7 Keys to a Successful Implementation
The success of any organization lie’s in the effective communication and data exchange within its departments as well as outside Customers, Vendors, and other Third Parties. An ERP system (like Sage Intacct) is designed to fill this requirement. But, have you ever wondered why ERP? Or what would a business interaction without an effective ERP system in place look like? Let’s gain a bit of perspective with the following scenario.
Imagine this exchange:
- You are scheduled for a last minute training in Chicago at the end of the week. You realize you ran out of training materials which you now need ASAP, so you call your local print shop to place an order.
- The sales representative isn’t sure how busy the print department currently is so they tell you they’ll call you back and let you know if they are able to take your order and meet your deadline shortly.
- The sales rep doesn’t have access to an ERP that they can easily check so they have to call/email/walk over to the print department to find out whether they have the availability to take your order.
- In the meantime, you call another vendor to see if they’ll be able to fill your order. While on the phone, this second Vendor is able to check the system to see that they do have availability. Rather than risk this Vendor will soon be booked and the first possibly already booked, you go ahead and place the order with the second Vendor.
The first Vendor just lost your business due to their inability to easily and quickly have access to the data they need and communicate within their organization.
An ERP like Sage Intacct can deliver vital benefits such as providing improved communication and data visibility, however in order to reap those benefits, a successful implementation must come first. Now that we’ve contextualized and explained the value of an ERP system, let’s dive into the keys to a successful implementation!
Tip #1: Clear Goals for ERP – Identify Targets
Answer these two questions before beginning any ERP implementation:
- Why do you need a new ERP?
- What are the business goals that justify it?
If you cannot provide an answer, you should re-evaluate. Ideally, you can also identify measurable targets which you will track and work towards attaining post go-live.
After all, you can’t get to where you want to be without knowing where you’re going!
Tip #2: Business Requirements
Along the lines of identifying clear goals for your ERP, you should also identify your business requirements.
- Identify the deal-breakers and must-haves.
- Also identify the current situation and your ideal scenario wish-list.
During the sales process, you’ll likely be wowed with the bells and whistles of a software. You may even speak with peers in your industry that recommend the software. Don’t simply take their recommendation. Do your due diligence. Make sure the software you’re buying into meets your needs.
These business requirements will also come in handy again during your implementation. Having a clear understanding of your requirements beforehand makes it easier for your implementation team to configure your company not just based on best practice but also based on your business.
Tip #3: Setting Realistic Expectations
Set realistic expectations both in terms of project timeline and budget. One day we’ll all have flying cars that are able to take us from San Diego to Rome in 30 minutes, but until that day arrives (which I hope is soon) we have to summon a bit of patience. Just like a flight to Italy takes 12+ hours, an implementation does not yet happen overnight or over a month for that matter. It takes time to implement a system your business will use for years to come. The implementation will follow a phased approach beginning with defining your business requirements, building your system, training, user accepted testing, and go-live.
Also, if you don’t feel ready for go-live, don’t be afraid to delay a month or two. It will only help you. You want to feel as prepared as you can be. I would even dare to say that feeling prepared is more important than a “clean” cut-off. Many organizations aim to transition to a new ERP at the end of their fiscal year, however going into a new system not knowing what you’re doing or worse, is far worse than an un-clean cut-off. There are plenty of implementations that go-live smoothly at the beginning of each month of the year.
Tip #4: Employees and Key Users
Speaking of phases, have employees and key users be involved from the software selection point of the process all the way through defining business requirements and user accepted testing. Not only do you need to understand if this software will work for your users, but you want their buy in too!
Tip #5: Business Workflows, Process, and Documentation
Keep your business workflows that you documented pre-implementation, identify how the system lines up, and document how your business processes work in the new system. Your implementation team will likely provide best practice recommendations along with training activities/guides for your users however it’s important to take these and put them into real-world processes. Think of it like a sandwich, your implementation team will provide the peanut butter and bread (step by step training and instructions on processing transactions) but you have to provide the jelly (business context)– otherwise you’ll have an awfully dry sandwich or different versions with all sorts of jellies.
Tip #6: Measure Post-Implementation Performance Targets
You made it to go-live! Remember those performance targets you identified in the first part of this post? These are what you can now use to measure the implementation and ERP’s success. Remember that process that used to involve getting off the phone to check the availability of the print department for a customer’s training materials rush deadline (aka no visibility and time-consuming communication)? How long did that take before go-live? How long does that take now? Have you noticed a change in customer count? (What’s wonderful for tracking metrics? Dashboards of course! Check out our dashboard post here!)
If you aren’t quite meeting these goals yet, don’t be discouraged! There’s a learning curve initially that takes patience and these should be worked upon not expected on the very first day of being live in a new system.
Tip #7: Continuous Improvement
Post go-live, does not mean there isn’t room for improvement. Read our post on making the most of your Sage Intacct investment here! Or the next logical step: an integration – which our tips for can be found here!
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Kathy Jastrzebski is a manager with CLA’s Intacct team. CLA is an Intacct Premier Partner with a partnership that spans over 20 years and more than 1,000 successful implementations. Kathy brings five years of accounting experience along with seven years of Sage Intacct implementation experience. Along with her accounting experience, she has a passion for leveraging technology to lead finance teams worldwide through system implementations with a mission of increasing department efficiency through business process improvements.
Great points Kathy! When defining your goals and business requirements, gathering input from your organization’s key team members will help ensure the success of your new system.