Accounting technology conferences and expo

There are many benefits of attending an accounting technology event - especially if you’re considering replacing your accounting software. These include:

•     improving your knowledge of the accounting software market, the latest trends and what’s available
•     checking out a software vendor’s latest offerings- in a low-key, informal way
•     comparing multiple vendors quickly and efficiently, in just one day

And it would be even more beneficial if you had details of what you need from your new accounting system. Gathering requirements and preparing a spec doesn’t have to be hard - the Accounting Software RFI/RFP Template can help you quickly and easily gather your requirements and prepare a requirements specification (and also a RFI and RFP).

Clicking a link below, will take you to the event website, where you can obtain more details such as the expo or conference contents, who’s exhibiting, locations and whether it’s chargeable or free to attend.

Although every attempt has been made to make the above calendar as accurate as possible, this cannot be guaranteed. For more details, contact the promoters directly.

Add a conference / expo - If you know of an Accounting Technology conference or expo which would be a useful to link to, please email brief details to info@axia-consulting.co.uk

Project initiation checklist

You’ve finally got board approval to select a new software system - then what? You’ve actually got to do it! So, here is a quick ‘project initiation checklist’ of 30 things to consider at this stage. If you can tick everything ‘yes’ - you’re ready to start!

Ref Project Initiation Checklist
 
What is the software / system selection project?
 
1 Has the project proposal been approved by the board without any changes to the proposal? Or if the board has made changes, can you manage these?
2 Has sufficient funding been approved for the software selection phase?
3 Are the project objectives still the same as within the proposal?
4 Is the project scope (inclusions and exclusions), still the same as within the proposal?
5 Are the project deliverables still the same as within the proposal?
6 Have deliverables been defined for each stage within the software selection?
7 Have acceptance criteria been defined for each deliverable?
  When will the project be undertaken?
8 Have the start and completion dates been defined and agreed?
9 Have dates for the key deliverables within the project been defined and agreed?
  Who is involved with the project?
10 Provide names for:
  - project sponsor:
  - project manager:
  - project team:
  - key users:
  - user management (who are responsible for signing off the requirements and accepting the system selection deliverables):
11 Have all the roles and responsibilities been defined?
12 Have all the roles and responsibilities been communicated?
13 Do all resources (involved) have sufficient time available for the project?
14 Is project resourcing sufficient?
15 Do all resources have sufficient knowledge / skills to undertake their part in the project?
16 Have you prepared and issued a project organisational chart?
17 Does everyone understand their role within the project?

  How will the project be carried out?
 
18 Have you determined your project management / system selection methodology?
19 Have you prepared a revised (or final) project plan / gantt chart?
20 Are the responsibilities, milestones and deliverables clear?
21 Has this been issued and discussed with all involved?
22 Does everyone understand it?
23 Have you purchased tools to help you document your business requirements / select your new system? eg Axia’s System Requirements & RFI/RFP Templates
24 Have you set up project communications? eg planned regular (weekly) project meetings, defined an email list of other people to be kept informed?
25 Have you set up an issues escalation process?
26 Have you set up project monitoring? eg using a project management tool
27 Have you defined quality standards and specified how these will be maintained?
28 Have you reviewed your risk analysis and mitigation strategies?
29 Have you reviewed your project constraints / assumptions and checked that they are still valid?30 Have you created project contingencies? eg additional time, funding or resources which can be called upon if required

Consulting Profile

With skill backgrounds in Accounting, Payroll, HR, processes, project management and IT, we can rapidly contribute to time-critical projects by providing the expertise, focus and drive needed to meet key deadlines.

Axia Philosophy

Our philosophy is to involve client’s staff as much as possible, whilst providing the in-depth expertise. So client’s costs are minimised and all concerned obtain a complete understanding of the solution.

We believe in providing outstanding quality and excellent value for money.

We continuously aim to be responsive, flexible and provide personal attention to our client’s needs.

For more information about Axia’s services visit: consulting services / system selection and shortlisting service / client case outlines / commendations

Hidden costs of acquiring new software

It starts with the software vendor’s additional costs (after all they are in business to make money) and carries on throughout the implementation.

One solution is to identify the total cost of ownership, not just the software, as clearly as you can prior to acquisition. If you establish and compare the total costs associated with each software package for 1 year and 5 years from the date of acquisition, you will have a much better idea of what to expect. Fairly obviously, a low cost for software does not necessarily mean that it is the best overall value.

Another solution is to look out for potential hidden costs and either include them or a contingency, and then manage them as best as possible at the time they occur. To help, here is a (not exhaustive) list of such potential hidden costs:

The software application licence - the modules you really need, rather than what you would like to have (or be talked into), what the prices are based on - number of concurrent system users, number of employees or records (eg for Human Resources Software), number of transactions or a mix of these? What are the different price bands? How it will work out for your organisation?

Training costs – number of days and day rate. What is the typical amount of training required for the average customer and specifically, what would be required for your organisation? What is the cost of setting up a training facility on your site? Or to use the vendor’s facilities?

IT Project Proposal

The 2 main types of internal IT project proposal for replacing business systems, such as a CRM system are:

•    outline proposal for system selection and system replacement in principle – to obtain approval for limited funds to undertake the system selection process
•    detailed proposal to implement a replacement system – carried out at the end of the system selection process – to obtain approval for much larger funds to purchase software, hardware, consultancy, training and implement the chosen system

If your organisation has a defined internal project approval process or framework, you will have to closely follow it if you wish to obtain project approval. If there is no defined process, you will have greater choice as to what and how to include in a proposal. But this probably makes it harder, so consider the following points when preparing your IT project proposal:

Ensure you fully understand the business and end user needs for the project. If you have yet to prepare more than a ‘back of the envelope’ spec of requirements, these RFI/RFP Templates can help you to quickly and easily prepare your requirements specification, RFI and RFP. Make sure the business and user needs (requirements) are crystal-clear in the proposal.

Understand what the other key project drivers are eg cost containment, time scale, project quality. Once known, make sure you give this adequate emphasis within the proposal.

Next, consider the proposal recipients ie the executive management / board, what they are looking for, the information they require and what is important to them and the organisation. Then provide the information they require eg if they want details give them, if not don’t. If you are unsure what they want – find out, before preparing the proposal. Picture them going through your proposal with a checklist – does your proposal tick all the boxes?

RFI RFP Accounting Software

The Accounting RFI/RFP Template will:

Save you time identifying and gathering your new software / system requirements because thousands of carefully researched criteria are listed. Simply choose those you need and set priorities for each criteria. Then quickly prepare your RFI and RFP by just filling in the blanks. And as the templates are available in MS Excel / Word, you can quickly and easily amend to your precise needs.

Save you effort as you don’t have to start from scratch. The templates reduce the effort involved with specifying requirements and preparing RFI’s / RFP’s.

The standardised format also helps software vendors to more clearly understand your requirements and more easily respond to each requirement, using the space available within the template. So you will receive clearer and improved responses. And consequently, spend less time and effort evaluating and comparing vendor responses.

Save you money as you can use the template yourself. There’s no need for extra staff or resources to help you specify your requirements or prepare your RFI and RFP.

Reduce the risk of selecting the wrong Accounting System by providing clarity and transparency. You can see your requirements, easily evaluate and compare vendor responses and so identify the best solution(s) for your organisation.