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A Guide for Businesses Outgrowing Basic Accounting Software

Grow Your Businesswith Confidence

https://www.fmtconsultants.com/contact/

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Grow Your Business with Confidence

Contents

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5 Signs You’re Ready for a New Accounting Solution |

The Signs Are Clear. Now What? |

Questions to Ask During the Evaluation Process |

Grow Without Growing Pains with FMT |

Introduction |

Use this guide and supporting resources to:

• Identify the signs your business is ready for a new business management solution.

• Understand the questions you should ask during the evaluation process.

• Learn how FMT Consultants can help you grow your business with confidence.

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Keep Your Business Going and Growing

W hether you make widgets, sell services,or move merchandise, you depend on your people,

and your people depend on the tools you give them

to manage your key business processes. Have your

employees expressed pain points with regards to

your current accounting solutions? Is your business

growing fast and reaching a point where the existing

solution is starting to hinder your team to make

smarter decisions?

It is only natural that you need more complex and

powerful accounting solutions as your business

grows. What do other successful business owners do

in order to move forward with agility?

Perhaps, it is time for you to re-evaluate new

business management solutions. It sounds scary, but

there are great affordable options and resources for

small to midsized businesses out there.

There is no single ‘right way’ and no single technology package that works for every business. By the time you

finish reading this white paper, you will have a better idea of how to equip your team with a complete business

management solution that takes advantage of the latest innovations, from cloud computing to mobility and

social connectivity—delivered without interrupting your workflow.

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5 Signs You’re Ready for a Business Management SystemIs your team spending hours and hours trying to review inaccurate reports on their outdated accounting system

when they should be analyzing information on those reports? Are the people in your office wasting too much time

dealing with multiple systems that are disconnected and you aren’t even sure about data security and people are

following compliance regulations?

If you find yourself saying yes to any of the questions above, it’s time for you to re-evaluate your accounting

system.

1. You can’t scale operations to support business growth.If your current accounting system can’t keep up with high demand and complex business processes, it’s time to

find a solution that can scale to support your growth. Your business processes will become more complex when

you add product lines or expand to a new market. Then what about your accounting system? If your current

system takes hours and days to process invoicing and month-end closing, you need better business

processes that will save time.

2. You can’t wrap your arms (or your head) around your business.

3. You are reactive when you need to be proactive.Your current system gives you a report on sales performance from the last quarter and you make business

decisions based on those results. What if you can get additional insights such as current activities and trends and

move beyond the past reports? Wouldn’t it be great if you can see which product gives you the highest margins

and what kinds of customers have the highest retention rate? You need an accounting system that offers a

business overview, so you can easily identify what drives your revenue and further expand your business.

You have no automated system or process

workflows. You also know your system isn't as

secure as it needs to be. The capabilities you

need aren't something your basic accounting

software can offer. Now that you have multiple

users, it's become difficult to track all

the changes made to entries. You don't have

the insight into your business that you need.

You should have control over critical functions

like payments, purchasing, and inventory

management with complete audit trails and

enterprise-level security features.

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4. You can’t support the new work environment.Your team is growing, they are out on the road and some are working from home. You know that the work

environment is changing, you need to equip your people with the latest technology to keep them productive and

connected with your system. Don’t let your old technology hinder your team from working efficiently.

5. You can’t meet customer expectations. You’re using multiple systems to manage finance and operations. You’re unable to manage contracts for product

delivery, and it’s a challenge to get a complete picture of business overview and customer journey. Accessing

and maintaining data should be fast. You should have the insight you need without jumping from one system to

another. If you find yourself not being able to meet customers’ and vendors’ expectations in a timely manner, it

will be challenging beat competitors.

The Signs Are Clear. What’s Next?Evaluate your options

If you agree with any one of the signs above, it’s clear that you need to re-evaluate your accounting system. The

problem is you don’t know which Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or business management system is the

best. When you start researching, keep in mind that what works well for your competitors may not be a good

option for you since everyone has different business needs and processes.

Before you begin your research process, determine what your basic and required capabilities are. Most solutions

offer the following functionalities; financial management and reporting, supply chain management, basic level of

project management, service, and customer relationship management (CRM). However, it’s still a challenge to

choose one option among many others after identifying required capabilities. This is when you should start

considering other additional elements that can boost your performance such as analytic capabilities, user

experience, integration, customer service of the solution provider, and so on. What are the questions you should

ask during this stage?


Questions toAsk During theEvaluationProcess

1. How easy is the system to learn and use?

Some systems are so easy to use while others are difficult. Have you

ever experienced calling customer service and spent 30 minutes just so

you can navigate through the complicated system? Your team’s time is

valuable and it’s essential to have a system that’s easy to learn and use.

Choose a solution that offers:

Here are 5 questions you

can ask to push past the

basics.

• A simple, intuitive user experience. Training can be costly andtime-consuming. You don’t want your people to spend hours and

hours to figure out a simple function such as reporting and

accessing data.

• Built-in productivity tools. You need a solution that integrates wellwith your calendar, email, and business management software. Your

team will appreciate when they can manage finances, supply chain,

and operations, making workflows more efficient and simplified.

Why companies adopt new business management solutions

54%Process integration

50%Resolve order

processing issues

50%Hardware & software

obsolescence 38%Resolve data

duplication/errors

35%Reduce excess

inventory

Source: Nucleus Research: “Microsoft Dynamics Enterprise Applications for SMBs.”

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2. Does the solution support the new ways people want to work?

When your business is growing, so does your team. You have people working from on the road, the airport, off-

site client meetings, and at home. Users expect the system they use at work to be accessible from anywhere.

Not just location, but people use various devices for work thanks to technology. Whether it’s a desktop, tablet, or

a smartphone, your team needs to have access to the system without any difficulties. Do your research and find

out if the solution can support different devices and key applications during the evaluation period.

3. Does the vendor offer deployment options that fit my business?

One of the key requirements you need to consider when migrating to a new business management solution is the

IT model. Are you using an outdated system and looking to move to a cloud-based environment? Or are you

already cloud-based and wish to maintain a cloud-based model? Or do you plan to invest in the infrastructure to

have your new solution in-house?

If the solution you’re evaluating doesn’t support the IT model you’re looking for, you won’t even be able to use

the solution at all. Some solutions offer multiple options for businesses to choose from, cloud-based, on-

premises, and hybrid deployments. Make sure you select a solution that can accommodate your business needs.

For instance, on-premises deployment would be a better option if security is a big concern and you wish to have

control of your data. If you wish to eliminate investment on expensive infrastructure for on-premises, a cloud-

based solution may be a better option for your business. Make sure you consult with your IT department before

you move forward with your decision.

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“We've hired and worked with

lots of vendors and partners over the

years and have never been

happier than working with FMT

Consultants.”

4. What is the vendor’s service model after the sale?

Migrating to a new ERP or business management system is not a simple

project. You may have a team of deployment experts in-house, but they don’t

understand the new solution as much as the solution-providing vendor. It’s

imperative for the vendor to provide a service to ensure the consistency and

predictability of your business operations.

Do they offer implementation assistance, system integration, or even ongoing

support? Are they based in your local area? Is the support available 24 hours?

In this ever changing modern market, leveraging the latest innovation helps

you move forward. Does the vendor provide such innovative solutions? Do

they have the industry knowledge to get your business ahead of the

competition curve?

Lastly, people often overlook this part; does the vendor’s pricing fluctuate after

the first year of deployment? Don’t put your business at risk with high monthly

payments after your first contract expires.

5. Does the vendor understand and focus on the needs of small and midsized businesses?

Has the vendor helped other similar businesses achieve the results

they were looking for? Request case studies to verify the vendor’s

experience and industry knowledge. Keep in mind that deploying a

new business management system is more than just simplifying

and automating processes. It can help you:

• Increase sales with fewer sales discounts

• Improve sales force efficacy and average order size

• Increase inventory turns while reducing stock-outs

• Reduce production costs

So, do your research and find a vendor that can help you go

beyond the new system deployment.Nick Richtsmeier,

Chief Operation Officer at Trilogy Financial

Click here to visit FMT Consultants

https://www.fmtconsultants.com/


Grow Without Growing Pains with FMTDedicated to the success of your project, from analysis to user adoption testing, and activation, FMT Consultants ensures

you’re safeguarded against late delivery and budget creep.

Ensuring that your needs are fully covered, and your project is managed effectively & efficiently, our Customer Care and

Project Management Teams are made available to every project. This way, no matter what stage of the process we’re in,

you know exactly what’s next and whom to call should something unexpected come up.

If you think it's time for a new accounting system and would like to speak to an expert, give us a call today.

Call 844 - 369- 4594.

Why business move to the cloud

Source: “SMB Business in the Cloud 2012.” How the Cloud Looks from the Top: Achieving Competitive Advantage in the Age of Cloud Computing.

A Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report.

Lets us experiment more easily and at low cost

Enables deeper collaboration with business partners

Frees up IT resources to work on more strategic things

Is a source of competitive advantage for early adopters

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© 2018 FMT Consultants. All rights reserved. FMT Consultants

MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Get Started with FMT ConsultantsVisit us to speak with a representative, view a demo, or learn more about our solutions for small and midsized businesses.

Call 844 - 369 - 4594 to speak directly to an FMT representative.

www.fmtconsultants.com

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