Insights
Below are a few examples of the challenges our clients have faced and how we worked together to create and implement a solution:
Manufacturing Client
Challenge: To meet the expanding needs of a rapidly growing manufacturing company with seasonal fluctuations in both sales and production.
Solution: To complement the existing Sage 100 ERP system, we introduced an integrated EDI system, capable of being customized to meet the specific requirements of any trading partner including several major ‘big box’ retailers.
Result: Improved workflow, reduction of errors in data entry, faster document turnaround time and more responsive customer service.
Wholesale Distribution Client
Challenge: To fulfill the dynamic accounting and reporting requirements of an established wholesale distribution company whose product emphasis shifted significantly in response to changing customer demand.
Solution: Identification and coordination of the most important “wish-list” items at the office, the warehouse and the design studio. Using a combination of user-defined custom fields, Visual Integrator imports, a Multi-Bin and Warehouse Management add on module, Sage Inventory Advisor and a wide variety of custom Crystal Forms and Reports, we tailored a Sage 100 ERP Standard system to meet the unique needs of our client.
Result: A customized system that is rooted in industry standard software and is readily capable of expansion and revision as future demands evolve.
Transportation Client
Challenge: To create a Container Management system for a fleet owned intermodal carrier company that would facilitate the most contemporary electronic scheduling, dispatch, tracking and customer service operations.
Solution: Rather than choose a costly and complicated vertical market solution, we carefully developed an independent custom Microsoft Access Database/SQL application. This database was then extensively integrated with the existing Sage 100 ERP accounting system as well as related ancillary systems such as EDI. Multiple automated routines were put in place to systematically pass information between the various programs, eliminating duplicate data entry and facilitating reporting.
Result: Advanced customer relations and a significant improvement in the internal access to accurate data for billing and reporting purposes, most importantly historical analysis and business metrics.
Professional Services Client
Challenge: Specialized Professional Service consultants with a Fortune 500 client base utilizing Sage Timeslips for most billing with a time and materials arrangement. As time progressed, several key clients moved towards a variety of electronic billing solutions and Sage Timeslips was properly positioned to create invoice files in a widespread selection of electronic formats including the industry standard LEDES 1998B. The challenge came when individual clients required specialized fields and calculations to be routinely submitted as an integral part of the electronic bills.
Solution: Working with the standard Timeslips program, we developed custom routines using a combination of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access so that our client was able to take the original electronic invoice file, process it simply with the custom program and have it automatically saved to a new file that could be directly uploaded to the electronic billing provider.
Results: The creation of a dynamic system to accommodate multiple special requirements with data that was processed without any tedious or time-consuming editing.
Non-Profit Client
Challenge: Creating a simple and cost effective solution for the accounting needs of a Non-Profit organization with multiple entities that maintained separate operating budgets but utilized collective vendors and service contracts.
Solution: After appropriately researching the alternatives, we selected and implemented two modular custom additions to a standard Sage 100 ERP accounting system that automatically allocated Account Payable expenses and General Ledger Journal Entries between the various organizations using predetermined criteria.
Results: Timely and accurate accounting figures for both individual and combined reporting without duplicate entry of data.
Retail Client
Challenge: To create custom consolidated financial reports that could be run on demand for various accounting periods to integrate and summarize data from Sage 50 and a proprietary POS system. Client is saddled with the time consuming process of transposing data from several separate reports into one Excel spreadsheet on a monthly basis.
Solution: Used Microsoft Access to link tables from Sage 50 and proprietary POS system and created custom queries to specify date ranges with user friendly interface. Reports would then display in Microsoft Access and user could also export to Excel to further manipulate the data in a more familiar software environment.
Result: Custom consolidated financial reports that are used by sales manager and owners to easily
evaluate regional and individual sales performance on a monthly basis.
Import/Export Client
Challenge: To convert accounting system from an old custom legacy program to QuickBooks Enterprise including: refined inventory controls, custom pricing, sales rep commissions, and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
Solution: Implemented an industry standard accounting application, QuickBooks Enterprise, to a complicated import/export sales and purchasing process by taking advantage of advanced features in QuickBooks and QuickBooks integrated add-ons. Used QuickBooks import features to create new QuickBooks company file including Chart of Accounts, Customers, Vendors, and Inventory items. Developed sales and purchasing processes specific to the client’s workflow including the use of QuickBooks Advanced Inventory and Advanced Pricing. Also incorporated a QuickBooks add-on to calculate sales rep commissions based on customer payments. We also assisted in the evaluation and implementation of an integrated EDI application, with barcode and label printing capabilities.
Result: An efficient, easy, and relatively inexpensive accounting system that gives the client improved visibility and access to financial, inventory, sales, and purchasing information. The new system also automates order entry through EDI and calculates sales rep commissions through QuickBooks add-ons.