Posted by Sarah Templeton on Wed, Jul 28, 2010
Gain Real-time Business Insight through Business Intelligence
Everyone has heard the business maxim: you cannot manage what you cannot measure. No one seems to be given original credit for this quote, but chances are there are many frustrated Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) that have used it many times trying to get timely and actionable organizational insight.
As organizations grow in scope and complexity, aggregating real-time data from numerous systems and converting that data to decision-ready information becomes increasingly challenging. When striving for Business Performance Improvement (BPI), Business Intelligence technology provides the necessary framework to gain the insight needed to lead to better decisions. Below are five guidelines to identify an effective business intelligence solution to help companies turn data into wisdom by organizing and presenting it in easy to understand dashboards:
The Five High-Level Guidelines for effective Business Intelligence Solutions are:
- Simplify the Complex.
Information presented needs to be easily understood and useful.
- Rapid Time to Value.
Businesses should see improved insight in weeks, not months.
- Meet Specific Business Requirements.
Clearly defined execution plan and the BPI benefits expected from BI.
- Based on Users’ Needs.
It must have strong adoption from the key decision makers.
- Establish Clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Agree on how the business will know progress is being made.
Business Intelligence Technology is a critical element in Business Performance Improvement. The organization outlines its high-level goals which are represented by improving performance and strategy which are supported by activities. Those activities are implemented through defined processes. First, the metrics or key performance indicators needed to help you understand your real-time performance need to be defined. To properly design the dashboards, the identified KPIs need to be considered in relation to where the data comes from, and any process or data accumulation changes required.
By grabbing data from different sources, the Business Intelligence Solution allows for clear presentation of KPIs delivering insight to the organization, allowing it make improvements. Key decision makers can then make informed decisions that will further improve the organization’s performance.
Where BI fits in the Business Performance Improvement Cycle
By layering Business Intelligence on top of other programs such as marketing, sales and service operations or general operations, real-time insight can lead to critical adjustments.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Tue, Jun 15, 2010
Over the last decade, "practice management" has become an industry unto itself. Beyond the hundreds of private consultants and year-round seminars, we've seen a proliferation of task-specific software. As a result, it's little wonder why many accounting firms now find themselves operating with multiple - and not always harmonious - systems. The various applications sometimes work from different platforms. Staff must be trained and retrained. And as expensive new tools are added, firms must continually reinvest in IT expertise.
Does it really need to be so complicated?
Even more frustrating, a cobbled network of practice management software might be adequate for basic internal functions, but it does little to build a firm's business through client development and opportunity management. In today's environment, we know that client retention and cross-selling of services are paramount. Yet in a recent survey by Harris & Associates (Accounting Today, 2/15/2010) "well over 90%" of executives complained that their firm "isn't spending enough time" cross-selling to existing clients.
The proven solution for this strategic imperative is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology. CRM is by now the standard throughout the financial services sectors, not to mention its widespread and sophisticated use by retailers and manufacturers in the consumer marketplace; yet many in our industry have been reluctant to embrace it. Despite that 90 percent number quoted above, our own recent Templeton study found less than 5 percent of accounting firms have given state-of-the-art CRM systems a try.
Why is this? From our experience in the field, one big reason stands out: Despite its undeniable business-building advantages, until now CRM software has been designed largely as a free-standing technology - separate from the practice management functions of most accounting firms. Thus executives have been (understandably) reticent to invest in what they see as yet another costly layer of IT complexity.
But what if CRM included all the necessary tools of Practice Management?
The question arises: Why not a single solution? One completely integrated system that seamlessly combines everything you need in Practice Management with everything you want for CRM.
That question is exactly what we asked ourselves at Templeton. And recently we partnered with Microsoft to create a solution - a single comprehensive system for every aspect of practice management plus customer (client) relationship management.
First of all, we wanted it to be simple: a single log-in system that's intuitive, easy to learn and operates on the same Outlook format we already know. It had to be fully-integrated to handle time and billing... accounting and reporting... tracking and project management... personnel scheduling... a workflow engine... everything.
And something more: We wanted built-in account management capabilities with a range of up-selling, cross-selling and opportunity management CRM features.
Here's a partial summary of our "must have" list for this integrated practice management/CRM system:
-
Time and billing
-
Resource management and personnel scheduling
-
Document management system
-
Project management, reporting capabilities and forecasting
-
WIP and realization reports
-
Tax filing management and due-date tracking
-
Workflow engine
-
Sales "pipeline" and CRM opportunity management system to nurture marketing efforts
-
Contact and account management
Above all, this integrated program had to be tailored to the nuanced needs of a busy accounting firm like our own. Is that too much to expect? Not anymore. Our firm now operates with a simple turnkey system that takes practice management not just to another level - but a new dimension. We call it CRM for Professionals.
CRM for Professionals finally solves the old quandary of how build a viable business development strategy within the often fragmented environment of an accounting practice that is structured on individual partnerships and "silos." This new system puts everyone on the same page, and keeps them reading from the same book.
It took an accounting firm to develop a solution for... accounting firms.
It didn't take long for our new system to attract interest from frustrated executives - many of whom now are coping with two or three practice management software tools and no built-in CRM capability whatever. What they immediately perceive are two things: 1) the lower cost and convenience of one unified system; 2) the chance now to create and sustain real "brand loyalty."
In the commercial marketplace, of course, the brand is king. And the linchpin is CRM technology to consistently "remember and reward" loyal customers, while cross-selling additional goods or services. This vital function is not left to individual initiative or index cards - with CRM it is automatic. In our industry the "brand" is you: your name, your people, your expertise, your range of services.
Practice management software alone cannot hope to address this dynamic customer relationship management role, and until now CRM could not do the essential work of a dedicated practice management system for accounting firms. The good news is, now you can have both. And in this case, one plus one provides an exponentially better answer.
We invite inquiries about CRM for Professionals. This new system solved our own management dilemma and chances are it will solve yours too. For more information, please contact info@templetonco.com
About the author:
Christopher J. Gryskiewicz, CPA, CITP
Chris Gryskiewicz is the Executive Vice President of Templeton & Company, LLP, an accounting firm headquartered in South Florida. He also serves as a senior executive with Templeton Solutions, a technology consulting subsidiary of Templeton & Company. It is in this role that he manages high-level IT projects and leverages his business and accounting background to identify opportunities for successful, thoughtful integrations.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Tue, Mar 23, 2010
In this tough economy, every dime counts! In an effort to control expenses, companies are turning more towards Requisition Management systems. A requisition system provides organizations with increased control and visibility over the entire purchasing process, and adds a formality to the process, reducing paper and streamlining approvals. Equipped with Web-based requisition management capabilities, employees can enter purchase requisitions online for manager approval. Requisitions are then automatically transferred to Purchase Order Processing saving time and ensuring accuracy.
Both Microsoft Dynamics GP and SL provide Web-based requisitioning systems, and here are the top 3 benefits of the system:
- Help reduce paper trails and improve accuracy. Enter and approve requisitions online and automatically transfer orders to new or existing purchase orders in Purchase Order Processing.
- Minimize costs, maximize savings. Move your requisitions process online to help reduce repetitive data entry and eliminate costly mistakes. Consolidate same items or same-vendor items on a single bill in order to take advantage of volume discounts and improve vendor negotiations.
- Streamline daily tasks. Copy existing requisitions to create new orders. This can help increase accuracy and efficiency when creating orders for frequently purchased items.
By leveraging a Requisition Management solution, companies can gain precise control over procurement and spending decisions, while ensuring that actual funds are targeted to those areas that maximize productivity.
For more information on Requisition Management or any other Microsoft Dynamics ERP Solution please contact Jose Garcia at Jgarcia@templetonco.com.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Tue, Feb 02, 2010
Experience Business Intelligence First-Hand on Thursday, February 11
Learning to do more with less is top priority of today's workforce. Click here to register. Templeton Solutions partnered with QlikTech, developers of award-winning business intelligence tool, QlikView, have partnered together to present Best Practices for a Connected Workplace on Thursday, February 11, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. The session, will be held in the Esperante Building, 222 Lakeview Avenue, on the ground floor. Valet parking (located on Lakeview Avenue) and breakfast will be complimentary. The session will be a live overview showing enhanced reporting and business intelligence systems.
This is the first of four live sessions that will be held in 2010, and this initial one is designed to help attendees to learn more about business intelligence and business process improvement, as well as how today's technology programs and platforms can encourage time- and money-saving productivity.
For more information, contact info@templetonco.com or call 561-798-9988. Click here to register!
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Thu, Dec 10, 2009
Organizations do not require process redesign from scratch, but rather, it is part of a continuous cycle. Forward-thinking organizations grow and learn from past experiences and apply that knowledge to become more efficient and adaptive to their changing circumstances.
In today's competitive landscape, becoming more agile and profitable are key to survival, which is why many companies are aggressively streamlining business processes. A few areas these companies look to streamline include:
- - Providing a higher level of customer service
- - Obtaining flexibility in use of resources, including staff
- - Responding more rapidly to new opportunities
- - Deploying new technologies with minimal disruption
- - Motivating staff by creating better working environment
- - Increasing productivity
- - Consolidate Software
As a result, organizations are using tools to aid in analyzing, redesigning, and managing these and other business processes. Software is available in the form of business process modeling tools and workflow management or business process automation systems.
Business Process Modeling
Business processing consists of coordinated tasks or activities performed by resources leading to accomplishing the specific goal of the organization. It is the systematic approach to improve organizational processes.
Business process modeling tools greatly vary in scope, complexity and applicability of the business. Organizations should research business modeling tools that fit their business. There are various reports available on the Internet to help organizations select the right tool for business process modeling.
Workflow Management System
Workflow management system is the process of passing information, documents and tasks between various departments within the organization. It is the standardized working methods to ensure that every employee on the same level is performing the same functions. Thus, it helps to track individual performances in the organization. It improves customer service by providing consistent quality product.
Measuring Improvement
Of course a process is only as good as the improvements it delivers to the organization. Take the time to benchmark current results, choose key performance indicators and present the results to the stakeholders. By doing this, the organization will tighten the feedback for its behavior resulting in more fine tuning.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Wed, Nov 04, 2009
Most CPA firms have yet to establish a social media policy, as they are likely considering the best approach to bring social media into the marketing mix.
Truth be told, there is no hard and fast rule on how companies should approach this. The accounting industry is no exception, and faces particular challenges in creating social media plans, such as whether to include client references, and giving tax or other consulting advice in a public forum and later being held responsible for it.
It boils down to encouraging your team to engage, and eventually participate, in the greater dialogue. Firms cannot be seen as educators in the industry if they are not helping clients do their research and discuss issues.
Advertisement
When creating our own social media participation guidelines, Templeton & Co. addressed these concerns to allow our firm to focus on the important end goal, which is to join the conversation and help our clients with information or insight. Rather than "just another" addendum to our employee handbook, we decided to distribute 10 guidelines for social media participation. We were also sure to restate our overall goal: for our firm to engage and participate in a respectful and relevant way within the online community.
1. Transparency: Identify where you work and what your role is. Honesty will be noted in the social media environment.
2. Never represent yourself or the firm in a false or misleading way. All statements must be true and factual, and all claims must be substantiated.
3. Post meaningful, respectful comments.
4. Use common sense and common courtesy. It is best to ask permission to publish or report on conversations meant to be kept private or internal to the firm. (Our firm has a separate privacy and confidentiality agreement when it comes to the discussion of client matters, which we drew attention to when distributing the guidelines.)
5. Stick to your area of expertise and feel free to provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential firm activities.
6. When disagreeing with others' opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If there is an antagonistic situation, do not get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly. We recommend discussing the situation with the marketing/PR department for advice on ways to disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner that would not reflect poorly on the firm.
7. If writing about the competition, make sure it is diplomatic. Have the facts straight.
8. Never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties that the firm or its clients may be in litigation with.
9. Never participate in social media when the topic being discussed may be considered a crisis situation. Even anonymous comments can be traced back to the firm's IP address.
10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy and your firm's confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time. Google has a long memory.
To get us started, a handful of people at the firm - ranging from a new college graduate to the managing partner - were selected to be the firm's "blogging ambassadors." Not to say that other people within the firm cannot blog, but we have to balance our participation with good judgment.
The key is not to stifle employees from speaking up and participating. The goal is to make it fun and have it tie into firm-wide business development.
Since it's still so early in social media development, there are no rules set in concrete for all of us to follow. The guidelines Templeton has constructed may, in fact, change over time. However, good common sense on how employees will participate should always come ahead of the actual participation to get the benefits without the unnecessary risk.
As a caveat, a good social media plan should also be created alongside these guidelines to make sure company objectives are met in this exciting area.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Tue, Nov 03, 2009
Templeton Solutions and the QlikView team have joined to show companies how to make sense of their information by turning actionable insight into an increase to the bottom line.
Register today to take advantage of this opportunity on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 11 AM EST . to see what some forward-looking companies are doing to improve results and gain a competitive advantage.
You'll learn:
- - Must know facts about business intelligence reporting today and where it is headed.
- - Examples of how other companies have saved and made money leveraging smart business intelligence reporting
- - How the product uses associative-analysis to help you navigate through information easily
Sign up for this free webinar to see how you can leverage QlikView to turn business intelligence into profit.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Tue, Oct 27, 2009
When speaking with a partner of a local law firm, he lamented about their database, "Just getting our holiday card list right requires a monumental effort!" Many times sales leads in the database are kept long past their shelf life which means they no longer hold any revenue potential and should be jetissoned.
A well-known stumbling block for anyone who has worked in marketing or sales is bad data. While there are many protective measures companies can employ to make sure they are operating with clean data such as Access Hoovers as a plug-in to Microsoft's Customer Relationship Management software, you will only realize the full potential of your marketing efforts using CRM with clean data. Though it seems trivial, even the distribution of holiday cards has created many a headache at professional services firms.
Database maintenance requires daily discipline, and a champion. Here are a few additional tips on how to maintain a clean contact database:
1. Only enter the data you need into CRM and filter out the junk. For example, after a trade show or conference, your stack of business cards was turned into a .csv file, which was later dumped into CRM. Are all these leads needed? Do they fit your target market? If not, get rid of them.
2. Follow a standard firm-wide convention. Define what a prospect is versus a lead versus an opportunity. Who is to follow up, and when? What information is required of all new entrants? When we began scrubbing our database, we had many accounts with just a last name, no first name and no other contact information.
3. Clear the orphans. If there are contacts there unassigned to a company, export them and sort by project or account manager. If they don't know who the person is, chuck it.
4. Append missing data. We are fortunate to have the Access Hoovers plug-in to our Microsoft Dynamics CRM program. With this, we can append account and contact data with just a few clicks.
5. At least once a quarter, run regular audits of the database. And once a week, hold a sales and lead tracking meeting to discuss new leads, follow up and next steps.
The old adage is garbage in, garbage out. It is difficult to create a good result when given bad input. Save yourself and your team member's from a few headaches by following the steps above to keep your own database clean and healthy, allowing you to focus on what's truly important: serving your clients.
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Tue, Oct 13, 2009
In today's world of budget constraints, industry regulations and hyper-competitive markets, there is an ever growing demand for instant and accurate business intelligence (BI) to enable decision making at all levels in an organization. BI that is dynamic and can quickly deliver answers to critical business questions has emerged as the single most important issue for many organizations. It is not at all surprising that BI scores very high on most organizations' list of priorities.
Leveraging an organization's data assets is one of the CXO's most important responsibilities. Making sense of data and turning it into actionable insight requires easy-to-use powerful tools that are integrated with an organization's IT system. This type of a solution allows management to effectively and efficiently drive a business forward making informed decisions, improving transparency across the organization. This sounds expensive but there are practical alternatives.
Read more about how you can base your decisions on trusted information, by reading our white paper, True Business Transparency.
http://blog.templetonco.com/Default.aspx?app=LeadgenDownload&shortpath=docs%2fQlikView+%26+TS+Whitepaper-+Business+Intelligence.pdf
Posted by Sarah Templeton on Thu, Oct 01, 2009
If you don't really know what CRM (Customer Relationship Management) stands for or what it does exactly, don't worry because you're not alone. In fact, take a look at this blog by high technology marketing expert John Ryan, Accountant's CRM Use Just Doesn't Add Up. You'll see that CPAs have been one of the last professional services fields to see the value of customer relationship management tools.
Research shows that many accounting firms try to make due with existing software such as CCH Practice Management or Outlook to manage their customer relationships. While these tools are great for their intended purposes of storing contact information and e-mail respectively, they were never designed to be an effective relationship management solution.
As a professional services provider, you are in the relationship business. That's why Templeton Consulting designed CRM for Professionals, a client relationship management system for CPA firms, just for you. We understand your success depends entirely on how you attract, develop, and retain client relationships.
As a division of Templeton & Company, south Florida's largest CPA firm, our team has decades of accounting and professional services experience. So we not only "get it" - we live and breathe it too.