City of Central City, Iowa Gives Back Hours to Staff and Better Service to Residents with gWorks cloud Financials

Eight months after going live, city clerks describe seamless multi-module workflows, faster payroll, and a citizen portal that keeps a growing community connected

OMAHA, Neb., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- gWorks, the top-ranked cloud software platform built exclusively for municipalities, counties, and utility districts, today shared that the City of Central City, Iowa has transformed daily operations across billing, payroll, budgeting, and resident services since going live on gWorks cloud Financials eight months ago. Read more on the testimonial here.

A growing Iowa community investing in new trails, downtown revitalization, and a $1.4 million pedestrian bridge, Central City is a city on the move, and its staff needed software that could keep up. For City Clerk Traci Wilson and Utility Billing Clerk Denise McGovern, gWorks cloud Financials has delivered exactly that.

The Challenge

Before moving to gWorks cloud Financials, Central City's clerks navigated a system of manual workarounds, and time-consuming processes. Billing cycle rereads required staff to manually look up account numbers, addresses, and names one by one. Payroll was a lengthy, multi-step task. Journals had to be saved manually after every deposit, and if a clerk forgot, recovering them meant going back to search. Custom reporting for the city's unique programs, including a senior dining program not common in most municipalities, was a cumbersome process.

And in a busy city hall where residents are constantly coming through the door, every minute lost to an inefficient process was a minute unavailable to the people standing at the window.

"Every hour matters because there's always somebody at the window needing something."

— Traci Wilson, City Clerk, City of Central City, Iowa

The Solution

Central City went live on gWorks cloud Financials and implemented utility billing, financial management, payroll, and FrontDesk, the platform's citizen engagement portal. The result was a fully integrated system where modules communicate with each other automatically, and staff can move fluidly between tasks without losing their place.

"It is very nice that all the modules talk to each other. Very convenient, very time-saving, very efficient."

— Traci Wilson, City Clerk, City of Central City, Iowa

The Results

Uninterrupted service at the counter: One of the most immediate improvements was the ability to switch between modules mid-task without losing progress. When a resident walks up to the window while a clerk is processing a deposit, she can navigate to utility billing, process the resident's payment, and return to the deposit exactly where she left off, no lost data, no starting over.

"As a clerk you're constantly getting interrupted, so it's very nice that you do not lose your spot in one module while jumping to another one."

— Traci Wilson, City Clerk, City of Central City, Iowa

Faster, more confident resident responses: With full consumption history accessible in seconds, clerks can pull up a resident's month-by-month usage while they are still standing at the counter. "We can quickly click within their account and tell them month by month what their consumption is," McGovern said. "That has helped us better assist customers."

Custom reporting saves an hour every month: Central City runs a senior dining program not common in most municipalities. With gWorks, Wilson can now generate custom reports for that department, as well as the library and individual funds, with ease. "That probably saves us an hour every month right there," she said.

Simplified billing cycle: What previously required clerks to manually compile account numbers, addresses, and names for utility rereads is now a single click. "You click a button and it creates a spreadsheet for you," McGovern said. "When our guys go out to reread, all I have to do is upload that. It saves so much more time."

Payroll done in under an hour: Wilson pays 10 employees through the gWorks payroll module. "It probably takes me less than an hour to pay, which is considerably less than what it was on the old system," she said. Tax entries are pre-configured in accounts payable, so once payroll is finalized, the remaining steps are straightforward and fast.

Automatic journal storage: McGovern no longer worries about forgetting to save deposit journals, a recurring issue under the previous system. "I know that journal is always going to be out there for me to go look at," she said. "I don't have to worry about trying to remember to save it. And that is huge."

Resident self-service through FrontDesk: Community members can now log into gWorks FrontDesk to view their current and past bills, track their consumption, sign up for autopay, and pay online, all without routing through a third-party platform. When bills are processed, residents signed up for notifications receive an instant alert. "They can turn around and say, 'Hey, I'm gonna go pay my bill; it's there, I'm gonna do it,' rather than waiting for it to come in the mail," McGovern said.

Built to Grow with Central City

As Central City continues to invest in its community, from a new pedestrian bridge to an expanding trail system, the city's software infrastructure is ready to scale alongside it.

"We have room on the cloud software to add more. Adding customers is going to be simpler."

— Denise McGovern, Utility Billing Clerk, City of Central City, Iowa

"Central City is building bridges and trails and planning for more residents. Their software should keep up, not hold them back. Residents expect to see their bill, check their usage, and pay online the moment they think of it, and a growing city should deliver that without stitching together five systems. We built gWorks to scale right alongside communities like Central City."

— Moneesh Arora, CEO, gWorks

"The city of Central City has been excited and pleased with switching over to the cloud version. We do not look back on the old process at all and can't wait to see how gWorks grows and just gets better over time."

— Traci Wilson, City Clerk, City of Central City, Iowa

About gWorks

gWorks is the top-ranked cloud software platform built exclusively for municipalities, counties, and utility districts. The company provides cloud-native ERP, accounting, utility billing, payments, asset management, operations, and citizen engagement software purpose-built for local government. Founded in 1978 and based in Omaha, Nebraska, gWorks serves more than 2,000 clients across 48 states. gWorks is part of the portfolio of BV Investment Partners, a private equity firm specializing in technology-enabled business services. Learn more at www.gworks.com.

Contact: Jessica Bauer, Media Relations [email protected] 402-875-6597

SOURCE gWorks