JULY 24, 2024 – The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center’s Financial Management Directorate has a new app that’s saving comptroller customers time and eliminating the frustration of sitting in waiting areas for appointments.
Called QTrac, the customer appointment scheduling, queuing and reporting tool was implemented as a pilot program at six comptroller squadrons in October 2023. Since then, more than 32,000 customers with finance needs have used the platform.
Results of the pilot program look promising, said Kurt Schmidbauer, AFIMSC FM Integration Branch chief. Currently available at 38 locations, QTrac is enhancing customer services at comptroller squadrons.
“It gives customers the flexibility to schedule virtual or in-person appointments with comptroller squadron personnel from home or work by using an online web-based application,” he said. “An available cellphone app allows customers to scan QR codes at multiple locations across an installation to schedule an appointment.”
Real-time updates on wait times also help customers better manage their time. They can log in and monitor the queue from anywhere.
“The importance of having virtual queuing systems in line with mission readiness is evident in QTrac’s ability to reduce and oftentimes eliminate physical wait times by letting customers know when they should proceed to their finance appointment,” Schmidbauer said.
Lt. Col. Charlton Freeman, 633rd Comptroller Squadron commander at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, said the program has streamlined customer-service operations and impressed his higher headquarters commander.
“Our wing commander brought in the 15th Air Force commander to show him how we are returning hundreds of hours to our Airmen, their families, and mission centers across Joint Base Langley-Eustis,” Freeman said.
QTrac comes with a powerful reporting feature that provides FM with analytical data pertaining to customer demographics and trends that give comptroller squadrons across the Department of the Air Force the power to effectively manage and improve customer service operations.
“With this multi-faceted platform, our FM community can track the total number of customers it supports, wait times, rate of customer issues by category and satisfaction ratings. This data has been used to further track and prioritize areas of improvement and engagement for financial service operations,” said Angie Trego, AFIMSC Financial Operations Division chief.
QTrac should be operational at all installations by the end of the fiscal year, she said.
The early success of QTrac further confirms the benefit to the force of centralized installation and mission support FM operations at AFIMSC, said Melissa Blakesly, AFIMSC FM director.
“We have a customer service-driven team that has implemented DAF-wide capabilities since the standup of AFIMSC nine years ago,” she said. “We are at the forefront of cultivating and harvesting innovation across the FM community in line with the Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management’s vision of ‘Financial Excellence – Powered by Airmen, Fueled by Innovation.’”
By Joe Bela
Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs