In a recent webinar, Acumatica spoke with a panel of experts on navigating COVID-19 challenges. They offer some sage advice for construction professionals, including the wisdom of implementing cloud-based construction and accounting software. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, including pivoting to a remote working model, are being felt by businesses in every industry. Construction firms are particularly challenged with a workforce split between the office and project sites. A panel of experts suggest that embracing the new state of work and implementing cloud-based construction and accounting software, such as Acumatica Construction Edition, can help make the shift to a remote-based business virtually seamless. Navigating COVID-19 challenges In a recent webinar, Ajoy Krishnamoorthy, VP Construction, Acumatica moderated a panel of industry professionals about the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel included Dawne Meijer, Controller, Pin Oak Corpus Christi; Stuart Binstock, President and CEO, Construction Management Financial Association (CMFA); Mike Griffith, Managing Partner, Alliance Solutions Group; and Warren Hennagin, Partner, Marcum LLP. Like all of us, they’ve had to adjust their business processes to overcome the COVID-19 challenges. They took time out of their busy schedules to share what has been working and to offer advice for those in the same situation. Dawne, the Controller for Pin Oak Corpus Christi, a storage and logistics company that serves North America’s crude, refined product, and chemical industries, says for them, Acumatica’s construction and accounting solution has ensured business continuity during the crisis. Pin Oak has smoothly transitioned its employees from working in the office to working at home because of that decision. In fact, this transition was already in the works before the pandemic hit. “We were going to do it around March 13th. We checked out monitors to people, sent laptops home, and then we never came back into the office,” Dawne says. “It’s been a challenge, but our organization has rallied.” Having their construction and accounting software in the cloud has been a tremendous help. “We don’t have to worry about the server back in the office we have to VPN into. The transition for accounting, projects, and purchasing was pretty seamless. We could pick up and go.” Pin Oak is an Alliance Solutions Group client. Dawne says they participate in Alliance Solutions Group’s “Customer for Life” program, which provides online training, support, and conferencing. “In the last month, we’ve been using a lot of the resources to even further automate and streamline our processes.” Mike, a managing partner at Alliance Solutions Group, considers Dawne’s company ahead of the curve. Many of his other clients, including construction contractors, are running on legacy systems. They are uncovering insufficiencies and areas of improvement since their employees have been working remotely and are just now requesting information on cloud-based solutions that highlight productivity. While there are many cloud-based applications available, such as Procore, that can help them do their jobs, Mike says having only part of their operation in the cloud isn’t going to cut it. They need a flexible, comprehensive ERP system for construction companies, such as Acumatica Construction Edition, that lets them work from home and/or on the project site, and the system needs to be able to handle all—not some—of their processes. Acumatica Construction Edition gives general contractors, home builders, land developers and subcontractors access to real-time data in the cloud, including project reports, contracts, budgets, plans, purchase orders, change orders, and more from a central system. Additionally, accessing their data and communicating with their teams is possible from any internet-enabled device whenever they need, from wherever they are. Helping others during the crisis The Navigating COVID-19 Construction Challenges webinar also touched on how organizations, like the Construction Financial Management Association (CMFA) and Marcum LLP, are providing businesses with tools and resources that can help them continue operating in today’s altered reality. For example, Marcum LLP, the 14th largest CPA firm in the United States, is helping their construction clients with understanding how the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans work. Warren, a partner at Marcum, advises businesses to be diligent in utilizing the money as soon as they receive it. “The day it gets funded, the clock starts. You need to start accounting for it from day one.” He says that businesses have eight weeks to spend the money, 75% of which must be used for payroll and payroll costs with the other 25% going towards rent and utilities. If a business follows that criteria, the loan is forgiven. A recent Forbes article lays out the details even further. CMFA has also been helping businesses with many resources, including webinars and the COVID-19 Resource Center. The online resource is organized by topic with job site, finance, industry, and risk updates as well as industry news and other websites to refer to. It is accessible and free of charge for members and non-members. Another online resource by CMFA is the Connection Café, a forum for the organization’s 9,000 U.S. and Canadian members where they can post questions for other members to answer. Stuart, President and CEO of CMFA, says the outpouring of advice and help during the last two months has been “heartwarming” as “everyone is chipping in.” Stuart also says that CMFA’s annual conference, which was scheduled for this month, is now a virtual conference starting June 22, 2020 through June 26, 2020. CMFA is offering 26.5 CPE credits, and attendees are allowed to watch the trainings live or on demand up until September 30, 2020 to earn them. “This flexibility was key for us moving forward,” he says. “It’s a win-win for our members.” Closing words of advice for navigating the COVID-19 crisis The panelists offered some closing words of advice for those in the construction industry: Monitor your backlog. There may be work now, but are you out there bidding for future projects? You should also be monitoring your cash flow (especially if people begin to hoard as we have seen with other products) and monitoring your supplies. Currently, domestic supplies seem to be available but imported supplies are delayed; your supplies are your lifeline, so stay on top of what you need. Continue to social distance, wash hands, wear masks, and
With the increasing demand for enterprise management solutions, it seems quite logical that you would own your ERP data. However, some companies are inclined towards cloud ERP vendors and in most cases, vendors own the data rather than you and your company. Isn’t it unfair? It is surprising to come across that your vendors’ SaaS End-User License Agreement (EULA) that provides you with the right to access their software doesn’t certainly give you ownership of your ERP data. Well, this is never a matter of concern with Acumatica ERP system. Users can simply take a data snapshot and save it in an imported database format, after all, it is their data. In this guide, we will discuss consequences that may fall if you don’t own your data and how Acumatica ERP ensures your complete data ownership from start to finish. Without further ado, let’s get started! What happens if You’re Lacking Data Ownership? Lack of PrivacyAs the data you store into your ERP system is obviously yours, it is easy to assume that you have ownership as well. But this is where you should carefully read the fine print because this isn’t the scenario, more often. A vendors’ End-User License Agreement (EULA) only gives the right to use their system but usually doesn’t offer data ownership. In fact, the case is just the opposite. Since the software vendor owns the data, they also have access to your data which they can use, read, and even harm the confidentiality of your private data. Difficult to Access Your DataFor instance, if you don’t own your data, it could become even more complicated to access it. This can adversely affect your company’s formation and decision-making process. A bigger challenge can occur if you decide to change vendors as they won’t let you go that easily. They can convince you to return your data even when it is an unusable format, inaccurate, temporarily ‘losing’ data, or hacked. How Acumatica ERP Gives Complete Data Ownership to Customers?Things in the case of data ownership work quite differently with Acumatica ERP. The company believes you should own what’s ethically yours. Using this system never means they have ownership of your data. Your data is owned by you and your company right from the beginning, written in Acumatica’s Bill of Rights. As we have discussed above, Acumatica ERP users can take a data snapshot and save it locally in an imported database format. This means you can have easy and quick access to your data and you don’t need to depend on vendors or someone else to attain access to the information you need. Another issue that needs to be addressed is your customers’ data. For instance, in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), do you know who owns the right to your customers’ data? Well, some vendors might be gathering and using your combined data without your permission or knowledge for their own benefit. But again, it has never been a concern for Acumatica ERP users. Acumatica Cloud ERP System – Own Your Data, Access it Anywhere at AnytimeEvery organisation wants an easily customised and seamless solution that can be integrated with third-party applications and has data-analysis capabilities for the faster decision-making process. At Netsense, we offer the Acumatica ERP system that allows you to own and access your data anytime. You will be given complete ownership and power over your data right from the start. We understand that quick access to the company’s information is essential to make better-informed decisions and create a well-connected business. Feel free to reach out to us today to know more about the data ownership rights of Acumatica ERP customers and to schedule a free demonstration with our experts to see its superior usability and best-in-class functionality in action. We’d love to give you valuable assistance and support.
The current COVID-19 crisis has led to economic impacts, health risks, and social implications. While larger organisations have laid the operations to a remote workforce and moved to a cloud-based ERP system to expand wisely, this isn’t always the scenario for small businesses. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are still perplexed about how to get their workforce back to work with the stable operating model to thrive. Recently, Acumatica announced an opportunity to gain a competitive edge with a new FastTrack Deployment solution that can Go Live in 90 days or less. By rapid ERP deployment timeline, you can experience productivity, high customer satisfaction, and lower cost of entry in minimum time. You might be asking yourself, ‘why would you speed up an ERP deployment?’ Or ‘wouldn’t this make the implementation more expensive and risky?’ To get started, we first want to clear your doubts to help you make a better-informed decision. How does FastTrack Deployment Work in Acumatica ERP?Traditional cloud ERP implementations start with the Discovery phase, which basically involves business needs, vision, and scope of the project. The next steps are Analyse, Build, Stabilise, with consistent Planning & Monitor. Every stage demands time and effort which varies depending on the difficulty of business’ needs, workflows, and processes. This isn’t rare or could be a problem for several organisations, thereby, FastTrack deployment is considered a viable choice. The Acumatica’s FastTrack Deployment follows an in-the-box (ITB) approach with the best practices-based templates and configuration checklists. It also utilises data migration tools to simplify data transmission. The framework is comprised of Initiation (Discovery and SOW), Adapt (Analyse, Design, Build, and Stabilise), and Deploy (Go Live and Post Go-Live). The final stage is Sustain, which consists of consistent improvement and receiving customers’ feedback. The pre-defined, core business deployment is available for General Business, Distribution, and Construction Editions at the present, which gets you into the Acumatica cloud ERP system within 90 days or less. It allows you to work within a structured timeline until you went live and accomplished what you’ve set yourself for throughout the implementation process. How Beneficial is Acumatica FastTrack Deployment for Your Organisation? Rapidly Achieve ProductivityIn-the-box (ITB) approach is a unique aspect about this solution as it enables us to roll out critical capabilities in incremental stages based on precise business needs. Since rollout is accomplished faster and directly connects to pressing needs, user adoption is swift and minimise the learning curve. Declined Cost to EntrySince FastTrack Deployment uses pre-configured content and a repetitive framework for faster achievements, you can get rid of the long traditional cloud ERP implementation process. Industry-Specific SolutionsThe best part about the FastTrack deployment solution is Vertical Editions, which are expanding to accommodate more industries very soon. The potential to harness that vast knowledge base provides this all-inclusive solution a more powerful punch. Increased Return on InvestmentWith pre-configured content and the option to begin with what you actually need while you scale and grow, businesses can take complete advantage of best-in-class features. The workforce will gain access to information and dashboard, from anywhere at any time which means spending less time in creating reports and spreadsheets and drive better ROI. How Netsense can Help You with Acumatica FastTrack Deployment?Go-Live in 90 days or less by leveraging methodologies and tools can keep you up and run smoothly and efficiently at low risk and cost. FastTrack involves pre-configured content that simplifies deployment while accelerating user adoption. Now you shouldn’t be concerned about stressful, time-consuming, and expensive ERP deployment. With Acumatica FastTrack Deployment, you can get started in the easiest way and save a lot of time and money. We offer an all-in-one Acumatica ERP solution which allows you to rapidly pivot your business and prosper. At Netsense, we can help you to accelerate your business with the automated process, timely data collection, financial analyses, and forecasting for insightful decision making. If you’re interested in discussing further how it can grow your business and would like to see a demonstration of Acumatica ERP, contact us today.