Back @ IT: Accelerating the Future: An ERP Migration Story

The line is drawn by the CFO: Future-proofing starts here. But, where do you start?

Many CFOs start with their people, for good reason. People are the most valuable resource within any company.
Others look at processes. Things can be done better.

However, many times the back-office ERP system is the primary hindrance. Your people are top-notch, and they have the processes down to a science. But, people and processes reliant on an outdated application will halt any chance of competing in the acceleration economy.

In this “Back @ IT” episode, Maggie Rogness, CFO of Quicksilver Express Courier, joins me to share her ERP migration story, the challenges they faced, and the outcomes of using a better ERP system.

Highlights

02:36: Quicksilver Courier Express has been around since the 1980s starting with legal paperwork delivery. The evolution of the company has kept pace with the changing technology: from fax to email to the cloud.

04:26: Maggie outlined the struggles with using Dynamics GP (Great Plains). They implemented many add-on (ISV) solutions which ended up costing them a lot of money and did not produce the results they expected.

07:12: The old ERP system “was this new sort of dinosaur”. There was a huge struggle to get data out with reporting to help with the decision-making process.
“We just had to come at it with an open mind…when we tried to merge old with new [we asked] ‘What if we just throw a lot of this old out and just at where we want to go the future?'”
Maggie Rogness | CFO, Quicksilver Express Courier

09:50: It was important for the IT department to focus on more critical items versus the upkeep of many legacy, home-grown systems. This started with moving into the cloud and into the future.

12:44: The challenge was real, as Maggie shares, to revamp processes, refocus people, and reimagine priorities. The Sage Intacct solution allowed them to do all of this and more.

15:16: The flexible API structure of Sage Intacct allowed Quicksilver to utilize different solution providers and put the ERP in the center.

18:41: Reporting was a huge need for Quicksilver and having the ability to create “10 reports in 10 minutes” spoke volumes in how much time could be saved. This led to a more efficient decision-making process.

20:51: Maggie ends with great tips and perspective:
Dream big. For example, what is the “hold grail” of a report.
Don’t put band-aids on your systems or processes. Trying to find ways to “just make things work” will hinder the push towards the future company vision.
Lastly, to CFOs she emphasized: Really go for it!

Sage Intacct continues to lead the cloud financial management revolution. Part of the Sage Business Cloud, Sage Intacct is used by thousands of organizations from startups to public companies to improve company performance and make finance more productive. As a best-in-class system, our cloud accounting software products and financial management solutions deliver deep accounting capabilities across multiple industries designed with a single aim—to accelerate your success.

To learn more about Sage Intacct, to book a demo, or schedule a discovery call, check out their briefing center here: https://accelerationeconomy.com/listing/sage-intacct/