By Steve Rose, IMS Project Strategic Finance Lead at Somerset Council.
When Somerset Council was formed as a new unitary authority, as part of the largest shake-up in local government in 50 years, five district councils became one. With that came the significant task of unifying systems, services and teams to ensure a smoother, more consistent experience for the people who rely on them every day.
To deliver reliable, accessible and transparent financial services for our communities, we needed to bring everything together under one roof. Consolidating five legacy payment systems was never going to be straightforward – each had its own technical architecture, reference structures and operational quirks.
Among the most urgent challenges were payments. Each predecessor council had its own payment systems, contracts and processes. This fragmentation not only created inefficiencies for staff but also made it harder for residents to make payments, and for us to track income in real time.
But in that complexity lay a unique opportunity: the chance to design a system fit for the future, not just a patchwork of the past. Our goal wasn’t simply to replace outdated systems, it was to build a unified payments infrastructure that would support a more connected council and, in turn, a better experience for residents.
From five into one
Time was against us from the get-go. With legacy contracts expiring in December 2024, we had just four months to implement a single income management platform. Success would mean more than just meeting a deadline – it would mean ensuring continuity of service for our 570,000 residents across the county.
After a thorough tender process, we assembled a focused internal team and worked with Access PaySuite to deliver the transformation on time and on budget. Holding daily stand-ups, twice-weekly reviews and a hands-on problem-solving culture kept momentum high and decisions fast.
When challenges arose, which they inevitably did, we met face-to-face to find solutions. That human connection was key to maintaining focus and trust, ensuring that service quality for residents was never compromised during the transition.
Where we once had multiple systems, suppliers and contracts, we now have one single point of reference for all income data across the council. Integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 means every service area can access the same real-time financial information.
Reporting that once took days now happens in minutes, helping teams respond more quickly to issues, make better decisions and direct resources where they’re needed most. Ultimately, we freed our teams to focus on delivering efficient, equitable and responsive services for the people of Somerset.
Less admin, more impact
The real value isn’t in the technology itself, but in what it enables for the people using it every day and for the communities they serve. This wasn’t just a technical improvement; it was a cultural shift. Finance is no longer fragmented but unified, transparent and collaborative.
Many of the manual tasks that once consumed hours have been replaced with intelligent workflows that run quietly in the background. Teams now spend less time reconciling figures and more time improving services, from processing refunds faster to ensuring frontline teams have the resources they need to deliver.
Automation hasn’t replaced people, it’s empowered them. By removing repetitive, low-value tasks, we’ve given our staff the space to focus on work that truly makes a difference to communities. In local government, where every hour and every pound counts, that impact is profound.
We knew from the outset that aligning systems was only half the job, aligning teams and mindsets mattered just as much. We brought colleagues from across the former district and county councils together to co-design new processes, share best practice and build a shared culture of collaboration.
The result is more than a unified finance system; it’s a unified Council. A shared sense of purpose turned what could have been a complex IT project into a people-first transformation that has improved how we serve Somerset’s residents every day.
A foundation for the future
Looking ahead, our unified payments platform and data-driven insight mean Somerset Council can plan more strategically, respond more quickly and innovate with greater confidence, ensuring every pound collected and every payment processed directly contributes to better outcomes for residents.
This transformation has shown that when technology, people and purpose align, even the most complex challenges can become opportunities for lasting improvement. We are already building on that foundation, onboarding additional third-party tools and moving remaining payment types, such as chip and pin and legacy online payments, into the Access PaySuite platform.
For other Councils navigating similar journeys, the lesson is clear: unification isn’t just an IT upgrade, it’s an organisational strategy. The right technology enables it, but success depends on communication, collaboration and a shared commitment to delivering simpler, more seamless experiences for residents.
That’s what ‘One Council’ truly means.
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