ACGI Software

We had been on Microsoft CRM previously, but it wasn't doing everything we needed it to. That system could do the data pieces well, but it couldn't do the AMS pieces well. ACGI gave us the opportunity to have one tool for so many areas. There's so much flexibility with the system from ACGI we don't have to customize anything- it's all through configurations. Prior to the use of Association Anywhere, it used to take us 3-6 weeks to gear up for the invoicing process; now it's a one day process. We're also saving staff a huge amount of time now by being able to process online payments. The people at ACGI are as committed to our success as I am. They get the right resources in place. I'm convinced that their system has it all; we just haven't tapped into it all yet.

We've been with AA/ACGI for over 3 years now. While the platform has many features, it has become pretty stale - especially in 2019. To make a change, oftentimes we have to update it in 3+ places, which can be pretty frustrating. Also, the system is not very intuitive. We often receive many complaints from members who struggle to join/renew online. 

I realize this isn't just because of AA limitations, but would love it if ACGI support staff offered more "solutions" and better suggestions, rather than charging a lot of money for simple fixes/issues. In our experience, they tend to overcharge and under-deliver.

On the bright side, the staff is very friendly and hard-working. They are pleasant to work with but it often takes a LONG time to receive a quote or have issues fixed. They also have a great conference which is helpful to clients.

Started using Association Anywhere at another non-profit organizaiton immediately following my start date - we converted!  My biggest struggle has been the ability to extract data that was anciliary (called attributes) to a member record.  It was easy to pull reporting based upon membership category, etc., but much more difficult to pull data based on any underlying data points that would have been helpful from a marketing perspective.  The softward also has marketing interest codes, that were not put in place at the time of conversion and usage along with the communication platform (sending marketing promotions) was very clunky.  Also some of the presentations of data collection (linvoices, etc.) looked very old-fashioned.  They are more than willing to customize but at a high cost and then you pay again when the customizations have issues after an upgrade. 

Liked the fact that it integrated very easily with Higher Logic. 

I really liked this system. Ihad the biggest struggle working with our account representative. The database would stop working and we were told they'd get to it. Days would go by and nothing was addressed. We also wanted to redo our join process and the vendor gave us NO examples of how to upgrade/enhance, even though as asked for examples of other client join pages. 

However, when pulling data, this was easy. I will say, when doing things to member records you had to save each change individually...then go back out and in to the record, make the second change, save, etc. But, no system is perfect.

ACGI's platform is relatively easy and intuitive to use. It's one of the reasons we chose it. ACGI has a very hard-working and knowledgeable staff. They show pride in the product and a desire to improve it. Each year there are changes and improvements to the product that behoove you to upgrade. We are now completing our 4th major upgrade since originally going live on the platform in 2010. Despite the product getting more complex, the upgrade process is streamlined and easier to do. We have bi-weekly scheduled meetings with the CSR team. Also, when we've reached out to ACGI executives, the response has been positive, timely, or helpful. It's great to have that avenue.

NW - ESA

The core strength of ACGI's software is that when we need an option in our AMS, the functionality is already there. You can limit the number of systems your staff needs to operate, or you can use successful integrations where it fits business needs. With this product, you have the choice.

ACGI has a culture of really trying to understand the client perspective. They bring a certain creativity to solving your problems and utilize the specialized knowledge of staff. As a client, you can see that they're collaborating internally. Unlike many other technology vendors, they get to know you quite well. When you put in a ticket, it's not to generic support. It's responded to by someone you know.

ACGI is a partner more than a vendor because they care about your goals. You certainly don't see this often with vendors, but ACGI is a company that will actually talk clients out of customizations that are not going to ultimately yield ROI.

ACGI's software gives us a lot of capability to be flexible and to do complex things that other association management systems can't do. We are able to customize and come up with unique solutions. The culture of ACGI reflects our own culture; we have similar values, transparency, the responsibility people take for work, etc. These similarities help to instill a certain level of trust and make it easy to work with them. It's a professional and modern organization, and they've fostered an environment in their offices where I feel comfortable when I visit. Also, when we have quarterly reviews with ACGI, it's always about how we use the product, how we could use it better, assessing our training needs- it's not an excuse for a sales pitch.  Lastly, their Knowledge Days program is excellent. I find it very helpful that ACGI has this event in their "hometown" so many of their staff can attend and we can build working relationships with them. I try to send as many people as I can. I give the highest endorsement to KDays- it's one of the best user group functions that I've ever seen

I've long understood that a relationship with an AMS vendor is more akin to a marriage than a business transaction.  Feeling like your vendor understands you and will be there with you through thick and thin with you is a key element of choosing the right AMS vendor.  And while I can't say the software is perfect, anyone who can say that about their AMS is delusional or lying, I can say that with ACGI we've found a partner who we know will go the extra mile when needed and who will help us weather storms and celebrate successes together.  Their professional services, customer services, and engineering teams are responsive, and truly make us feel like they *want* us to succeed, even when we disagree about how to succeed.  The people at ACGI are top notch, and are unquestionably the reason I can happily recommend their software (we use Association Anywhere, they also offer a certification-centric software called Certelligence).  They've helped us through rough patches, they've helped us help clients launch fantastic new iniatives, and all through every process are the folks who are there when I call - always willing to try to make things work.  

It seems that ACGI designed the platform with me in mind, for people who are busy and don't have enough time. I can get to information quickly. They also have a user-friendly support site. One of the most impressive things with ACGI is that when I bring up a question or concern, they will listen to me to understand and not simply to respond. The team at ACGI automated one of our processes that used to take hours or even days. This has been key in enabling us to grow chapter memberships at a rate of 14%. ACGI knows where they're headed. I'm confident that other things they're working on will benefit me and my organization. ACGI truly embodies what a partner should be, and they're as invested as a partner can be. They're interested in our success and not just in selling us a solution.

Our use of ACGI's AMS has unlocked so many possibilities for us through integrations, centralization of member data, and improved business processes. We've been through an implementation and two upgrades with ACGI. The upgrade process is well-documented from the ACGI side- the steps and timeline involved, what needs to be done. I've always had regular check-in calls with at first the implementation team and now the CSR team. I've also had direct one-on-one conversations with executives. They're open and willing to talk, and their titles don't dictate who they're willing to talk with. I've found great value in both ACGI's users group and their Knowledge Days conference, being able to reach out to or be in the same space with a community using the product to get ideas and tips & tricks from.

I live in the database. It works the way I expect it to. I feel like I have a partner in ACGI due to the stability there. They have a good culture without a lot of turnover. With other systems I've worked with, individual employees get to know us, then they leave, and we have to explain our association and the way we do things all over again to the next one. When we come up with a new project, I have never come to ACGI and said, "This is what we want to do." and they've said, "We can't do it." ACGI develops a solution. Then they will test it first and test it intensively before they tell me to test it. Other companies haven't done the first thing to test before sending it to me. When a project is done, we're both excited. ACGI will find a way to get things done. Having a partner like that is invaluable to me.  

Christine Hoogenboom

Director of Training

Tire Industry Association

Long term user, customization was critical when the platform was set up. Due to enhancements and improvements over the years this has become a non-issue. Customer support is excellent! As with any software there are challenges in getting staff on board. I've found that it is more of an issue that staff are reluctant to change opposed to user friendliness of software. Highly recommend this as a full service AMS.

ACGI as a platform meets most of our needs with out-of-the-box technology. While it can be customized, there's enough flexibility that we haven't had to do a lot of customizations. It's obvious that user experience is important to them- both in the back office for staff and in the online experience for association members. One of the things I like best is that ACGI is the size of company where the principals and senior management team are accessible. They really listen. I also feel like I have a clear line of sight to where ACGI is taking the platform. They look to the future and can adapt their technology to new trends.

I've worked with ACGI since 2005. Their organization and software have continued to evolve as our association has evolved. They have long-standing leadership that supports the growth of the organization and the platform. They also value ongoing innovation because it's part of their DNA and culture. Their APIs libraries are flexible and usable; and we're able to take them across multiple platforms. ACGI has employees that understand and support that. Some companies sell software well, but they don't support it well. Support is a strength of ACGI's. They're focused- not just on their own software- but on what we're trying to accomplish and are invested in knowing who their customers are and what they do.

I have used AssociationAnywhere (AA) for many years and have learned SQL to help customize reports on my own.  I have defended this software and ACGI for years because the system could do anything, and ACGI is a great company that is continuously improving their product.  However, I cannot defend them on the issue of user friendliness, which has become too big of an issue and the competition on that issue is much better. AA is clunky when compared to newer AMS systems built on more upgraded cloud platforms.  Both staff and members of our association have complained about our technology being rediculously complicated so we are now searching for the same functionality we have with AA but with a lot more user-friendliness and less coding needed for customizations.  If it is out there and affordable, we will move on.

The title of this review is sincere.  I trust the people there.  There's been challenges in meeting deadline dates on projects but they don't sugarcoat the issue when reported.  We've learned how to work around these types issue.  There is only one single thing that we wish they were stronger at or are willing to create for us; and that is an API that would allow us to insert financial transactions created outside of ACGI. 

We are using the most recent version after having upgraded about a month ago. The initial implementation of the software was done 4 years ago and preceded many of the staff currently here. Much to our disappointment, the requirements were not properly scoped out and we were left to fix up the issues by developing customization s so that we could conduct the regular order of business. Unfortunately, ACGI's business model relies mostly on use of its base product so expect to wait 6 months to a year to get any action or traction on proposed changes to their base model. Their business model provides little access to the engineers who are actually doing the work so your organizations priorities must be constantly internally reshuffled and re assessed to make sure your tickets receive appropriate action. This is because the tickets are then re-shuffled across clients who have limited access to a singular group of engineers who begin iterations "every two weeks" which is very similar to a general contractor telling you your home improvements will take "two weeks." This almost never happens. In addition, the ticketing system is done through a very complex portal where multiple criteria must be completed with tickets being assigned to "epic tickets" and watchers being assigned to be looped in. Make sure you nail down your user acceptance criteria verbatim in the ticket, despite what phone calls you have with the business analyst or technical lead, there is no guarantee your discussions will be accurately captured in the user acceptance criteria. And sometimes when its your turn to get your ticket done, the engineer will read the user acceptance criteria and ask your technical or business analyst to confirm something. More than likely, because of the lapse of time from when you scoped out the requirements, your technical lead likely doesn't remember - and will ask you, again what you wanted because the engineer will know that making a change will impact something neither of you thought of. Or sometimes they won't raise the flag at all and you will find out in testing. This pushes the timeline for completion back even more. In addition, users must regularly check a portal for release notes and then read them to know what has or hasn't changed in any given version. Upgrades are not included in the initial pricing and must be paid for each time. Monthly hosting fees are significant and do not include training or in some cases, getting on the phone to ask a question. You will pay for that. A wiki is provided to build documentation that aligns business process and configuration and this is a nice feature. You should plan to have at least one staff person manage this system as their full time job - know it, manage it, and manage ACGI - to make it valuable and worthwhile. While the staff there seem to try hard and are generally very nice people, they are limited in their capacity to work outside of the model. Unless a ticket is assigned an "Asset Blocker" (impacts revenue), it most likely will not get an immediate response or any action taken inside of a week or two. In general, it has made "AMS life" for us quite challenging in the short term and because of that we must pursue other options to meet our long term business needs.

We are using version 8.2 which we just upgraded to recently from version 7.x. We have been using them for a long time and are satisfied with the work they have done so far. They support integration with any 3rd party vendor. However there are some areas that could use improvement. 

We have quite a few customizations that allow us to do the day to day operations but becomes cumbersome when it needs upgrades/modifications. They have a support system that we use to enter tickets when issues arise which gets billed by the 1/4 hour basis at $160+/hr on top of our regular monthly fees.

The AMS database connection does not allow write-back and is read only which is safe but sometimes stops us from performing tasks on our own data set and requires a ticket/vendor intervention.

Product: Association Anywhere, with Certelligence module, version 8.0.3
Go Live date: Association Anywhere, October 2016; Certelligence December 2016 & January 2017

This product has been a great disappointment for our entire association. As stated in my title, the Sales representatives are excellent at selling the product to you; once you sign on and begin the process, you quickly learn that all of the bells and whistles in the sales presentation are not included in the base product (which is what you purchased whether you know it or not). You are then forced to pay more money to get the functionality you thought you were getting all along. 

ACGI is the ONLY vendor we have that charges us for EVERYTHING. Have a problem with a certain module, or need extra guidance for a routine process? - It will cost you extra to get the help or the answer. One of the most absurd occasions was when we were charged for their Project Manager to talk to our new IT Manager – which was just to make introductions (we had to preapprove 1 hour of billable time). There isn’t enough space to write about the extra costs we’ve had to endure, but to give you an idea, we’ve spent above and beyond (in the 6 figure range), just so we can function.

The Certelligence module is not worth the effort or money. They will try to sell you on buying Association Anywhere by offering Certelligence for free. Don’t fall for it - you will be on the brink of insanity before the process is over and you finally go live. Their company configured our workflows based upon teleconference interviews without consultation or demonstration. We learned about 6 weeks before our original go live date that we would not receive training for the module! There were many codes and fields that did not make a lick of sense us, but they refused to disclose any information and would only consider helping us if we agree to pay for a training session (note: in their promotional material and RFP response, they claim you get 1 week of training). Our staff had to play a cruel game of scavenger hunt to figure out what the codes meant and their functionality within the workflow. Furthermore, since we were not consulted we are stuck with critical naming conventions that an ACGI employee thought was good enough to explain what the field was capturing (ex: HOURS_A, HOURS_B, HOURS_C, etc. – was used to capture specific types of hours for many different categories). Again, I could go on for pages with issue after issue, but time and space will not permit it (and frankly, reliving the experience is stirring up all sorts of negativity that I have worked too hard to overcome).

Financial/accounting transactions are a nightmare; the event module is a gloried pivot table; product management is cumbersome and esthetically ugly (we’ve created an alternative to it); automatic emails notification is inconsistent (sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t), just to name a few things.

Regular membership module works fine and is easy to use. More complex membership types do have some problems from time to time.

We have only been with ACGI for about 1 year, 3 months for AA, and 1 year for Certelligence (yeah, we couldn’t go live at the same time, long story, short). Since around October 2017, their answer to every problem, issue or question we have is that we need to upgrade to the latest version – at a very high cost! We still have issues they never fixed, they caused, or never provided proper training for and they want us to pay thousands of dollars to upgrade because it will “fix” our problems (based on the little I’ve shared, would you believe them?). From what we understand, all upgrades have a cost attached to them – no freebies from ACGI – and they upgrade frequently. As already stated, none of our other vendors charge for answering questions or providing guidance or software upgrades – even our software vendor for computer based testing (which as I type this is temporarily shut down to apply the latest software upgrade – and we don’t have to pay extra to take advantage of the upgrade/enhancement). 

Isn’t it the responsibility of software providers to continuously improve and enhance their product to keeps customers satisfied and to justify their monthly and annual service fee(s)? If you feel the same way, and are used to be treated in this manner, ACGI is NOT the company for you. If you have deep pockets, enjoy playing mind games, and do not give a hoot about your staff’s efficiency and well-being, consider ACGI as your AMS provider.