Owen Sound Council Approves $325K Budgeting Software Deal with Euna Solutions
Owen Sound Council approved a five-year, $325K SaaS agreement for budgeting software from Euna Solutions, amid questions about long-term costs and alignment with Canadian procurement priorities.
Owen Sound City Council has unanimously approved the purchase of a new budgeting software system from Euna Solutions Inc., following a staff recommendation presented at their April 28 meeting.
The five-year agreement, valued at $325,292.46 including non-refundable HST, will be funded through the City’s IT Reserve and future operating budgets.
The new software is expected to streamline internal processes, reduce manual workloads, and improve financial transparency, according to Kate Allan, Director of Corporate Services.
Procurement Conducted Through Vendor of Record Program
The procurement was carried out under the City’s Purchasing By-law 2020-022, which permits non-standard procurement through recognized vendor of record programs. In this case, Euna Solutions is a vendor under the LAS Canoe Procurement Program, allowing the City to proceed without a formal competitive bidding process.
The new platform—Questica Budget, a product of Euna Solutions Inc.—is designed to automate budget input, streamline internal approval workflows, and generate financial reports and public-facing “budget books” that meet best practices set by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), Allan explained.
Staff say the new system will replace the current Excel-based process, which relies heavily on manual data entry by the Director of Corporate Services and is prone to versioning errors and inefficiencies. With the new software, departments will be able to directly input data, enabling more time for financial analysis and collaborative planning.
Cost Breakdown and Funding Strategy
According to the report, the initial implementation and first-year licensing costs total $99,738 and will be drawn from the City’s IT Reserve. The remaining $225,554 will be included in future budgets through 2029, averaging approximately $55,500 per year. The software comes with unlimited user licenses.
Costs will be distributed across the City’s tax-supported and user-funded budgets, including water, wastewater, and building services, in alignment with the planned cost allocation policy.
Council Raises Questions on Canadian Procurement
Councilor Jon Farmer raised concerns about how the procurement aligned with Council’s stated preference, and the province’s direction, for supporting Canadian vendors.
Allan responded that while she anticipated the concern, the City’s procurement was consistent with both the letter and spirit of applicable policy. While Euna is an American company, Allan said that Questica was originally founded in Burlington in 1998 and that the company is now part of Euna Canada, headquartered in Oakville.
“Significant consideration was given to these principles,” Allan said. “The procurement method, as well as the strong Canadian presence and corporate status of Euna Solutions, have been carefully considered and align with both the spirit and the technical requirements of the policy.”
Allan also clarified that while Council has asked staff to explore the feasibility of limiting procurements to Canadian-owned firms, that policy work is still in progress. “At this time, there is no formal ‘Buy Canadian’ mandate that has been adopted by the City of Owen Sound,” she said.
While Allan emphasized the company’s Canadian roots and presence, it's important to note that registering subsidiaries or offices in Canada—common among multinational corporations—does not necessarily define a company as Canadian-owned. For example, Amazon operates Canadian entities, but is not considered a Canadian company.
In this case, however, the procurement did not hinge on Euna’s Canadian status but was instead conducted through a vendor of record program exempt from competitive bidding under the City’s Purchasing By-law.
Concerns Over Cost and Subscription Model
Councilor Brock Hamley expressed concern about the overall cost, questioning whether more than $300,000 for budgeting software was justified. Allan responded that the current system relies on time-consuming manual entry, with version control issues and limited collaboration. The new system will support cost allocation-based budgeting and dynamic analysis across departments.
Councilor Suneet Kukreja asked whether other municipalities were already using the software. Allan confirmed that both Grey County and the Municipality of Meaford currently use Questica, and Owen Sound staff have monitored their experiences.
Kukreja also asked if future cost increases were anticipated. Allan responded that price increases were likely after the five-year term but noted that the current agreement includes fixed annual fees and unlimited user access without additional licensing costs.
Councilor Farmer also questioned whether the Software as a Service (SaaS) model (requiring annual payments) was the most effective approach. Allan replied that, while not an IT expert, she understands this to be the industry standard for modern software solutions.
Deputy Mayor Scott Greig made the motion to proceed with the purchase. Council approved the motion unanimously.
While the software is expected to be in place for the 2026 operating budget input in late summer 2025, the City does not plan to launch the public-facing “budget book” until fall 2026, in advance of the 2027 budget cycle.