Frequently Asked Questions

Company Information

What is your range and average client size?

MH&Co. has clients that range from $10 Million to $900 Million in revenue. The median population range is 50,000 – 250,000.

What size range of clients would you say your software is best suited for and why?

Built on a robust set of Microsoft technologies, both FMS and FTG provide enterprise-grade scalability and increased flexibility for organizations of all sizes. It allows you to harness the power of Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and the .NET Framework for maximum performance.

Describe your organization’s research and development capabilities.

MH&Co. performs all software development at our St. Louis, Missouri headquarters. Two senior staff members with a combined 40 years of experience head the development team. This consistency of management, combined with industry subject matter experts, provides a core team that focuses on developing premier software solutions for the Public Sector. We continually enhance our software to take advantage of new technologies and to provide new functionality. This is evidenced by the fact that we have clients who have been with us for over 25 years and that are running state-of-the-art solutions.

Describe any formal quality and continuous improvement programs you have in place.

MH&Co. is a Microsoft Partner. We have very stringent development and quality assurance standards and we have clients who volunteer to be First Adopters when we are ready to release a new version.

Is your system proprietary to your organization?

All of our core software is proprietary; however, we do incorporate other software solutions when it makes sense to do so. For example, many of our functions in FTG (i.e. workflow routing, scheduling) are adapted from the core CRM framework we are developed on.

Do you license or partner out to any other organization for any feature in your system? If so, with who?

Yes, we use Microsoft Dynamics® CRM as the primary platform for FTG. We also use external reporting tools in all of our solutions.

Describe the system architecture.

FTG is a browser-based application. The architecture of CRM is a product of Microsoft. The portal is an ASP.Net application built by MH&Co., which uses standard CRM APIs to interface with the CRM database.

FMS is a thin client solution developed in C++ and C#.

How do you distinguish yourself from the competition?

MH&Co. has been in business over 40 years with 30+ employees behind us dedicated to the Public Sector. Our solutions have been implemented in over 200 municipalities across the country and growing.

We adhere to the strict mandates of the New Jersey UCC requirements and other state-specific regulations nationwide.

FTG has been field proven to help provide efficiency and convenience to both the public and your back office. Flexibility, communication, and cutting-edge technology on one platform are some of the many factors that have proven to distinguish us from our competition.

With the unpredictable changes in the environment today, FTG can simply adapt to your growing needs without having the expense of major customization fees. There is never a fee for upgrades. Upgrades are always free and included in your annual contract.

General Questions

Where are you located?

Mitchell Humphrey & Co. is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and we work with organizations all across the United States.

Do FastTrackGov and Financial Management Software integrate with each other?

Yes! In fact, our solutions are at their most powerful when they are combined together. Want to see how it works? Request your demo today.

Is your software developed on a particular platform?

Yes. FastTrackGov (FTG) is developed on the Microsoft Dynamics framework. Our Financial Management Software (FMS) is developed on Microsoft Windows.

Can your solutions integrate with my existing software?

In most cases, yes! We offer a large set of integrations that help you leverage your current software investments with our solutions. Explore our integrations to learn more.

How much does your software cost?

We create custom software solutions for our customers because they have such widely varying needs. Your pricing will depend on the features you require for your organization. Have more questions? Send us a message or request a demo.

What types of organizations do you serve?

We serve state and local government organizations in addition to many private sector businesses. Think we may be a fit for you? Contact us!

Is FastTrackGov compliant with Assembly Bill A1145?

FastTrackGov is compliant and continues to watch for changes in DCA guidance to remain so.

The FTG Portal offers a full application for construction permits, scheduling of inspections online, online payments, and public inquiry of permitting data (OPRA).

How will we handle electronic plans and approval/correction of?

You will be able to download electronic plans as PDF files out of FastTrackGov to work with any electronic plan review (EPR) product.

FastTrackGov has a plan review partner and may be able to integrate with other plan review software you currently use or are considering.

Our EPR partner provides web-based plan-review software.  Functionality includes the ability to make comments, add and categorize drawings, generate comment letters, apply stamps, and return marked-up plans to the applicant, either by email or through the FTG portal.

How will SITE Copy of Plans be handled?

Further guidance is needed from the DCA on this topic.

We have not seen guidance as to whether plans will continue to be required on-site and (if so) who will be responsible for printing them.

How must enforcing agencies store plans approved electronically? How long will FastTrackGov retain electronic plans?

Further guidance is needed from the DCA on this topic.

That said, attachments and electronic plans will be retained in FTG and have no auto archival.

Sites may choose to supplement electronic storage using physical storage, printing from a Plotter printer.

What are the regulations for electronically submitted files?

Further guidance is needed from the DCA on this topic.

11/21/2022 Memorandum to Construction Officials:

Department (DCA) is required to adopt regulations, as to the form and format of the electronic forms to be submitted through NJePermits, and by extension any acceptable alternative used by a local enforcing agency.  The Department is still working with its development team on some of the details related to the specific form and format requirements that will be required.  However, the Department anticipates that these requirements will be very similar to the current “ePlans” provisions found on the Department’s website, which currently accepts PDF files as the predominant file format.

What are the current rules for accepting digitally signed plans before A1145?

“The NJ Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors adopted their rules for digital signatures and seals in November of 2015, and NJ Board of Architects adopted their rules for digital signatures and seals in May of 2017. As such, we believe it is reasonable to expect all design professionals submitting documents to the BCPR to have digital seals by January 2019.”  https://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/codes/alerts/pdfs/digital_seals.pdf

Additional details for Architects and Engineers are available from the above link.

What are the hardware requirements to integrate with FastTrackGov electronic plan review partner?

The following are workstation requirements for our plan-review partner (e-PlanSoft)’s program, e-PlanREVIEW.  Sites taking another approach to electronic plan review should review their solution’s requirements accordingly.

https://eplansoft.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/EKB/pages/197918865/User+Workstation+Requirements

Below is subject to change, see the link for the latest.

Minimum workstation requirements

  • Dual-core processor
  • 8GB Memory
  • User WGPU with shared memory of 1G or better
  • Minimum recommendations are two 27” monitors at 1080 dpi

High-End Workstations

For users considering a purchase of high-end/gaming machines, we recommend the following:

  • Quad-core processor
  • 16GB Memory
  • 4GB 4K graphic card
  • Two or more 4k 45″-55” touchscreen monitors
  • SSD

To reduce eye strain, we recommend monitors have the same size and resolution.

A minimum of 10 MB download and 1 MB upload is recommended for running e-PlanREVIEW® (EPR).

Releases and Upgrades

How are updates/upgrades to the software handled? What controls are used to ensure that new releases do not cause additional problems?

All updates/upgrades for FTG are completed on our hosted servers during non-business hours. Releases are typically completed every six to nine months.

FMS upgrades can be performed by you or our technical staff. Releases are done every 12 – 18 months.

All releases are thoroughly tested by our Quality Assurance personnel and our client early-adopters prior to being placed in production.

Reporting

What standard reports are included when delivered?

Hundreds of reports, including financial statements, official documents, letters, dashboards, etc. can be produced within our systems – using any of several reporting/query mechanisms discussed below.

Can a non-technical user obtain reports from the system without assistance? How?

There are a variety of easy-to-use retrieval mechanisms in FMS and FTG. List views, report wizard, and advanced find allows non-technical users to retrieve data on an ad-hoc basis with no assistance. Non-technical users can also easily execute any of the standard reports provided if they have security access to view the information.

What is cost and turn-around time when requesting new report set-up? Custom reports?

It depends upon the complexity of the requested report. Official documents and sophisticated reports like financial statements are developed using SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) or Crystal Reports. Technical users can be trained to develop these reports or you may contract with MH&Co.

Can all reports be run in the Excel or .csv file? Are there limitations?

FMS and FTG are developed within the Microsoft framework. They are completely interoperable with all Microsoft Office tools. Any report you execute can be saved as .csv or an Excel spreadsheet.

Support

What level of support will you provide during start up, new releases, and ongoing?

MH&Co. offers all clients white glove support services as part of each client’s annual maintenance agreement, as outlined.

At commencement of the agreement, clients are assigned a Client Services Specialist who will be the client’s primary MH&Co. Support point of contact during implementation. After go-live, clients will contact the MH&Co. Response Center to report issues and request assistance.

Designated client personnel may contact the MH&Co. Response Center at any time, either during Normal Business Hours or after hours, when contracted. Contact may be in the form of telephone, fax, email, or through the Client Support web site.

Response Center support is provided from 7:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on a contracted basis.

Describe the available training and costs offered at start-up and ongoing?

We provide for several levels of training throughout the implementation, from the Private Introductory Training Webinar to customized training for your individual applications. Customized, on-site training is chargeable and our current training rates.

Each time we release new software, we provided a variety of webinar-based training sessions and videos at no charge to our clients.

How many clients and individuals do you serve?

Approximately 240

What is the average tenure of your customers?

12 years

What is your implementation process?

MH&Co. utilizes the agile implementation approach as prescribed in the Microsoft Dynamics® Sure Step Methodology. Sure Step Methodology organizes agile projects into four distinct phases during the implementation project life cycle.

  • Agile Preparation (analogous to waterfall projects’ Analysis phase)
  • Agile Execution (analogous to waterfall projects’ Design and Development phases)
  • Deployment
  • Operation

The modules purchased determine the major divisions in our Agile approach to implementation. It is possible to implement multiple modules simultaneously, provided our clients have the internal resources to do this.

Training

What training materials do you provide?

MH&Co. provides user manuals and training manuals for all of the modules you are implementing. We also provide Quick Reference guides, which are tailored to your specific configuration.

Do you provide up-to-date user reference manuals?

Yes.

Are there any year-end seminars?

MH&Co. has a user group that is an independent non-profit entity. The Mitchell Humphrey User Group (MHUG) provides a wealth of resources while offering the ability for users to network and share ideas with one another.

The group offers a forum for ideas, resources, feedback, and enhancements, as well as regional training and an annual conference.

User Levels/Roles

Does the system allow you to control who can update/view data?

FMS and FTG provide role-based security.

Access to records is controlled by the security roles associated with the user. Create, Read, Update, and Delete rights by record can be controlled individually based on the ownership of the record (meaning what department or individual owns a specific record). As an example, a user can have rights to read a record owned by another business unit, but not have rights to update it.

Workflow processes are controlled by several mechanisms within the software, which can include (but are not limited to) email notifications, tasks, actions, and ownership assignment of primary records to individual(s) who are responsible for the next “step” in a business workflow process. The same security mentioned above is used to control ownership of the records used in workflow processes.