Powering Papua New Guinea’s premier nature park
Port Moresby Nature Park
Port Moresby Nature Park has come a long way since it opened in 1971 as a botanical garden and training ground for the University of Papua New Guinea. Fourteen years ago, it was taken over as a charitable trust and since then, has grown steadily in purpose, scale and ambition.
Today, it’s Papua New Guinea’s premier visitor attraction: a thriving conservation hub, community event space and environmental education centre, welcoming around 150,000 people each year.
However, the internal operations of the nature park told a different story. Despite strong visitor numbers, active school programs and meaningful conservation efforts, the organisation was being held together by manual processes and antiquated systems.
To future-proof Port Moresby Nature Park something had to change. That something, says Chief Executive Officer Johnpaul Houston, was the implementation of a dedicated ERP solution in Pronto Xi.
About our customer
Papua New Guinea’s premier tourist attraction, event and conservation organisation, and a sister partner to Zoos Victoria. Founded in 1971, the not-for-profit nature park welcomes up to 150,000 guests annually, including 35,000 schoolchildren.
Pain points
The nature park was running on systems that had long outgrown their purpose. The point of sale platform had reached the end of its life, while payroll, accounts and sales each operated in isolation, with manual processes and Excel spreadsheets acting as ad-hoc workarounds.
Benefits gained
Pronto Xi has helped Port Moresby Nature Park to move to a fully integrated, cloud-hosted platform, freeing staff time, reducing risk and giving leadership the real-time visibility they need to manage a complex, mission-driven organisation
The challenge: paper-based systems, data loss and risk
When Mr Houston joined as CEO two years ago, the nature park was running on systems that had long outgrown their purpose. The point of sale platform had reached the end of its life, while payroll, accounts and sales each operated in isolation, with manual processes and Excel spreadsheets acting as ad-hoc workarounds.
“We were having significant difficulties with a very historic POS program,” says Mr Houston. “Back in its day, it had been recommended as a leisure and visitor attraction software, but it just degraded, and we didn’t have any in-country support.”
The consequences were real. Accounts staff were spending up to 200 hours each fortnight on payroll and manually transferring data between systems – time lost to a process that also created gaps in data visibility and financial accuracy.
Beyond the administrative burden, disconnected systems created risk. Without real-time transparency, operational irregularities would go undetected for extended periods. And for an organisation dependent on donations and sponsorships, that wasn’t a sustainable position.
The nature park’s ambitions also stretched beyond fixing immediate pain points. Membership management, function space bookings, school program scheduling and a future pathway to e-commerce all needed to be accounted for.
As Mr Houston puts it: “We wanted to join the 21st century.”
Pronto Software: A 35-year presence in Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby Nature Park evaluated a range of global systems. What set Pronto Software apart was the combination of an integrated, end-to-end solution and a team that understood the specific demands of operating in Papua New Guinea. Pronto Software has a longstanding presence in Papua New Guinea, having delivered ERP solutions to organisations throughout the region for more than 35 years.
“We found that locally, there was a lot of really good news about Pronto Software,” says Mr Houston. “The relationship we built with Pronto Software’s team was instant, and that really set them apart.”
Critical to the decision was Pronto Software’s ability to consolidate functions previously spread across multiple providers. The nature park also had an existing relationship with BundyPlus – a time-and-attendance system that integrates with Pronto Xi – which removed a further barrier.
“We wanted a one-size-fits-everything approach,” says Mr Houston. “We didn’t really want to go back to where we were before, where we had three separate companies doing things and then trying to get them to talk to each other. We wanted companies that talk to each other already.”
Pronto Software’s local presence, cloud-based infrastructure, and knowledge of Papua New Guinea’s banking and tax systems, were also decisive factors for an organisation that had previously struggled with server reliability and foreign-exchange complexity.
The solution: an integrated platform
Port Moresby Nature Park has implemented a comprehensive suite of Pronto Xi modules, including a point of sale system, business intelligence platform and employee payroll portal, all hosted securely on Pronto Cloud.
Pronto Xi is set to transform the nature park’s everyday and future operations, delivering significant benefits, including:
- Real-time data and risk mitigation: “One of my biggest pain points as a CEO and the thing that is going to be the biggest change for me is just being able to navigate on a day-by-day basis problems and risk with real-time data,” says Mr Houston. Real-time dashboards and business intelligence reporting will also allow Mr Houston to report to the Board with what he describes as “an intelligent look ahead at the cash flow”.
- A single source of truth: Bringing payroll, accounts and point of sale into one integrated platform eliminates manual effort and data loss. “Having those three things talk to each other perfectly is going to be a huge benefit,” he says.
- Payroll and compliance: With 115 staff on a fortnightly payroll cycle, Pronto Xi’s built-in calibration of Papua New Guinea’s tax and payroll requirements removes a significant layer of complexity. “That’s a big bonus,” says Mr Houston. “Everyone’s really excited about having a system that’s actually easy to get around and much more user focused.”
- Function space and venue management: The nature park is a destination for weddings, parties, corporate meetings and community gatherings. “Pronto Software,” says Mr Houston, “were very quickly able to build a calendar and booking solution that fits exactly what we need and which we can easily get a report on.”
- Membership management: Annual memberships – complete with member photos, discounted entry, rewards and renewal tracking – are now handled in a streamlined, reportable way. “Pronto Software were able to put all of that together into one place for us, which was incredible,” says Mr Houston.
Together, these tools address the nature park’s most pressing operational challenges, while laying the groundwork for future growth.
A partnership built on shared purpose
Port Moresby Nature Park is Pronto Software’s first not-for-profit client in Papua New Guinea. As part of its commitment to creating positive social and community impact, Pronto Software supports the nature park as a Gold sponsor.
“Pronto Software really bought into what we are doing and that’s the biggest take-home for us,” says Mr Houston of the partnership. “What we look for in all of our partners and suppliers is people who believe in our vision, see what we do, appreciate the work that we do as a charity, and try to help from day one.”
He singles out Pronto Software’s Steven Keegel for acknowledgment: “Steven’s been an incredible point of contact for us, and he stayed with us through the whole journey.”
Looking to the future, staff are positioned to realise the full benefit of Pronto Xi. Mr Houston anticipates the system will save hundreds of hours of manual work per fortnight – time he intends to redirect towards the nature park’s charitable mission of conservation, education and community.
E-commerce capability is the next horizon, enabling online bookings and payments that will further improve accessibility for the nature park’s guests and support continued growth.
“We just wanted a one-stop shop to solve all of those issues,” says Mr Houston. “And we’ve found it.”
“Pronto Software really bought into what we are doing and that’s the biggest take home for us. What we look for in all our partners and suppliers is people that believe in our vision, see what we do, appreciate the work that we do as a charity, and try to help from day one.”
Johnpaul Houston, Chief Executive Officer
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