The Executive Guide to Implementing Accounting Software: Over 100 Ways to Ensure the Success of Your Project

There is one common denominator that defines organizations that are able to successfully implement new accounting software or ERP packages-they take ownership of the new software. Many elements constitute taking ownership of software, and they are presented here as simple and concise recommendations that you can follow as you navigate through your own implementation project. Overall, "taking ownership" means realizing that your organization is responsible for managing the implementation project and ensuring that the software will meet the current and future requirements of the organization. This guide is for anyone who is currently in the midst of an ERP or accounting software implementation or who is considering purchasing such a package. Executives, consultants, accountants, and others will benefit from this guide by applying the best practices and recommendations presented to their existing projects and implementations. You can find many reference books on the market today that may be helpful in managing an accounting software implementation; however, these books typically fall into one of two categories-general project management references or vendor-specific user references. The general project management references do a thorough job of explaining the general concepts and techniques used in managing a large project, but they fall short in covering the specific elements that make an accounting software implementation unique. The vendor-specific references explain how a specific vendor's software functions, but these references are typically very complex and do not provide executive guidance on how to manage the implementation of the software from an organizational perspective. This guide provides executive-level guidance throughout all phases of the implementation project. It will help ensure the success of any accounting software implementation by providing specific practical steps that you can take as you progress through the project. For years, many types of organizations have applied the concepts in this guide to successfully implement new ERP and accounting software packages. Until now, however, no one has consolidated and packaged these concepts for quick reference by the business executive. I have tried to keep this guide general in nature so that organizations can apply the concepts to the implementation of any ERP or accounting software package. While these concepts relate to many types of business system implementations (including full ERP implementations, financial accounting implementations, job-costing system implementations, manufacturing system implementations, or other types of business management systems), for the purposes of this guide, the general term "software" will be used where applicable as each of the concepts is presented. The layout of this guide specifically addresses the busy nature of a typical executive or project manager. Accordingly, you will find a chapter for each major phase of an accounting software implementation, allowing for quick reference based on the current stage of the project. I present several concepts in each chapter as directly and concisely as possible. Each of the concepts includes two parts: 1) a quick-reference title/summary followed by, 2) a more detailed explanation of the concept. These are the concepts that allow you to take ownership of your implementation project. Once your organization feels a true sense of ownership and responsibility, you are well on your way to a successful implementation of your new software.