enhancements can be introduced in a practical, sustainable way.
By evaluating HdL’s day-to-day operations and collaborating closely with stakeholders, VFP developed a tailored strategy to better align Certinia with the organization’s business processes, improve efficiency, and position the platform to support future growth.
900+ local government agencies served
$4B+ revenue recovered for local governments
24 actionable roadmap recommendations delivered
Initial Goals and Objectives
When initiating the system evaluation, HdL set out to eliminate systemic operational friction and build a clearer path toward modernizing their finance and accounting
department. Their key objectives included:
- Uncovering the root causes of process inefficiencies and manual workarounds.
- Optimizing core finance and accounting workflows such as collections, accounts payable, and bank reconciliation within their Certinia environment.
- Transitioning critical reporting away from offline tools like Excel and Access and toward stronger, Certinia-supported reporting practices.
- Establishing a trusted, prioritized roadmap for future technology enhancements and automation.
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So far, our experience with VFP has been very positive. They clearly are very knowledgeable about Certinia and related products. Looking forward to the next phase of recommendations and fact-finding.
-Richard Acevedo, Controller, HdL Companies, Discovery-phase feedback
Impact of System Enhancements and Workflow Optimization
The comprehensive diagnostic delivered immediate clarity and a practical plan to unlock the full value of HdL’s financial systems:
A Practical Roadmap
HdL received 24 specific recommendations tied directly to real workflow pain points, making it clear which next steps to prioritize.
Cleaner Billing & Collections
VFP identified opportunities to improve invoice delivery, reduce manual consolidation, and correct collections logic to prevent unnecessary customer follow-ups after
partial payments.
Stronger Reporting Foundation
HdL gained a clear path to move key reporting away from legacy tools toward stronger, system-supported reporting practices.
Less Manual Close Effort
Bank reconciliation, prepaid expenses, and month-end close activities were identified as prime candidates for more controlled, system-supported workflows.
Practical AI Automation: From Five Days to Same-Day
During the health check, VFP identified a critical bottleneck: one department was receiving sales invoices as PDFs and manually re-entering the data into a CSV template for Certinia import, a tedious process that took up to 5 days per month.
Rather than deploying technology for technology’s sake, VFP scoped a targeted, Claude-powered AI automation approach. By parsing PDF invoices directly into the required DataStream CSV format, the proposed solution compresses a five-day process into a same-day task. Crucially, the automation was designed with client control and human validation at its core, ensuring the finance and accounting team retains review capabilities and can completely trust the data entering Certinia.
What’s Next
What began as a focused health check has established a strong foundation for continued partnership. With a prioritized roadmap in place, HdL and VFP are moving from identifying opportunities to implementing practical improvements across finance operations, reporting, and automation.
The success of the diagnostic has also opened the door to broader Advisory Services. Together, HdL and VFP will explore advanced capabilities, including Billing Central, Revenue Recognition, and practical AI-assisted automation, ensuring HdL’s financial technology package evolves seamlessly alongside the business.
