Keeping track of Smithfield’s finances over the past decade has itself proved costly.

The town spent over $817,000 on Munis since 2015 with little to show for its 10-year and ultimately unsuccessful conversion to the financial software platform made by Tyler Technologies, according to a May 15 memorandum from Town Manager Michael Stallings to Smithfield’s Town Council.

After informing Tyler of the town’s intent to pause implementation of Munis, the Town Council voted unanimously on June 4 to award a contract to Munis competitor RDA Systems. The new contract will cost an additional $360,398, with $202,000 due in the first year, Stallings’ memo states.

The vote came two weeks after Town Treasurer Laura Ross briefed the Town Council on her plan to solicit a quote from RDA, which markets its platform as an “enterprise resource planning,” or ERP, system that automates payroll, real estate and car tax billing and other governmental accounting functions. It is used by over 50 Virginia localities.

Munis too was initially pitched as a one-stop shop for all aspects of municipal accounting.

According to Stallings’ memo, Smithfield initially paid for 10 functions, known as “modules,” including accounting, payroll, general billing, accounts receivable, permitting, the issuing of business licenses and a citizen self-service portal. Only two of those modules – accounts payable and permitting – are presently functional.

“The lack of implementing the other modules is due to the inability of Munis to follow through with the implementation and training of the modules. We have been paying for all modules since Nov. 1, 2025, even though the modules were not implemented,” Stallings’ memo states.

Not all of the $817,484.68 spent to date has been paid to Tyler Technologies, Stallings told the Times. Around $120,000 of that total is what has been paid in staff time to train on and troubleshoot Munis. Another $74,000 is associated with the cost since 2020 that the town has incurred to maintain its old financial software because the Munis modules intended to replace it weren’t implemented. Another $85,000 was paid to consultants the town hired to help with the conversion and to maintain its old software.

Tyler Technologies, in a prior statement to the Times, declined to comment on “a specific client’s use of our solutions” but said Tyler has “over 45,000 solutions installed across 13,000 locations.” “We value our partnership with the town of Smithfield and remain committed to supporting them in any way we can,” the company said in its statement.

The idea at the time the Munis conversion began was to integrate with Isle of Wight County, which also uses Munis in its Commissioner of the Revenue’s office, which is responsible for valuing the taxable property in the county and its two towns. The town of Windsor also uses Munis and is not currently planning to switch software platforms, Windsor Town Manager William Saunders said. Isle of Wight also continues to use Munis and is “not experiencing the same issues as the town,” Assistant County Administrator Don Robertson told the Times.

Stallings said switching to RDA will carry an upfront implementation cost and ongoing fees each year.

Stallings’ memo includes a timeline for implementation of RDA that calls for system configuration and data migration, as well as staff training, from August through December and a January 2026 go-live date for finance, workforce and revenue functions. The town plans to implement five modules, including accounting, payroll, tax collection, permits and a citizen self-service portal.