At the end of the day, business software should be a means to an end. Whether it tracks expenses and formulates forecasts (accounting tools), helps you stay on top of technical support (help desk solutions) or sets up HD communications with your colleagues in other offices (VoIP telephony), its job is to make yours easier.
As such, managing and troubleshooting the software itself should never turn into a full-time job for its end users. Plenty of us, however, still spend valuable hours performing redundant data entry across multiple Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, wrangling with outdated infrastructure or relying on the IT department to get us out of various technical jams.
Rising adoption of cloud financial software, via software-as-a-service, makes perfect sense in this context. Slated to bring in $106 billion in revenue by 2016, SaaS solutions provide many benefits to SMBs:
- Installation and maintenance of hardware and software is not necessary. Know how Salesforce.com uses the word "software" enclosed within a no-sign on its logo? It's a little quirky, but it hints at how the cloud simplifies the everyday use of business applications.
- Access is possible from virtually any device or location in the world. All you need is an Internet connection and a PC, phone or tablet, rather than Citrix or a terminal server like you would require in the case of on-premises software.
- SaaS solutions are easy to use and cost-effective. The cloud service provider takes care of security, upgrades and other maintenance, which saves organizations money that would have otherwise gone toward refreshing servers or procuring new licenses.
Moreover, implementation of cloud financial software is usually easier than it is with the traditional alternatives. But there are still possible pitfalls to recognize and steer clear of. Let's look at a few of the most common ones and how doing vendor research can help you ensure a successful project.
1) Keep implementation times as short as possible by having a comprehensive plan
A recent Intacct webinar estimated that cloud software implementation often takes 4-12 weeks from start to finish. That may be shorter than the corresponding figure for many ambitious overhauls of on-premises IT systems, but it's not nothing. Be sure to allot enough time and then work backwards from the "go live" date, figuring out how long each step will take.
Planning is a must during software implementation.
Having a plan is essential for keeping the project on schedule. Important points to hit include verifying your process flows, identifying possible integrations (e.g., between the cloud financial software and existing customer relationship management or enterprise resource planning platforms) and assembling a cross-functional team with an agreed-upon leader, preferably someone in-house instead of a contractor. That way, he or she is more likely to have established relationships with executives and other decision-makers.
Ultimately, effective software should be the byproduct of the implementation success, rather than the definition of it. The best way to ensure this result is to have a project roadmap, a diversely skilled team (the growing popularity of DevOps, a cultural movement built around collaboration between developers and operations personnel, speaks to this value) and a trusted vendor to work with.
2) Select a vendor that has a collaborative approach and deep experience
The SaaS vendor should ideally help with project management and execution. That is, its team will work alongside yours to come up with a solution that fits your company's particular requirements. Business process design, custom as well as standard training and help with systems integration may all be included in its services.
"Pick a vendor that has expertise in your industry."
The customer can accelerate the collaboration by seizing the opportunity to clean up its data. Removing old customers and vendors from your IT systems clears the decks for a new relationship and minimizes the chances of getting wires crossed at any point during the implementation process.
Pick a vendor that has expertise in your industry and customer stories to back up its pitch. Experience with helping customers out of specific, common scenarios is also a plus. For example, many SMBs reach a point at which they need to move on from QuickBooks.
They may be in this position because they are struggling with reporting, are too dependent on spreadsheets and manual processes, need to support multiple currencies and require real-time access to data. Some vendors have helped solve these problems many times, so keep an eye out for them if you are in a similar situation.
3) Look after your end users and business priorities
As we have noted a few times here, software is a tool rather than an end to itself. It's meant to be used by people in your organization to tackle issues both big and small. More than anything else, implementation projects should set workers up to get the most out of software in their workflows.
Even if users in the organization are not part of the project team, it's a good idea to engage them and talk about the goals of the implementation, so that they don't feel like something is being forced on them out of nowhere. Training early and often is also a good tactic for keeping everyone up to date on the software being introduced.
Finally, remember that not everything has to be perfect by the "go live" date. Solve your biggest problems first, get relevant team members involved and be sure that you can get the software functioning at a basic level before, say, putting it at the heart of an ambitious new project. In other words, walk, don't run, and be a diligent tortoise rather than a hasty hare.
