MacKay and Sposito, a consulting firm that provides civil engineering, planning, land surveying, landscape architecture, and construction management services, couldn't adequately track and report on project performance. Without knowing which projects and segments were profitable, they couldn't make appropriate adjustments in sales and marketing. Neither could their project managers make necessary changes to control costs and utilize resources more efficiently. They needed to align their accounting with their project management.
Enter Synergy Business Solutions.
“Synergy spent the time to understand what information we need and how we use that information to manage our business and then configured Microsoft Dynamics SL to fit those exact needs,” says Marcy McCoy, Controller at MacKay & Sposito. “Today, we can extract the meaningful information we need to make informed business decisions.”
With streamlined accounting, they have significantly reduced time for month-end closing and payroll, have a timely, accurate picture of project and company performance, and have improved cash flow and profitability.
For more details, read the entire MacKay & Sposito-Synergy story.
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Engineering Consulting Firm Improves Profitability
Back to the Basics of ERP Software
Throughout ERP’s 30 odd years of history, the basics have gotten away from us. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of ERP Software and realize why it’s such a benefit to the business world.
What is ERP?
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) definition refers to both ERP software and business strategies that implement ERP systems. ERP implementation utilizes various ERP software applications to improve the performance of organizations for 1) resource planning, 2) management control and 3) operational control. ERP software consists of multiple software modules that integrate activities across functional departments – from project management and project accounting to materials management for project-centric companies, and from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, to order tracking for product-focused companies. Moreover, most ERP software systems include application modules to support common business activities – finance, accounting, and human resources.
ERP Systems
ERP is much more than a piece of computer software. An ERP System includes ERP Software, Business Processes, Users and Hardware that run the ERP software. An ERP system is more than the sum of its parts or components. Those components interact together to achieve a common goal – streamline and improve an organization's business processes.
Where did it all begin?
ERP is the evolution of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) II in 1980s, while MRP is the evolution of Inventory Management & Control conceived in 1960s. ERP has expanded from coordination of manufacturing processes to the integration of enterprise-wide backend processes. In terms of technology, ERP has evolved from legacy implementation to more flexible tiered client-server architecture.
What are some key benefits of having the software?
ERP software attempts to integrate business processes across departments onto a single enterprise-wide information system. The major benefits of ERP are improved coordination across functional departments and increased efficiencies of doing business. The implementations of ERP systems help facilitate day-to-day management as well. ERP software systems are originally and ambitiously designed to support resource planning portions of strategic planning.
If you’re interested in learning more, visit Synergy Business Solutions.
Government Contractors: Trace Your Accounts from ‘Cradle to Grave’ with Microsoft Dynamics SL
I had the opportunity to listen in on a Microsoft Momentum Webcast regarding how to build a successful foundation for Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) Compliance and the term used throughout the 60 minute session was “Cradle to Grave”. Although slightly morbid, it caught my attention because of its importance for Government Contractors. In order for you to comply with DCAA regulations, it’s vital that you have a start to finish view for each of your accounts. For example, within your financial planning, the auditors will most likely ask to see your 3 month plan versus the actual. To build a successful foundation for DCAA accounting compliance, you must have a solution that works. Here are a few reasons Microsoft Dynamics SL is that solution.
Fully Compliant:
Businesses have found Microsoft Dynamics SL to be fully FAR, CAS and DCAA compliant. With Microsoft Dynamics SL, contractors can easily prepare reports, so that when auditors show up for a surprise floor check, they have the information readily in hand, in the required format, to show precisely where their numbers come from.
Amazing Functionality:
Microsoft Dynamics SL provides an automated, robust, repeatable, integrated system that can calculate indirect rates from month to month, and apply those costs to keep the controller informed about variances as they occur. All of this functionality allows auditors to be confident in the consistent and reliable manner you are calculating, applying and submitting rates.
Customization and Integration Made Easy:
In addition, the Microsoft solution easily integrates with other systems so you can, for example add 25 new employees overnight, as required by a contract or new business opportunity. Microsoft is also open about its data dictionary, or list of fields for all databases, and what they represent. Microsoft Dynamics SL makes it easy to replicate reports, as required by auditors. The ability to customize data entry screens makes it easy to identify information and build reports based on business or government auditing requirements as they arise.
To learn more, visit the Government Compliance Resource Page.
Michael Camp - Synergy Business Solutions
New eBook Stops the Pain
Synergy has published its second ebook, this one entitled, Stop the Pain: 7 Smart Project Management and Accounting Procedures that Work. It spells out how to safeguard cash flow, project performance, and profit margins.
This easy-to-read ebook is based on years of practice by the authors and their colleagues as solution providers, CPAs, CFOs, and IT directors. There is even a story woven throughout the ebook about a real-life engineering firm that implemented the 7 Procedures and eliminated their project-accounting pain. Talk about best practices for project management and accounting, this ebook is chock full of them. Check it out and then pass it on to others you think could benefit from it.
Download eBook
Read Press Release
Independent Research on Microsoft Dynamics SL
Nucleus Research* evaluated Microsoft Dynamics SL in a 2009 report and gave it great grades and a stellar ROI score. Here are some highlights of its analysis of SL customers using it for project management, project or cost accounting, job costing, financial management, collaboration, business intelligence, and reporting.
- Deployed properly, Dynamics SL software can deliver payback in fewer than six months.
- Customer: “Our staff is more productive because they can focus on what needs to get done. In accounting, we’ve reduced our workload by 20 to 30 percent.”
- Customer: “Our biggest benefit is how much we were able to automate. We would have had to add at least two fulltime people to do what we do now.” [Timecards]
- One company was able to increase its cash flow by $100,000 a year, simply by having better visibility and control over its outstanding invoices.
- Visibility across project plans and budgets and better forecasting enables managers to more effectively plan and budget for projects.
- One company was able to increase its utilization rates by an average of 6 percent.
- Central storage of all project data and visibility into that data enables decision makers to easily monitor project status and make adjustments before project costs escalate.
* Nucleus Research Inc., NucleusResearch.com
Five Critical Strategies for Effective Project Management
The most significant bottlenecks faced by project managers are time, competition and allocation of resources. These restrictions directly impact customer satisfaction, timely delivery and profit potential. Clients can be especially demanding as deadlines and milestones approach. This is especially applicable to the high-technology sectors including: information systems; architecture and construction site management; engineering; and advertising and marketing. When time and available resources begin to drive the project, profitability suffers.
The key to ensuring profitability and timely delivery is producing an accurate estimate of time and resources; not just once, but every time an estimate is generated. It is neither practical nor productive to use stand-alone non-integrated solutions with multiple contributors, each working on their specific piece of the puzzle. Managing the system becomes far more complex and labor-intensive from an administrative perspective. Delays are inevitable in cost analysis, manpower hours expended, direct and indirect charges and similar tasks that must be absorbed as overhead. This is generally an irrevocable cost once a certain threshold is reached. At this point, the cost of waiting for reports and input from a number of various departments is eating into the profit margin and can price the project out of an otherwise competitive position.
Implementing an effective Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will resolve most integration-oriented issue and improve the likelihood of higher profitability. An ERP specifically tailored for the tasks of project management will be able to handle the entire life-cycle of a project, from inception through execution, covering all the requisite milestones from initial estimates to the deliverable results of the project.
There are five basic concepts which must be addressed. They are:
1. Identification and selection of the ERP platform.
There are a number of options to consider when selecting an ERP platform. Is it able to support various hardware and project accounting software technologies? Is it portable as new technologies emerge with minimal intervention and costs? As an example, the Microsoft Enterprise Application Suite provides the project manager and staff with the tools required to integrate data while maintaining accuracy, real-time processing speeds, while not sacrificing the flexible familiarity of the MS Office environment. This leads to shorter learning curves and can eliminate manpower-intensive downtime for extensive retraining.
2. Reduction of administrative overhead
Overhead costs can be significantly reduced by a fully-integrated ERP solution like Microsoft dynamics GP. Data sharing, auditing and security considerations, interfacing with the accounting department, analysis of project status, budget analysis and resource allocation all lead to faster response while reducing the need for staff intervention. Concise and accurate reports, generated in a timely manner prevent surprises. The need for project troubleshooters and contingency handling staff is reduced or wholly unnecessary.
3. Generate real-time results to eliminate redundancy
Wide area network – Internet – and local area network – in-house Ethernet – integration are essential to effective project management. With centralized data entry, changes are promulgated and propagated through the entire system, enhancing real-time responses, resource reallocation and updating project status as near-instantaneous events, the results immediately accessible via the network. With web-based applications, access to the ERP is possible whether in the office, out in the field, on the road, at the project sites. Wherever the Internet is available, the ERP can be accessed by authorized users allowing dynamic integration of emerging data. The “overtaken by events” situation is virtually eliminated.
4. Design of a collaborative network
Centralization of information and data distribution enabled by a collaborative network are essential to timely and accurate results. Definition and identification of the decision makers and their levels of responsibility and authority are critical to realizing optimal performance from project field staff and in-house operations and financial departments. Multiple level filtering and selection criteria allow only the data required by specific individuals or necessary for supporting staff to perform a function reduces complexity and improves efficiency.
5. Realization of potential
It is not enough to simply have ready access to data. Raw statistics are meaningless without a solid contextual framework. By implementing a functional and practical ERP, potential problem areas can be more readily ascertained and a solution can be effected, often before the problem manifests. A project manager can analyze information in context instead of attempting to manipulate multiple sources of asynchronous input data. Real-time analysis based on instantaneous integration of project transactions can yield serendipitous results, with the potential of unanticipated cost-savings, staffing requirements, enhanced productivity and can lead to increased profits. In conjunction with ad hoc inquiry, certain Key Performance Indicators (KPI) point to specific areas of opportunity for enhanced operations without sacrificing vital security and confidentiality constraints.
The implementation of a tailored project management ERP/EAS will lead to increased profit potential by:
- Reduction of costs associated with longer than necessary lead times
- Maintenance and adherence to milestones and budget constraints.
- Improved allocation of manpower and materiel resources
- Supporting tools ensuring timely and accurate response from the accounting department
- Accurate identification and recognition of revenue streams
- Lower overhead expenses from project operations and administration
- Enhanced communication within the project between members and supervisory staff
- Portable applications for integration of related corporate and joint venture networking
- Immediate real-time access from by authorized users via the collaborative network
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