Full Sail Partners Blog (47)

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Premier Partner, announces that Kelly Duquette has joined the firm as a Principal Solutions Consultant to assist professional services firms with improving their business processes within Deltek Vision. Kelly’s specialties include planning and supporting firms with migrating data during mergers and acquisitions; configuring and training of the Vision Purchasing and Asset Management modules; and building and implementing client solutions within the Vision Advanced Workflow Engine. This strategic hire expands Full Sail Partners’ consulting team presence on the east coast.

“I am thrilled to be in a client facing position that will allow me to assist clients with the use of Deltek Vision,” stated Kelly Duquette. “Full Sail Partners offers a wide variety of services and offerings that work to expand the product and make it a unique experience for each company. I look forward to engaging with clients so they can benefit from our entire team’s knowledge of the product.”

With a background in accounting, Kelly has more than 25 years of experience focused around Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system management and implementation. She holds her Master’s Degree in Business Administration and has been both a Deltek Vision user and system administrator. Prior to joining Full Sail Partners, Kelly was Vice President and Director of ERP Systems at a large Engineering/Environmental Consulting Firm, with more than 120 offices across the US and approximately 4,200 employees. With a focus on process improvement throughout her professional career, she has managed several mergers and acquisitions and led several Deltek Vision implementations and business processes initiatives.  

Kelly was the leader of the Deltek Vision Large Firm User Group and a member of the Deltek Vision Power User group. She participated in the early adopter program for the Purchasing and Asset Management modules. In November, at the Deltek Insight Conference, Kelly will be presenting on the Critical Roadmap Factors for Mergers and Acquisitions and Getting Started with Deltek Vision's Approval Engine. She will be co-presenting with Ed Zanaty for Vision Purchasing - A Project Centric Approach. In the past, she has presented at numerous user group meetings.

“Full Sail Partners jumped at the chance to bring a veteran, Deltek Vision user like Kelly on board,” said Scott Seal, Vice President of Consulting. “She has a proven track record of improving processes and creating efficiencies within the Deltek Vision system. Kelly’s extensive consulting, data migration and custom experience with professional services industry brings a wealth of knowledge to the Full Sail Partners’ consulting team and provides fluidity between the client, consultants, and the custom solutions division to ensure we are providing the right solution.”

For more information, please contact Full Sail Partners’ Marketing Communications Department. Interested in learning more about the Full Sail Partners' team? Check out our crew!

If someone were to ask you what do you like least about your job, what would you say? Assuming you like your boss, your environment and co-workers, there is still always a task that you just wish you didn’t have to do. For me, it is my expenses. You would think, getting reimbursed would be motivation in itself. Yes, at some point it absolutely is. It has gotten much easier now that I can take a picture of my receipts and quickly upload through my Deltek Vision Touch application with my phone. However, I still have to fill out the details which takes time. Time I don’t always have. What if I told you it could get even easier? I was then introduced to the Concur expense solution.

I literally was giddy over expenses when I saw what the solution could do. The Concur expense solution automatically imports credit card charges and matches them to receipts and itinerary data. Instead of manually entering your expenses, I can simply take a picture of the receipt and it reads the information and fills out my expenses. Sounds too good to be true, right?

So how can this help Deltek Vision users you might ask? Well, there is an integration being finalized right now. I invite you to view the video below to begin to learn more about the Concur expense solution:

Learn more in the upcoming Concur webinar. This webinar will further show you how Concur expense reports write themselves and we will provide a sneak peek of the upcoming Deltek Vision integration.

Johnnie Cochran once said, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit!” Well the same idea is applicable to purchasing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution for any business. Sure, QuickBooks and Microsoft Dynamics are good for certain types of business, but neither one are designed specifically to support project based businesses. To support this idea, the following infographic will serve as evidence to make the case that Deltek Vision is the best option for project-based firms.  

As a first time attendee to SMPS Build Business, I want to make sure that I experience all there is to offer at the national conference for professional services marketers. So before I head off to the City of Brotherly Love I thought it would be a good idea to ask some long time attendees for their advice on how to get the most out of this conference. Here are the 5 tips I found most useful.

Keep in mind, these tips can be used when attending any conference.

Five Essential Tips for Conference Success

1. Make intros memorable. You are sure to meet more people than you can remember. The same is true for the people you hope to make an impression on. The key to being memorable is to practice how you will introduce yourself. Introduction should intrigue your connection to make them want to learn more. “Hi, I’m Graham I’m a marketer” won’t cut it. Focus on how you and your company add value to your clients. Give the discussion purpose. Perhaps your newfound contact is facing a challenge and you can help them overcome it. Stand out from the crowd by leaving each new contact with a feeling of time and energy well invested.
   
2. Identify the best way to capture contact info. Do you have a plan for capturing important details gathered from your networking efforts? Do you plan on jotting details down on a napkin to send off to someone else to enter in your CRM system? Or perhaps you are planning on entering everything immediately using your mobile device. Thinking this process through before the conference will allow you to have a system in place to get the most out of your networking efforts.
   
3. Pre-schedule meetings. Prescheduling meetings is my favorite tip for attending any I believe that the primary focus of attending a conference should be to network and connect with people. The number one way to do that is to begin networking and connecting before the conference even begins. Try sending out emails to contacts that you know will be on site, or even create a landing page on your website advertising your attendance to the conference. Better yet, pick up the phone and set-up meetings to have drinks or lunch with contacts.
   
4. Have a plan, be willing to adjust. Have you seen the program for this year’s SMPS Build Business? There are a ton of awesome programs! Take your time before the conference to map out your roadmap for sessions you want to attend. However, show up to the conference willing to pivot and adjust on the sessions you attend. You never know when the opportunity will arise to attend a session with an old client or new prospect.
   
5. Dress accordingly. You are set for some long days ahead -- between breakout sessions, networking breaks walking the exhibit hall and everything else that goes into attending a conference. Make sure to wear the right shoes – taking care of your feet will keep you mobile and ready to network. Also, don’t forget to dress appropriately to accommodate for changes in room temperature.

In this Deltek Vision How-To Video, we will demonstrate how to add custom fields to Deltek iAccess and the Touch CRM application. With Deltek Vision’s open architecture, adding custom fields is easy. While you are on-the-go, you can also access any custom field. Let us show you how.

You asked and Deltek listened. There are a number of new and exciting updates and features in Vision Version 7.6. Let’s see how Deltek Vision just got better!

Employee Expense Approval

In addition to Purchase Requisitions, Request for Price Quotes, Purchase Orders, Inventory Item Requests, Absence Requests, AP Invoice Approvals and General Ledger Budgets, Employee Expense Reports are now included in Approval Work Flows. Approval workflows are user designed for specific applications in Vision. All lines of the expense report can be set up for approval and/or just specific line items in a given report can be set up for approval. The workflow defines the approval process, approvers, allowable actions and alerts for a record.

Purchasing

Vendor Response enhancements were made in purchasing. As a result, Vision can be configured with up to 10 user-defined labels. When you are in RFQ or Purchase Requisition by line item, you can select from one of the user-defined labels and apply a response to that label.

For RFQ’s and purchase requisitions, you have the option to Show Suggested Vendors and Show Vendor Responses. The new Bid Evaluation report gives you the selected vendors for comparison purposes.

Also new in purchasing is a new Comments tab in Purchases Orders. The comments are for internal use only. Comments can be added even after the PO has been finalized and printed. These notes can be included on the Purchase Order Detail Report.

A PO column has been added to Vendor Review. Once you select a voucher, you can see the PO Number column on the Voucher Line Items grid. You can drill down on the PO number to display the PO and add notes if you choose to.

Benefit Accrual

Deltek didn’t forget about Benefit Accruals enhancements. Sick and vacation time can now be calculated on hours worked. This enhancement is in response to states that require firms to earn 1 hour of sick time for each 30 hours worked.

Billing

Deltek added a Retainer Ledger Report. This new report displays complete details associated with retainers by either project and/or by client. General options for this report can be set to display retainer amounts for specific time frames, i.e. last year, first quarter.

Invoices and the invoice backup report can now display the Labor Category description, Title, Labor Code description and timesheet detail.

AR Statements just got a little more personal. Similar to invoice templates created in the Invoice Template Editor, you can now add your firm’s logo to AR Statements. Margins can be defined for information printed in the heading and the Project Long Name can now be used.

Deltek also streamlined the Invoice Approval process. In the past, invoices submitted for approval would have to be un-submitted one invoice at a time. In version 7.6, invoices can now be un-submitted in batch.

Billing Invoices and Backup Reports are more flexible. On the Invoice and billing backup reports, the employee name can now be replaced with the Labor Category Description, Labor Code Description or Title while displaying the date and comments. These selections have been added to the Labor tab and the Billing Backup tab in Billing Terms.

Also new in Billing is a feature that allows you to show Fee Total and Add-on on the Final and Draft Invoice Backup Report. This selection is also available on the Billing Backup tab in Billing Terms.

Another useful feature in billing is the ability to show expenses in the billing backup report on draft invoices. The selection for this option has been added to the Billing Backup tab in Billing Terms.

Breakdown compensation in User Defined Revenue Methods. Currently in Deltek Vision, Direct Labor, Direct Expenses, Direct Consultant, Reimbursable Expense and Reimbursable Consultant can break out by compensation. In version 7.6, there are now fields available for the compensation breakout to be used in the User Defined Revenue Methods.

Credit Cards

In Credit Card Review, you can now see the Expense Report, Voucher and Chart of Account Number in the Credit Card Transactions grid. You can also perform a search by Expense Report and/or Voucher.

The User Defined Fields that are created in credit card configuration can also can also be displayed on the Credit Card Review, Credit Card Transactions tab and the Credit Card Statement Reconciliation, and the Credit Card Charges tab.

In version 7.6, you can now add employee paid credit cards. Charges paid by the employee can be marked as “Add to Expense Report” so that the employee will be reimbursed. Charges can also be marked as personal. Personal charges will not be included on the expense report.

There is also a new credit card mapping available in credit card configuration that will map the description of the credit card statement to the employee’s expense report.

Info Center Attachments

The Info Centers have a new tab called “Attachments”. Instead of entering a link in the Info Centers referencing the path where documents are stored, you can now load an actual image of the document. Info Center Attachments use the same technology as the Transaction Document Management feature.

Once uploaded, documents can be viewed by simply clicking on the view button on the attachments tab of the info center record.

Are You Excited about Deltek Vision 7.6?

Deltek Vision continues to improve with every new version, and with these enhancements, lives are made easier and firms are able make smarter decisions. What enhancements can help you and your firm? Contact us and let us know!

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Premier Partner, announces that Tanya Drake has joined the firm as Technology Consultant and will manage vendor relationships for the newly formed Technology Solutions Division. In this capacity, Mrs. Drake will provide assistance to professional services firms to identify technology gaps and support IT needs. This strategic hire strengthens Full Sail Partners’ technology group to provide clients’ hardware, software and technical services to support their goals and needs outside of their Deltek Vision software.  

Throughout her career, Tanya has held several roles with various business-focused technology solution companies where she has worked with clients to identify areas of opportunity for process improvement. 

“My past experience working with vendors allows me to expand Full Sail Partners capabilities to be a one-stop shop for technology needs,” said Tanya. “Having worked with their staff in the past I knew they were the type of company that is truly in business for the right reasons. I am proud to work for a company that is passionate about helping their clients.”

Tanya has more than 15 years of collaborating with professional services firms providing them insight to navigate the decision making process from inception to implementation on technology solutions. Her vendor agnostic approach to identifying solutions for clients ensures that the best fit and most practical solutions are implemented.

“Tanya has a passion for solving problems. With her addition we are excited to offer both stand-alone technology solutions and integrated solutions to support our core services for the Deltek Vision product,” stated Wes Renfroe, Vice President of Technology Solutions Division at Full Sail Partners. “Her desire to help clients combined with her past experience working with A/E/C industry positions our firm to provide even greater flexibility and choices for our clients.”

For more information, please contact Full Sail Partners’ Marketing Communications Department. Interested in learning more about the Full Sail Partners' team? Check out our crew!

Recently, I was fortunate enough to participate in a lively discussion among up-and-coming marketers regarding the merits of running email marketing campaigns for professional services firms. Although opinions differed greatly on the types of campaigns firms should deploy, one thing we could all agree on:  Email marketing is widely effective. For example, Chief Marketer reports that email marketing shows an impressive ROI of 28.5%.

So, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite email marketing campaigns. These are the types of campaigns any firm can utilize. These campaigns are merely a starting point to get your email marketing creative juices flowing! Next time I check my inbox, I hope to see one of these campaigns coming from your firm.

The Right Email Marketing Campaigns for You

1. The Newsletter is alive! Believe it or not, the tried and true newsletter is alive and well. Transforming the newsletter from a print to digital format is a natural progression for most firms. In fact, the ability to customize and micro-target specific audiences allows marketers to ensure that they are focusing their messaging on their audience.
   
   When designing a newsletter, keep in mind:
   
   
   1. Subject lines are king. The battle for readership is won and lost in the inbox, don’t let a poorly thought out subject line land your newsletter in the trash.
   2. Create a central theme. Nothing increases your readership-bounce-rate like a disorganized, hard to follow, mailer. Create a central theme to your email blast and stick to it: Your click through rate will thank you!
   3. Make it clear on how to opt out. The number one sin when executing a digital newsletter campaign is trapping your audience in a slow painful death by email. Nothing deteriorates your brand faster than spamming disengaged customers. Give your readers a clear path to exit and your overall mailer will be better off. At the very worst you will know that your messaging needs refining based on an alarming rate of unsubscribes.
      
2. Spotlight your latest project. Have you recently completed an impressive project that your clients would like to hear about? Perhaps you can highlight your top projects to a target list of prospects that you would like to do business with in the future. Bolster your brand by taking pride in your projects and demonstrating your expertise to the world. Bonus: Your current clients get additional exposure for their project, a win-win for everyone!
   
   When spotlighting your next project, keep in mind:
   
   
   1. Give your images alt tags! Email clients can be a tricky beast, and you never know what settings your recipient has enabled. You are trying to spotlight a project, and surely you want to show off your beautiful project photography, right?! Giving an image an alt tag will allow alternative text to appear if the image doesn’t load.
   2. Tell your reader a story. It’s not enough that you recently completed a new state of the art project. In order for your message to be memorable you need to focus on engaging your reader. Make your email standout by crafting a relatable story.
   3. Reduce load time, not quality. Optimizing high-quality images for digital viewing is essential. Compressing your images allows you to maintain quality while reducing long email load times.
      
3. Planning to attend an event? Let ‘em know! Email is an excellent tool to inform prospects and clients that you will be attending an upcoming event. Invite your contacts to join you to ensure that you get the most out of the event. I always like to say that email blasts are a way for me to start networking at an event, before the event ever starts.
   
   Before promoting your next event, keep in mind:
   
   
   1. Why do they care? Do you really think that the fact that you are attending an event is really enough to entice a client to show? You need to let your audience members know why they can’t miss the event. Make it all about them and you just may be rubbing elbows with them sooner than later.
   2. Make your email actionable. It’s not enough that the client or prospect knows that you will be at the event, make sure to let them know how they can connect with you on-site.
   3. Responsive Design. Fast forward to the day of the event and there’s a good chance that your client will be using their smart phone to refer back to the email you sent them with meetup instructions. Make sure that your email is optimized for mobile viewing.

Getting Started is Easier than Ever

So you have decided that this email marketing thing is for you, but you don’t know how to kick off your first email campaign. No worries, we have you covered. Sign up for a 60-day free trial of Constant Contact and access dozens of free email templates to help you craft your message.

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Premier Partner, announces that Matt McCauley EA, MS has joined the firm as a Principal Consultant. Mr. McCauley’s hire expands the Full Sail Partners’ team to more than 30 professionals focused on technology solutions. His extensive knowledge of the Deltek product set and proven consulting expertise are an ideal match to help clients streamline business processes and achieve greater efficiency from their Deltek Vision ERP system.

With more than 20 years in the professional services industry, Matt has the insight that will allow him to identify the unique requirements of our clients. He specializes in Deltek Vision’s Core Applications, Resource Planning, VPM, and most recently, Fixed Assets.

“My prior experience as a CFO and a Deltek Vision client will help me bring a client-based end user approach to Vision consulting,” said Matt. “I’m excited to work closely with clients to implement Vision in a way that complements their business processes and to improve operational efficiencies.” 

Throughout his career, Matt has worked as both a client and a consultant, providing a unique perspective during client implementations. As a CFO and Deltek Vision user, Matt led the Vision conversion effort for his firm and managed Vision prior to becoming a consultant. Additionally, Matt has completed the PSMJ Project Manager and Financial Manager Boot Camps, and is an Internal Revenue Service Special Enrolled Agent, a Federally Licensed Tax Practitioner.

“We are excited to have Matt join the Full Sail Partners’ team,” said Scott Seal, Vice President of Consulting. “Matt’s background in Accounting and Project Management, both as a Deltek Vision Power User and Vision Consultant, provides more depth and expertise to our collaborative consulting team. Matt’s extensive 20+ years’ of experience in the professional services industry allows him to provide unique insight that will help our clients to better leverage their Deltek Vision systems.”

For more information, please contact Full Sail Partners’ Marketing Communications Department. Interested in learning more about the Full Sail Partners' team? Check out our crew!

Garbage in, garbage out! Believe it or not, this is a real term in the field of computer science and it has an acronym, GIGO. More importantly, this theory can be applied to the data integrity in a client relationship management (CRM) software. Marketing decisions are only as good as the data used to make them. If the data in a CRM are incomplete and erroneous, developing strategic decisions becomes nearly impossible. In other words, it’s like throwing ideas at a wall and waiting to see what sticks. According to data experts, many businesses are struggling to maintain a CRM database with consistent and usable information about their clients. Look below to see what these experts have to say about client data integrity.