I’m seeing a trend of increased interest in leveraging additional business systems functionality in order to increase efficiencies, profits and customer service levels, and since I just completed an Accounting system upgrade, this topic is on my mind.
- It’s all about the people – even though upgrading a system seems like a technical topic, the 80/20 of success goes back to people. Remember your team.
- Project management – Solid project management skills are essential to success. Who will do what and when? Does another task have to be complete first?
- Ask Questions – One of the best ways to discover the “small things” which are the difference between success and failure is to ask questions. You never know what you might overlook unless you ask.
- Metrics – How will you know if you’re on track if you don’t track metrics? Which ones are most important to the upgrade’s success?
- Reconciliation – Critical to system upgrade projects! Does your before and after trial balances match? Your inventory levels? Etc.