What if it takes forever or I make mistakes when setting up my new accounting software?
Doesn’t it always seem like:
- It doesn’t work like it should.
- It takes forever to set it up.
- It’s buggy.
- It’s not customized to fit your unique financial data needs.
When you look at having to deal with this, it becomes really easy to put off upgrading or purchasing your new accounting system. If you’re a wholesale petroleum distributor, this could hurt you because your margins are very narrow and every cent counts.
Isn’t there a way to make setting up your new accounting software less painful?
Why, yes, there is.
Vet your next accounting software partner with these questions:
- On average, how long will it take to install and set up the new accounting software?
- Can you break the implementation process down into steps?
- How much will you be involved in the initial setup?
- Will you be able to customize the software to meet my unique needs?
- How much training and what kind of training is available?
- Will there be support in case there are software or setup errors?
- How quickly does your support team respond to questions and resolve issues?
Ideally, the installation and setup of new accounting software shouldn’t take longer than 90 days. After all, you have a business to run and customers to serve. Also, any partner should be able to walk you through the steps they follow during the implementation process. Look at our process for example. This allows you to think and plan ahead to best prepare your company for transitioning to new software.
In addition to our onsite installation process, we also offer intensive training for our client’s teams. We’ve discovered that this approach tends to reduce the number of software-related issues that clients experience over time.
Once the software is live, we then offer additional training, in person or virtual, to address our clients’ other educational needs. It’s vital that you ask questions to any new accounting partner about how they train new users and what type of educational opportunities they offer. This ensures that your needs will be met over the long-term.
After, the accounting software goes live, it’s typical for other questions and minor issues to arise. This is normal during the learning process, so software support needs to be available. In order to address our customers’ needs post software launch, we provide them with 60 days of free support. This encourages team members to contact us with all questions or issues as soon as they arise. Again, this leads to fewer disruptions down the road and therefore, even greater efficiency.
Another important area to address with any new accounting software partner is their support team. How soon can you expect a response or issue resolution from them? What’s their process for contacting support? What happens if issues are more complex or advanced?
Support expectations and contact information should be very clear from the beginning. Normal expectations include the ability to submit support requests by phone or email. Although it’s common practice for support teams to get back to you in 24 hours or so, we typically respond within one hour and solve about 85% of cases within one hour.
Transitioning to a new accounting software system can feel overwhelming. However, if you do your homework and ask these types of questions from the get-go, you’ll be sure to choose the right accounting software and partner.
Lastly, if you have any questions while searching for your next accounting software, please don’t hesitate to call or email Annette at 318.807.9313 or akesler@aims1.com. She’s a wealth of information and would love to share it with you!
We’re glad you’re here,
Robert Canterbury