Intro Video Transcript

Welcome to you before you buy that accounting ERP CRM system, a ten thousand-foot view for the finance leader presented by Wayne Spivak, SBA consulting limited. This is the secret to maximizing the process, by knowing what business you grow you’re in and how do you wanna run your business and maximize your investment. Little bit about myself, again my name is Wayne Spivak. I've been implementing accounting systems for over 20 years in manufacturing putting up MRP systems, retail distribution and serves businesses. Each of these businesses have a large breath that are common, others are slightly different but the process is all the same and this ten thousand-foot view will be that process that is all similar. Prior to that or during that time I be the chief financial officer for about 15 years, a controller for about 10, I been involved in operations for 10 IT for 20 and for 10 years I tought accounting at the City University of New York. We’re going to learn three main ideas and these ideas are actually the phases of buying a new accounting system and I am gonna keep using the term accounting systems are talking about ERP and CRM essentially there are part and parcel of accounting system. The first objective that we want to talk about is the specification. We’re going to talk about how you start the process of finding out what you really need out of in an accounting system and this is done with a GAP Analysis. The second objective is selecting the software and vendor based on the results of the gap analysis and the way this was worried we select the software first and then the vendor because not all vendors are build all alike and last objective is understanding the implementation process cause even though you may have successfully completed the first and second phase if you don't implement the software probably then you done whole project for not. What is the problem? If your performance of user like I am or you lot of blinked in or other areas you always see this question every couple weeks. The question is what is the best type of system what's the best accounting system, what's the best budget system, what's the best whatever system it is and if you're asking this question what you've done ask the no wrong question you already put the cart before the horse. First, there is no best system there's the best system for you and by you and your business because your business this is somewhat unique. Again if you're asking somebody else with the best system nation putting the cart before the horse you may not even know what you need and what their needs work. Third you've assumed the prior success of business acts will repeat itself in your business with a business acts in the same business or industry that you were in and lastly what business you are really in. Do you know I was talking to a client once who was talking about being in manufacturer and on further acquisition of my heart I found out that he wasn't import export business and he did no manufacturing, he know no manufacturing process, he thought he was a manufacturer if you will buy an accounting system based on that conception of his business he be part of the wrong type of system great article Marketing Myopia by Theodore Levitt, you could find it on that link in the July 2000 Harvard Business Review very lightly not article. First step is yourself and corporate realization. You have to really sit down and say my company isn't growing right. I'm maximizing the potential any aspect to the company payrolls too much, I'm not selling enough, I don't even know how much I am selling or what direction I am selling cause I have no KPI's or metrics. I don’t trust my accountant. I think the data's wrong. I wanna grow the business. I want to put new products in. I don't think I'm accounting system that's not working right in the first place to actually make it so that I can grow that business as per requirement and lastly I don't think the back is supporting the front office. I mean myself people can get the data that they need and the sales numbers they can probably go out and sell the product. So I'm having doubts about my internal systems, my policies and procedures. I don't think their sound. I think this may not be abetment or they may not be, the way the systems are built it could be and my courses just running out of alignment because I'm just and inefficient. So here is the fact, I know intuitively that I need to better capture data information capturing is the bare minimum but I can't survive on the bare minimum, I need more information. My accounting does not work well. I just get sales in itself is fine but it's not enough to run the business and I have no performance indicator, I have no metrics. I can tell us things going up or down or I'm in spreadsheet hell. I need thins come out of the accounting system. My policies and procedures are not matching my growth, they were laid down by my predecessor 2345 princesses ago and nothing has changed. I have issues. So what can I do? You have three choices. Choice number one is to do normal, that's a bad choice you do not and you very determined that things aren't working right well guess what things will work right. CFOs are not in the business to do nothing in the business to improve the bottom line and outline. So I can fix the current system, absolutely but their current system may not work properly at the base level. So fixing it might be a short-term bending but won't solve my long-term needs. Lastly I can start from scratch and implement a new system which is always a possibility but that reality is that I whole lot of work to do. Is a simple decision? Yes it is. But only a simple decision if you want to get all you can get out of that accounting system and be able to run your company in efficient way. And if you wanna create a business that can survive in the market place and compete.