- Published on
Written by Mary Bird
I recently sat down with Terry Lister, CPA and manager of the Dynamics GP practice at Leaf Software Solutions. Terry offers a glimpse into his journey through the technology landscape starting in 1975 as he embarked upon his accounting career.
How did you get started in the accounting field?
I attended Ball State University starting in 1971 not knowing exactly what I wanted to do as a career. Thankfully, a Career Day was offered where I walked the booths and spoke with people who represented the various degree offerings at Ball State. I came across the Accounting School and liked what they were offering. I moved in that direction – and four years later – I had a degree in accounting!
What was your first job in the field?
My first job was with a small CPA firm in Indianapolis. I did a lot of bank auditing, which gave me excellent, well-rounded experience since I touched most every aspect of accounting by doing audits.
What technology where you using at that time?
Remember, this was 1975 and there was not any of the technology like we have today. Banks were using the old proof machines for check processing and Burroughs Posting Machines – computers were not there yet. Everything was handwritten in a 13-column accounting ledger.
Tell me more about the auditing process.
We would walk in to start the audit, and the first step was to count all the cash. We took over the vault and all the teller windows. The bank had what they called “ledger cards” where they posted the transactions. Using those cards along with a 10-key calculator, we would do the addition to make sure the loans and deposits balanced with the ledger cards. Then, I’d get to work on the paper ledgers with the 13 columns and the 4-column journal entries. At this point in my career, this is the way things were done, and I had no idea there would be a better method coming soon.
Help me understand more about how businesses kept their books at this time.
Businesses kept their books using a sales journal, purchasing journal, checkbook, and general ledger – and all of it was on paper. Once you wrote a check, you transferred that information to the purchasing journal, then at the end of the month you’d total up the purchasing journal with a 10-key adding machine (the kind with the roll of paper tape) and transfer that amount to the general ledger. There was (and it still exists today) a system called One-Write where you could write a check and it would create the purchasing journal entry using carbon paper. This was our form of automation and was a popular way to increase accuracy and to save some time.
By the time I finished at this small CPA firm in 1978, I had also done taxes and bookkeeping for several clients, and this contributed to my increasing level of experience.
What was the next stop in your career?
I moved over to Katz, Sapper & Miller and worked in the Audit department. As the early 80s were upon us, we started to see the spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3 and we started using that software in our practice. We had IBM computers (all DOS based, no Windows yet) with the larger floppy disks, and this was the first time technology touched what I was doing.
Can you recall a time where technology significantly improved your day to day?
I was assigned to do a lot of audits for construction contractors. One was a very large company where I went in and put all the construction jobs on the 13-column paper ledger. There were so many jobs, I had to tape together three ledgers and enter all the information for each job – such as budget, actual cost, profit, and percentage complete. You can see how a computer would have helped cut down the time this job took. A big change occurred in about 1982 and we had a computer in a suitcase we could take on site to these construction companies. I would enter all the information into that computer (using Microsoft Excel at that time) instead of onto a paper ledger.
I was able to make all the modifications to the construction project in the Excel spreadsheet to make the construction job projections align with the actuals. What used to take 2 or 3 days on paper now happened immediately during the client meeting when we secured the actual numbers. I was able to make the changes as we were talking with the client and the computer did all the calculations for me. That was my first real game-changing experience with computer technology.
Tell me more about this computer in a suitcase.
That’s exactly what it was – it was self-contained, kind of like a sewing machine. You opened it up and it had two disk drives, a keyboard, and a small monitor. We carried an extension cord and plugged it in. There was no phone line needed or network cable – all the data would write back to the floppy disks. We would label the disks with the client’s name and place them back in the client’s file along with all the printed reports that were stored on those disks.
What kind of training did you receive once computers entered the picture?
At that time, you pretty much trained yourself by using the machines, and by reading books. The software replicated what we were doing with the paper ledgers, only it automated the calculations and cut way down on the time it may have taken to track down a mistake. The software just became your electronic 13-column paper on a computer.
How would you describe your attitude towards these changes?
It was exciting! It took what used to be a 3-day job down to just a couple hours. When I had the computer with me, we had the totals by the time we finished meeting with the client. There was no more erasing, writing in new numbers, doing all the calculations over again – the software did that for you. It was very neat – it was very cool.
How did your clients react to the changes in technology?
The clients loved it since we were still billing based on hours. Through this automation, we spent less time with the client and that was reflected in our billing. Our work was costing the client less money than we were charging before the computer became standard practice.
What other changes were occurring at this time?
The Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program was gaining popularity, but Microsoft had entered the market as well with Excel and their other Office products. The shift in usage by CPAs from one software program to another came when Microsoft started a marketing blitz to give away Excel to any CPA who requested it. All you had to do was send a request into Microsoft and they’d send you the disks to install the program. It could be run on a DOS or Windows machine like an IBM 8600 or Compaq. It was evident that a shift happening because people were starting to use Excel and Word within the Office software programs.
When did the more comprehensive accounting software programs become available?
In the mid-1980s there were several DOS-based accounting programs available like Great Plains Accounting. GP at that time was a computerized accounting system with general ledgers and journals. It wrote checks, and you could enter your cash receipts, and it would accumulate those totals for you and give you financial statements at the end of the month.
When I left Katz and went to work for a CPA firm in Lafayette, we were using Great Plains there. GP was installed on a DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) computer. I came into that company and continued to use Excel spreadsheets mostly – since many clients were still doing their books manually. My primary function there was to build their auditing department and to achieve industry certification. We had a department dedicated to working with Great Plains Accounting. It wasn’t until I left public accounting and started to work in industry that I started working on the early stages of what are now called ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning).
How did your career progress from there?
My next career move was as CFO of a rent-to-own type company that had several locations across multiple states. When I came in, they had already developed a UNIX based software to run their point of sale, but they had no accounting system. This was when I first started working with automated systems. With developers reporting to me, I was able to direct them to start an inventory tracking system using UPC codes and scanners. We found an accounting module we were able to plug into the UNIX point of sale and we developed a sophisticated warehouse management system to track when rentals went out the door and when they returned. We depreciated these rental assets using the software.
The true highlight of my career was when the IRS came in and tried to classify our sales as installment sales and we proved them wrong. We classified our revenue as rent (only recognizing revenue as payments were made) because the same asset came in and out the door so many times it would not make sense to be classified as an installment sale where revenue is recognized up front.
We benefited from technology by connecting our locations via T1 internet lines and we centralized purchasing. When a warehouse manager would make a purchase, the PO would automatically print on the warehouse floor, so they knew something was coming in. Upon receipt, the purchase was logged and accounted for properly, closing the loop automatically. I was interested in getting better reports out of the software, and I directed the developers to do just that. We eventually evolved to enjoy daily sales reports by store, along with accurate inventory reports of what was available to rent at each location. We used automation to change the way the business operated.
Are you saying the role of the CFO was changing due to this computerized automation?
A major shift was happening right in front of me. Yes, that shift was the role of the CFO. With the information we had, we were able to prove to the owner of the rent-to-own company that the number of contracts on rent was not the number that you wanted to track. We showed him how to track the dollars that is left on rent. This fundamentally changed the way the business operated. This proved that the CFO is a role that helps make important decisions in the direction of the company.
In the early 1990s, I left the rent-to-own company. It was easy to see that technology was booming everywhere. I went back to work for some partners of Katz at a manufacturing company in Peru. We were using a system called Made2Manage, and I was learning something which expanded my knowledge and background. This software was one of several around at that time. Made2Manage was designed for manufacturing specifically and integrated all departments within the company.
Fast forward a few years, and I started working for General Hotels. I was brought in to implement a hospitality management software system (Sulcus Hotel Management software) to bring visibility into the various areas of the operation including rooms, restaurants, and banquets to departmentalize financials. We put in budgeting tools and empowered department managers to participate in the budgeting process. Empowering those managers greatly improved the budgeting process. That was my second foray into industry where I implemented software to run the accounting side of the business.
In 1998, after six years in the hospitality business I went back to a spinoff company that Katz formed, called KSM Systems Group. We represented Great Plains, Solomon, and Sage accounting products. We had plenty of business since this was leading up to the year 2000 where everyone was upgrading their computer systems. KSM Systems Group decided to focus solely on the Great Plains business, and this was my area of specialty. Great Plains was still independently owned until they sold to Microsoft in 2001. The first client I worked with was an assisted living place in Crawfordsville and included payroll and all the accounting functions. This loyal client stayed with us until they sold the company about a year ago.
While working with KSM Systems Group I developed the attitude and belief that “the software didn’t matter.” Our leaders truly believed and practiced that when you have the right people and develop trusting, problem-solving relationships with clients, the brand of software takes a back seat.
In August of 2001, Leaf Software Solutions purchased KSM Systems Group. The three employees representing the Great Plains business came over to Leaf, including myself. Our values aligned beautifully, and we’ve thrived since then with our GP practice at Leaf.
How has the accounting software market evolved?
Among the many fractionalized software businesses (many still exist) there are just a few mid-market ERP systems that generally operate the same way. Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics BC, and Microsoft Dynamics GP all offer a core financials package that can be used as-is.
Many businesses find they have special needs that are best handled by a product that plugs into these software systems built by an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) installed and managed by a specialized software consulting firm. This model uses the strengths of the major software companies while allowing smaller firms to thrive by offering specialty products designed for verticals which require additional functionality.
For example, I’m now working with a Tier 1 Auto Industry manufacturer using GP and the GP manufacturing module, but they don’t use it to its fullest capabilities. The way they conduct business is very specialized and required a third party to customize the resource planning (such as forecasting and inventory management) and install it on top of GP. The market now allows for this type of third-party business to thrive by providing specialized solutions on top of the core functionality of the major ERP systems. Can GP do resource planning? Yes, but not to the sophistication needed by this manufacturer.
This shaped the model we have today. Core functionality supported by independent software vendors meeting the needs of the marketplace. The value-added model also drives revenue to custom software companies like Leaf to implement and support the software. The bigger players are very happy with this model, as they don’t have to specialize and hire all the labor – they concentrate on a core package that can be modified while allowing other companies to come in with their special focused expertise. Since every business is different, they realize that they can’t make an accounting software that meets the specific needs of every business. This has been the evolution.
What are you most happy to not have to do any longer?
I used to spend hours, weeks, even months trying to figure out what went wrong when the numbers didn’t add up. We wrote final numbers using ink in the ledgers for audit purposes and finding and making changes often was very frustrating. I don’t have to worry about that any longer!
Can you say technology has improved the life of a CPA?
Technology has improved the lives of CPAs by changing the role of the CPA from a number cruncher to an analyst and strategic leader. With all the automation and sophisticated tools from advances in technology, CPAs have much more information at their fingertips and can now instantly contribute to the management and strategic planning of the business.
Final thoughts?
It’s been fun – it’s been a great ride!
How did you get started in the accounting field?
I attended Ball State University starting in 1971 not knowing exactly what I wanted to do as a career. Thankfully, a Career Day was offered where I walked the booths and spoke with people who represented the various degree offerings at Ball State. I came across the Accounting School and liked what they were offering. I moved in that direction – and four years later – I had a degree in accounting!
What was your first job in the field?
My first job was with a small CPA firm in Indianapolis. I did a lot of bank auditing, which gave me excellent, well-rounded experience since I touched most every aspect of accounting by doing audits.
What technology where you using at that time?
Remember, this was 1975 and there was not any of the technology like we have today. Banks were using the old proof machines for check processing and Burroughs Posting Machines – computers were not there yet. Everything was handwritten in a 13-column accounting ledger.
Tell me more about the auditing process.
We would walk in to start the audit, and the first step was to count all the cash. We took over the vault and all the teller windows. The bank had what they called “ledger cards” where they posted the transactions. Using those cards along with a 10-key calculator, we would do the addition to make sure the loans and deposits balanced with the ledger cards. Then, I’d get to work on the paper ledgers with the 13 columns and the 4-column journal entries. At this point in my career, this is the way things were done, and I had no idea there would be a better method coming soon.
Help me understand more about how businesses kept their books at this time.
Businesses kept their books using a sales journal, purchasing journal, checkbook, and general ledger – and all of it was on paper. Once you wrote a check, you transferred that information to the purchasing journal, then at the end of the month you’d total up the purchasing journal with a 10-key adding machine (the kind with the roll of paper tape) and transfer that amount to the general ledger. There was (and it still exists today) a system called One-Write where you could write a check and it would create the purchasing journal entry using carbon paper. This was our form of automation and was a popular way to increase accuracy and to save some time.
By the time I finished at this small CPA firm in 1978, I had also done taxes and bookkeeping for several clients, and this contributed to my increasing level of experience.
What was the next stop in your career?
I moved over to Katz, Sapper & Miller and worked in the Audit department. As the early 80s were upon us, we started to see the spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3 and we started using that software in our practice. We had IBM computers (all DOS based, no Windows yet) with the larger floppy disks, and this was the first time technology touched what I was doing.
Can you recall a time where technology significantly improved your day to day?
I was assigned to do a lot of audits for construction contractors. One was a very large company where I went in and put all the construction jobs on the 13-column paper ledger. There were so many jobs, I had to tape together three ledgers and enter all the information for each job – such as budget, actual cost, profit, and percentage complete. You can see how a computer would have helped cut down the time this job took. A big change occurred in about 1982 and we had a computer in a suitcase we could take on site to these construction companies. I would enter all the information into that computer (using Microsoft Excel at that time) instead of onto a paper ledger.
I was able to make all the modifications to the construction project in the Excel spreadsheet to make the construction job projections align with the actuals. What used to take 2 or 3 days on paper now happened immediately during the client meeting when we secured the actual numbers. I was able to make the changes as we were talking with the client and the computer did all the calculations for me. That was my first real game-changing experience with computer technology.
Tell me more about this computer in a suitcase.
That’s exactly what it was – it was self-contained, kind of like a sewing machine. You opened it up and it had two disk drives, a keyboard, and a small monitor. We carried an extension cord and plugged it in. There was no phone line needed or network cable – all the data would write back to the floppy disks. We would label the disks with the client’s name and place them back in the client’s file along with all the printed reports that were stored on those disks.
What kind of training did you receive once computers entered the picture?
At that time, you pretty much trained yourself by using the machines, and by reading books. The software replicated what we were doing with the paper ledgers, only it automated the calculations and cut way down on the time it may have taken to track down a mistake. The software just became your electronic 13-column paper on a computer.
How would you describe your attitude towards these changes?
It was exciting! It took what used to be a 3-day job down to just a couple hours. When I had the computer with me, we had the totals by the time we finished meeting with the client. There was no more erasing, writing in new numbers, doing all the calculations over again – the software did that for you. It was very neat – it was very cool.
How did your clients react to the changes in technology?
The clients loved it since we were still billing based on hours. Through this automation, we spent less time with the client and that was reflected in our billing. Our work was costing the client less money than we were charging before the computer became standard practice.
What other changes were occurring at this time?
The Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program was gaining popularity, but Microsoft had entered the market as well with Excel and their other Office products. The shift in usage by CPAs from one software program to another came when Microsoft started a marketing blitz to give away Excel to any CPA who requested it. All you had to do was send a request into Microsoft and they’d send you the disks to install the program. It could be run on a DOS or Windows machine like an IBM 8600 or Compaq. It was evident that a shift happening because people were starting to use Excel and Word within the Office software programs.
When did the more comprehensive accounting software programs become available?
In the mid-1980s there were several DOS-based accounting programs available like Great Plains Accounting. GP at that time was a computerized accounting system with general ledgers and journals. It wrote checks, and you could enter your cash receipts, and it would accumulate those totals for you and give you financial statements at the end of the month.
When I left Katz and went to work for a CPA firm in Lafayette, we were using Great Plains there. GP was installed on a DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) computer. I came into that company and continued to use Excel spreadsheets mostly – since many clients were still doing their books manually. My primary function there was to build their auditing department and to achieve industry certification. We had a department dedicated to working with Great Plains Accounting. It wasn’t until I left public accounting and started to work in industry that I started working on the early stages of what are now called ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning).
How did your career progress from there?
My next career move was as CFO of a rent-to-own type company that had several locations across multiple states. When I came in, they had already developed a UNIX based software to run their point of sale, but they had no accounting system. This was when I first started working with automated systems. With developers reporting to me, I was able to direct them to start an inventory tracking system using UPC codes and scanners. We found an accounting module we were able to plug into the UNIX point of sale and we developed a sophisticated warehouse management system to track when rentals went out the door and when they returned. We depreciated these rental assets using the software.
The true highlight of my career was when the IRS came in and tried to classify our sales as installment sales and we proved them wrong. We classified our revenue as rent (only recognizing revenue as payments were made) because the same asset came in and out the door so many times it would not make sense to be classified as an installment sale where revenue is recognized up front.
We benefited from technology by connecting our locations via T1 internet lines and we centralized purchasing. When a warehouse manager would make a purchase, the PO would automatically print on the warehouse floor, so they knew something was coming in. Upon receipt, the purchase was logged and accounted for properly, closing the loop automatically. I was interested in getting better reports out of the software, and I directed the developers to do just that. We eventually evolved to enjoy daily sales reports by store, along with accurate inventory reports of what was available to rent at each location. We used automation to change the way the business operated.
Are you saying the role of the CFO was changing due to this computerized automation?
A major shift was happening right in front of me. Yes, that shift was the role of the CFO. With the information we had, we were able to prove to the owner of the rent-to-own company that the number of contracts on rent was not the number that you wanted to track. We showed him how to track the dollars that is left on rent. This fundamentally changed the way the business operated. This proved that the CFO is a role that helps make important decisions in the direction of the company.
In the early 1990s, I left the rent-to-own company. It was easy to see that technology was booming everywhere. I went back to work for some partners of Katz at a manufacturing company in Peru. We were using a system called Made2Manage, and I was learning something which expanded my knowledge and background. This software was one of several around at that time. Made2Manage was designed for manufacturing specifically and integrated all departments within the company.
Fast forward a few years, and I started working for General Hotels. I was brought in to implement a hospitality management software system (Sulcus Hotel Management software) to bring visibility into the various areas of the operation including rooms, restaurants, and banquets to departmentalize financials. We put in budgeting tools and empowered department managers to participate in the budgeting process. Empowering those managers greatly improved the budgeting process. That was my second foray into industry where I implemented software to run the accounting side of the business.
In 1998, after six years in the hospitality business I went back to a spinoff company that Katz formed, called KSM Systems Group. We represented Great Plains, Solomon, and Sage accounting products. We had plenty of business since this was leading up to the year 2000 where everyone was upgrading their computer systems. KSM Systems Group decided to focus solely on the Great Plains business, and this was my area of specialty. Great Plains was still independently owned until they sold to Microsoft in 2001. The first client I worked with was an assisted living place in Crawfordsville and included payroll and all the accounting functions. This loyal client stayed with us until they sold the company about a year ago.
While working with KSM Systems Group I developed the attitude and belief that “the software didn’t matter.” Our leaders truly believed and practiced that when you have the right people and develop trusting, problem-solving relationships with clients, the brand of software takes a back seat.
In August of 2001, Leaf Software Solutions purchased KSM Systems Group. The three employees representing the Great Plains business came over to Leaf, including myself. Our values aligned beautifully, and we’ve thrived since then with our GP practice at Leaf.
How has the accounting software market evolved?
Among the many fractionalized software businesses (many still exist) there are just a few mid-market ERP systems that generally operate the same way. Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics BC, and Microsoft Dynamics GP all offer a core financials package that can be used as-is.
Many businesses find they have special needs that are best handled by a product that plugs into these software systems built by an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) installed and managed by a specialized software consulting firm. This model uses the strengths of the major software companies while allowing smaller firms to thrive by offering specialty products designed for verticals which require additional functionality.
For example, I’m now working with a Tier 1 Auto Industry manufacturer using GP and the GP manufacturing module, but they don’t use it to its fullest capabilities. The way they conduct business is very specialized and required a third party to customize the resource planning (such as forecasting and inventory management) and install it on top of GP. The market now allows for this type of third-party business to thrive by providing specialized solutions on top of the core functionality of the major ERP systems. Can GP do resource planning? Yes, but not to the sophistication needed by this manufacturer.
This shaped the model we have today. Core functionality supported by independent software vendors meeting the needs of the marketplace. The value-added model also drives revenue to custom software companies like Leaf to implement and support the software. The bigger players are very happy with this model, as they don’t have to specialize and hire all the labor – they concentrate on a core package that can be modified while allowing other companies to come in with their special focused expertise. Since every business is different, they realize that they can’t make an accounting software that meets the specific needs of every business. This has been the evolution.
What are you most happy to not have to do any longer?
I used to spend hours, weeks, even months trying to figure out what went wrong when the numbers didn’t add up. We wrote final numbers using ink in the ledgers for audit purposes and finding and making changes often was very frustrating. I don’t have to worry about that any longer!
Can you say technology has improved the life of a CPA?
Technology has improved the lives of CPAs by changing the role of the CPA from a number cruncher to an analyst and strategic leader. With all the automation and sophisticated tools from advances in technology, CPAs have much more information at their fingertips and can now instantly contribute to the management and strategic planning of the business.
Final thoughts?
It’s been fun – it’s been a great ride!
- Published on
Indianapolis — Leaf Software Solutions has announced a new Strategic Partnership with the Indiana CPA Society. Indiana CPA Society Strategic Partners are companies that have supported the Society and worked closely with its members throughout the year.
Leaf Software Solutions works with accounting and finance professionals to create and/or customize a software solution that best fits their organization’s specific needs.
“Our cloud accounting solutions are designed to automate processes leading to better decision making with more robust reporting,” said Chad Hankinson, President of Leaf Software Solutions. “This partnership allows us to create new relationships and add value to businesses in Indiana.”
The Indiana CPA Society is a statewide professional association representing nearly 7,000 CPAs and related professionals who will be able to benefit from this new partnership.
“Working with Leaf Software Solutions will enable us to provide relevant new tools and service offerings for our members,” said INCPAS President & CEO Courtney Kincaid, CAE. “As the role of the CPA continues to evolve, having the right technology in place can help free up their resources to spend more time on the strategic skills that are most meaningful to the organizations or clients they serve.”
###
About the Indiana CPA Society
The Indiana CPA Society is a statewide professional association representing nearly 7,000 CPAs and accounting professionals who are transforming business in Indiana. For more information, visit incpas.org.
About Leaf Software Solutions
Leaf Software Solutions has been delivering mission critical business solutions for over 34 years. Our advisory approach results in custom-tailored solutions that create value for your business. Learn more at leafsoftwaresolutions.com.
Contact
Stephanie Parton, CAE
sparton@incpas.org
VP – Communications
Indiana CPA Society
Leaf Software Solutions works with accounting and finance professionals to create and/or customize a software solution that best fits their organization’s specific needs.
“Our cloud accounting solutions are designed to automate processes leading to better decision making with more robust reporting,” said Chad Hankinson, President of Leaf Software Solutions. “This partnership allows us to create new relationships and add value to businesses in Indiana.”
The Indiana CPA Society is a statewide professional association representing nearly 7,000 CPAs and related professionals who will be able to benefit from this new partnership.
“Working with Leaf Software Solutions will enable us to provide relevant new tools and service offerings for our members,” said INCPAS President & CEO Courtney Kincaid, CAE. “As the role of the CPA continues to evolve, having the right technology in place can help free up their resources to spend more time on the strategic skills that are most meaningful to the organizations or clients they serve.”
###
About the Indiana CPA Society
The Indiana CPA Society is a statewide professional association representing nearly 7,000 CPAs and accounting professionals who are transforming business in Indiana. For more information, visit incpas.org.
About Leaf Software Solutions
Leaf Software Solutions has been delivering mission critical business solutions for over 34 years. Our advisory approach results in custom-tailored solutions that create value for your business. Learn more at leafsoftwaresolutions.com.
Contact
Stephanie Parton, CAE
sparton@incpas.org
VP – Communications
Indiana CPA Society
- Published on
Leaf and Seven Corners Travel Insurance – How the Project Started
Leaf assisted Seven Corners by applying the concept of a contribution margin financial measurement in the Sage Intacct Cloud Accounting system. To achieve this, Leaf advisors reviewed the various elements of the contribution margin formula. In this advisory role, Leaf discussed how each of the variables within the contribution margin reporting calculation impacted its outcome. Leaf advisors collaborated with the Seven Corners Finance and the Seven Corners IT departments to develop a custom integration between their Sage Intacct system to their AXIS system which holds statistical information as well as revenue and cost of sales information used in the company’s contribution analysis.
By actively listening to the client, Leaf gained a deep understanding of how the contribution margin results would impact decisions and direction within Seven Corners. Leaf educated and assisted with the design and use of dimensions through parent/child and dimensional groups as building blocks to aggregating financial data to aid in the computation of the contribution margin.
Leaf and Seven Corners concentrated on the use of Sage Intacct’s Financial Reporting system and its ability to use simple and complex formulary calculations to bring together dimensionally tagged financial data. This allowed Seven Corners to complete the analysis of the series of insurance products and services to determine its contribution allocation to the company’s profit margin.
Seven Corners was open to the advisory role and guidance taken on by Leaf, and as a result, Seven Corners is using their ERP system in valuable ways – transcending their insight into what contributes to the overall success of the company. What follows is their success story as written by Janna Broyles, Vice President of Finance and Controller. Enjoy!
Seven Corners – Who We Are
Seven Corners is a service-focused travel insurance and benefit management company that serves a global market. We offer customized travel insurance solutions, such as trip insurance, travel medical insurance, student travel insurance and visitor insurance and 24/7 emergency medical and travel assistance service for individuals and groups. Seven Corners also administers health care benefits for select U.S. government programs such as the U.S. Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Our mission is to protect travelers while building loyal customers, inspiring our team members, and driving value for our partners. We exist to be the difference by providing health, safety, and security for people away from home. The heart of our company is our core values: customers come first, we innovate, we do the right thing, we own the solution, and we are precise.
Seven Corners Finance – What We Have Done to Live Our Core Values
Five years ago, the accounting and finance function at Seven Corners was struggling, to put it lightly. We had 15 team members, few internal controls, varying accuracy, and a 30-day close cycle. Leadership had low visibility into the financial performance due to the timing of close, Microsoft Excel was overused, and reconciliations were not current. We weren’t living out our company’s core values. Overtime and the feeling of being underwater was all too prevalent, and stress was severely hurting our team’s culture. We had no time to invest in additional project work because it was all we could do to keep up with daily requirements. We needed help, and we needed help quickly.
Sage Intacct was the answer.
Today, we have a four-day close, an 83% reduction from five years ago. We’ve modernized our accounts payable function through a direct connection with Bill.com, improved our corporate credit card process through a direct connection with Tallie, automated approximately 60 bank reconciliations through Intacct, enhanced reporting by building reports and dashboards, and implemented Sage Intacct Planning, which has greatly enhanced and streamlined our budgeting and forecasting process.
By adding efficiency and internal controls into our day-to-day, we have not only increased our accuracy, but also saved the company money. Our leadership trusts the financial results that we share monthly, which is invaluable. The team of nine, a 40% reduction from five years ago and a savings of $545K annually, works little to no overtime, is current with their workload, is happy and working on projects galore with their free time and adding value to the company.
The work described above was all done prior to 12 months ago, when the Finance team embarked on one of the biggest projects to date . . . a contribution margin analysis. Contribution margin allowed us to individually measure the ability of each product’s revenue to exceed its associated variable and fixed costs. We needed to determine how each of our products impacted company profitability so that decisions around those products could turn around years of unprofitable results. The initial contribution margin created was done back in 2019 with Excel, and it was difficult to update and prone to error. By using Sage Intacct, we modernized contribution margin by using new dimensions, account groups and custom fields to create dimension groups for our revenue entries (now done via API), implemented dynamic allocations to allocate service and acquisition costs across the revenue streams by using statistical accounts, and built dashboards and reporting that is available at a click of a button. As soon as our four-day close is complete, we have now achieved with the use of Sage Intacct a contribution margin that gives us a profitability by product, by channel, by agent, etc. We went from having contribution margin one time per year, to having it monthly with no effort.
Financial Operations Transformed at Seven Corners
Sage Intacct allowed Seven Corners to transform its financial operations by delivering the best it has in nearly 30 years. From five years ago to today, there is no comparison. The flexibility of Sage Intacct and its robust reporting has helped us maximize the use of the system and has revealed information that was otherwise concealed or hidden from decision makers’ view, which has been invaluable to the company.
Through innovation, Seven Corners has completely transformed our financial operations and our business. Highlighted results using Sage Intacct include:
Leaf assisted Seven Corners by applying the concept of a contribution margin financial measurement in the Sage Intacct Cloud Accounting system. To achieve this, Leaf advisors reviewed the various elements of the contribution margin formula. In this advisory role, Leaf discussed how each of the variables within the contribution margin reporting calculation impacted its outcome. Leaf advisors collaborated with the Seven Corners Finance and the Seven Corners IT departments to develop a custom integration between their Sage Intacct system to their AXIS system which holds statistical information as well as revenue and cost of sales information used in the company’s contribution analysis.
By actively listening to the client, Leaf gained a deep understanding of how the contribution margin results would impact decisions and direction within Seven Corners. Leaf educated and assisted with the design and use of dimensions through parent/child and dimensional groups as building blocks to aggregating financial data to aid in the computation of the contribution margin.
Leaf and Seven Corners concentrated on the use of Sage Intacct’s Financial Reporting system and its ability to use simple and complex formulary calculations to bring together dimensionally tagged financial data. This allowed Seven Corners to complete the analysis of the series of insurance products and services to determine its contribution allocation to the company’s profit margin.
Seven Corners was open to the advisory role and guidance taken on by Leaf, and as a result, Seven Corners is using their ERP system in valuable ways – transcending their insight into what contributes to the overall success of the company. What follows is their success story as written by Janna Broyles, Vice President of Finance and Controller. Enjoy!
Seven Corners – Who We Are
Seven Corners is a service-focused travel insurance and benefit management company that serves a global market. We offer customized travel insurance solutions, such as trip insurance, travel medical insurance, student travel insurance and visitor insurance and 24/7 emergency medical and travel assistance service for individuals and groups. Seven Corners also administers health care benefits for select U.S. government programs such as the U.S. Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Our mission is to protect travelers while building loyal customers, inspiring our team members, and driving value for our partners. We exist to be the difference by providing health, safety, and security for people away from home. The heart of our company is our core values: customers come first, we innovate, we do the right thing, we own the solution, and we are precise.
Seven Corners Finance – What We Have Done to Live Our Core Values
Five years ago, the accounting and finance function at Seven Corners was struggling, to put it lightly. We had 15 team members, few internal controls, varying accuracy, and a 30-day close cycle. Leadership had low visibility into the financial performance due to the timing of close, Microsoft Excel was overused, and reconciliations were not current. We weren’t living out our company’s core values. Overtime and the feeling of being underwater was all too prevalent, and stress was severely hurting our team’s culture. We had no time to invest in additional project work because it was all we could do to keep up with daily requirements. We needed help, and we needed help quickly.
Sage Intacct was the answer.
Today, we have a four-day close, an 83% reduction from five years ago. We’ve modernized our accounts payable function through a direct connection with Bill.com, improved our corporate credit card process through a direct connection with Tallie, automated approximately 60 bank reconciliations through Intacct, enhanced reporting by building reports and dashboards, and implemented Sage Intacct Planning, which has greatly enhanced and streamlined our budgeting and forecasting process.
By adding efficiency and internal controls into our day-to-day, we have not only increased our accuracy, but also saved the company money. Our leadership trusts the financial results that we share monthly, which is invaluable. The team of nine, a 40% reduction from five years ago and a savings of $545K annually, works little to no overtime, is current with their workload, is happy and working on projects galore with their free time and adding value to the company.
The work described above was all done prior to 12 months ago, when the Finance team embarked on one of the biggest projects to date . . . a contribution margin analysis. Contribution margin allowed us to individually measure the ability of each product’s revenue to exceed its associated variable and fixed costs. We needed to determine how each of our products impacted company profitability so that decisions around those products could turn around years of unprofitable results. The initial contribution margin created was done back in 2019 with Excel, and it was difficult to update and prone to error. By using Sage Intacct, we modernized contribution margin by using new dimensions, account groups and custom fields to create dimension groups for our revenue entries (now done via API), implemented dynamic allocations to allocate service and acquisition costs across the revenue streams by using statistical accounts, and built dashboards and reporting that is available at a click of a button. As soon as our four-day close is complete, we have now achieved with the use of Sage Intacct a contribution margin that gives us a profitability by product, by channel, by agent, etc. We went from having contribution margin one time per year, to having it monthly with no effort.
Financial Operations Transformed at Seven Corners
Sage Intacct allowed Seven Corners to transform its financial operations by delivering the best it has in nearly 30 years. From five years ago to today, there is no comparison. The flexibility of Sage Intacct and its robust reporting has helped us maximize the use of the system and has revealed information that was otherwise concealed or hidden from decision makers’ view, which has been invaluable to the company.
Through innovation, Seven Corners has completely transformed our financial operations and our business. Highlighted results using Sage Intacct include:
- Improved the culture and work life of the Finance team, which is immeasurable
- Reduced our close by 83%, from 30 to four days
- Saved the company $545K annually due to efficiencies gained with automation
- Improved accuracy and for five years running, no errors during our annual financial statement audit (from 10-15+ findings in prior years)
- Improved internal controls, which has protected the company’s assets with approval processes and being current with reconciliations
- Gained visibility into our products and results that help leadership make timely decisions
- Reduced the time to complete our annual budget by 60 days, by implementing Sage Intacct Planning
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May 12, 2022 (INDIANAPOLIS) – The Indiana Chamber of Commerce honored 125 companies from across the state today at the 2022 Best Places to Work in Indiana dinner celebration. Rankings for the organizations were revealed in four categories at the event, which was held in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center. Leaf Software Solutions ranked #17 in the Small Companies (15-74 U.S. employees) category.
Organizations that have displayed sustained excellence during the program’s history are also awarded a Best Places to Work in Indiana Hall of Fame designation. Leaf Software Solutions has earned Hall of Fame status, as this is the 11th year earning the award. Hall of Fame companies are those that have been named a Best Place to Work in Indiana at least 60% of the time in the program’s history.
Winning companies ranged in employee count from 15 to nearly 1,300. Out-of-state parent companies were eligible to participate if at least 15 full-time employees are in Indiana. For 2022, the selected honorees represented more than 35 cities and towns across the state.
All companies that participated in the 2022 Best Places to Work program receive an in-depth evaluation identifying strengths and weaknesses according to their employees. In turn, this report can be used in developing or enhancing employee retention and recruitment programs.
A full list of the rankings can be found on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce website at the following link: https://www.indianachamber.com/indiana-chamber-presents-rankings-for-2022-best-places-to-work-in-indiana/
For more information on the Best Places to Work in Indiana program, visit www.BestPlacestoWorkIndiana.com.
About Leaf Software Solutions: Leaf Software Solutions has been delivering mission critical business solutions for over 34 years. Our consultative approach results in custom-tailored solutions that create value for your business. Learn more at www.leafsoftwaresolutions.com
Organizations that have displayed sustained excellence during the program’s history are also awarded a Best Places to Work in Indiana Hall of Fame designation. Leaf Software Solutions has earned Hall of Fame status, as this is the 11th year earning the award. Hall of Fame companies are those that have been named a Best Place to Work in Indiana at least 60% of the time in the program’s history.
Winning companies ranged in employee count from 15 to nearly 1,300. Out-of-state parent companies were eligible to participate if at least 15 full-time employees are in Indiana. For 2022, the selected honorees represented more than 35 cities and towns across the state.
All companies that participated in the 2022 Best Places to Work program receive an in-depth evaluation identifying strengths and weaknesses according to their employees. In turn, this report can be used in developing or enhancing employee retention and recruitment programs.
A full list of the rankings can be found on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce website at the following link: https://www.indianachamber.com/indiana-chamber-presents-rankings-for-2022-best-places-to-work-in-indiana/
For more information on the Best Places to Work in Indiana program, visit www.BestPlacestoWorkIndiana.com.
About Leaf Software Solutions: Leaf Software Solutions has been delivering mission critical business solutions for over 34 years. Our consultative approach results in custom-tailored solutions that create value for your business. Learn more at www.leafsoftwaresolutions.com
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The Situation
Justin Kruse, Power Platform Practice Lead at Leaf, identified an opportunity to address two key challenges with Leaf’s internal sales and operations processes. Both challenges directly affect customer satisfaction, and the solution would create a positive impact for Leaf. Since these obstacles were not easily overcome using the traditional project management tools, Justin thought a more right-sized approach was to build a custom solution using Power Apps.
According to Justin, “There were two key pain points that led us to create our own customized project management solution. The first was the time it took to create consistent, written agreements for our projects. We lacked consistency in building customer agreements. It took our staff hours to find, create, build, and generate an external facing agreement. This prompted us to standardize the process, get it down to a repeatable approach, and reduce the time it was taking.”
“The second pain point centered around our internal process once our sales team marked an opportunity as ‘won’ in our CRM system. We found that even though we were using a comprehensive set of tools like web-based project management, cloud-based document management, and our own internal application, the effort to create a sequence of events to occur once a project got the green light was extremely time consuming and cumbersome. I’m afraid to admit we had projects that were being started that were not foundationally set up with the systems that needed to be in place to succeed. There were inefficiencies and roadblocks to getting projects up and going.”
“These two pain points created a ceiling that prevented us from scaling our business. Staying with this process would have been untenable. It would have been so time-consuming that we could only complete one agreement per week.”
As these problems were being identified, the situation called for a process improvement exercise – a roadmap for the improved state.
Justin Kruse, Power Platform Practice Lead at Leaf, identified an opportunity to address two key challenges with Leaf’s internal sales and operations processes. Both challenges directly affect customer satisfaction, and the solution would create a positive impact for Leaf. Since these obstacles were not easily overcome using the traditional project management tools, Justin thought a more right-sized approach was to build a custom solution using Power Apps.
According to Justin, “There were two key pain points that led us to create our own customized project management solution. The first was the time it took to create consistent, written agreements for our projects. We lacked consistency in building customer agreements. It took our staff hours to find, create, build, and generate an external facing agreement. This prompted us to standardize the process, get it down to a repeatable approach, and reduce the time it was taking.”
“The second pain point centered around our internal process once our sales team marked an opportunity as ‘won’ in our CRM system. We found that even though we were using a comprehensive set of tools like web-based project management, cloud-based document management, and our own internal application, the effort to create a sequence of events to occur once a project got the green light was extremely time consuming and cumbersome. I’m afraid to admit we had projects that were being started that were not foundationally set up with the systems that needed to be in place to succeed. There were inefficiencies and roadblocks to getting projects up and going.”
“These two pain points created a ceiling that prevented us from scaling our business. Staying with this process would have been untenable. It would have been so time-consuming that we could only complete one agreement per week.”
As these problems were being identified, the situation called for a process improvement exercise – a roadmap for the improved state.
The Solution
Leaf ultimately decided to use Power Apps because of its ability to make connections and automations between existing technologies. Leaf named their internal tool LIRA, which focuses on two major areas of the business, Sales Enablement and Project Management.
On the Sales Enablement side, LIRA includes:
And on the Project Management side:
Beyond these two major areas of focus, LIRA includes Account Management features to help position Leaf for future customer engagements such as:
Leaf ultimately decided to use Power Apps because of its ability to make connections and automations between existing technologies. Leaf named their internal tool LIRA, which focuses on two major areas of the business, Sales Enablement and Project Management.
On the Sales Enablement side, LIRA includes:
- Dashboards
- Opportunity pursuit tracking, scoping, and details
- Service and Subscription scoping
- Project Cost Forecasting
- Projecting staff utilization
- Finalizing quotes
- Creating standard agreements
- Automating contract creation
- Digital agreement execution
And on the Project Management side:
- General Project Tracking
- Aggregating work logs with billing available for management and customer view
- Risk and issue management
- Automated Status Report Generation including client visibility (via ClickUp).
Beyond these two major areas of focus, LIRA includes Account Management features to help position Leaf for future customer engagements such as:
- Automated generation and sending of contracts
- Account subscription management
- Automated account survey generation and tracking
The Results
It no longer takes hours to create a customer agreement. Justin shared, “It’s literally gone from hours to 10-15 minutes. We can get an agreement pushed out in a consistent, uniform, repeatable manner. That is a huge time savings. Now, it’s possible to generate multiple agreements per day.”
Here’s how it works: The salesperson creates and populates the original sales opportunity. This information is then reviewed by a technical architect to scope and create pricing automatically. Then, a non-disclosure agreement and a master services agreement is generated. Project agreements and subscription agreements are also generated. This results in a seamless sales-to-operations handoff and transition.
“If this process were not in place, a natural cap would inhibit our ability to onboard new projects. The idea of onboarding and starting a project went from one per week to one per day with this automation. And, because of this repeatable process, there are no holes for things to fall through.”
Justin notes, “We’ve built the automation in LIRA so when the agreement is routed and the final signature is acquired via Adobe Sign, a process is triggered that sets up the project within our web-based project management tool. The automation also creates a document management structure within our own internal environment. That process would have taken hours to run manually, and today it takes literally no time. Because we’ve scoped things properly on the opportunity side, that allows for zero human touch to get the systems in place to support and drive the operations aspect of the project.”
“In any business there exists challenges for both sales and operations. What we’ve done has empowered both parties to execute in unison by eliminating that artificial cap on productivity and growth potential. We’ve created an infinite runway for sales to create, pursue, and ultimately close – and we know our systems can accommodate their velocity. We are now able to run at a speed that our practice dictates. This is a model that is infinitely scalable to meet and accommodate our needs in our current state as well as expand appropriately because it’s so well designed for that growth.”
It no longer takes hours to create a customer agreement. Justin shared, “It’s literally gone from hours to 10-15 minutes. We can get an agreement pushed out in a consistent, uniform, repeatable manner. That is a huge time savings. Now, it’s possible to generate multiple agreements per day.”
Here’s how it works: The salesperson creates and populates the original sales opportunity. This information is then reviewed by a technical architect to scope and create pricing automatically. Then, a non-disclosure agreement and a master services agreement is generated. Project agreements and subscription agreements are also generated. This results in a seamless sales-to-operations handoff and transition.
“If this process were not in place, a natural cap would inhibit our ability to onboard new projects. The idea of onboarding and starting a project went from one per week to one per day with this automation. And, because of this repeatable process, there are no holes for things to fall through.”
Justin notes, “We’ve built the automation in LIRA so when the agreement is routed and the final signature is acquired via Adobe Sign, a process is triggered that sets up the project within our web-based project management tool. The automation also creates a document management structure within our own internal environment. That process would have taken hours to run manually, and today it takes literally no time. Because we’ve scoped things properly on the opportunity side, that allows for zero human touch to get the systems in place to support and drive the operations aspect of the project.”
“In any business there exists challenges for both sales and operations. What we’ve done has empowered both parties to execute in unison by eliminating that artificial cap on productivity and growth potential. We’ve created an infinite runway for sales to create, pursue, and ultimately close – and we know our systems can accommodate their velocity. We are now able to run at a speed that our practice dictates. This is a model that is infinitely scalable to meet and accommodate our needs in our current state as well as expand appropriately because it’s so well designed for that growth.”
Customer Delight
LIRA certainly saves time internally, but the project was driven by the desire to provide a world-class experience for our customers – an experience that many have never seen in a software development project.
Justin adds, “Upon our first contact, we are communicating and presenting a treatment that oftentimes they’ve never seen as part of a sales process. From the agreement stage – how that’s presented via digital execution and signature – then on the operations side, this delight carries over via the automated status reports, to the monthly project satisfaction surveys – all intended to involve the customer in a positive way. We keep a high level of awareness among our key constituents on the project; all these elements allow us to be intentional in delivering Customer Delight. We want our customers to express that they’ve never experienced this type of relationship before with a similar engagement.”
LIRA certainly saves time internally, but the project was driven by the desire to provide a world-class experience for our customers – an experience that many have never seen in a software development project.
Justin adds, “Upon our first contact, we are communicating and presenting a treatment that oftentimes they’ve never seen as part of a sales process. From the agreement stage – how that’s presented via digital execution and signature – then on the operations side, this delight carries over via the automated status reports, to the monthly project satisfaction surveys – all intended to involve the customer in a positive way. We keep a high level of awareness among our key constituents on the project; all these elements allow us to be intentional in delivering Customer Delight. We want our customers to express that they’ve never experienced this type of relationship before with a similar engagement.”
Conclusion
LIRA is an internal application built on Microsoft’s Power Platform that has been customized for our business process. LIRA is used to track key aspects and engagements of business: lead management, opportunity management, project management, and account management. These modules are all built using components of the Power Platform and seamlessly interact to provide organization wide visibility into all aspects of the business.
How can we help you identify areas for business improvement? Contact us today at info@leafsoftwaresolutions.com.
LIRA is an internal application built on Microsoft’s Power Platform that has been customized for our business process. LIRA is used to track key aspects and engagements of business: lead management, opportunity management, project management, and account management. These modules are all built using components of the Power Platform and seamlessly interact to provide organization wide visibility into all aspects of the business.
How can we help you identify areas for business improvement? Contact us today at info@leafsoftwaresolutions.com.
- Published on
The Situation
Raj Rao, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) understood communication throughout his organization was suffering from a versioning problem. On any given day, IMPA departmental staff would interact with personnel from their member communities, but the information obtained during those interactions would not be available to others back at IMPA headquarters. The information might make its way to some, but not to the entire organization.
Raj noted, “Sometimes a staff member would call me directly, and I’d hear one story from the engineer, and something different from the vice president. When our member services department went out to visit members, they heard a different version. By the time the problem or concern came back to me, I’d have six different versions of the same story. I’d have to call the commissioner back and clarify.”
The timeliness of communication was also a concern, as several days or weeks could pass before information was shared with everyone who needed to know. A different staff person visiting the same member community a day or two later would not have updated information, leading to confusion.
IMPA needed a centralized location to record interactions from member communities that could be easily accessed by all IMPA staff, whether in the office or traveling to member communities. IMPA also needed to store vital contact information and statistics regarding each member. The solution had to be user friendly, easily accessible, and mobile.
As IMPA started the journey towards a solution, they found there was no specific technology on the market to meet their needs. The customer relationship management (CRM) programs they explored were designed for sales personnel and for-profit companies. As a member-focused, not-for-profit organization, their priority was to maximize and manage relationships within member communities. This meant access to accurate information and resources was vital. Everyone, from every department, needed to be speaking with the same voice.
Looking toward a future without a solution in place, IMPA could see more communication breakdowns. Keeping IMPA staff aligned on what was happening in member communities would only become more and more difficult.
Raj commented, “When we were 24 members, I knew all of them personally. Every city councilman, their families – everyone – but when we became 61 members, you can imagine it’s not as easy to know everyone on a personal level.”
Without a centralized location to store information, the existing channels of communication – email, phone, or in person – is at risk of being excluded or missed by IMPA staff who would benefit, which would be detrimental to their projects and ultimately affect relationships with members.
Raj Rao, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) understood communication throughout his organization was suffering from a versioning problem. On any given day, IMPA departmental staff would interact with personnel from their member communities, but the information obtained during those interactions would not be available to others back at IMPA headquarters. The information might make its way to some, but not to the entire organization.
Raj noted, “Sometimes a staff member would call me directly, and I’d hear one story from the engineer, and something different from the vice president. When our member services department went out to visit members, they heard a different version. By the time the problem or concern came back to me, I’d have six different versions of the same story. I’d have to call the commissioner back and clarify.”
The timeliness of communication was also a concern, as several days or weeks could pass before information was shared with everyone who needed to know. A different staff person visiting the same member community a day or two later would not have updated information, leading to confusion.
IMPA needed a centralized location to record interactions from member communities that could be easily accessed by all IMPA staff, whether in the office or traveling to member communities. IMPA also needed to store vital contact information and statistics regarding each member. The solution had to be user friendly, easily accessible, and mobile.
As IMPA started the journey towards a solution, they found there was no specific technology on the market to meet their needs. The customer relationship management (CRM) programs they explored were designed for sales personnel and for-profit companies. As a member-focused, not-for-profit organization, their priority was to maximize and manage relationships within member communities. This meant access to accurate information and resources was vital. Everyone, from every department, needed to be speaking with the same voice.
Looking toward a future without a solution in place, IMPA could see more communication breakdowns. Keeping IMPA staff aligned on what was happening in member communities would only become more and more difficult.
Raj commented, “When we were 24 members, I knew all of them personally. Every city councilman, their families – everyone – but when we became 61 members, you can imagine it’s not as easy to know everyone on a personal level.”
Without a centralized location to store information, the existing channels of communication – email, phone, or in person – is at risk of being excluded or missed by IMPA staff who would benefit, which would be detrimental to their projects and ultimately affect relationships with members.
The Solution
Research was performed before contacting various companies to request proposals. IMPA is a Microsoft-based organization and wanted to ensure a seamless integration with current products, while also capitalizing on the existing familiarity with the Microsoft product environment. Quotes were received from two organizations, and IMPA ultimately chose to partner with Leaf.
Raj added, “We looked into Salesforce – being they are the biggest company in town – and found it is made more for salespeople. It’s a great product, they do a super job, but it has nothing to do with what we’re doing. We needed to mold software into something that would be helpful to IMPA. And that’s where Leaf came into the picture. The right fit for us was someone who would understand our language, our way of doing business, translate it, then implement the solution for us. When we met the Leaf people for the first time, we recognized we had a lot in common.”
The proposal from Leaf was customized to IMPA’s needs, with assurances that a long-term relationship would be formed to ensure the project was completed and supported. Leaf began with their SureStart process and took the time to meet with various representatives from every department to gauge what features were needed. These meetings were consistent – with the intention to ask questions, build trust, and gather feedback. This up-front work pays off with higher user adoption due to real ownership and buy-in as the process progressed.
Raj explained: “Leaf came in and talked to our staff to help gain their confidence. Everyone had a different problem – Leaf was able to listen to their questions, comments, and concerns, and they’d come back and rectify them. Leaf showed them the way to solve the problem, and the staff agreed to give it a try.”
The project was implemented in phases, and Leaf allowed ample time to ensure expectations were met. Several training opportunities were presented to IMPA staff, and support was provided as the project moved through additional stages. This ensured the CRM system surpassed expectations at each stage.
Leaf used their expertise within the Microsoft Power Platform to customize, install, and integrate Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM into the company’s environment. As part of the process, Leaf worked to understand the organization and the ultimate goals IMPA communicated. As trust was established, Leaf and IMPA worked together as partners, not as a typical client-vendor relationship.
Research was performed before contacting various companies to request proposals. IMPA is a Microsoft-based organization and wanted to ensure a seamless integration with current products, while also capitalizing on the existing familiarity with the Microsoft product environment. Quotes were received from two organizations, and IMPA ultimately chose to partner with Leaf.
Raj added, “We looked into Salesforce – being they are the biggest company in town – and found it is made more for salespeople. It’s a great product, they do a super job, but it has nothing to do with what we’re doing. We needed to mold software into something that would be helpful to IMPA. And that’s where Leaf came into the picture. The right fit for us was someone who would understand our language, our way of doing business, translate it, then implement the solution for us. When we met the Leaf people for the first time, we recognized we had a lot in common.”
The proposal from Leaf was customized to IMPA’s needs, with assurances that a long-term relationship would be formed to ensure the project was completed and supported. Leaf began with their SureStart process and took the time to meet with various representatives from every department to gauge what features were needed. These meetings were consistent – with the intention to ask questions, build trust, and gather feedback. This up-front work pays off with higher user adoption due to real ownership and buy-in as the process progressed.
Raj explained: “Leaf came in and talked to our staff to help gain their confidence. Everyone had a different problem – Leaf was able to listen to their questions, comments, and concerns, and they’d come back and rectify them. Leaf showed them the way to solve the problem, and the staff agreed to give it a try.”
The project was implemented in phases, and Leaf allowed ample time to ensure expectations were met. Several training opportunities were presented to IMPA staff, and support was provided as the project moved through additional stages. This ensured the CRM system surpassed expectations at each stage.
Leaf used their expertise within the Microsoft Power Platform to customize, install, and integrate Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM into the company’s environment. As part of the process, Leaf worked to understand the organization and the ultimate goals IMPA communicated. As trust was established, Leaf and IMPA worked together as partners, not as a typical client-vendor relationship.
The Results
All staff now have ready access to up-to-date information about all member communities – commissioners, community representatives, recent interactions, ongoing projects, contact information, and IMPA resources. Most importantly, everyone has access to the information in real-time, which keeps everyone up to date.
Using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM has increased communication and as a result, strengthened relationships. Staff members understand what is happening in member communities prior to visiting, so there are fewer surprises. Questions and concerns that normally would surface only during monthly board meetings are now visible within CRM, addressed, and then resolved.
IMPA continues to surface new ideas to better utilize CRM to impact operations. The goal of everyone speaking with one voice – from the field workers to the accountants, to the CEO – has been realized.
Raj stated, “Leaf became a partner to IMPA. We used Leaf just like another department within the company. They were here to provide help. So anytime we need something, the staff is comfortable that Leaf can be called upon for further consultation.”
IMPA has always been seen as a leader, innovator, and knowledge expert in the electric industry. With the addition of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM solution custom built by Leaf, IMPA will continue to be regarded in high esteem by members, their customers, and others in the industry. Internally, it has simplified the notification process and increased communication, leading to greater collaboration among departments.
Raj concluded, “Now, through regular communication in CRM, issues are resolved before they become problems – to the point where I didn’t know a problem ever existed – and that’s a good thing! I review the activity dashboard daily, and when I talk to a board member, they’re very impressed with the level of detail I have.”
All staff now have ready access to up-to-date information about all member communities – commissioners, community representatives, recent interactions, ongoing projects, contact information, and IMPA resources. Most importantly, everyone has access to the information in real-time, which keeps everyone up to date.
Using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM has increased communication and as a result, strengthened relationships. Staff members understand what is happening in member communities prior to visiting, so there are fewer surprises. Questions and concerns that normally would surface only during monthly board meetings are now visible within CRM, addressed, and then resolved.
IMPA continues to surface new ideas to better utilize CRM to impact operations. The goal of everyone speaking with one voice – from the field workers to the accountants, to the CEO – has been realized.
Raj stated, “Leaf became a partner to IMPA. We used Leaf just like another department within the company. They were here to provide help. So anytime we need something, the staff is comfortable that Leaf can be called upon for further consultation.”
IMPA has always been seen as a leader, innovator, and knowledge expert in the electric industry. With the addition of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM solution custom built by Leaf, IMPA will continue to be regarded in high esteem by members, their customers, and others in the industry. Internally, it has simplified the notification process and increased communication, leading to greater collaboration among departments.
Raj concluded, “Now, through regular communication in CRM, issues are resolved before they become problems – to the point where I didn’t know a problem ever existed – and that’s a good thing! I review the activity dashboard daily, and when I talk to a board member, they’re very impressed with the level of detail I have.”
About IMPA
Indiana Municipal Power Agency is a not-for-profit agency that wholesales electric power serving the needs of 61 cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio. In addition to supplying power to these communities, the IMPA provides a variety of additional services to members. IMPA was founded in 1983 and is based in Carmel, Indiana.
>> View the PDF Version of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency Success Story here. <<
Indiana Municipal Power Agency is a not-for-profit agency that wholesales electric power serving the needs of 61 cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio. In addition to supplying power to these communities, the IMPA provides a variety of additional services to members. IMPA was founded in 1983 and is based in Carmel, Indiana.
>> View the PDF Version of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency Success Story here. <<
- Published on
The Situation
Eric Ashton, VP of Information Technology for Royal United Mortgage, was noticing the outstanding customer experience provided by their loan advisors was at risk of deteriorating. “We train our folks to dig deep and ask the questions that go beyond a simple refinance. We build a positive rapport and relationship to set ourselves up as trusted advisors, providing customized loan options that best fit the needs and financial situation of the customer.” This consultative process is a hallmark of their business, and once the loan advisors gather information from the customer, a customized set of loan options is presented.
“We strive as a mortgage company to differentiate ourselves through our discovery of the customer’s financial journey. During this process, we’ll talk to a customer for 30 minutes or more and really try to understand their financial situation.”
The loan advisor used an Excel spreadsheet (created in 2008) to pull in the borrower’s credit report, loan pricing, and apply closing cost templates to work up three mortgage loan options. To present the options to the customer on the subsequent phone call, the loan options were sent via email as a PDF. This model had been fine for some time, but with many borrowers now using mobile phones, reviewing the PDF by scrolling around and zooming in and out to read the information was awkward and not the best experience. Not only was the PDF hard to read, but there were also instances where the email notification ended up in the customer’s spam folder, creating frustration on both ends of the phone as the advisors were put in the position to act as tech support.
Eric realized to develop additional business and thrive in the financial technology sector, these methods needed to change to improve the experience for both the customer and the loan advisor.
Eric Ashton, VP of Information Technology for Royal United Mortgage, was noticing the outstanding customer experience provided by their loan advisors was at risk of deteriorating. “We train our folks to dig deep and ask the questions that go beyond a simple refinance. We build a positive rapport and relationship to set ourselves up as trusted advisors, providing customized loan options that best fit the needs and financial situation of the customer.” This consultative process is a hallmark of their business, and once the loan advisors gather information from the customer, a customized set of loan options is presented.
“We strive as a mortgage company to differentiate ourselves through our discovery of the customer’s financial journey. During this process, we’ll talk to a customer for 30 minutes or more and really try to understand their financial situation.”
The loan advisor used an Excel spreadsheet (created in 2008) to pull in the borrower’s credit report, loan pricing, and apply closing cost templates to work up three mortgage loan options. To present the options to the customer on the subsequent phone call, the loan options were sent via email as a PDF. This model had been fine for some time, but with many borrowers now using mobile phones, reviewing the PDF by scrolling around and zooming in and out to read the information was awkward and not the best experience. Not only was the PDF hard to read, but there were also instances where the email notification ended up in the customer’s spam folder, creating frustration on both ends of the phone as the advisors were put in the position to act as tech support.
Eric realized to develop additional business and thrive in the financial technology sector, these methods needed to change to improve the experience for both the customer and the loan advisor.
The Solution
Eric had the insight to understand that a custom software application could solve the business problems he was experiencing. “I talked to a couple software development companies, but they did not understand what we were trying to accomplish to the level that Leaf did. Ultimately, Leaf earned our business based on their understanding of what we were trying to do. It seems simple, but it’s not always easy to understand exactly what your customer wants.”
Leaf stepped in and created a custom Loan Options Worksheet application that is launched directly from the loan origination software, allowing the loan advisors to build the three loan options based on the information gathered during the initial consultation with the customer. APIs provided by third parties (credit reports, loan pricing, etc.) are connected to immediately display results. This enables the loan advisors to pull the pricing options together more quickly, affording time to focus on the written portion of the proposal where benefits of the loan are included.
During the follow up phone consultation, the advisor sends the customer a link where they can view the professionally designed, mobile friendly page to follow along. Eric adds, “If any values need to be changed, the advisor can change those on the fly. The customer can refresh the screen and immediately the most recent options display. Before, if the customer wanted any changes, we’d have to work up the options using the Excel method and send the updated PDF the next day.”
Eric had the insight to understand that a custom software application could solve the business problems he was experiencing. “I talked to a couple software development companies, but they did not understand what we were trying to accomplish to the level that Leaf did. Ultimately, Leaf earned our business based on their understanding of what we were trying to do. It seems simple, but it’s not always easy to understand exactly what your customer wants.”
Leaf stepped in and created a custom Loan Options Worksheet application that is launched directly from the loan origination software, allowing the loan advisors to build the three loan options based on the information gathered during the initial consultation with the customer. APIs provided by third parties (credit reports, loan pricing, etc.) are connected to immediately display results. This enables the loan advisors to pull the pricing options together more quickly, affording time to focus on the written portion of the proposal where benefits of the loan are included.
During the follow up phone consultation, the advisor sends the customer a link where they can view the professionally designed, mobile friendly page to follow along. Eric adds, “If any values need to be changed, the advisor can change those on the fly. The customer can refresh the screen and immediately the most recent options display. Before, if the customer wanted any changes, we’d have to work up the options using the Excel method and send the updated PDF the next day.”
Results
“Leaf streamlined our process and utilized API technology we weren’t using. This made us faster and more professional. The API pulls everything together in a fraction of the time it took to manually populate each screen, and this gives the loan advisor more consultative time with the borrower to explain why the proposed loan accomplishes their stated goals and objectives.”
In addition, the advisors can now build the loan options by pulling information directly from pricing engines, speeding the process. And, since the customer has the link to view the results for 60 days to consider their options, activity on that link is tracked to initiate a callback opportunity.
“Leaf took the time to understand our process and built a solution that met exactly what we were looking for. They did not try to build something close and jam us into that product. Talking to Leaf was markedly different than talking to other programmers. Since I don’t ‘speak the language’, it was important to me that Leaf provided a liaison to explain my business needs to their programmers. This successfully connected all the dots.”
Since Royal United Mortgage separates itself from the competition with their understanding, consultative approach, they found the same approach from Leaf to be familiar and compelling. “Leaf showed a true understanding of how we work and what we were trying to accomplish, which was to improve the experience for both our customers and our loan advisors – and ultimately that is what was delivered.”
“The new Loan Options Worksheet provides a better customer experience. Our department now supports a custom software application that has allowed us to grow, expanded our IT staff, and takes advantage of API connections. We have increased our departmental responsibility to the day-to-day sales process as opposed to simply supporting technology. That’s been exciting, it keeps us all relevant and together. We now realize that nothing is impossible from a technology perspective – this is something we have wanted and have talked about for 10 years and we found a partner that could help us deliver this dream.”
“Leaf streamlined our process and utilized API technology we weren’t using. This made us faster and more professional. The API pulls everything together in a fraction of the time it took to manually populate each screen, and this gives the loan advisor more consultative time with the borrower to explain why the proposed loan accomplishes their stated goals and objectives.”
In addition, the advisors can now build the loan options by pulling information directly from pricing engines, speeding the process. And, since the customer has the link to view the results for 60 days to consider their options, activity on that link is tracked to initiate a callback opportunity.
“Leaf took the time to understand our process and built a solution that met exactly what we were looking for. They did not try to build something close and jam us into that product. Talking to Leaf was markedly different than talking to other programmers. Since I don’t ‘speak the language’, it was important to me that Leaf provided a liaison to explain my business needs to their programmers. This successfully connected all the dots.”
Since Royal United Mortgage separates itself from the competition with their understanding, consultative approach, they found the same approach from Leaf to be familiar and compelling. “Leaf showed a true understanding of how we work and what we were trying to accomplish, which was to improve the experience for both our customers and our loan advisors – and ultimately that is what was delivered.”
“The new Loan Options Worksheet provides a better customer experience. Our department now supports a custom software application that has allowed us to grow, expanded our IT staff, and takes advantage of API connections. We have increased our departmental responsibility to the day-to-day sales process as opposed to simply supporting technology. That’s been exciting, it keeps us all relevant and together. We now realize that nothing is impossible from a technology perspective – this is something we have wanted and have talked about for 10 years and we found a partner that could help us deliver this dream.”
About Royal United Mortgage
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, we are a privately held National Mortgage Lender founded in 2008. We advise clients toward the best mortgage solutions for their individual short and long-term financial goals. Our goal is to provide you with an informed choice of financial solutions that will help you build a better life. For Royal United Mortgage, making that difference in the lives of the customers and communities we serve is our top priority.
Read the PDF version – Royal United Mortgage case study.
Looking to improve your business processes? Schedule a consultation with us here.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, we are a privately held National Mortgage Lender founded in 2008. We advise clients toward the best mortgage solutions for their individual short and long-term financial goals. Our goal is to provide you with an informed choice of financial solutions that will help you build a better life. For Royal United Mortgage, making that difference in the lives of the customers and communities we serve is our top priority.
Read the PDF version – Royal United Mortgage case study.
Looking to improve your business processes? Schedule a consultation with us here.
- Published on
The Situation
Jenny Norris, Vice President of Finance for the Indiana CPA Society (INCPAS) was faced with a dilemma. Her legacy accounting software system was coming to its end of life, no longer supporting critical tax updates. While she had budgeted appropriately to migrate to a cloud-based software as a service solution, the COVID-19 pandemic had just started.
“I was asking myself – should we really be spending the money when we don’t know what’s happening with our membership and our education programs? I was worried about both the financial and time commitment and almost delayed my decision.”
Jenny consulted with her CEO and was reminded of their company-wide strategic initiative “to share technology adoption in order to show positive experiences and our commitment to technology.” Decision made.
In addition to the lack of critical updates, their legacy system was “clunky” according to Jenny, and it was simply easier to do reports in Excel. “I wanted to find something simpler to use. Our old system did not have good API data connections to our CRM and membership database (NetForum). It just did not have a lot of flexibility – the reporting was not easy to use – I ended up doing a lot of my reporting in Excel because it was easier.”
To reduce reliance on Excel, a cloud-based solution with robust reporting features was in order. Jenny continued, “We used Excel a lot more than we should have. I think a lot of companies fall back into that trap and think it’s a lot easier to do things in Excel. We were doing a lot of monthly record keeping in Excel spreadsheets, like prepaid expenses, and deferrals. I would do my financial statements and bank reconciliations in Excel. Plus, I was doing manual adjustments to my forecasts in Excel.”
The Solution
Jenny looked at three cloud-based solutions: NetSuite, Microsoft 365 BC, and Sage Intacct. Her evaluation process included not only the software, but also the organization and the people presenting and supporting the solutions. “I had to rule one out simply because the business representing that software didn’t take the time to learn about our company before giving us a standard software demonstration. The demo didn’t have anything to do with what our company needed.” While evaluating another solution, Jenny found the number and complexity of customization and integrations would not have been cost-effective. “It would have been cheaper on a month-to-month basis, but the implementation costs would have been triple or more. Even when I averaged it out over five years, the cost did not make sense.”
Regarding the presentation of the Sage Intacct solution by Leaf, Jenny noted, “The way Leaf went about the initial process was more thorough and complete than what anyone else did. That made a huge difference in my mind. Leaf had done their homework and worked hard to customize the presentation. Leaf also sat down with us and talked about pain points, what do you need, what do you want. I knew Leaf was going to customize the software to me, not customize me to the software.”
“I really like the Leaf process. Leaf did not build the solution and simply hand it to me as a complete product – voila – here’s your new accounting system. We worked together, with training and setup happening simultaneously. Leaf had us talk through what we wanted to keep, and where we wanted to make tweaks to the way we did things. Leaf also had us export data out of our old system and put it into the new system – that really helped us learn as we went along. This allowed us to have skin in the game, as opposed to a vendor doing all the work and providing training after the fact. I like to learn by doing, so the Leaf process was a perfect fit for me.”
The Results
“The fact that Sage Intacct didn’t require a ton of customization was the biggest thing for me – it fit us better right out of the box. We tweaked it as needed during setup. With the other solutions, you had to buy a bunch of add-ons. With Sage Intacct, the integrations to NetForum and Ariett (our paperless payables and payment disbursement system) were included, so we did not have to build something custom. We didn’t have to adapt Sage Intacct to our requirements – it was ready to take on everything we needed it to do.”
“The smoothness of the implementation with Leaf was a big success. Sage Intacct has improved our ability to do our day-to-day jobs – we are not as reliant on Excel as we once were. Overall, this change has been a great confidence builder internally – we improved our reporting and realized we were not afraid to try new things.”
“There were so many factors that went into our decision to move to Sage Intacct. It was clearly going to be a time savings for us which will save money, but many of the benefits were not necessarily quantifiable. We are now setting an example to our members with a good story to tell. Other benefits include being able to connect directly to our CRM and payables software, and of course to more quickly and easily create effective reports. Overall, it was just something we needed to do. The combination of Leaf and Sage Intacct turned out to be the right fit for us.”
As a membership organization, the INCPAS has a responsibility to its members. As part of their strategic plan, Jenny stated, “We are informing our members about technologies to get them moving to the cloud. Setting an example to our members is important to our organization. If we are talking about moving to the cloud and telling our members to move to the cloud – well, we better be doing it too.”
Read the PDF version INCPAS case study here.
Jenny Norris, Vice President of Finance for the Indiana CPA Society (INCPAS) was faced with a dilemma. Her legacy accounting software system was coming to its end of life, no longer supporting critical tax updates. While she had budgeted appropriately to migrate to a cloud-based software as a service solution, the COVID-19 pandemic had just started.
“I was asking myself – should we really be spending the money when we don’t know what’s happening with our membership and our education programs? I was worried about both the financial and time commitment and almost delayed my decision.”
Jenny consulted with her CEO and was reminded of their company-wide strategic initiative “to share technology adoption in order to show positive experiences and our commitment to technology.” Decision made.
In addition to the lack of critical updates, their legacy system was “clunky” according to Jenny, and it was simply easier to do reports in Excel. “I wanted to find something simpler to use. Our old system did not have good API data connections to our CRM and membership database (NetForum). It just did not have a lot of flexibility – the reporting was not easy to use – I ended up doing a lot of my reporting in Excel because it was easier.”
To reduce reliance on Excel, a cloud-based solution with robust reporting features was in order. Jenny continued, “We used Excel a lot more than we should have. I think a lot of companies fall back into that trap and think it’s a lot easier to do things in Excel. We were doing a lot of monthly record keeping in Excel spreadsheets, like prepaid expenses, and deferrals. I would do my financial statements and bank reconciliations in Excel. Plus, I was doing manual adjustments to my forecasts in Excel.”
The Solution
Jenny looked at three cloud-based solutions: NetSuite, Microsoft 365 BC, and Sage Intacct. Her evaluation process included not only the software, but also the organization and the people presenting and supporting the solutions. “I had to rule one out simply because the business representing that software didn’t take the time to learn about our company before giving us a standard software demonstration. The demo didn’t have anything to do with what our company needed.” While evaluating another solution, Jenny found the number and complexity of customization and integrations would not have been cost-effective. “It would have been cheaper on a month-to-month basis, but the implementation costs would have been triple or more. Even when I averaged it out over five years, the cost did not make sense.”
Regarding the presentation of the Sage Intacct solution by Leaf, Jenny noted, “The way Leaf went about the initial process was more thorough and complete than what anyone else did. That made a huge difference in my mind. Leaf had done their homework and worked hard to customize the presentation. Leaf also sat down with us and talked about pain points, what do you need, what do you want. I knew Leaf was going to customize the software to me, not customize me to the software.”
“I really like the Leaf process. Leaf did not build the solution and simply hand it to me as a complete product – voila – here’s your new accounting system. We worked together, with training and setup happening simultaneously. Leaf had us talk through what we wanted to keep, and where we wanted to make tweaks to the way we did things. Leaf also had us export data out of our old system and put it into the new system – that really helped us learn as we went along. This allowed us to have skin in the game, as opposed to a vendor doing all the work and providing training after the fact. I like to learn by doing, so the Leaf process was a perfect fit for me.”
The Results
“The fact that Sage Intacct didn’t require a ton of customization was the biggest thing for me – it fit us better right out of the box. We tweaked it as needed during setup. With the other solutions, you had to buy a bunch of add-ons. With Sage Intacct, the integrations to NetForum and Ariett (our paperless payables and payment disbursement system) were included, so we did not have to build something custom. We didn’t have to adapt Sage Intacct to our requirements – it was ready to take on everything we needed it to do.”
“The smoothness of the implementation with Leaf was a big success. Sage Intacct has improved our ability to do our day-to-day jobs – we are not as reliant on Excel as we once were. Overall, this change has been a great confidence builder internally – we improved our reporting and realized we were not afraid to try new things.”
“There were so many factors that went into our decision to move to Sage Intacct. It was clearly going to be a time savings for us which will save money, but many of the benefits were not necessarily quantifiable. We are now setting an example to our members with a good story to tell. Other benefits include being able to connect directly to our CRM and payables software, and of course to more quickly and easily create effective reports. Overall, it was just something we needed to do. The combination of Leaf and Sage Intacct turned out to be the right fit for us.”
As a membership organization, the INCPAS has a responsibility to its members. As part of their strategic plan, Jenny stated, “We are informing our members about technologies to get them moving to the cloud. Setting an example to our members is important to our organization. If we are talking about moving to the cloud and telling our members to move to the cloud – well, we better be doing it too.”
Read the PDF version INCPAS case study here.
About INCPAS
The Indiana CPA Society is a statewide professional association representing over 7,100 CPAs and accounting professionals who are transforming business in Indiana. We serve the public interest as well as our members. We function as an advocate for the profession through education, public awareness, government relations and promotion of high ethical standards. Programs and services offered by us are designed to meet the needs that have been identified for our diverse membership.
The Indiana CPA Society is a statewide professional association representing over 7,100 CPAs and accounting professionals who are transforming business in Indiana. We serve the public interest as well as our members. We function as an advocate for the profession through education, public awareness, government relations and promotion of high ethical standards. Programs and services offered by us are designed to meet the needs that have been identified for our diverse membership.
- Published on
Experts join Ventana Research to talk closing the midsize performance gap Thursday, July 22nd at 1 PM ET.
Plenty of midsize organizations are teetering on the cusp of greatness, but just can’t quite figure out how to reach the next level. One way to give your organization the extra nudge it needs? Become a finance superhero and take your accounting skills to the next level!
Register now for our newest webinar on July 22 at 1 PM ET, Closing the Midsize Performance Gap. Ventana Research’s Robert D. Kugel and finance experts from Children’s Hunger Fund and Vitamin Angels will discuss:
Plenty of midsize organizations are teetering on the cusp of greatness, but just can’t quite figure out how to reach the next level. One way to give your organization the extra nudge it needs? Become a finance superhero and take your accounting skills to the next level!
Register now for our newest webinar on July 22 at 1 PM ET, Closing the Midsize Performance Gap. Ventana Research’s Robert D. Kugel and finance experts from Children’s Hunger Fund and Vitamin Angels will discuss:
- How to tell when it’s time to move on from your entry-level finance system
- The 5 signs that your current operations are limiting your results
- What your organization needs to compete with larger companies
- Published on
The Situation
With operating procedures changing fast due to the coronavirus pandemic, CarDon needed to ensure the safety of its senior living community residents and associates by employing a comprehensive testing, tracking, monitoring, and compliance solution.
Tom McClelland, Executive Director, IT for CarDon noted, “When COVID-19 reared its head in March 2020, we immediately needed a way to more efficiently test, track, and report testing of associates and residents in our over 20 senior living centers. We were managing these tests with Excel spreadsheets, and that was a painful process.”
“I come from a very traditional software development background, where we spent a lot of time building everything from scratch. After contacting 20 or more vendors, I was intrigued when Leaf presented Microsoft’s Power Platform, a low-code solution to our business problem.”
With operating procedures changing fast due to the coronavirus pandemic, CarDon needed to ensure the safety of its senior living community residents and associates by employing a comprehensive testing, tracking, monitoring, and compliance solution.
Tom McClelland, Executive Director, IT for CarDon noted, “When COVID-19 reared its head in March 2020, we immediately needed a way to more efficiently test, track, and report testing of associates and residents in our over 20 senior living centers. We were managing these tests with Excel spreadsheets, and that was a painful process.”
“I come from a very traditional software development background, where we spent a lot of time building everything from scratch. After contacting 20 or more vendors, I was intrigued when Leaf presented Microsoft’s Power Platform, a low-code solution to our business problem.”
The Solution
“My goal was to show CarDon that there is a different way to think about technology. I saw this as an opportunity to test out Power Platform, and to see how CarDon handles software development with two-week sprints, testing, feedback loops, and involving people in the company who have not experienced software development before.”
Enter Amber Iskander, Executive Director of Human Resources. Amber had a business problem all her own. Her existing Career Ladder program, which tracks certifications and continuing education for CarDon associates, was also mired down in Excel spreadsheets filed away within employee records.
According to Amber, “Historically, we tracked everything with spreadsheets. After seeing what Tom built with CATTS (CarDon Applied Tracing & Tracking System), I thought we could apply the same principles to Career Ladder. I needed a method to track all of the associates who were not only interested in, but also earning certifications. I also needed to know if the program was working. If I did not have an effective tracking system, I would not be able to provide meaningful information. After speaking with Tom, we decided on a tracking system with the same look and feel as his solution.”
“Prior to this new tracking system, a completed certification would only be placed in the associate’s HR file. We could not readily see how many associates had what kind of certification, or when the certifications were due to expire. Now, all that information is visible. It’s always a good story to tell when we have increasing numbers of associates earning certifications.”
Tom added, “There is a career path to become a registered nurse, plus tuition assistance is available. The system can track that continuing education progress over years. I can’t imagine having to try to do that in spreadsheets.”
Regarding the development process with Leaf, Amber stated, “I have never been through an app building process like this before, and Leaf made it easy with regular communication, and by walking me through the process. As a result, we have an excellent product that we call REACH. It rolled out faster than I anticipated, and our associates have picked up on it very quickly. Our Career Ladders program continues to grow as a result, and I’m confident we’ll build upon its current capabilities.”
“My goal was to show CarDon that there is a different way to think about technology. I saw this as an opportunity to test out Power Platform, and to see how CarDon handles software development with two-week sprints, testing, feedback loops, and involving people in the company who have not experienced software development before.”
Enter Amber Iskander, Executive Director of Human Resources. Amber had a business problem all her own. Her existing Career Ladder program, which tracks certifications and continuing education for CarDon associates, was also mired down in Excel spreadsheets filed away within employee records.
According to Amber, “Historically, we tracked everything with spreadsheets. After seeing what Tom built with CATTS (CarDon Applied Tracing & Tracking System), I thought we could apply the same principles to Career Ladder. I needed a method to track all of the associates who were not only interested in, but also earning certifications. I also needed to know if the program was working. If I did not have an effective tracking system, I would not be able to provide meaningful information. After speaking with Tom, we decided on a tracking system with the same look and feel as his solution.”
“Prior to this new tracking system, a completed certification would only be placed in the associate’s HR file. We could not readily see how many associates had what kind of certification, or when the certifications were due to expire. Now, all that information is visible. It’s always a good story to tell when we have increasing numbers of associates earning certifications.”
Tom added, “There is a career path to become a registered nurse, plus tuition assistance is available. The system can track that continuing education progress over years. I can’t imagine having to try to do that in spreadsheets.”
Regarding the development process with Leaf, Amber stated, “I have never been through an app building process like this before, and Leaf made it easy with regular communication, and by walking me through the process. As a result, we have an excellent product that we call REACH. It rolled out faster than I anticipated, and our associates have picked up on it very quickly. Our Career Ladders program continues to grow as a result, and I’m confident we’ll build upon its current capabilities.”
The Results
At the height of the pandemic, the COVID testing and tracking application made getting through the chaos and stress of daily reporting much easier on CarDon communities. Amber stated, “With spreadsheets, there were times when I was in tears with frustration because numbers weren’t coming out right. We had strict demands from the state to report accurate numbers. And requirements changed every week. With the CATTS system, accurate numbers were right in front of us, shown in real time. This made meeting the state’s requirements seamless. Plus, it was much easier to maneuver when the state changed their requirements.”
“Having the COVID tracker application provided the ability to quickly, easily, and accurately pull the numbers and reports we needed. That took a big burden off of everybody. It was huge for us to be able to use the new tracker app especially in that chaotic time. When I think back – I don’t even know how we did it really – but we pushed through and got it done.”
Tom added, “In the midst of a pandemic, we rolled out two pivotal software applications in a way that has never been done at CarDon. Managing these tests with Excel spreadsheets quickly turned into a working application (CATTS). At one point, we were communicating daily with our resident’s family members through a public facing dashboard. This was very important to the families to have access to this information for reassurance.”
“We have about 150 users on Power Platform, and we designed the solutions so our users don’t have to log in every day. We want systems talking to systems, with automation on top of our existing solutions. We make it simple to interact through automation.”
“We intentionally built these solutions to be flexible enough to have the ability to track other things. We’re only at the starting point, and we anticipate building a much more robust system. We can incrementally improve the existing Power Platform based applications to provide the features we need.”
CarDon enjoys capabilities of the solution including the executive dashboard, individual compliance and monitoring, test tracking, system generated alerts and reminders, 360-degree views, as well as field level auditing. By using the Microsoft Power Platform, the developers at Leaf created a solution that may be repurposed and customized to add value to other areas of the business and to track virtually any process, such as policy and procedure testing, compliance, and skills testing.
Tom concludes, “The pandemic gave all of us a common cause and a battle we had to all get through. With my military background, I saw similarities fighting the good fight against tremendous odds. By going through this process, we were able to see what technology can do in a much different way. By providing these tools to our associates on the ground, I felt I was immediately contributing and enabling our communities to work more efficiently – even to the point of giving some time back to our staff to be with residents who had no loved ones around under the circumstances we endured.”
At the height of the pandemic, the COVID testing and tracking application made getting through the chaos and stress of daily reporting much easier on CarDon communities. Amber stated, “With spreadsheets, there were times when I was in tears with frustration because numbers weren’t coming out right. We had strict demands from the state to report accurate numbers. And requirements changed every week. With the CATTS system, accurate numbers were right in front of us, shown in real time. This made meeting the state’s requirements seamless. Plus, it was much easier to maneuver when the state changed their requirements.”
“Having the COVID tracker application provided the ability to quickly, easily, and accurately pull the numbers and reports we needed. That took a big burden off of everybody. It was huge for us to be able to use the new tracker app especially in that chaotic time. When I think back – I don’t even know how we did it really – but we pushed through and got it done.”
Tom added, “In the midst of a pandemic, we rolled out two pivotal software applications in a way that has never been done at CarDon. Managing these tests with Excel spreadsheets quickly turned into a working application (CATTS). At one point, we were communicating daily with our resident’s family members through a public facing dashboard. This was very important to the families to have access to this information for reassurance.”
“We have about 150 users on Power Platform, and we designed the solutions so our users don’t have to log in every day. We want systems talking to systems, with automation on top of our existing solutions. We make it simple to interact through automation.”
“We intentionally built these solutions to be flexible enough to have the ability to track other things. We’re only at the starting point, and we anticipate building a much more robust system. We can incrementally improve the existing Power Platform based applications to provide the features we need.”
CarDon enjoys capabilities of the solution including the executive dashboard, individual compliance and monitoring, test tracking, system generated alerts and reminders, 360-degree views, as well as field level auditing. By using the Microsoft Power Platform, the developers at Leaf created a solution that may be repurposed and customized to add value to other areas of the business and to track virtually any process, such as policy and procedure testing, compliance, and skills testing.
Tom concludes, “The pandemic gave all of us a common cause and a battle we had to all get through. With my military background, I saw similarities fighting the good fight against tremendous odds. By going through this process, we were able to see what technology can do in a much different way. By providing these tools to our associates on the ground, I felt I was immediately contributing and enabling our communities to work more efficiently – even to the point of giving some time back to our staff to be with residents who had no loved ones around under the circumstances we endured.”
About CarDon Senior Living
With 20 communities owned, operated or managed in the Midwest and more than 40 years of senior living experience, CarDon & Associates provides residents – our family – with the best senior living options and personalized care. It is family-owned with main offices in Bloomington and Fishers, Indiana. Learn more at www.cardon.us.
View the PDF version CarDon Senior Living case study here.
With 20 communities owned, operated or managed in the Midwest and more than 40 years of senior living experience, CarDon & Associates provides residents – our family – with the best senior living options and personalized care. It is family-owned with main offices in Bloomington and Fishers, Indiana. Learn more at www.cardon.us.
View the PDF version CarDon Senior Living case study here.