Okay, here goes…I actually love doing my timesheet on a daily basis.  There, I said it and I feel so much better. But hold on, let me back up a little.  Maybe “love” is too strong.  Let’s go with “like”.  I actually like doing my timesheet on a daily basis.

However this was not always the case.  Like most of you, the idea of filling out a timesheet was akin to having a root canal, but only worse.  In our firm, timesheets are due on a semi-monthly basis, but we have a policy that timesheets must to be completed daily.  I know, right?

This policy was easy to ignore until one day, much to my surprise, I received an e-mail alert that my timesheet had not been completed the day before.  AN ALERT!  It turns out that not only did I receive an alert, but a notation was made in my Employee Info Center record of my violation.  The powers that be had sunk to a new low and now I’m faced with two options; continue ignoring the policy and get an annoying alert on a daily basis, or start doing my timesheet every day.

Being the flexible guy that I am (this is sarcasm for those of you who don’t know me), I started doing my timesheet after each completed task.  And much to my chagrin (read surprise), it wasn’t that bad!  First of all my utilization went up.  Some of those short, billable items that fell through the cracks when I was doing my timesheet at the last minute were now being captured. 

Another plus to filling out my timesheet daily is that my comments are more descriptive.  No longer am I putting “call with so-and-so” in the comments field.  I am actually able to put what was discussed in the comment.  This has made reviewing my draft invoices so much easier because I am no longer second guessing the hours I billed to my projects or having to go back to e-mails hoping I find some clue about what was discussed. 

Also, my projects are easier to manage.  I know at any given time how many hours have been charged to my projects so there are no surprises when it comes time to review my draft invoices.

I am also amazed at how little time it takes.  What seemed like hours before, my timesheet now just takes a few minutes each day to complete.

And as if it couldn’t get any better, there is now a timesheet app for iPhone, iPad, Android and other smart devices.  Now I can do my timesheet on the go.  This has come in handy on many occasions when I’m out of the office but still conducting business.

I think the key here is that my timesheet is always up on my desktop.  Even if I open it up in another window, I always have access to it so that I can record my time as soon as I complete a task.

I challenge anyone to give this a shot!  You’ll save time and alerts popping up on your dashboard or in your e-mail box will become a thing of the past.

Interested in learning more about how firms are getting their employees to submit timesheets daily? Click here.

Are you a Deltek Vision user? Check out the newest custom solution from Full Sail Partners and start getting your staff to complete timesheets daily:

For many of us, the mere mention of cash basis is not unlike the old “fingernails on a chalkboard” – not something we want to hear.  However, cash basis accounting need not be something that is left only to your CPA.  Your Deltek Vision system can be set to easily track your transactions and financials on both an accrual basis and on a cash basis with minimal effort. 

What is Cash Basis Accounting?

Cash basis accounting is the process of recognizing revenue and expense at the time that you actually receive and disburse cash in your accounting system.  Accrual basis accounting, on the other hand, recognizes revenue when you produce invoices (creating accounts receivable) and recognizes expense when you enter vendor invoices (creating accounts payable).  For firms utilizing Vision’s Revenue Generation feature, revenue can be generated when time and expense is posted to the system – prior to invoicing the client.  Most firms that we consult for maintain their day-to-day books on an accrual basis and leave cash basis for their CPA to calculate at year-end for filing of tax returns. 

How and when should I get started with cash basis accounting?

To start using cash basis accounting in Vision, you will need to get with your CPA and make a plan.  It is generally best to enable cash basis at the beginning of your fiscal year, however, it can be enabled at any time.   You will also need to get copies of your year-end accrual and cash-basis financials from your CPA to ensure that your beginning balances for both methods are correct in Vision.  Most firms get accrual based closing entries from their CPA, but may not be getting cash-based closing entries.  Talk with your CPA and setup a time to bring your Vision accounting system up to date as of your most recent fiscal year end. 

The next thing you will need to do is to map your Accounts Receivable account(s) to the proper Revenue account(s) in the Chart of Accounts Info Center.  This setting lets Vision know which Revenue account(s) to credit when you record a Cash Receipt transaction in the transaction center.  The following illustration shows the process of recognizing both accrual and cash basis revenue in Vision:

Taking Cash Basis accounting to the next level:

• You and your CPA may want to recognize cash basis revenue using multiple revenue accounts.  This can easily be accomplished by creating multiple AR accounts – one for each type of revenue.  Your AR reporting does not need to change and you and your CPA will have better detail
• Many options are available for cash-basis reporting regarding timesheet postings and payroll.  Ask your Full Sail Partners Consultant when you are ready to explore these options, including the use of a Payroll Payable liability account as opposed to your Job Cost Variance expense account.

Has your firm implemented cash-basis accounting? Leave a comment and let us know your experience.

Be sure to check out other articles written by Rick Childs. 

So, you are in the Cloud!  Your company has purchased Deltek Vision Essentials ERP software and you have been assigned as the SaaS Administrator.  You may find yourself wondering, “What does this mean for me?  What do I need to do first? Where do I start?”  At first the task may seem overwhelming as you receive letters, guides and instructions on “How to get started.”  We at Full Sail Partners want you to know that you are not alone, and that we have put together answers to some of the questions asked most often when a client purchases their new Cloud solution.

What do I need to do first? 

As the assigned SaaS Administrator, you will receive a welcome letter.  The most important task to perform at this time is to print out and read the SaaS Administrator Guide.  It will be a valuable resource for you during the initial set up.

What is the next step after I read the guide?

The second most important task as the SaaS Administrator is to set up your Deltek Customer Care Account.  This account will be where most communication takes place between you and Deltek.  If you are not a new client and will be migrating data from an existing Vision database or a prior Deltek product, this portal will be the first stop to transfer your files. 

Can’t I just have Full Sail Partners set up my account?

Because of the importance placed on security, only the Saas Administrator may submit service requests on behalf of their firm.  These requests are submitted solely through your account access on the Deltek Customer Care portal.  The SaaS administrator will work closely with Full Sail Partners on the implementation process.  However, only the SaaS Administrator can request things like data uploads, receive system maintenance communications, request backup restores, submit invoice graphics or request a sandbox.  

How do I keep up with announcements regarding scheduled maintenance or issues with my service? 

The SaaS Administrator must also subscribe to the Deltek Vision knowledge based article 67385.  The article can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/143PgnX.  This page is used by Deltek specifically for Vision Essentials related communications—including announcements regarding planned and unplanned maintenance.   In order to stay abreast of the most recent announcements, it is important the SaaS Administrator signs up for notification alerts from this article.  You may do so by choosing the “notify me” selection at the bottom of the screen on the Deltek Vision knowledge based article page.

A dialogue box will then appear stating your request has been successfully submitted. Click OK. You are now set up to receive any notifications about maintenance or access issues with your Vision Essentials software.   

As the primary person responsible, what if I am not available? Can a second Administrator be added?

Absolutely! Deltek encourages all clients in the Cloud to have a second administrator assigned to their account.  You, as the SaaS administrator, may request a second administrator be named through the Deltek Customer Care Portal.  The request should include the full name and email address of the administrator that is being added or changed. You may even assign Full Sail Partners as your second Administrator.  This will give us the ability to upload databases and custom files directly for you.  Your account manager with Full Sail Partners can provide you with the appropriate name and e-mail information if you decide to assign our firm as your second SaaS administrator.

How do I add graphics to my firms invoices?

My firm has experienced a serious event that has created the need for a backup and restore of our data.  May I request the data from a specific point in time?

Yes.  Deltek back-ups client data no less than once every 24 hours.  There is also a backup performed once every 7 days.  The daily backups are kept for 1 week and the weekly backups are kept for 4 weeks.  If you require a restore from a specific point in time, you may send the request through Deltek Customer Care indicating the past time frame you need for the restore.  You must also include the time that you would like for the restore to take place as your system will be unavailable while the restore is performed.   Vision Essentials clients are allowed 4 Backup and restores per year.

Is there other information I should review?

Being the SaaS Administrator is a very important assignment.  Keep in mind, you are the keystone for communication between your firm and Deltek.  Being informed by familiarizing yourself with the SaaS Administrator Guide and subscribing to the Deltek Knowledge Based Article 67385 which will notify you of the availability and functionality of your Vision system is essential to your success as the SaaS Administrator for your firm.

Ready to take the next step?  Empower your employees through training!
According to a study by the American Society for Training and Development, companies that invested the most in training had a shareholder return that was 46% percent higher than the market average.

When evaluating your professional services firm, understanding your past trends can provide valuable insight into the future.

In a recent, SMPS Technology Committee survey, only 56% of firms stated they tracked this information, which is surprising. This type of report allows you to evaluate the overall hit rate by the firm, a division, the pursuit lead, or other criteria.  You can also evaluate it by percentage or by revenue.  Knowing both provides you a different story.

Take William Apple, who has a 50% hit rate for the number of projects he has pursued.  He pursued 10 and won 5.  Ann Johnson on the other hand only has a 33% hit rate. She pursued 3 and won 1.  Seems like William is doing better, right?  However, if you evaluate them on revenue, William only has a 24% while Ann has a 73% hit rate.  Why the difference? 

Well, the one project Ann won, was a large project worth millions of dollars.  William however, won a lot of smaller projects and lost out on the bigger project. Both are important to the business.  However, if you start to see that William is constantly losing out on the large projects or maybe particular project types, this type of analysis would be valuable information that could be acted upon.

Key metrics like the Win to Loss Ratio allow a quick snap shot to determine if you need to dig deeper.  The historical progress of an opportunity sometimes provides further clues. 

• Were you realistic with your expectations?

• What stage did you lose the opportunity?

• Did you have an established relationship and effective pursuit strategy?

Is your firm able to answer these questions or are you repeating the same mistakes? Let us know how your firm learns from your success and failures and how your firm is improving your hit rate by leaving a comment. Interested in more historical trends information?

Many of us in Accounting have to wear a dual hat of the HR manager.  Somehow it is assumed that accounting experience qualifies you to manage the HR process.  Why?  Perhaps it is due to the portion of HR that involves risk (employment laws are everywhere) or perhaps it is the crossover between HR and payroll. 

Outside of payroll, there isn’t much crossover between the two jobs. Further blurring the issue, an increasing amount of firms are utilizing third party payroll services.

For the true HR part of the job, we create spreadsheets to track and review timelines and employment metrics.  We struggle to keep track of employee initiatives and job metrics.  Most employee reviews are a reflection of their performance over the last couple months at best as managers often forget successes or failures earlier in the year.  Job descriptions are vague and associated with metrics that are difficult, if not impossible, to measure objectively. Employees are often dissatisfied if they receive a positive or neutral review without an increase in compensation. 

So what is the answer?  We can use our Deltek Vision System to assist us.  

Some items are relatively simple.  Utilize user defined fields to track the next review date and have a scheduled workflow send a reminder to the manager and yourself.  You can set up a user defined grid to allow tracking of an employee’s pay/position history so that it is easy to track the changes through the years.  All of this is helpful, but it really doesn’t solve the full problem.

With the advent of Vision 7.0 and User Defined Info Centers, you can go many steps further.   Utilize a combination of User Defined Info Centers, User Defined fields, standard workflows and scheduled workflows, to set up HR, and review tracking system managed from within your existing Vision system. 

How would something like this work?

You can create a user defined info center to house your employee job descriptions.  These job descriptions can contain the measurable metrics for the job along with overall core competencies.

You then create a “review form” using user defined fields in the employee info center.   A stored procedure will allow you to pull the employee metrics and competencies into the employee review tab.

After the review is complete, results can be stored in Vision and reviewed later. 

Stored procedures can update a tracking grid for the employee so that historical review scores can be seen at a glance.  You can also use grids to provide places for managers to track employee’s progress throughout the year.

User defined fields, grids, workflows & stored procedures - Is all that really necessary?  Not really.  All this can continue to be managed in various worksheets, word documents and calendars. 

The system above simply allows all of the disparate parts of an employee review/compensation/current and long term history to be maintained in one place.  Also, the beauty of using Vision and User Defined elements is the ability to customize your HR procedures to your company needs.  I mean it IS by definition “User Defined”.

So what are some tips for an effective HR process?

Whether you decide to automate your HR, or keep up the use of spreadsheets,  there are some things you can do to make your HR processes more effective:

• Create well defined job descriptions and make them available to employees.
• Within the job descriptions, define the metrics by which employees will be measured.  Ensure the metrics are specific. For example, the Project Managers will ensure work authorizations for every additional service provided to clients.
• Have a well-defined review policy.
• Separate the review schedule from the schedule for raises.  Raises are given, not only on performance, but on budgetary restrictions.  This removes one level of angst from the reviews.
• Provide managers a place to keep track of employee successes and failures.  Allow employees to update their successes and failures also.  This allows the employees to be more active participants in the process.

Has your firm utilized the Custom Info Center? If so, in what ways? Leave us a comment.  Not on Deltek Vision 7.0 yet? See how our firm can help you transition to 7.0.

Many firms are not familiar with what the multi-company feature in Vision does or that it even exists.  Therefore they are not certain if multi-company needs to be enabled in their database. As a consultant that specializes in multi-company implementations for more than four years, I wanted to pass on some tips for firms considering this feature.    

What is multi-company?
Multi-company is part of the Vision Core Financial Application.  Vision multi-company allows a firm to manage more than one company in a single database and streamlines the process of managing accounting functions between companies when resources are shared.  There is no limit to the number of companies that can be maintained in Vision.  By utilizing multi-company, each company operates as a separate entity but data sources such as clients and contacts can be shared across the enterprise.   However, other data sources such as employees are company specific.  Projects can be set up so that phases are owned by certain companies.  Multi-company also makes it easier to switch from one company to another without having to log in and out of the Vision database. 

Should my company enable multi-company?
There are several factors to consider before enabling the multi-company feature.  One primary factor to consider is how will your companies interact with one another?  When resources are shared, how will the company loaning their staff or paying expense on other company’s behalf be compensated?  There are several approaches to intercompany billing and should be part of the planning discussion during the implementation process.  Do any of these companies conduct business in a currency other than US dollars?  These and other questions should be addressed during the planning process and will help you determine if multi-company is a good fit your firm. 

This topic is discussed during the initial planning meeting. Some firms determine that multi-company is not an option and instead opt to explore alternatives.  Organization reporting within Vision is a great alternative.  In Organization reporting, the companies would be included in the organization structure.   The “maintain separate balance sheets” feature in Vision would also be used as well as the labor cross charge feature to move revenue, labor and cost between companies. 

What are the implications of turning on multi-company?
Once you turn on multi-company, it cannot be turned off. So before enabling multi-company, a well thought out, carefully planned implementation of this feature should be discussed. Additionally, the creation of a test multi-company environment will go a long way in preparing your finance staff and all of your employees for all of the new features a multi-company database has to offer. Even if companies don’t interact with each other, the database still has to be configured as if they do. 

What new multi-company features are available in Vision 7.0?
In earlier versions of Vision, there were two rate methods to choose from in intercompany billing, cost plus a multiplier or the billing rate established in the project’s billing terms.  A new feature in version 7, allows you to establish rate tables between companies.  This new feature gives you more flexibility when charging the other companies in your enterprise for borrowing resources. 

Has your firm implemented multi-company? Leave a comment and let us know your experience and be sure to check out our other "Tips & Tricks" articles.

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Premier Partner, has been selected as a recipient of the 2013 Deltek Marketing Excellence Award, part of Deltek’s annual Premier Partner Awards program.  The ninth annual Awards program recognizes Deltek’s top channel partners who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in marketing, selling, implementing, and supporting Deltek products in 2012.  Full Sail Partners offers business consulting, technology solutions, and application hosting for Deltek Vision, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for professional service firms. 

Deltek Vision is a leading enterprise software solution designed for project-based professional services firms to improve business performance, streamline operations, and win new business. Deltek Vision uniquely integrates end-to-end business processes by automating the marketing, financial management, planning, tracking and administration of resources and projects.

“We are humbled to receive this recognition from Deltek,” said Sarah Gonnella, VP of Marketing and Business Development from Full Sail Partners. “We are proud to be selected as a 2013 Deltek Premier Partner and truly honored to also receive the 2013 Marketing Excellence Award.  This award is a reflection of our dedicate team. We strive to provide valuable and relevant content to engage not only new ERP clients, but our existing clients so they can take Deltek Vision to the next level.”

In 2013, Full Sail Partners will continue leveraging traditional media, social media, and other new technologies to provide the most up-to-date information regarding Deltek Vision.
 
“Full Sail Partners has demonstrated an innovative marketing strategy that has helped expand the presence of Deltek in the market place,” said Ray Lazarine, Deltek’s Director of Partner Programs.  “These efforts have also taken into consideration the challenges of today’s business climate, and helped identify changing customer needs that were crucial to successfully marketing Deltek in 2012.”

About Full Sail Partners
Full Sail Partners specializes in client-focused technology solutions for architects and engineers, energy and environmental consultants, and professional service firms across the country. Full Sail Partners offers business consulting, technology solutions, and application hosting for Deltek Vision. Partnering with more than 1000 clients nationwide, Full Sail Partners builds long-term relationships and seeks to identify the critical resources to create a faster, more efficient, and cohesive business infrastructure. Full Sail Partners – Keep Your Business on Course. | For more on Full Sail Partners profile and background on the Full Sail Partners crew, visit us at http://www.fullsailpartners.com

About Deltek
Deltek is the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for professional services firms and government contractors. For decades, we have delivered actionable insight that empowers our customers to unlock their business potential. 16,000 organizations and 2 million users in over 80 countries around the world rely on Deltek to research and identify opportunities, win new business, optimize resources, streamline operations, and deliver more profitable projects. Deltek – Know more. Do more.®
http://www.deltek.com

Interested in learning more about what is going on with Full Sail Partners? Check out our other press releases.

Welcome to the second installment of our Deltek Vision How-To Video Series. Today we will review how to increase efficiency when adding companies/contacts across Info Centers. This video will help save time and increase productivity.

Check out additional how-to videos by clicking here.

Welcome to our first Deltek Vision How-To Video Series. Today we will learn about Deltek’s Vision Info Center Help section. This video will answer some common questions asked by clients are:

1. Do you have a complete list of the fields in Vision?
2. Do you have a help guide so I can learn about the fields available?

Check out additional how-to videos by clicking here.