Full Sail Partners Blog (33)

Many Deltek Vision customers have been a bit confused by the announcement of Deltek Vantagepoint (formerly Deltek for Professional Services). Well, Deltek Vantagepoint is the newly branded and freshly reimagined next version of Deltek Vision specifically built for professional services organizations. The starting point for Vantagepoint was Vision 7.6 and this initiative has been about accelerating the product to a pure browser-based interface which began with iAccess. Let’s take a look at Vantagepoint and the impact on Vision users.

Reimagined Next Version

Vantagepoint is the same great product with all the power of Vision using a fresh, modern interface that will be accessible to anyone, anytime from anywhere. This next version of Vision has impressive new features, reengineered workflows and expanded functionality. All of these enhancements were created based upon years of customer feedback taking Vision to a completely new level.

User Defined Content

As part of the upgrade to Vantagepoint, user defined content and configurations within Vision come along. Some areas will need to be reviewed to make sure things continue to work and look the way you want due to the functional improvements of Vantagepoint. However, the configured content will not be lost in the upgrade which is very similar to a typical Vision upgrade.

Custom Reports

In Vantagepoint, the reporting platform is SQL Server Reporting Services just like in Vision. The architecture and database structure of Vantagepoint is the same as Vision since Vision 7.6 was the starting point. Custom reports and/or invoice templates should continue to function in Vantagepoint. If a custom report references a portion of the database schema that changed in Vantagepoint, it will need to be reviewed with minor updates just like it would have with Vision upgrades.

Upgrade on Your own Timeline

During the transitional phase between Vision and Vantagepoint, the timing of the upgrade is up to the customer. Upgrade timing depends on what functionality your firm is using in Vision today. Vision 7.6 will remain in active support mode including updates until at least the end of 2022. Moving to Vantagepoint does not require a data conversion but rather all Vision data is simply upgraded. Just like with any Vision upgrade, there may be the need to accommodate functional changes.

Upgrade to Vantagepoint

More than 200 customers are currently using Vantagepoint today. For all Vision customers, there is an existing customer portal to learn about Vantagepoint https://dsm.deltek.com/Vantagepoint. All firms using Vision are encouraged to consume the portal content in order to ensure a smooth upgrade.

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Platinum Partner, is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of the 2018 Premier Award for Client Satisfaction by PSMJ Resources and Client Savvy, creator of the Client Feedback Tool. This recognition only goes to firms involved in the AEC industry who have gone above and beyond to deliver a truly exceptional client experience.

The success of professional service firms depends on creating strong client relationships, specifically through the service delivery of a project. Full Sail Partners recognized this need not only for its own firm, but for others in the industry. In order to gain consistent feedback on their projects, Full Sail Partners identified a need to streamline and automate the process for Project Managers. This endeavor resulted in creating their first Blackbox Connector to share data between Deltek Vision and the Client Feedback Tool.

“Among other aspects of our CX strategy, Full Sail Partners has found great success in consistently using the Client Feedback Tool to gauge client insight and make appropriate changes to improve the client experiences,” stated Sarah Gonnella, VP of Marketing and Sales. “We are greatly honored to be recognized with this Premier Award for Client Satisfaction.”

For more than 40 years, PSMJ Resources, Inc. has been recognized as the leading publishing, executive education, and advisory group devoted completely to improving the business performance of A/E/C organizations worldwide.

Recipients of the Premier Award for Client Satisfaction are determined using data collected from 280,000 surveys across 300 firms. Based upon the surveys, firms which really stand out regarding client feedback are given this prestigious designation. The 2018 award winners will be recognized at the October THRIVE conference put on by PSMJ in San Diego.

“Full Sail Partners sets themselves apart from competition through creating great experiences and outcomes for their clients,” stated PSMJ Resources Founder and CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA. “As we hear more and more frustration from architects and engineers about downward pressure on fees, delivering a best-in-class client experience is one of the best ways to differentiate your firm.”

Client Savvy works with professional services organizations whose success depends on strong client relationships. Their commitment to clients is to help them align their client experience (CX) strategy, implementation, and measurement initiatives with their top strategic priorities.

“Firms committed to delivering great client experiences are twice as likely to be recommended by their clients, three times as likely to realize above-average financial returns, and consistently attract and retain better employees. Full Sail Partners commitment to listen and act is a foundational component of every great client experience strategy.”

For more information, please contact Full Sail Partners’ Marketing and Communications Department. 

Firms complain that there aren’t enough candidates when a job opening needs to be filled yet many firms aren’t taking the necessary steps to ensure they have candidates in the hopper when a position opens. Do projects just fall out of the sky? Ok, maybe on a rare occasion, but most of the time you must nurture relationships in order to be considered for a project pursuit. Recruiting should be looked at in the same way. A great way to find the best fit for your firm is to identify potential candidates before a position opens and develop these relationships.

Finding Potential Candidates

Recruiting should involve more than just your HR department and executives. Just like marketing and business development, recruiting should be something all staff members do. Some firms have found that having a referral process can be a great way to encourage employees to share the news, but even more important is letting your employees know to keep their eyes out for anyone that might fit the firm’s corporate culture and have skills needed within the company. The best recruiters leverage their staff within the company to help them do their jobs. Here are places employees can find potential new recruits: 

• Social and informal connections happen all the time and staff can use these interactions as informal recruiting sessions. Potential recruits can come from current projects, partners, vendors, neighbors, and social events. Asking the right questions can provide you with a plethora of information regarding whether any of the people you deal with would be good matches for your firm.
• Conferences and networking events are also convenient places to meet potential candidates. Conferences and association networking events are specifically geared for your industry. Sometimes individuals you meet might be great teaming partners or they might be just what you are looking for if a position comes available. Collect those business cards and ask some deeper questions about their jobs and you have a talent pool without having to officially recruit.
• Social media is another easy way to recruit for candidates. Whether you tweet or connect with others via LinkedIn, there are a variety of ways to find qualified people that fit with your company culture. Just keep in mind what skills you are looking for on a consistent basis, and you will have plenty of options in the world of social media.
• Job fairs, of course, are also appropriate places to find potential candidates. Even without an open position available at your firm, people at job fairs are looking to find where they fit in so when something does come up with your firm you have options. Simply gather names and resumes and you will get an immediate talent pool, or better yet, send them to your website to upload their information into your Talent system. 

Nurture Those Potential Candidates

In the Deltek Clarity report, project-based firms stated that their top challenge was finding qualified talent. I would beg to differ since talent is always around you and most likely available if you nurture the relationships. I suspect your challenge is just not identifying the talent when you come across it. 

Once you find potential candidates, it’s important to capture their information so you can pull from a talent pool. Using the Deltek Talent Acquisition system, recruiters and managers can quickly add resumes to talent pools allowing you to access your potential candidates by categories when a position opens. These talent pools allow you to keep lists of candidates with specific requirements or needs. 

We know great Project Managers or Marketing Coordinators are hard to find so you could tag potential candidates as you come across them. Instead of waiting until the position needs to be filled to start your search, with talent pools you can quickly send a templated email asking candidates you have met in the past, that have been pre-qualified, to submit for an opening. Imagine how much easier and quicker recruiting can be by taking a more proactive versus reactive approach.

Improve Hiring Efficiency

For project centric businesses, people are your competitive advantage. Ensuring solid talent management best practices within the business means assuring you can find the talent quicker than your competition. See how Deltek Talent can improve your employee hiring process.

It’s important to keep in mind that Deltek Insight is about much more than just Deltek and its products. This annual networking event always offers so much to those who attend - from what’s new with accounting standards to inspiring stories from keynote speakers to opportunities to exchange ideas with colleagues. For those who didn’t have the opportunity to attend Deltek Insight 2018, here are some interesting things we learned this year.

Fun Facts Learned at Deltek Insight 2018

• FASB ASC 606 impacts must be taken against retained earnings in 2018.
• Deltek Vision will continue to be supported through at least 2022.
• Deltek products are evolving and one new enhancement is “Hey Deltek” - the natural language processing and interaction creation like Siri and Alexa.
• Johnny Cupcakes doesn’t actually sell cupcakes but t-shirts. So many people love his creative branding and messaging.
• “Failures are just experiences. Experimenting is how we grow,” according to Johnny Cupcakes who started 16 companies before he was 16. Most people think they might fail so they don’t even get started. His advice? Take more chances and fail faster. When we fail, we learn, and failure helps us redefine priorities in life allowing us to be successful.
• B2B and B2C are old fashioned concepts. You should now think H2H (human to human connection). How is your role and work impacting lives and making them better? This human connection is what brings us closer and builds memories.
• Johnny Cupcakes also suggested “do more of what makes you happy,” which reinforces that human touch. Life is too short. Your clients have the same needs as you. Doing more of what makes you happy in return makes those around you happy.

Deltek Insight is Always Full of Information

As always, this year’s conference provided much value to those who attended. If you want to know more about attending Deltek Insight in the future or have any questions about this year’s conference, reach out to us using the link below. We hope to see you at Deltek Insight 2019 in Orlando, Florida.

Full Sail Partners is dedicated to helping businesses be the best they can be. Therefore, we consistently provide a variety of resources offering much insight to our clients. These can be found on the resources tab of our website. From webinars and webcasts to whitepapers and events, we want to ensure our clients run at maximum efficiency. Let’s check these resources out.

FSP Webinars & Webcasts

With our webinars and past webcasts, you gain insight on valuable information from leaders and industry experts. Our webinars focus on many relevant topics providing you the tools needed to move your firm forward. If you missed a webinar, we have an archive page with all our past webinars. Just request the video and a PDF of the presentation you are interested in by filling out the form to the right. Some of our most recent past webinars include; Talent Solution Speed Session: Career Paths, and What to Measure, How to Measure, and Making Sense of it All. Don’t hesitate to find a webinar that will help you! 

Events & User Groups

Full Sail Partners conducts virtual user group meetings to help our clients learn more about Deltek products. We encourage you to contact your area representative to meet and network locally while viewing our virtual presentation as a group! The largest networking event for Deltek users is Deltek Insight, and this year it is November 5^th-8^th in Dallas, TX. The Full Sail Partners’ team will be presenting at Deltek Insight and topics include DPS (Vantagepoint), workflows, accounts payable process, and functional database. If you want to attend these classes at Deltek Insight 2018, you can register here. Interested in a Full Sail Partners’ speaker for one of your events? Fill out the form to the right of the Events & User Groups’ page and specify your company, topic, and how many people! 

Whitepapers

Full Sail Partners provides complimentary whitepapers as a part of an ongoing effort to provide information about the newest technology and industry standards. These resources can help your business stay ahead of the competition. There are many to choose from to learn about solutions for your project-focused business. Some of these include: Benefits of an Enterprise Resource Planning System, Growth and Transition, and Top 10 Recruiting Metrics HR Should Care About. Be sure to check out all of the amazing whitepapers we have to offer. 

eBooks by Deltek

To ensure users get the most out of their systems, Deltek has published a Dummies eBook series that addresses the importance of several tools and industry best practices. If you are interested in downloading a copy of an eBook, simply fill out the survey including your name and email. Some of the eBooks we have to offer include: Talent Management for Dummies, Resource Planning for Dummies, and Planning a Great Project for Dummies. Whatever topic you are struggling with, there is an eBook to help. 

Keep Learning! 

The more knowledge firms have, the more smoothly they will run. Full Sail Partners strives to continuously provide information to our clients that helps them achieve maximum efficiency and stay ahead of the competition. Keep an eye out for more resources as they come available!

The goal of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is to integrate all aspects of a business from finance to CRM to HR. To have and maintain a successful business operation, accurate and timely information must flow between all the different business functions. With an ERP in place, there is visibility into operations which provides greater control over the business. However, while all businesses benefit from an ERP system, one size does not fit all. Project-based companies are distinct and thus require ERPs suited for their needs.

Unique Financials

Unlike firms just selling products to be shipped, project-based firms have financials reflecting more specific details. Project-based financials are focused on resources, projects and clients. Project-based firms are concerned with billing and time and materials needed per project which is vastly different than a firm that simply tracks inventory. Since project-based financials are so particular, project-based firms should have ERP systems that are equally so.

Deeper Function of Resource Management

Resource management for project-based firms is also a lot more involved. Project-based firms must manage both clients and projects matching the scope of a project to delivery. More than just people, resources here mean skills needed in a project and determining when certain skills are to be used. CRM with projects is built around proposals and recurring client interaction. With the intricate nature of running projects, project-based firms require ERP systems set up to manage resources in this more complex way.

Designed for Different Roles in the Firm

Executives, accountants and project managers all have different focal points. Executives want to see that the business is financially sound and that customers are satisfied. Accounting needs to be able to make sure billing is being completed on time. Project managers must collaborate with everyone to make sure the work is getting done and that people are being utilized by tracking workers as they come off a job. Project-based ERPs are specifically built for all these key roles ensuring efficiency in operation.

Complete Visibility into Business

With project-based ERP systems, every transaction is tied to an account, organization and project. The general ledger account describes expenses, the organization describes who is doing the work and the project is the source of revenue. With these elements linked, financial reports, invoices, payroll and project status reports are all available to show the whole picture of the business providing complete visibility.

Match the ERP to Firm Needs

With a project-based ERP in place, project-based firms will be able to make proactive decisions with current, real-time data. Generic ERP solutions do not meet the needs of project-based companies. Project-based ERPs are specifically designed to ensure that all aspects of project management are tied together to provide an accurate view of project profitability and company health.

It used to be that people needed companies - employees were loyal, jobs were scarce, and everyone accepted the standard employment package offered. Today, things are very different. Companies need people – talent is hard to find, few make long term commitments, and many are demanding a lot more than before. Project-based companies are particularly impacted since without the right people in place, projects suffer, customers suffer and so does the bottom line. Therefore, having an applicant tracking system is a necessity to deal with the challenges of talent acquisition.

Expediting Talent Acquisition

These days, companies are the ones trying to convince talent to join the firm while the competition is courting them as well. It is crucial that the time it takes from sourcing candidates to interviewing to offering positions is greatly shortened. An applicant tracking system provides a clearer picture of the entire process. It shows right away if any of the steps are taking longer than necessary and allows firms to be more efficient in the hiring process. Project-based companies need the right people available at the right time to keep projects running smoothly.

Talent Pools

With people moving around as much as they do today, firms should always have a reserve of potential talent. An applicant tracking system helps with creating and maintaining these pools of talent. When resumes are entered, HR can flag those candidates who would be good fits for future opportunities. So, if a project manager leaves unexpectedly or a new project is won, a talent pool is immediately available to contact which reduces the delay in staffing. Nothing is worse for project-based firms than having to put off a project start date because of lack of appropriate personnel.

Candidate Experience

Another benefit of an applicant tracking system is that it ensures a positive candidate experience. The candidate’s experience moving through the hiring process has a huge impact on whether an offer will be taken. Firms must make candidates feel that they are valued. An applicant tracking system makes it easier to stay connected with candidates, so they feel informed and not forgotten. Project-based firms will not only have excited quality talent coming on board from this positive experience, but word of mouth will spread creating a talent pool for future projects.

Invest in an Applicant Tracking System

Project-based firms make money when projects are done on time and to customer satisfaction. Without the right personnel on the project, firms are destined for failure. An applicant tracking system expedites the hiring process by reducing inefficiencies and encouraging quality talent. Firms can easily overcome the challenges of talent acquisition by investing in one today. What is your firm waiting for?

Expense management seems to be a difficult task for accounting personnel at many professional services firms. With a workforce that is constantly on the go, tracking spending and enforcing expense policies can provide a plethora of challenges. What if there was a better way to manage expenses? Let’s see what firms can do to improve the expense management process.

Streamlined Process from Start to Finish

Being on the go means employees must be able to book travel and track expenses from anywhere at any time. Employees and those who approve expenses need to be able to easily accomplish these things from a smartphone or tablet. So, an efficient expense management solution needs to have a user-friendly mobile feature available to all.

Accurate Collection of Information

Not only is it time consuming to have to manually enter information from receipts, it is also prone to errors. Firms should have an expense management solution with optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities. OCR technology enables applications to recognize printed or written text characters so users can take a picture of a receipt, and the application will add the name of the vendor, the dollar amount spent and the date to an expense essentially saving time and reducing errors.

Simplified Policy Enforcement

Sure, we all like to make travel for ourselves more convenient for our schedules and prefer certain hotels. However, the later flight and the preferred hotel might cost a lot more, and if the policy is to find the best deal, how can your firm know employees are sticking to it? Well, firms should have an expense management solution that compares the costs of flights and hotels to ensure employees are booking the best value. If a more expensive flight or hotel is required, employees can submit a request with a reason indicated.  

Integration with the Core Accounting Software

Several core accounting management systems have built-in expense management solutions. However, they often lack the key features mentioned above. This means firms may need to look for a third-party solution provider to gain these benefits. It is important that the third-party solution integrates with the core solution, so do your research to find one that helps keep your expense management process streamlined.

Picking the Most Efficient Expense Management Solution

It is said that business travel expense is the second most difficult operating expense to manage. By moving away from paper receipts and automating the expense management process, firms can gain better control of employee spending. So, what are you waiting for? Find the best solution to improve your firm’s expense management processes.

Establishing meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs) is vital if your firm is committed to data-driven decision making. First, you will need to determine what most clearly correlates with your company’s goals. A simple way to think about KPIs is that you can only improve what can be measured, and using today’s business intelligence (BI) offerings, measuring KPIs can be especially precise and easy to do. Let’s look at some trends in BI and the connection to KPIs. 

Easier data discovery

It used to be that data discovery was only done by IT experts who created reports about crucial information regarding KPIs. This process could take many days, and by the time a report was generated, the information was irrelevant. With the continuing simplification of BI, more people can now have access to real-time analytics. Using simplified BI, anyone can drill down into the data and find answers to important questions which are related to KPIs.

Visual Analytics

For non-analytical people, visualizations are helpful to digest key information. They activate the brain’s recognition capabilities and enable people to detect patterns in charts and graphs. Rather than having to discover data buried in tables over multiple pages, visual analytics allow for decisions to be made quickly and are a much more efficient way to evaluate KPIs.

Self-service Business Intelligence

More and more business users are accessing BI solutions to make faster and better-informed decision. Each company has unique goals and so does each department. To measure specific KPIs, customized BI dashboards can be created with the features relevant to each user. These dashboards are viewed in a single screen providing immediate, accurate and up to date visual status reports.

Mobile Business Intelligence

Today’s fast paced business environment requires that people have access to critical BI anywhere, anytime. With increased accessibility and improved smartphones, BI can also be analyzed on mobile devices. Companies that use mobile BI can stay ahead of the competition because there is always access to important data for decision making and gauging KPIs.

Cloud Business Intelligence

While most BI software has been hosted on-premise, the increase in on-demand data access has led to cloud BI. There are many benefits of a cloud BI solution. It is easy to install because it is an internet-based software, adding new users is a simple and the cost is low. Cloud BI is an option for companies of all sizes within an industry that provides an instant way to assess KPIs.

Being Proactive with Business Intelligence

All firms strive to be successful and creating KPIs allows them to measure success and avoid potential negative outcomes. Using a BI solution, firms can be proactive by visually seeing KPIs and making quick decisions based upon critical information. The two go hand in hand and together they help firms make sense of it all.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “bad data in – bad data out.” Well, bad data is outdated, incorrect, incomplete or duplicated information, and according to the Harvard Business Review, workers waste 50% of their time dealing with it. Now ask yourself, when was the last time someone at your firm took a deep dive into the data in your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system?  While the process of cleaning company data is time consuming, it is something all firms should do on regular basis. Businesses can achieve numerous benefits by fixing bad data. Here’s a look at some of the top benefits.

Improves Employee Productivity

Spending the day combing through a bunch of bad data is tedious work and a major time waster. Furthermore, the result of this extensive effort might be little to no actionable information. Also, with finding inaccurate information, employees may be led down the wrong path and not towards the goal. However, with clean company data, businesses can be sure employees are making the best use of their work hours and accomplishing goals.

Improves Marketing Efficiency

Building a pipeline of new revenue requires having accurate data about customers you want to target for your marketing efforts. Having the correct email address, mailing address and phone number is critical to ensure the highest rate of return for your marketing efforts. Regularly cleaning customer data ensures information is up-to-date and marketers can realize a higher return on investment and a larger pipeline of new opportunities.

Improves Decision-Making

Effective decision-making is critical to the success of a firm and requires having accurate data. Business intelligence (BI) is a hot topic in all industries right now. For your firm to be able to jump on the BI bandwagon, the data you are using to make decisions must be accurate. Having clean data can support better analytics and improve your firm’s decision-making process.

Prevents Fraud and Billing Mistakes

Having clean company data can also reduce fraud and billing mistakes. In many cases, vendors may send multiple invoices for the same service to encourage firms to pay them faster and more often. They are not trying to be malicious. Accurately tracking invoices to see which ones have been paid will reduce double paying vendors.

Get Your Firm’s Data Clean

The task of going through your firm’s data can be daunting, but the benefits of clean company data are worth it. To begin the cleaning process, you’ll want to define goals and assign ownership to the different steps required to obtain your goals. You can also automate several of these steps using the different software solutions, or you can seek help from a trusted outside company that is familiar with the ERP system your firm uses.