Posted on August 25, 2011
Selecting the right business management solution is one of the most important business decisions you can make. Making the right decision can propel your company forward while the wrong decision may potentially be catastrophic. This article will delineate key steps in the ERP selection process.
1. Define what you need
Notice I used the word "need" and not the word "want." I need a car that gets me from point A to point B; I want a car with a nice sound system. Choosing an ERP solution is about needs, not wants. Wants are only important at the very end of the process if you have uncovered several potential products that meet your needs.
The easiest way to define your needs is to create ERP narratives. A narrative reads like a story: "When a client calls we do this, then we do that, then we do this if A is true or we do this if B is true." This approach is easier and infinitely more valuable than merely creating a list of features. The value of a narrative lies in its ability to convey the underlying process and provide context to the necessary features - something a checklist does not do. Furthermore, the solution that best suits your workflow may not be the solution with the most features so a feature-focused purchasing decision will very likely yield the wrong result. Tell a story; dump the feature checklist.
2. Estimate the cost of not changing your current business management systems
When estimating the potential value of an ERP implementation, people tend to focus on efficiency (e.g. If we can reduce each transaction's time by 5 minutes, we will save $X). Although this is important, efficiency is only one potential source of cost savings. Also consider the cost of mistakes that can be eliminated. Human errors may cost your company far more than daily inefficiencies. Additionally, consider the higher value activities that will replace the lower value activities. Having a receivables clerk follow-up on past due invoices rather than doing data entry can make a big difference in cash flow, for example, and may entirely eliminate the need for a new hire in the future.
Identify your chief bottlenecks by comparing your current narrative with your ideal narrative. Estimate the annual cost of each bottleneck by reconciling the difference if it no longer existed. Also estimate, if possible, the value-added of the activities that will take the place of the time currently being wasted. If you are not simultaneously astonished and appalled by your calculation results, congratulations - you do not need a new ERP solution. It is far more likely, however, that you now have a stronger case for better business management software than you initially thought.
3. Become familiar with the ERP market
Read from unbiased sources about the ERP industry and don't worry about any particular product; that will occur later in your ERP search. Focus.com is a favorite website for this type of information but there are many good resources available. For every success story there are at least two horror stories. What you should take home from this exercise is that companies that don't do their due diligence pay a hefty price.
Here are topics to research:
- benefits of ERP software
- why some projects succeed and others fail
- technical considerations (e.g. onsite vs. hosted)
- vendor costs: training, data migration, customization, and ongoing support
- other costs: hardware requirements, software licensing models, and hidden costs
Develop non-product specific questions on each of these topics that you can ask vendors as you evaluate each option.
4. Search for the right ERP solution
ERP matchmaking services such as FindAccountingSoftware.com and Capterra.com will ask you questions concerning your needs, budget, timeline, and match you with the number of vendors of your choosing. Although these services are neither comprehensive nor unbiased and tend to be feature focused rather than process focused, they provide an excellent starting point for your ERP software search. With each demo, you will find yourself gravitating to different products for different reasons. Identify why this is the case and you will have discovered important priorities - which will help you narrow your search further. Remember that matchmaking services only provide a starting point in the search process, so after a few demos be sure to expand your search to include word of mouth, web searches, and software directories specific to your IT requirements or industry.
When you find an ERP solution that interests you, make sure it meets the requirements of your specific narratives. Ask the vendor to provide a demo that conforms to your ideal narrative. If the vendor cannot demonstrate the same workflow, ask the vendor to demonstrate how the software would accomplish the same end goals and/or describe any customization that would be required to meet your goals. Do not assume that your way is the best way or the only way - keep an open mind - but do not ignore your narratives either. Companies that ignore or modify their workflows will often belatedly discover - usually at a high cost in both time and money - that their chosen ERP solution is unable to deliver the anticipated benefits because one workaround has been replaced with another workaround.
Posted on August 24, 2011
Funeral programs give mourners details about funeral services and pay tribute to some of the deceased's accomplishments. With software designed to allow customization of funeral stationery, they can now be meaningful mementos, as well.
With the trend toward personalization in all aspects of the services offered by funeral directors, an item as essential as the funeral program should be no exception. The program is the final opportunity your client families have during the funeral experience to express their thoughts about their loved one's life. It provides one more place for them to display favorite photos and add personal quotes, poems, and Scripture verses. Along with the order of service and details about speakers and officiants, it offers mourners one more connection with the life that ended so recently.
A funeral program can be designed in several ways. Arranged on a single sheet of card stock folded in half, it provides space for a photo on the front, the essential details of the service inside, and, on the back, a brief list of the milestones in the deceased's life. This style, called a bi-fold, allows you to add more pages in book-like fashion, so that more photos, readings and quotes can accompany the funeral service information.
A tri-fold program uses a longer piece of card stock and is folded, as the name implies, in thirds. This style allows you to separate information into six sections, which can be useful if the client wants to add a photo collage to one panel, a poem to a second, a life tribute to a third, and so on. You can fold this same size sheet of card stock as a bi-fold, but allow several inches on the back edge to fold to the inside, forming an eye-catching area where a solid band of color highlights a quote or a photo. This area is only visible when the program is opened.
Along with folding options, the software you choose should allow you to offer a selection of themes to your clients. Ideally, the theme printed on the funeral program will coordinate with the rest of the funeral stationery. Occupations, interests and hobbies are all possibilities as themes, which add one more personal touch to this final tribute. When you add the deceased's name, photo, personal quotes, favorite poem or song lyric and details of his life, the program becomes a keepsake for those in attendance, and a thoughtful way to include those who weren't able to attend.
Posted on August 23, 2011
Remote workers are individuals that do their jobs from the comfort of their own homes. Some though are literally working in remote or far places. Take the case of event consultants, PR experts, speakers and others. Because they are independent contractors, they charge their clients by the number of hours they spend performing their duties. If you are one of them, you highly need time tracking programs. It will profoundly make your day-to-day activities easier to manage.
When you are outside, you tend to forget time because you are preoccupied with your present tasks. For this reason, you just make an estimate to some of your work hours. Okay, your clients do not question you on this because of trust. But for someone who wants to establish integrity, you feel guilty each moment you record time in your spreadsheet because you are unsure of it. It is always nice to bill clients when you know everything is well accounted for and there are no traces of doubt in your billing statement.
Another aspect that you are disturbed about is your recent forgetfulness due to your demanding projects. What you hate the most is not being able to attend to some of your business functions on time all because you lose track of time. You do not want to be known for this practice. Current clients may grow dissatisfied and potential clients may be turned off by this attitude. You surely need the help of one of the available time tracking programs in managing your time effectively.
This application can also help you track your time. Just key-in your tasks for the day, press start as soon as you start with a particular task and stop immediately as you are done with it. The tool then computes the total number of hours worked and automatically records your billable hours. It can assist you in managing your future projects as well. It tells you what to do at what time because it allows you to write scheduled tasks to the system, which will then remind you so you won't miss any important to-dos.
The technological advances do not only cater to people who are in front of their computers at all times. Even workers that are always travelling from one place to the next can take advantage of them. Through the use of time tracking programs, they can simply install or access this software in their mobile phones, iPods or other smart devices. Through this, they can guarantee accuracy in their billings and get paid accordingly.