Full Sail Partners Blog

With Deltek ProjectCon 2024 on the horizon, excitement is building for the premier event designed for project-based firms. Set to take place from November 12-14, 2024, at the Gaylord National in the Washington, D.C. area, this year’s conference promises to deliver valuable learning experiences, key industry insights, and unparalleled networking opportunities. As a Gold Sponsor, Full Sail Partners is proud to contribute to the event through educational sessions, strategic kiosks, and a commitment to empowering firms through Deltek Vantagepoint.

Let’s take a closer look at how to prepare for Deltek ProjectCon 2024 and make the most of this exceptional event.

Full Sail Partners: Empowering Firms Through Expert-Led Sessions

One of the highlights of Deltek ProjectCon 2024 will be the sessions led by industry experts, and Full Sail Partners is proud to be at the forefront of these educational opportunities.

Terri Agnew, Principal Consultant at Full Sail Partners, will be presenting "From Analysis to Action: Optimizing Your Vantagepoint Investment.” In this session, Terri will walk attendees through the transformative power of a Navigational Analysis.

Attendees will learn how to evaluate their current systems, identify inefficiencies, and implement actionable recommendations to maximize the value of Deltek Vantagepoint. Whether firms are facing staffing changes, operational bottlenecks, or simply looking to improve their processes, this session offers real-world strategies to drive success. Terri will share examples of client success stories, providing attendees with tangible methods to refresh and optimize their internal practices.

Another presentation will come from Jake Lucas, who will lead a session titled "AI Solutions for Vantagepoint Enabling Next-Level Productivity." As AI continues to revolutionize industries, Jake’s session will explore how out-of-the-box and custom AI solutions can enhance the operational capabilities of project-based firms using Deltek Vantagepoint.

Attendees will not only gain insights into the power of AI but will also learn about potential challenges, such as AI hallucinations and unreliable data responses, and how to address them. Jake will provide practical tips for integrating AI with tools like Microsoft Teams, offering firms a way to streamline workflows and increase productivity.

Whether you are new to AI or looking to deepen its application within your organization, this session will equip you with the knowledge needed to leverage AI effectively.

Supporting Clients: Learning from BSA LifeStructures and kW Engineering

At Full Sail Partners, we pride ourselves on not only delivering expertise but also supporting the success of our clients. This year, two of our clients—BSA LifeStructures and kW Engineering—will be showcasing their innovative solutions during Deltek ProjectCon 2024, and we encourage attendees to explore these sessions.

Ashley Dishroom of BSA LifeStructures will present "Unlock Pursuit Success: Go/No Go Process." In this session, Ashley will demonstrate how BSA LifeStructures has overhauled its CRM system to improve decision-making during project pursuits. By documenting strategic clients and prospects, and integrating a go/no go decision-making process, BSA LifeStructures has been able to boost efficiency and improve project hit rates. This session offers valuable insights for firms looking to enhance their CRM capabilities and refine pursuit strategies.

Similarly, Kris Johnson from kW Engineering will be leading a session titled "Project Pulse: Optimize Project Health, Drive Action, and Unlock Insights with Dashboards." With an overwhelming amount of project data, many firms struggle to prioritize actionable insights. Kris will show how kW Engineering’s "Project Health" dashboard consolidates critical KPIs into a single metric, ensuring project managers and executives can make informed, timely decisions. This dashboard has become an essential tool for project health monitoring, and attendees will learn how to create their own dashboards to drive better project outcomes, improve profitability, and boost cash flow.

Connect with Full Sail Partners at Our Kiosks

Beyond the educational sessions, Full Sail Partners will be hosting a two-sided kiosk in the XPO hall, providing attendees with direct access to our experts. Our kiosk is designed to offer guidance on a wide range of topics, from Deltek Vantagepoint consulting to group training, hosting, and outsourced accounting. Our team is dedicated to helping project-based firms streamline their operations and achieve cohesive, efficient results.

In addition to consulting services, we’ll be showcasing our Blackbox Connector, which offers ready-to-deploy integrations that allow firms to quickly connect Vantagepoint with third-party applications. The beauty of the Blackbox Connector lies in its simplicity — our catered solutions allow firms to streamline operations without the need for extensive technical knowledge.

If you’re looking to optimize your processes or connect your systems more effectively, find us at kiosk #2 just to the left of the XPO entrance. This is the perfect place to start a conversation.

Prepare for Success at Deltek ProjectCon 2024

Deltek ProjectCon 2024 promises to be a cornerstone event for project-based firms looking to enhance their operations, explore the latest innovations, and build valuable connections within the industry. Whether you are attending to deepen your understanding of Deltek Vantagepoint, explore AI-driven solutions, or connect with industry experts, Full Sail Partners is here to support your journey.

Our sessions, led by Terri and Jake, will offer insights that you can implement immediately to optimize your systems and drive productivity. Additionally, we encourage you to learn from our clients’ presentations and discover new ways to enhance your firm’s CRM processes and project health monitoring.

Don’t forget to stop by our kiosks during the event, where our crew will be ready to provide live demos and discuss how we can help you unlock the full potential of Deltek Vantagepoint. As proud Gold Sponsors of Deltek ProjectCon 2024, we are excited to meet you, share our knowledge, and help you take your firm to the next level!

At Full Sail Partners, we understand the intricate demands of running a successful business. And a major part of running a successful business is managing your financials with precision, accuracy, and efficiency. To help you achieve this key component to sustained growth, Full Sail Partners offers a full-service accounting practice that is tailored to your professional services firm’s unique needs. So, let’s discuss the first steps and then take a comprehensive look at the outsourced accounting services Full Sail Partners provides to ensure your business stays on course.

First Steps

Our team of highly skilled bookkeepers and accountants will evaluate your current systems and processes by way of navigational analysis. By reviewing your professional services firm’s standard operating procedures, not only are we able to get a better understanding of what your unique needs may be, but we are also able to provide ways of streamlining systems and offer possible solutions to outdated workflows. We can then work together to create a customized schedule of services that will help lead to improved financial management and greater efficiency within your professional services firm.

Outsourced Accounting Services Offered

Centralized Communication & Information Exchange

Full Sail Partners maintains a dedicated MS Teams site and email address to facilitate safe and secure communication and information exchange. Whether it's sensitive bank deposit information, EFT/ACH files, AP Vouchers or Disbursements, project revisions, or invoicing, simply forward all relevant communications to your safe and secure client-specific email. Our team will manage these items in an efficient and timely manner.

Deltek Info Center/Hub Maintenance

Our Info Center (Vision)/Hub (Vantagepoint) maintenance services keep your professional services firm's critical information up to date and organized.

• Firms (Contacts, Clients, and Vendor Records): We can revise or create new firms, ensuring that all details such as contact/client/vendor names, numbers, addresses, and any additional contact information you may need are accurate.
• Employees: From adding new hires to managing job cost rates, banking, and termination details, we can handle all employee-related data.
• Projects: We can manage the setup of new projects based upon signed agreements, or revision of existing projects with change orders - including contract information, billing terms, and status updates.
• Accounts & Account Group Tables: We can create and maintain General Ledger Accounts and Account Group tables, ensuring accurate GL tracking and reporting.

Timesheet Management

We can ensure prompt and accurate timesheet postings, providing detailed labor reports by employee and Month to Date/Year to Date utilization reports, all in accordance with your submission policies (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly).

Expense Report Processing

Our Expense Report services include payment review, posting, processing, and EFT/ACH file creation for seamless online banking upload. Detailed employee ledger reports can be provided upon request.

Accounts Payable Management

Our Accounts Payable services cover voucher and disbursement entry, scheduled AR Ledger reporting, cash requirements tracking, and paper and electronic payment processing. We can provide EFT/ACH file creation and posting of check payments allowing the client to print checks in-office.

Accounts Receivable Management

We can manage daily cash receipt posting (including paper, credit card, and ACH) as well as client invoice adjustments as necessary. Rate Table maintenance is also available to ensure accurate project reporting.

Invoicing/Billing Management

We manage monthly invoicing in alignment with each project’s contract terms and specific Project Manager requirements.

Employee Benefit Accrual

We can manage payroll entry in accordance with your firm’s payroll schedule (bi-weekly, monthly, specific date(s), etc.) as well as manage employee benefit accruals in accordance with your company policies. We are also able to handle the annual opening of new benefit years.

Month End Processing

Our month-end services include journal entries, bank and credit card reconciliation, and financial report generation such as balance sheets, income statements, and detailed General Ledger reports. We can also manage the opening and closing of accounting periods.

Project & Project Management Reporting

We are able to provide comprehensive project management reporting, including weekly project details, earnings reports, and unbilled detail reports to keep your projects financially on track.

Year End Processing

Our year-end services include 1099 initialization, the opening of new benefit years, and generating 1099 PDF files to be printed, mailed, and filed with the IRS by your firm.

Specialized Services

We additionally offer specialized services such as revenue generation, salary job cost adjustments, and overhead allocation to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of your financial operations.

Ready to Improve your Professional Services Firm’s Financial Management?

At Full Sail Partners, we are committed to providing a complete suite of accounting services tailored to your business needs. Our team undergoes regular and extensive training, including Deltek Pros certification, ensuring that your financial operations are managed with precision and care. This allows you to focus on what you do best - growing your business. Let us help you navigate the complexities of financial management, so you can sail smoothly towards success.

Have you ever found your professional services firm in the position of losing your in-house bookkeeper suddenly either permanently or temporarily? This could be the result of the birth of a child, other health issues, or the employee taking another opportunity in another field or firm. Whether temporary or permanent, this can throw your accounting cycle into turmoil. Often this person is the only employee who knows the financial accounting system of your firm and it leaves a huge void in the accounting side of your business.

Or perhaps you are a small firm that does not need a full-time accountant to process your transactions, but you want to leverage the power of your ERP and need a cost-efficient option. You just need a solution that would allow you to access trained bookkeepers and/or accountants without the need to commit to a full-time salary.

There is an increasing trend for outsourced accounting services that recognizes the strategic importance of consistent management of accounting practices for business of all sizes and at all levels of the process. Moreover, professional services firms today are seeing the benefits of an outsourced accounting firm to gain an advantage of scalable growth. Outsourcing your accounting tasks ensures that your business needs are met, even during times of absence or turnover, or if you simply have reduced needs.

Benefits of Full Sail Partners’ Outsourced Accounting Services

Full Sail Partners has received requests from our Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint clients throughout the years asking if we provide accounting services. We have heard the requests of our clients, recognized the needs, and answered with an outsourced accounting service of our own specializing in Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint.

Expertise and Experience

There are several advantages to using our outside accounting services. The first of which is expertise and experience. Full Sail Partners employs a team of highly qualified and professional bookkeepers and accountants who are trained specifically on Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint. We invest regularly in training to help our staff stay updated on the lates best practices, ensuring a firm's records are accurate and compliant.

Cost Savings Through Time Efficiency

Utilizing Full Sail Partners’ outside bookkeeping service also provides substantial cost savings to your professional services firm. Hiring and training an in-house accounting team is expensive when you take into account salaries, benefits, training and overhead costs. Using Full Sail Partners for your bookkeeping tasks allows your employees to focus on their individual business specialty and relieves them of the time spent on financial activities. They can concentrate on what they do best, which is running and growing your business.

Scalability

As your business grows, Full Sail Partners can scale up to your more complex needs without having to hire and train additional in-house staff. We also offer a scalable option from full service-transaction entry to timesheet posting to billing to reporting. You can also choose reduced services designed to fill gaps or augment your in-house staff.

Advanced Technology

Our firm can also provide an unbiased perspective on your financial processes, offering valuable insights and advice. Our accounting staff at Full Sail Partners is backed by a highly trained consulting team. We have access to the latest accounting technology and upgrades associated with Deltek Vision and Vantagepoint which will improve the efficiency and accuracy of your financial processes. We have often reviewed processes with our clients and suggested a consultative navigational analysis that reduces or eliminates the need for our augmented services.

Support Goes Beyond Outsourced Accounting Services

Full Sail Partners' outsourced accounting services can provide reduced or full-service accounting services scaled to your individual needs. However, our staff could never replace the highly skilled training services of our consulting team. We work closely with our team to make sure our staff is fully up to date on current practices, but our team does not offer training to a client's staff. If you find that your professional services firm would like to use our services for the augmentation of your current team's skills, we can provide the support you need.

If you would like to upgrade the skills of current employees or train new staff on Deltek Vision or Vantagepoint, we can connect you with one of our excellent consultants that will review your current system and team skills. Once they determine the level and areas of need, they will provide you with a detailed scope of services to provide your staff with on-site or off-site training.

Improve Your Professional Services Firm’s Financial Management

Outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping services can lead to improved financial management and greater efficiency while seeing significant cost savings from reducing full-time accounting overhead or supplementally augmenting an in-house accounting team. By leveraging the expertise, technology and scalability of our Full Sail Partners’ Outsourced Accounting Services, you can position your business for long-term success without interruptions due to unforeseen personnel changes.

Deltek Vantagepoint is a project-based ERP system. This makes it unique in that it is intended to not only track overall firm revenue and expenses, but also the revenue and expenses of many separate components, or the projects, that contribute to the overall profitability of the firm. Vantagepoint offers several ways to help identify which projects are contributing to, and which are detracting from a professional services firm’s profitability. Let’s explore a few of them. 

Linked Promotional Projects

Can you easily see if a project with a $5,000 fee took your team $5,000 worth of time and expenses to win it? Deltek Vantagepoint offers the means to do so by using promotional projects. In the stages of the project lifecycle, when your professional services firm is pursuing new work, use linked promotional projects to track the time and expenses the pursuits require. This can help you calculate the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing spend.

Consider setting a budget for your promo projects to show staff that the expected maximum level of pursuit spend is dependent on the size of the project. To set the budget, you may want to think about the typical maximum that should be spent to win $1 of chargeable work and multiply that by the labor fee your firm is expecting if the project is awarded. Using linked promo projects can help you analyze the costs of pursuits, as well as the “all-in” cost of the job compared to the fee you were awarded. Analyze the data and perhaps you will find certain types of projects or certain clients are boosting or dragging down your overall profitability.

Contract Management

If your professional services firm struggles with tracking contract documents for projects, look to the contract management area for help! Making sure you have the signed agreements, and that you have them in time for billing, is crucial for efficiency and cash flow. The contract management area lets you customize the list of contract types and statuses and track the dates that contracts were sent and received. You can easily report on missing contracts to see where follow-up is needed. Unpaid invoices and the inability to bill for work due to missing contracts will negatively impact the bottom line!

Project Planning and Resource Management

Have you seen the latest project planning tools in Deltek Vantagepoint? Project Planning allows you to add generic or named resources to a project and schedule hours throughout the project schedule. A plan can be started at the time the in-pursuit project is added to Vantagepoint, and updated as the project scope and fee are developed. Planning can help build more accurate estimates for proposals and also serve as a communication tool during project hand-off from sales to the project manager.

After the project is awarded, updating the plan frequently can immediately show pinch points in budgets and schedules. By continually updating the number of hours each resource will need based on work completed and project progress, you can see, for example, if you need to scale back the effort to better match the scope or if a schedule slip is going to cause the need for a change order. Plan updates may also help identify earlier on the issues caused by scope creep and allow you to more easily negotiate change orders to cover costs not originally included in the fee.

Resource Management takes the project planning data and “flips it” to present it by person as opposed to by project. Being able to quickly identify staff that is consistently over-scheduled, which can lead to resignation and cause expensive turnover costs, and then reassign work to under-utilized staff will help keep firm chargeability on track. In the consulting industry, chargeability drives profits!

Accurate Time and Expense Tracking

Analysis of project profitability relies on accurate time and expense tracking. Make sure employee cost rates whether it is a true payroll cost, or a blended cost rate, are recorded correctly in Deltek Vantagepoint. Check out resources like the Deltek Clarity survey to make sure your professional services firm’s billing rates are in line with industry standards, while also taking into consideration factors such as your client base and your geographical location.

Encourage employees to carefully record all time and expenses to the projects they are working on, even if it might cause the project to go over budget. If over-budget costs are “buried” in marketing and overhead, can you ever truly analyze the profitability of each project? Additionally, if your firm performs similar work across your client base and uses past projects as a starting point to budget new projects, you will consistently lose money if project costs are not accurate.

Project Review/Reporting/Dashboards to Compare Budgets and Actuals, and View AR Info

Deltek Vantagepoint offers many tools to help you analyze profitability. The Project Review area, in addition to the project plan, provides a convenient snapshot of project budget versus actuals. Train your project managers to look at project review and their project plans frequently to stay “in the know” about their projects.

Project Reporting shows everything from labor and expense charges by date, to revenue and projected profit. Determine what is important to your professional services firm, build reports that reflect it, save them for your project manager roles to implement consistency across PMs, and train them on what they are seeing. Remember, in the A/E industry most project managers are engineers or architects by nature, so don’t be remiss in assuming they know how to analyze the financial aspects of the projects!

Leverage the dashboard capabilities in Vantagepoint as well, to bring critical project data front and center. Take a look at the project manager dashboards that come with the system or build a dashboard that reflects the project information your firm wants PMs to focus on. By using a combination of charts, graphs, tables, and reports in your dashboard you can help PMs with different preferences for consuming the project data.

Deltek Vantagepoint Ensures Firm Profitability

As you can see, Deltek Vantagepoint offers many ways to help your professional services firm track and analyze project-related data. By using a combination of these options, your firm can more easily see which projects are helping and which may be hurting your overall profitability. By keeping your eye on the profits, you can make more informed business decisions that will help your firm outperform the competition.

Curious to see what else Deltek Vantagepoint can offer you? Explore the full potential of Vantagepoint here!

Data entry can often be a tedious and error-prone task, especially when dealing with large volumes of information. Convincing IT to upload data into software systems can be challenging and time-consuming. Fortunately, for users of Deltek Vantagepoint, there's a more efficient solution: Data Imports. This feature, accessible from the Utilities menu, offers an intuitive interface for importing large amounts of Hub or transactional data while adhering to Vantagepoint's business rules for data entry.

Simplified Data Import Process for New Clients

For new Deltek Vantagepoint clients, the Data Import module provides a streamlined method for transferring information from previous systems. Whether you're migrating data from FoxPro, Oracle, or any other system capable of exporting data into an Excel or CSV file, Vantagepoint makes the transition smooth.

For example, if your accounting information resides in one system and project information in another, Vantagepoint's Data Imports are designed to handle this seamlessly. General ledger details and table information are uploaded separately, simplifying the process. With a basic understanding of Vantagepoint’s software configuration, preparing data files for import is straightforward and requires minimal training. This ease of use can significantly reduce the time and effort involved in migrating to a new system.

Enhancing Efficiency for Existing Clients

Existing Deltek Vantagepoint customers can also benefit from the Data Import module by adding new data to their current Vantagepoint instance or modifying existing information. For instance, if a firm is integrating new functionality that was previously unused, existing hub fields can be updated with data from an Excel file. Vantagepoint ensures that the imported data complies with business rules through a validation procedure, preventing any non-compliant data from being uploaded.

Moreover, transactional data can be uploaded into Vantagepoint via the Data Import module. Many clients utilize external applications to gather the information that must be uploaded into Vantagepoint. For example, subconsultants might use different systems to collect time or expense data, which then needs to be integrated into the Vantagepoint system. Instead of manual data entry, a CSV file can be used to upload this information. Vantagepoint verifies that the data adheres to business rules before it is posted in the Transaction Center.

Key Information About Deltek Vantagepoint Data Import

Whether uploading new data or amending existing records, the import process in Vantagepoint follows a consistent procedure. Currently, the data import functionality is split between Vantagepoint’s web app and the desktop app, with plans to eventually consolidate these functions. Users need to know where to go for each type of import. The web app supports importing data for Employees, Employee-related tables, Clients, Contacts, Generic Resources, and lists. Other imports, such as Projects, General Ledger, and transactional data, are handled via the desktop application.

To ensure successful data import, it is crucial to align the import data with Vantagepoint’s data structure. Data mapping should be performed prior to system validation. Once the fields that need to be mapped are identified, they should be matched with corresponding data in the import file. After mapping, selecting “Import” initiates the validation procedure. Any errors will be reported in a file and will not be imported. The import data can be validated multiple times to ensure accuracy before finalizing the import into the Vantagepoint instance.

Modern Advancements in Deltek Vantagepoint

Deltek Vantagepoint continues to evolve, incorporating advanced features to enhance user experience and efficiency. Recent updates include improved integration capabilities with other software systems, advanced analytics for better decision-making, and enhanced user interfaces for a more intuitive experience. Additionally, Vantagepoint's cloud-based platform ensures that users have access to the latest features and updates without the need for extensive IT involvement.

The Data Import module now supports more sophisticated data validation and error-checking mechanisms, reducing the risk of data inconsistencies and ensuring compliance with business rules. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms helps in identifying patterns and anomalies in data, providing users with actionable insights and predictive analytics.

Practical Tips for Mastering Data Imports

Data Import in the Vantagepoint application does not require extensive knowledge of databases or programming. However, practice and perseverance are key to mastering this tool. Full Sail Partners recommends practicing on a test database when learning to use the import feature. This approach allows users to familiarize themselves with the process without the risk of affecting live data.

For additional support, Full Sail Partners offers comprehensive training on the Data Import module. This training covers everything from basic data preparation and mapping to advanced troubleshooting techniques. By leveraging Full Sail Partners’ expertise, users can gain confidence in their ability to efficiently manage data imports, ensuring smooth and accurate data integration.

Data Imports Feature Ensures Efficiency for Vantagepoint Users

Deltek Vantagepoint's Data Import module is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of uploading and managing large volumes of data. Whether you are a new client migrating from a different system or an existing client looking to enhance your data management capabilities, the Data Import module offers a robust solution. With its user-friendly interface, comprehensive validation procedures, and continuous advancements, Vantagepoint ensures that your data entry process is efficient, accurate, and aligned with your business needs.

For more detailed guidance and training on using Deltek Vantagepoint’s Data Import module, consider reaching out to Full Sail Partners. Their team’s expertise can help you maximize the potential of Vantagepoint, enabling you to achieve next-level productivity and efficiency in your data management processes.

This year’s Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering (A&E) Study delves into how firms are navigating challenges to boost their operations and drive progress. It takes a close look at the evolving dynamics of labor costs, the strategic shifts in where firms are investing their resources, and the innovative financial approaches they’re adopting. Let's examine these findings to understand how they’re shaping the future landscape of the A&E industry and what they mean for firms aiming to thrive in this changing environment.

Top Financial Challenges

This year’s top financial challenges for A&E firms mainly centered around finding and retaining qualified staff, increasing profitability, and managing succession planning and ownership transitions. These issues remained mostly consistent with last year's challenges, though managing growth saw a slight decline in importance, dropping from 46% to 38%, thus moving it out of the top three challenges.

Retaining qualified staff, while still the foremost challenge, saw a reduction in the number of firms ranking it as their primary concern, decreasing from 65% to 59%. The focus on boosting profitability gained prominence, with a 9% increase to 54%, reflecting its rising priority among firms.

Meanwhile, the importance of enhancing project leaders' financial knowledge also diminished, indicating a shift in strategic focus towards more immediate financial pressures and long-term organizational sustainability.

Stability in Labor Costs

In 2023, total labor costs per employee among A&E firms showed remarkable stability, with only a modest increase of $345. This slight uptick reflects adjustments in labor-related expenses and inflation, aligning with the changes in firms' headcount levels from the previous year. Notably, the impact varied significantly across firm sizes with:

• Small firms experiencing the most substantial increase, with labor costs rising by over $3,000 per employee.
• Large firms seeing a dramatic increase of more than $9,000 compared to 2022.
• Medium-sized firms remaining relatively stable, with minimal changes in labor costs or employee numbers.

These variations underscore the nuanced approaches A&E firms are taking to manage labor costs while maintaining competitive compensation structures.

Marginal Increases in Gross Wages per FTE

Gross wages per full-time equivalent (FTE) is calculated by dividing the total labor expenses by the current number of full-time employees. This number remained relatively stable this past year, registering a marginal increase of less than one percent compared to the previous year. This contrasts with the notable five percent surge observed in 2022. Key segments such as high performers, small firms, large firms, and engineering firms experienced slight increases in gross wages per FTE, highlighting the importance of tailored compensation strategies to retain and engage staff.

Understanding these wage trends is crucial for firms to ensure that labor cost increases are effectively balanced by topline revenue growth, thereby improving labor multiplier metrics.

Shifts in Asset Investments

The study reveals a significant shift in firms' asset investment strategies. Net fixed assets per employee decreased by six percent, indicating a strategic move away from traditional fixed asset investments like infrastructure, hardware, and software. Instead, firms are increasingly allocating resources toward on-demand operational expenses for software and technology solutions. This shift is particularly evident in:

• Large firms and architecture firms reported significant declines in net fixed assets per employee.
• High-performing firms and engineering firms which maintained stability or showed slight improvements.

This trend reflects firms' adaptation to changing market demands and their focus on leveraging new tools to enhance competitiveness and drive growth.

Current Ratio: A Mixed Bag

The overall current ratio can be found by dividing current assets by current liabilities. A&E firms saw a slight decline in this, decreasing by 0.18 points. This decrease suggests firms' increased efficiency in managing current assets and liabilities, possibly by accelerating accounts receivable collections. Notably:

• High performers, medium-sized firms, and engineering firms experienced the most noticeable declines in current ratio.
• Small and large firms reported increases, indicating diverse strategies across different firm sizes.

Despite these variations, the current ratio decline does not necessarily translate into reduced liquidity but rather reflects strategic management decisions aimed at optimizing operational efficiency.

Debt-to-Equity Ratio: A Slight Increase

The median debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio is determined by dividing total liabilities by stockholders’ equity. This ratio rose slightly from 0.61 to 0.66 in 2023. This increase suggests that firms continue to leverage debt strategically to achieve higher returns. High performers, medium-sized firms, large firms, and both A&E sectors reflected this overall trend. This cautious yet confident approach to financial management positions helps firms navigate current economic challenges.

A Decline in Return on Equity

Found by dividing pre-tax income by stockholders’ equity, and then multiplying it by 100, the overall return on equity (ROE) for A&E firms declined by 4.5 percentage points to 19.1% in 2023. This decline was the most pronounced among small, medium-sized, and architecture firms, which faced challenges in generating profit growth commensurate with gains in shareholders' equity. In contrast, high performers, large firms, and engineering firms reported flat or improved ROE relative to the previous year.

Increased Focus on Firm Valuations

An interesting trend identified in the study is the increased focus on firm valuations. More firms (up by 1.5 percentage points) completed firm valuations within the past two years, with large firms and engineering firms showing the most significant increases. Additionally, 52.6% of firms without a recent valuation plan to complete one within the next 12 months, up by 3.2 percentage points. This trend underscores the growing importance of firm valuations in the context of merger and acquisition activities, strategic positioning, and financial health management.

Top Financial Initiatives

A&E firms have identified several key financial initiatives to address their greatest challenges over the next three years:

• Training project managers on financial management (+3 points): This initiative reflects a shift towards enhancing project management capabilities to optimize operational efficiency.
• Business process improvements (steady): Emphasizing streamlining processes to improve overall efficiency.
• Better forecasting (+7 points): Highlighting the importance of financial planning and resource allocation to navigate market uncertainties.

Other notable initiatives include better management of growth, organizational changes, and increasing spending on talent acquisition and retention, although these saw declines compared to the previous year.

More To Look Forward To

The 45th Annual Deltek Clarity Study provides valuable insights into the financial trends and challenges faced by A&E firms in 2023. As firms navigate a complex economic landscape, strategic management of labor costs, asset investments, and financial metrics become crucial to sustaining profitability and securing long-term growth. By focusing on tailored compensation strategies, leveraging new technology solutions, and enhancing financial acumen, A&E firms can better position themselves to thrive in an evolving market.

The necessity to turn in timesheets every two weeks is never at the forefront of your employees' minds. They are focused on their day-to-day tasks. Some employees stay ahead of the game and create their timesheets as they go. Others are swamped with their workload and struggle to keep them current and completed on time. However, it is essential in nearly every industry to keep the circle of business moving and income coming in. So features are needed to make the timesheet process seamless and most efficient.

Poor timesheet management inherently leads to inefficient processes later. Miscoding timesheets may cause imprecise reports and incorrect invoices. It could also require additional time to correct and transfer time to the proper projects. Most importantly, incorrect timesheet entry affects the cash flow of your company, due to delaying the processing of client invoices.

In Deltek Vantagepoint, the process has been simplified and made more user-friendly for the end user. To start, timesheets should be entered daily and submitted on time. Secondly, project managers must always ensure they are reviewing the timesheets. Timesheets should then be corrected before they are posted to the project.

Features of Timesheets in Deltek Vantagepoint to Improve Efficiency

Accurate and efficient timesheet management policies and procedures are necessary and should be incorporated into your culture. This, along with daily entries and strict deadlines for timesheet submissions. Fortunately, Deltek Vantagepoint has a variety of tools to help assist project managers in this process.

• Floor Checks can help you ensure that your employees complete their timesheet entries on time. You can do a floor check to review the status of time entries for your employees for a specific period or day. This will show the employees’ expected hours versus the actual hours that were entered. Additionally, there is email functionality available, so you can email your employees directly and let them know to complete their timesheets. You can enable notifications within the system or create email templates for the reminders.
• Unposted Labor Report is a standard project report that shows all timesheet data in unposted transaction entry files and all timesheets that are in progress, submitted, or approved but not posted. This enables project managers to see what has been charged to their projects before they are posted. It is preferred to correct the timesheets before they are charged to the projects.
• Project Reports with Unposted Time can be included in project reports by using the unposted time option. Project managers can then see the labor that is charged to their projects throughout the time period.
• Line-item Approval allows project managers to have control over their project labor costs to make sure labor is posted to the correct project. It allows project managers to only see their projects when in the approval stage. Vantagepoint will let you know if only part of the line items subject to line-item approval have been approved, yet others have not been approved or have been rejected.
• Timesheet Audit Trail allows you to see if there has been a change made to the timesheet after it has been saved or submitted. You can make timesheet comments required, or just track the change without additional explanation. Audit trails can be used to track billing transfers. You may find the timesheet audit trail in employee reporting.
• Copy from Prior Timesheet option allows you to copy projects you have previously or frequently charge time to. You can select this option once in your current timesheet. This option saves you from having to create your project list repeatedly for frequent projects. Timesheet comments are also saved in a drop-down box to select from. So, if you have used the same comment previously, you may select that option versus having to write the same thing repeatedly.
• Deltek Time & Expense for Vantagepoint app is now available to access your timesheets when you are on the go. Not in front of your computer? No problem. You can capture expenses from anywhere and upload receipts immediately. Approvers may also approve timesheets and send reminders to employees via the mobile app. Keeping up with your timesheets has never been easier!

Get Your Timesheets Done with Deltek Vantagepoint

With all of these amazing features in Deltek Vantagepoint at your fingertips, timesheet management is within your grasp. Keep the circle of business moving, and that income coming in. Start with daily timesheet reminders, and eventually, you will develop a plan that makes timesheet management best practices part of your firm’s culture.

Why are the month-end financials so vital to professional service firms? Why does the finance team have deadlines? Understanding the importance of accurate and timely financial reports across all roles in a professional service firm is vital to the organization's health. Let us understand the “what” behind the “why” of the deadlines imposed on us by our friendly finance and accounting professionals. Finance and accounting professionals are often the rule enforcers, the data junkies, and the last group of people we want to disrupt because their head might just pop off their necks. I know, because I was once in that hot seat, constantly “encouraged” to produce accurate reports and metrics, and close the books as soon as possible. Forget about taking a vacation during the first two weeks of the month. Anyone else with me?

So, before we dive into the tools available for our finance friends, I hope that non-finance team members will take a few minutes to read this article and have a better understanding of why monthly financials are so vital to everyone in an organization.  

We plan our lives; we plan our projects but how do we measure that success? It all comes down to the actuals. The actual results of our planning and hard work in every aspect of our lives are how we determine what decisions we are going to make in the future. Logically, the actual financial results of a firm will help drive future decisions, right? So, the next time your finance and accounting friends ask you to submit your timesheet, submit your expense report, review a subconsultant invoice for your project, and review a client invoice for submittal know that they are doing their part to prepare the data necessary for accurate and timely reporting for EVERYONE in the firm. The data gathered and reported on for that financial period may impact your future as well.  

Let us work together to find a better solution to close those books faster, provide better project metrics, and help the firm make quick and accurate decisions.  

Now, moving on to some tips and tricks for our finance friends to help them leverage the most of their Deltek Vantagepoint system. Part of the monthly close process is to ensure that one can document and justify the balances on the financial reports. If your process involves ticking and tying to a manual spreadsheet, STOP! Deltek has tools that can help you!  

To assist accounting departments at professional services firms with verifying commonly used balances, Deltek has created some useful tools. There are two such tools in Vantagepoint that accountants can use to monitor activity and know when to raise the red flag to address accounting problems. So, what do these tools look like and how do they benefit accounting?  

Financial Analysis Report

The File Reconciliation Report (Utilities/Analysis/GL Reconciliation/File Reconciliation Report) provides a big picture of the general ledger from the standpoint of the firm’s income statement and balance sheet vs. the supporting sub-ledger reports. Deltek Vantagepoint has implicit entries that happen automatically in transactions based on configurations as well as explicit entries that occur by user entry in the transactions.

For example, when entering an AP (Accounts Payable) voucher, the user selects the expense account (explicit entry) for the voucher but does not select the Accounts Payable account (implicit entry) – the Accounts Payable account is captured in the AP Liability code (which is set Settings/Cash Management/Accounts Payable/Liability Accounts).

The areas covered in the File Reconciliation Report are:

• YTD Revenue: Accounts (Set in Configuration/Accounting/System Settings) Settings/Accounting/Chart of Accounts/Type) = Office Earnings Report (My Stuff/Reporting/Office Earnings)
• YTD Reimbursable/Direct Expense: One report that can be used is the Project Detail to total direct and reimbursable expenses.
• YTD Indirect Expenses: One report that can be used is the Project Detail to total the indirect and expenses.
• Accounts Receivable: Accounts (Set in Settings/Billing/Accounts Receivable) = Open Accounts Receivable (My Stuff/Reporting/AR Aged)
• Accounts Payable:  Accounts (Set in Settings/Cash Management/Accounts Payable/Liability Accounts) = Open Vendor Balances (My Stuff/Reporting/Voucher Ledger or Voucher Schedule)
• Unbilled Revenue: Accounts (Set in Settings/Accounting/Revenue) = Office Earnings Report or Project Earnings Report (My Stuff/Reporting/Office Earnings or Project Earnings)

The reports listed above can be run to verify the balances of the sub-ledger, and the File Reconciliation Report will provide a professional services firm with a quick snapshot to know if there is a problem immediately. It is recommended to review this report as part of month-end processing, although it can be reviewed at any time during the month.

Upon viewing this report for the first time, looking for the differences in AR (Accounts Receivable), AP (Accounts Payable), Revenue, and Unbilled and when the out-of-balance initially began is the first step. There are several reasons an out-of-balance can occur - for example, making a journal entry directly to a GL account that is linked to an AP Liability Code. Once red-flagged by this report, working with a knowledgeable system consultant to determine which entries caused the out-of-balances and learning how to correct them is advisable.

Bank Reconciliation

Another critical month-end activity is reconciling the bank account. Depending on your financial department structure, you could choose to use the Bank Reconciliation tool more frequently than waiting until the month-end. If you do not have systems in place to prevent fraud in your bank accounts, it may be beneficial to review and use this tool weekly or daily. Vantagepoint allows a professional services firm to create ‘Bank Codes’ for every bank account used by the firm. Each ‘Bank Code’ is linked to a single general ledger account number to track and report transactions for the bank code.

The bank reconciliation process allows for the user to ‘clear’ transactions as they ‘clear’ in the bank. The transactions in the bank reconciliation are only those entered via a cash transaction type (Cash Receipt, AP Disbursement, Cash Disbursement, AP Vouchers, AP Payment Processing, or Expense Payment Processing). The reviewer will know if the transaction type is a ‘cash’ transaction type as they will be asked for a ‘bank code.’              

Any transaction entered against a General Ledger account that is linked to a Bank Account code that is not a cash transaction, for example, a journal entry, will not be available in the Bank Reconciliation feature and could cause a difference from the reconciled bank balance to the general ledger account balance if not added to the misc. tab of the bank rec.

When working through the bank reconciliation process each accounting period it is recommended to compare the “reconciled GL balance” on the printout of the bank reconciliation to the balance sheet GL account that is tied to the bank code. The calculations on the bank reconciliation report are:

Beginning Balance (which should agree to the Bank Statement ending balance from the prior month.

• + Cleared Deposits
• - Cleared Payments
• Calculated Balance – this should agree to the Bank Statement ending balance
• + Uncleared Deposits
• - Uncleared Payments
• Reconciled GL Balance – This should agree to the GL account balance on the Trial Balance and Balance Sheet

If the reconciled GL balance does NOT tie to the trial balance, research is needed to find the entries that caused the out-of-balance and correct them.

An out-of-balance between the reconciled GL and balance sheet can happen and can still show that the bank reconciliation ties to what was deposited and paid from the bank. This is because the reconciled GL is a calculated balance of cash transaction types and not a balance from all transactions being entered against the GL account. Internal processes should be set up so that all cash-related transactions are entered via a cash transaction type.

Close Efficiently and Effectively

Accounting departments at professional services firms need to have efficiency in their month-end closings. Having a published monthly close calendar will help the entire organization stay on track with timely reporting both on a financial and project reporting level. With both the File Reconciliation Report and Bank Reconciliation tools offered in Deltek Vantagepoint, accountants can quickly identify red flags in their accounting processes.

For more tips and tricks on how to streamline your financial close reach out to one of our friendly financial consultants. One of the most valuable investments a firm can make is ensuring the entire firm gets the most out of its ERP system. Deltek Vantagepoint provides real-time data to help all members of an organization manage their projects, financials, opportunities, resources, and more. Give yourself a break, it is ok not to know what you do not know; Full Sail Partners is here to help!