Non-profits by their very nature face specialized issues and circumstances that require mission-focused management and strong teambuilding. Utilizing the help of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can help immensely with the nitty-gritty of operations, financial management, human resources, donations, and more. While running a successful non-profit or non-governmental organization takes a wide variety of skills and competencies, there are a few core areas to strengthen to form a solid base on which to build.
New small businesses face unique financial management challenges because they don’t share the same advantages that larger corporations do in the marketplace. Cash flow is a primary concern. Even with a promising product or service that is performing well, and deals being made that will pay out in the future, there is still a limited amount of cash on hand to pay for current expenses. Owners may not receive a steady income for an uncomfortable length of time because paying employees and the bills come first.
The early stages of a start-up are an exciting time filled with hopes and fears alike. You have an idea that people really need and will find greatly useful. Planning and executing your innovative, unique, and possibly risky idea can be thrilling, but it requires a delicate balancing of sober preparation and careful management with bold moves and forward momentum. Accessing the right resources and expertise, research, and finding the best people are the foundation for success.
Expanding into global markets is an exciting prospect that comes with many advantages, but it can feel intimidating and overwhelming. There are always fears attached to new ventures. Thankfully, good preparation and accessing the right resources can make things much easier. By embracing the help of consultants, you can reap the benefits of their knowledge and experience with success.
Whether you’re a start-up that wants to jump on international opportunities early in the game, or you’re an established business that has found it’s finally time to go for it, using an enterprise resource planning system, doing proper research, and organizing logistics are key areas to focus on to make your expansion go smoothly – from planning to execution to daily operations.
At IWI Consulting Group, we’re business management software experts assisting Canadian businesses and non-profits to use enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems to improve their current operations and expand into new markets. These software solutions can be custom-fit to suit your company’s needs, now and in the future, with consulting support and resources.
Focal Points For Expansion:
Utilize An ERP Solution. An enterprise resource planning system can help your business expand into new markets plus increase overall efficiency and departmental integration. With a solution like Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3) you can better collect, analyze, and utilize data to help prepare you for growth and expansion. Receive insight into relationships with current and potential customers; support for growing business into new locations, languages, and currencies; and improve employee access to shared tools for increased productivity. Shared knowledge is a key part of an ERP system and being able to share insights across multiple business locations, internationally and through the cloud, is possible with Sage software.
Make Wise Partnerships Along The Supply Chain. The specifics of your business will dictate what types of relationships you’ll need to make, such as distribution partners, materials suppliers, importers/exporters, etc. Moving goods through customs in a timely manner, for example, can cause a lot of hassle, particularly for certain types of goods, i.e., technology or controlled goods. You may need a Non-Resident Importer of Record that can assume the risks of international shipping, prepare all the proper documentation correctly and in a timely manner, and that can move your products through customs without costly delays.
The nations you’re expanding into will have their own laws and regulations related to your business that may also affect your supply chain choices. Contacting a consultant and other experts who work in the country that you’ve set your sights on, and/or in nations that you’re planning to buy and ship from, can save a lot of time and money.
Conduct Cultural Research. A key part of your market research, development, and other exploratory activities should be a deep dive into the culture where you plan to set up shop. This goes beyond language translation and currency. Learn about cultural elements directly related to and seemingly unrelated to your product. Look at daily life, entertainment, food, leisure time, art, technology, and more to get a feel for the place and its people. What are the cultural trends, political, and social climate like? Which businesses and industries are succeeding and failing? Where are there gaps and needs? You may need to adjust your product or service slightly – or dramatically – to suit the needs of this new market.
To learn more about IWI Consulting Group and our full suite of Sage Software Solutions, give us a call or email us any time. Our team of experts is available if you have questions about Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3), Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300), or Sage Intacct solutions in Toronto to help your business succeed.
Consumers stream massive amounts of content for entertainment and information purposes, for work and leisure; scalable, flexible, and reliable cloud capabilities have made this possible. They want to enjoy these services from many locations and on a wide array of devices. Binge-watching the latest dystopian sci-fi series at home and composing a tweet-storm during the morning commute are both cloud-based functionalities that require reliable services and connection.
Social media platforms, entertainment streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, live streaming events, and virtual meeting spaces, to name a few, wouldn’t be possible without the cloud. Media companies need to stay on the cutting edge of technology and they were some of the first enterprises to realize the potential of the cloud. Maintaining big data processing, ingesting, transcoding, and transferring huge files in several formats – and doing so securely – is made much more efficient with multi-cloud solutions. There can be sudden spikes in demand, and the ability to scale up to meet this and other unanticipated events is invaluable.
Some Benefits Include:
Companies that are expanding, or ones that are downsizing, benefit from the scalability of cloud computing services.
There is no need to hire IT staff to install, upgrade, and maintain in-house servers with virtual solutions.
The cloud is more secure than physical infrastructure to protect sensitive information and sources.
Employees have access to information they need from various locations which allows for work to be done at home, in other cities or countries, or during travel.
Staff in different departments can access company-wide insights and data they need instantly.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can also be handled much more efficiently with a cloud-based system in place.
The benefits of Sage 300cloud which was formerly known as Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300) to media companies are numerous. Access to real-time data allows for accurate decision-making. Administrative, financial, and accounting information is at one’s fingertips. Human resources management, including recruitment and onboarding, is accessible and streamlined. Customer relationship management is easily accessible to employees where and when they need it to serve current and potential customers. All maintenance, upgrades, and security is provided by Sage, trusted third party experts and leaders in the industry.
For media and entertainment businesses with physical inventory, manufacturing and distribution can also be managed from the same integrated platform.
And, for those who prefer an on-premise ERP solution, IWI Consulting Group can tailor a system to suit those specific needs. Plus, when ready, we can help businesses adopt the cloud and maximize its benefits and functionalities. We can customize any choice of Sage software to fit an organization’s operations and challenges.
IWI Consulting Group helps media companies, non-profits, distributors and manufacturers, and other enterprises maximize their ERP for efficiency and growth. We’re a client-focused company committed to understanding your needs and exceeding your expectations with our blend of technological expertise and industry knowledge. Our consulting team is here to help every step of the adoption process.
To learn about us and our multiple Sage software solutions, visit the rest of our website or give us a call at 1-866-916-3851.
If you’re already a Sage-user, we can provide Sage 300 (Accpac) support and assistance with a variety of other ERP software solutions.
The end of the year is in sight but it’s not time to slow down. The final months of a year is a great time to reflect on successes, consider areas that need improvement, and continue ongoing brainstorming for new initiatives and plans. There’s always room for growth; key areas to work on are market research, social outreach, and resource management and planning.
IWI Consulting Group offers IT and Sage consulting services for enterprises who are looking to improve their efficiency and growth, plus transition from traditional practices to the digital realm. With over 100 plus years of combined expertise in various industries and with combined technological knowledge, we can help your business implement Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management solutions for a competitive advantage. Below are three areas that are important to not only keep an eye on but to make pillars of your company’s entire growth strategy.
Include Trend-watching in Growth Marketing
Your market research already includes competencies in areas like targeting your demo, testing and feedback, sales, advertising, pricing, distribution, and more. It’s important to add trend-watching to this list to help bolster the others.
Before developing or launching anything new, take the time to study trends in your niche area, and in adjacent and related ones, to see what customers, influencers, competitors, and companies from which you’re trying to differentiate yourself are talking about, moving away from, and excited to buy.
Get to know the average lifespan of trends and develop an eye for quality ones that show a substantial shift in culture, ways of thinking, and innovations, versus a hot trend that will quickly burn out. Make this an ongoing and seasonal process. Good places to start are your social platforms like Instagram.
Improve Your Social Strategy
It’s well-known that utilizing social media platforms is a necessity in 2018 and in the future. Yet using social platforms effectively is still elusive for many.
It’s not enough to simply open a Facebook and Twitter account: you need to increase your following and engagement to grow your brand and reach new customers. Providing quality content is the cornerstone of a social feed people will want to follow. Consider why customers would want to follow a brand. Receiving useful information through regular posts, helpful tips through reading blogs, interesting and entertaining media, access to special deals and opportunities, and learning about what’s next.
Monitor your channels and respond to people and take part in community-building activities. Though it’s wise to register your brand name on all platforms to reserve and protect the name from being taken by someone else, it isn’t necessary to actively use all social media sites. Know which couple platforms your target customers use and spend time and resources making those great.
Enhance Your Enterprise Resource Planning
With Sage Enterprise Management software which was formerly known as Sage X3, you can integrate your departments and processes, create a coherent system of workflows, access centralized data, monitor inventory and orders, review and approve expenses, and easily create reports using one program.
Risk and costs are simpler to manage and it’s easier to identify opportunities with improved insights. And, with cloud capabilities, you aren’t confined to the office computers, nor are your employees.
IWI Consulting Group can help you make sense of your data and create strategies for customer engagement and growth. Your customers are fully digitized as should your enterprise be. You can call us to learn more about our whole suite of ERP and CRM software solutions.
Growth is all about accessing the right information, applying it to your situation, reaching customers and engaging with them, and tightening up the efficiencies of your operation. Digital resources can help you achieve all these goals, and IWI Consulting Group is here to help you achieve them.
You can have an innovative product or unique and useful service, and you can have a great team of enthusiastic employees with refined skills, but if you can’t sell your product, it all goes to waste. Knowing how to sell and how to increase sales may seem like obvious must-haves for businesses, but it can often be a weak point that can crumble an entire operation. Mid-sized and small businesses account for the majority of sales in Canada and the US, and there are several ways your teams can improve sales and grab a bigger slice of the marketplace.
Have a strong but smart digital presence. Many companies make the mistake of thinking they need a presence on every social media platform and to spam their customers with constant emails and newsletters. Strong means quality not quantity. Use the social applications that suit your target audience or customer base, i.e., Snapchat for a younger demo and Facebook for a more mature one. Hire creative professionals to build solid platforms for you with concise and complete information for current and new customers. Shop around to find reasonably priced rates for a graphic designer for your logo, a copywriter who can do SEO for your website, and a tech wizard who can solve any problems without charging two arms and two legs. Keep your information updated but don’t bombard people with posts, tweets, or news. They’ll quickly unfollow.
Customers are key. Forming solid relationships with those buying your product as well as those searching for something to fulfill their needs is of the utmost importance. Loyalty is a big part of consistent sales, not only because of repeat business, but because of referrals and word-of-mouth. Respect is the foundation for any quality relationship. Even when your service or product falls short, making sure your customers are heard and trying your best to resolve their problems will bolster their opinion of you, even if you fail to meet their original expectations in the end. Offering customers rewards for standing by you and supporting you with their hard-earned money is important, too. Use their feedback to adapt and innovate.
Midsized businesses can benefit greatly from global ERP solutions like operations and financial management tools. Anticipating and being proactive with customer needs is easier when you have total control and access to your entire company with shareable, centralized data accessible through the cloud. IWI Consulting Group are Sage Business Cloud Enterprise Management (formerly known as Sage X3) experts in Canada and we can help you achieve more in less time with this multifunctional and user-friendly software. Check on inventory, take orders, approve expenses, create and pull reports instantly. Gain insights into customer relationships and expand sales channels. Expand into new locations, languages, and currencies. Give your teams and employees tools to improve productivity.
If you can’t properly track and analyze your sales, you can’t improve upon them. There is a learning curve for adopting all new software and systems, and we can help your whole business adopt ERP software solutions that can be tailored to suit your specific needs and forget about the components you don’t want. It’s important to know what is driving your sales and retaining customers so you can continue to support and improve these areas and perhaps drop the methods that aren’t working – or maybe re-work them. A small or mid-sized business can’t keep track of everything, but we can help you focus on what matters for success.
A business can’t thrive without effective financial management. It takes expert skills and tools to properly plan, implement, and monitor resources, especially for mid-sized businesses with complex operations and a moderate budget to handle. To make the best use of your resources, track and manage core financials, and to stay competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace, it’s vital to have complete information at your and your team’s fingertips.
There is no doubt monitoring financials is complex. Stellar financial management requires powerful management tools in the cloud. IWI Consulting Group is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Sage software provider that can help by customizing an AICPA-endorsed solution like Sage Intacct for your business. The system is designed to be flexible and adapt to suit your needs. With these core financials you can increase productivity and efficiency to accurately manage and grow your business. It includes:
A flexible and scalable general ledger with full visibility
Enhanced purchasing to set the optimal price at the right time
Order management for high volumes, complex processes, and tailored pricing details
Easy accounts payable and receivable
A full picture of cash and capital management
Accessible dashboards and reporting to control operations and financial data
Flexible, real-time cloud capabilities to connect teams and resolve issues
A Digital Board Book featuring critical metrics for your Board of Directors
Plus, Sage Intacct has advanced accounting modules that expand and grow with your company. Your needs for multi-entity management, global consolidation, project accounting, time and expense management, contract revenue management, contract and subscription billing, sales and use tax, delivery services, and inventory management are covered. Intacct integrates with other applications, and IWI Consulting Group can help your business adopt this user-friendly ERP system to seamlessly control core financials.
An advanced system like Sage Intacct can help you manage all the key areas for successful and efficient financial management. A cornerstone for this is keeping current with accounting data to know precisely where you stand with revenues and expenses, knowing when payments to vendors are due, and organizing customer payments and sales. Tracking daily and monthly costs, including rent, bills, wages, and being able to analyze this data with one tool, accessible through the cloud, means you’ll always know where you stand.
Cloud computing offers many benefits including advanced security, cost-savings, flexible access, and scalable resources, but it also requires a reliable connection at all times. Access professional IT networking services to ensure your system is designed and implemented to suit your company’s needs and stays reliable. Don’t pay for more than you need and make sure your cloud ERP system is always accessible.
IWI Consulting Group has been assisting hundreds of financial, manufacturing, and distribution companies manage their core financials and business operations with ERP and CRM solutions. As a Sage Business Partner, we can set your company up with the right system for your unique needs and continue with reliable consulting services along the way. If you need Sage Intacct or Sage 300clound (formerly known as Accpac) help in Toronto contact us any time. Our unique industry knowledge and diverse technology expertise can offer you a competitive edge.
Growing a non-profit has unique challenges compared to a standard corporation. Generally, many NGOs and non-profits are providing a service to the community or the environment, researching and innovating in a target area, and occasionally selling products, often as a supportive segment for a larger charitable cause. Finding and managing employees and volunteers, board members overseeing operations, sourcing funding and other resources, and garnering support from local businesses and sponsors, are some of the areas that can operate differently within a charitable organization versus a traditional brick-and-mortar store, online retailer, or insurance company.
Some ways that non-profits can see growth in their size and their revenue includes bringing on teams of well-reviewed, interviewed, and qualified volunteers, both regular and occasional, who need to meet a requirement for service in the community. Providing learning opportunities, skills training, and adding other benefits adjacent to your cause for volunteers (beyond the goodness they’ll feel in their hearts) is a good way to attract high quality workers who may even stick around after their requirement is met. Having a solid team of paid employees and continually adding to your staff and payroll will also attract potential candidates who want to introduce themselves and their skills to you through volunteering. It’s a good way to vet people, see their skills, their dedication, and if they’re a good fit on the team.
Just about every company has a social media team, even if it’s only one member. It’s especially important for non-profits to create media content that can be shared because it’s how today’s grassroots systems operate. This doesn’t just mean having a person post or tweet about your initiatives and asking for donations or sponsors. Making creative content that reaches people in meaningful ways, that speaks to them, and that they can engage with, is how to convince people to really care about your cause. Hiring writers, artists, editors, and other creatives who can present a powerful narrative will get your message across. These are people with unique skills who are worth having on the payroll, so you’ll retain a dedicated team who won’t abandon you when a paid gig appears.
If you’re a midsized non-profit, using Enterprise Resource Planning software to help run your business is essential. A program like Sage 300cloud (formerly called Sage Accpac) takes several essential sectors of your company and integrates their management for better financial management, workflows, productivity, access to information, risk management, and compliance. You can build a strong foundation for growth with a comprehensive and seamless program. Integrated business intelligence and reports allow you to target problem areas and improve your analytical capabilities.
If you’re unfamiliar with Enterprise Resource Planning and Management software, IWI Consulting Group can help you adopt your new system and tailor it to suit your non-profit’s specific goals and growth targets. For Sage Accpac support in Toronto and Sage Intacct consulting in Toronto we are here to help you integrate an ERP system into your business. As your organizations grows, you can add users and connect current and new processes from areas of the company in real time for accurate functionality. Trust the management system that over 45,000 midmarket businesses have in over 150 countries. We’d love to have a conversation about how your non-profit can improve productivity, reduce waste, and grow with Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300) or another resource management software system.
IWI Consulting Group’s success is based on understanding our clients’ needs and helping them succeed. To learn about us and our business solutions, contact us with your questions.
Should you bring in an enterprise resource planning consultant to your project? As you explore the myriad options for a new ERP system, the task can seem overwhelming. Should you go with general ERP or a specific system for food manufacturing, custom manufacturing, or other industries?
Although asking a current staff member to assist with an ERP selection may seem like a good idea, they may not have the time or information to make a smart choice. Enterprise resource planning consultants know their systems inside and out and can bring many benefits to the project.
An ERP consultant can be especially helpful if you’re shopping around for a replacement system. By explaining to the consultant what you like and dislike about the current system, they can use their industry knowledge to steer you towards software that’s a better fit for your needs.
We’re of the belief that you should bring an enterprise resource planning consultant into a project as early as possible, but don’t just take our word for it—listen and reflect on these pros and cons, too. Then you can make your own mind up about hiring and onboarding an ERP consultant.
When Working with a Consultant Is Best: Replacing Outdated Software
If it’s been a while since you shopped for ERP software, the newer choices on the marketplace may seem overwhelming. Cloud versus on site? Integrated suites or stand along suites?
Reviewing product literature, participating in demos, and calling references takes time. Unless you plan to hire someone just to run and manage your company’s ERP system, you’re going to have to pull an employee away from his or her regular duties to manage the process of finding, reviewing, and onboarding a new ERP system.
ERP consultants can help you identify current challenges and needs within your company, prioritize them, and define project scope, size, and parameters. They can assess other systems that may need to communicate with the ERP system and how best to accomplish this integration. An ERP consultant’s only job is to find the right software for your company, so they have the time, knowledge, resources and skills to complete the project successfully.
Consultants Can Help with Change Management
An outside consultant can also help your team through the changeover process from the current ERP system to the new system. Even if everyone is looking forward to the new system, there’s always a learning curve. Having someone from outside the company to lead training, answer questions, and help guide everyone through the new system is a big help.
The Legacy Lives On – Undoing Legacy Systems
There’s another wrinkle that an enterprise resource planning consultant can help with and that’s legacy systems. Sometimes, employees become emotionally invested in a legacy system even if it’s no longer doing what they need it to do. Others become the “gurus” of the old system and feel a sense of pride in their ability to get things done with it when others can’t.
Having an external consultant to evaluate and assess the situation can help you mitigate the stress of switching these types of employees over from the legacy system to the newer system. Consultants who understand this mindset can guide, mentor, and cheerlead everyone through the onboarding process, making the transition much smoother for all.
Using Underutilized Systems
Not all problems call for brand-new solutions. In some cases, an ERP system could continue to provide a useful service to a company if everyone just understood how to use it better.
If that’s the case, your ERP consultant can be of enormous benefit. Once the consultant has assessed the situation, they can review the current software and see if it’s a match for your needs or if something different really is required. It may be a case of new training for staff or offering additional training.
Sometimes, high turnover rates can make the software seem like the problem when it’s really the amount of knowledge, experience, and training the newcomers receive. In that case, an ERP consultant can help problem solve by ensuring adequate training is included so that everyone reaps the benefits of the existing system.
Whether or not you need a new ERP system, an enterprise resource planning consultant can help you maximize the value of your existing system.
IWI Consulting Group
IWI Consulting Group helps Canadian businesses and non-profits choose and adapt the best enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for their needs. Small to mid-sized companies will find the help and resources they need to choose the right software at the right value. For more information, visit IWI Consulting Group or call 1-866-916-3851.
Should you bring in an enterprise resource planning consultant to your project? As you explore the myriad options for a new ERP system, the task can seem overwhelming. Should you go with general ERP or a specific system for food manufacturing, custom manufacturing, or other industries?