If you haven’t read part one of this blog please click the link to get caught up!

If checklist one through three gets a check mark, you’re on the right track to avoiding as little problems as possible. Number four on the list is something that you must be responsible for because, you can’t blame all ERP implementation failures on the other company. Sometimes when a partner gets a client and there ready to kick start there plan, the clients give them all their “baggage” to fix and then leave. They eventually come back at the end, near the go-live date and say things like “Are we ready to go live yet?” Have you tested the system? Nope. Has your staff gotten trained? Nope. Then the answer to your question is nope. You don’t want to be that kind of client. Therefore make sure the implementation goes in steps or phases, and make sure to have regular follow ups on the progress that has taken place.

Be motivated! Sometimes implementations take a while to finish, you might checking off each suggestion on the list but when you come to number five you realize that what’s your lacking in. You need to be upbeat about this whole process, I’m not saying jump up and down and scream for joy that you are getting new accounting software. But at least have a good attitude towards the implementation; I say this because getting something new isn’t always a good thing. You have to retrain your staff; get familiarized with a new system and implement it to your company. That can be a bothersome to someone resulting in them giving you a hard time. As the client, be positive and have a good outlook on this new system, which could ultimately better your performance in the long run.

Last but not least number six on the checklist is to plan for everything and anything that could happen. Once one to five is checked off, be aware about number six. Even though you have everything planned to a T anything could happen from employees’ issues to company changes. Just be prepared for whatever can happen because even though you might be well prepared when it comes to the implementation there’s always a chance of a problem that could occur. You can’t predict and prevent everything but give yourself a fighting chance if a problem arises.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner

I was reading on an article called “Six Basics of preventing pain in our ERP implementation” and I thought to myself, why are all these problems with ERP implementation occurring in the first place? It’s happening more than normal and I think I know why, Companies are not doing enough research therefore they choose the wrong partner and software. Here I have a checklist of six rules you should consider before saying yes and signing the dotted line.

Really research thoroughly about which partner would be the right partner for you and which software would be the right software for you. Even if you have ten companies and have to narrow it to one then do that. If you’re searching on Google “accounting software” there are millions of results that come up, I know that can be overwhelming but don’t choose only the top three results. Some people think that the top three results are the best results, but that’s completely untrue. Google doesn’t rank you higher based on your product or services quality, they rank based on search engine optimization, keywords and links. But that’s another blog; basically what I’m saying is take your time to do your homework.

When you find the right partner and software, make it clear on what you expect from your partner. Have a one on one sit down with the company you will be working with, there needs to be impeccable communication between both companies. Make sure you listen to their expectations and make sure they listen to your expectations, because if one person’s not listening the project is bound to go wrong. Even if you have to take notes, you need and they need to fully understand the expectations of the project. That’s to prevent sentences like: “I never said that”, “But I thought you said…”, “I told you that, remember?” Also it’s good to get everything in a tight sealed contract so you can also avoid those phrases.

So once you’ve found the right partner and you found the right accounting software and there’s clear understanding amongst both companies, make sure they don’t go anywhere. Sounds weird enough, but I’m not joking, whoever is in charge of your project make sure they stay in charge of the project. The reason this is on the list is to prevent your partner from doing a 180 on you. If you have one project manager that is in charge of the project, if there’s any hiccups in the implementation you can go straight to that person to address the problem. If there’s no one particular in charge of the plan, you’re only going to get the run around when a problem occurs because no one’s in charge. Another reason it’s on the list is because if the company switches the manager, you would have to communicate every single detail about the project all over again hoping that they can comprehend it  and execute it all in a short matter of time.

Tune in to part two and see the rest of the checklist!

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner