Successful Migration from Old, Unsupported, Accounting System While Maintaining Existing Workflow
Posted by admin in Case Studies, Success Stories on June 9, 2011 | no comments
The Problem:
Premier Carrier had been using an antiquated accounting system, which the software developer actually discontinued and stopped supporting. “We had been able to continue using the system since then because the data entry piece worked well enough, however, finding entries to edit has always been cumbersome and time-consuming,” stated Donna Goliti, with Premier Carrier, Inc.
The company knew it was just a matter of time before their old system wouldn’t support their needs any longer, so the search started for a replacement. Their primary objective was to find a system that would be supported while making the accounting functions easier, faster, and more reliable.
Premier Carrier talked to several software vendors, but none had a solution that worked the way the company needed to work. The systems would require Premier Carrier to change and adapt to those systems, and they all seemed cumbersome with no option for customization. This changed however, when they talked to Karen O’Lane at Micro Business Systems about Sage MAS 90.
The Solution:
MAS 90 provided everything the company was looking for and so much more. Rob Goliti, President, described to Karen how they operated and what they were looking for in a new system. “I was so happy that Karen truly listened to what I wanted,” proclaimed Donna. She continued by stating, “She was able to come up with a design to do precisely what I described.”
Through a collaborative effort with Accounting Systems Inc (ASI), Karen was able to work with ASI to customize the software to work for Premier Carrier’s exacting needs.
The company wanted a custom freight billing data entry screen, with custom fields for load number, freight bill number and shipper numbers. With multiple customers possible for the same Load number, this required special logic.
The freight bills update to standard MAS90 invoices, but in order by customer number, so that each customer in the billing cycle has a range of sequential invoice numbers, then in order by load number. This makes it easier for Premier Carrier’s customers to see what they were billed for the week, minimizing questions, and Premier Carrier gets paid faster.
The customization automatically creates Transportation Broker Agreements for owner/operators. It fills out all of the information, eliminating manual steps. The commission/payment information from the Transportation Broker Agreements automatically transfers to the liability company and creates the payables. All of this saves Premier Carrier substantial time.
“We also incorporated ASI Additions’ Equipment Maintenance module,” recalls Karen. “The Equipment Maintenance component was a huge bonus to Premier Carrier, as previously this information was tracked manually.” Equipment Maintenance tracks all maintenance work as well as lifetime limits for any type of equipment maintained by the company. Equipment types, maintenance labels, maintenance tasks and trigger intervals are all user-definable.
Results:
“Initially, we didn’t see the need to buy five user licenses, since Rob and I were the only people accessing the old system,” stated Donna. “But this system is so easy, now I’m excited about having the rest of the office team use MAS 90 for more than just entering freight bills; it’s been great to share some of my workload.”
The records for maintenance on Premier Carrier’s equipment had always been manual, and now it’s all in the computer. The company can simply print a report when they need it instead of thumbing through piles of paper in file folders. According to Rob, “I really like the Equipment Maintenance Module. Data entry is quick, and I get the reports I need, easily.”
Brian Kelly, Partner with ASI stated, “We work with other resellers all the time, but there are some that are like an extension of our office. Karen O’Lane with Micro Business Systems is like that. It’s great to collaborate on a project like this and for the end user to receive so much more than they ever expected.”