Scalable, Cloud ERP Software Enables Painless Growth
Yardstick is a fast-growth company that’s become an award-winning powerhouse in the high- stakes licensure, certification, online training, and psychometric space. As Canada’s leader in online testing and training, the business operates multiple entities across North America, and recently acquired a large publishing house. In order to keep pace with the company’s rapid expansion, Yardstick’s finance team recently decided to upgrade from QuickBooks to a multi- entity, multi-currency, cloud-based ERP system.
Is your software holding you back?
Over the ten years it was on QuickBooks, the company’s chart of accounts had become complex and its finance team had adopted cumbersome workarounds to keep up with the sudden spike in e-commerce volume. For example, they were manually entering daily posts with aggregate funds collected through Yardstick’s custom e-commerce system, which meant that they had no transparency into revenue for specific items or customers.
Results with Sage Intacct:
- Avoided $100,000 in annual headcount costs
- Halved monthly financial close
- Gained visibility for better decision-making
- Software paid for itself in 4 months
Best-in-Class Integration Empowers a Lean Finance Team
After upgrading to Sage Intacct, Yardstick saw immediate improvements across all of its financial processes. By connecting its e-commerce software to Sage Intacct, the team streamlined its revenue-related data entry. Now, important details – including the customer, the amount of tax collected, and the specific revenue amount – are automatically pushed into Sage Intacct each time a sale is made. In addition, Sage Intacct’s pre-built integration with Salesforce
gives Yardstick sales reps direct visibility into which customer invoices are open, minimising the amount of time the finance team spends chasing down account receivable information. In addition, Sage Intacct flawlessly handles Yardstick’s Canadian VAT tax, including proper treatment of reimbursements.
“With Sage Intacct, our financial close was cut in half, and that extra time is huge for us because we’re a small team. We’re saving five days of work for four people, which gives us back 20 days of work each month that we can put into more strategic activities.”
Salma Kaida, Accounting Manager, Yardstick
Granular Financial Transparency Ensures Better-Informed Decisions
The software also provides powerful reporting capabilities that allow Yardstick to track operational and financial metrics by key business drivers. Using Sage Intacct Dimensions, users can tag individual transactions with specific customers, projects, lines of business, departments, employees, or locations, and then filter, group, and organise financial data accordingly.
Read more from the Yardstick case study here.
You can also watch the video from ResiCap on why they upgraded from QuickBooks to Sage Intacct here
If you would like more information about Sage Intacct and how this could increase efficiencies within your business, get in touch or why not watch our coffee break demo.
THE BIG 3 SERIES – FOCUS ON DISTRIBUTION
GAIN A FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTION OPERATION
As part of our BIG 3 series, we are focusing on the 3 main issues faced in the distribution industry at this time. Automation key help reduce time and increase efficiency.
The Wholesale and Distribution Industry must be fast and responsive to customer needs, especially the demand is high, requiring reliable and real-time supply chain management. The right distribution software will not only help your business manage these challenges; it will create a seamless efficiency across all your business functions.
Automate your business processes and boost efficiency with a comprehensive enterprise solution designed to meet the specific needs of wholesale distributors and manufacturing distribution arms. Sage X3 for Distribution provides in-depth capabilities for every area of your business, including customer order fulfillment, CRM, warehousing, data collection, inventory control, purchasing and financial management.
Fully Integrated Distribution Functionalities
Sage X3 distribution application integrates fully with sales, inventory, purchasing, CRM, and accounting functions for full control and tracking of business-wide activities.
Inventory Management
Understand all aspects of your inventory, product profitability, order to cash, and warehouse operations so you can stock, pick, and fulfill orders more efficiently.
Quality & Compliance
Improve real-time visibility across the global supply chain to ensure transparency for all stakeholders–from suppliers to customers.
Mobile Apps
Empower a mobile sales force with visibility into customers, stocks, past purchases, quotes, and promotions through any connected device.
Workflow Management
Streamline operations and enhance information flow with both employees and business partners.
Business Intelligence
Promote faster, more effective management reporting and decision-making with real-time, embedded business intelligence analytics and user-defined dashboards.
Integrated, industry-specific operations in real time
Sage X3 ERP is a fully integrated, pre-configured software solution that ensures consistent, cross-functional use across your distribution business. Its singular system and database account for all users involved in operating your business, so you can easily manage distribution, CRM, warehouse and accounting functions.
The advanced planning and control capabilities of Sage X3 use real-time and historical information to help track inventory levels and costs, optimize product mix and reduce waste. Embedded support for multiple languages, currencies, companies, sites and legislations simplifies international business management.
If you’d like to know more about how your business could boost efficiency and increase customer fulfilment, then talk to us or download some more information from our business guide.
The role of the CFO has evolved. CFO 1.0 was a historian of past performance. CFO 2.0 was a real-time analyst. Our research reveals a radical new remit for finance decision makers as drivers of strategic change and visionaries of the future. This is CFO 3.0.
Technology may be the enabler driving this change, but the extent to which it transforms a business lies with those who are bold enough to take the lead.
It’s clear that the modern CFO will need to be versatile—marrying accounting, analytical, business and strategic-thinking skills into one package.
CFO 1.0: The historian
CFO 1.0 is a historian of past performance. A strong individual with high financial acumen, this role reflects the traditional view of the finance professional as a historian of company financial data and past performance.
While there is still a place for traditional skills, forward-thinking CFOs need to spot issues and make decisions in real-time and predict the future, aided by data and technology.
CFO 2.0: The real-time analyst
CFO 2.0 uses real-time data and dashboards to provide the support and analysis that helps a business improve operational and management performance. While CFO 1.0 can tell their colleagues what happened, CFO 2.0 can add the “why” and help the organisation use data to gain critical strategic insights.
And while CFO 2.0 can catch issues as they occur, they can’t accurately see where these issues are happening ahead of time.
CFO 3.0: The visionary
Our research reveals a radical new remit for finance decision-makers as drivers of strategic change and visionaries of the future.
We are in the age of CFO 3.0 – a new breed of trailblazing finance leaders who use data and emerging technology to create a vision for the future of the business and who are often in the driving seat of digital transformation. Instead of just using a rear-view mirror, data and predictive analytics allow them to look ahead and plot a new direction, making them one of the most valuable members of the C-suite.
The evolution of the CFO means many finance professionals now have an integral role in data governance, data flow and cybersecurity. This leads to more performance analysis and innovating the business model. This new remit will become key to unearthing new commercial opportunities.
Your journey to CFO 3.0
Whether you are already embracing emerging technology and driving digital transformation in your organisation, or you’re at the start of your journey to evolve from CFO 1.0, there are a couple of steps you can take.
Start by assessing your finance function and focus on dealing with risk management, getting up to speed with digital transformation and ensuring the team undergoes ongoing training. Then look at technology literacy skills – they are essential to the future of an effective finance department. It’s worth pointing out that, as our research demonstrates, more than two-thirds of CFOs still make decisions based on gut feel.
The changing dynamics of your job mean you need to keep learning to have the business, analytical and data skills you and your team require.
Leading a finance team to achieve its new function
As a finance leader looking to run your function effectively, you need to ensure your team is aware of its changing role. Crunching the numbers still has a place – and remember, automation can help with this – but so does the role of analysing and interpreting data to make key business decisions.
The finance team is there to evolve the business and it’s your role to look beyond the traditional boundaries of the function and make the sort of impact that drives the company forward.
By combining analytics, digitisation and the right blend of personal skills, you can make that a reality.
SOURCE: Sage.com
Embracing Change at Speed
Sage X3 provides faster, more intuitive, and better tailored solutions than conventional ERP for organisations looking to retain their competitive advantage by increasing their agility and embracing change.
New Enhancements, Capabilities and Services to Grow Your Business
Whether managing complex processes, address compliance requirements, trading domestically or globally, Sage delivers a range of comprehensive set of capabilities allowing you to manage your business, processes and people. In addition, Version 12 offers some key capabilities such as:
- New cloud offerings and services providing unrivalled levels of choice for all businesses regardless of complexity of size
- Responsive user experience to allow users to work on a variety of different devices regardless of the type or size of the device
- Tax declaration framework to continue supporting our customers across 80+ countries around the world
Sage empowers your business with industry-specific business management solutions designed to meet the unique needs of your industry.
Manufacturing Operations
Easily identify dependencies between work orders and raw material availability to improve planning and capacity to promise.
Project Management (PJM) enhancements focused on financial control, budget management and snapshot management. This allows for improved cost management and better control of project profitability.
Distribution Operations
Manage logistics and track key information for a group of items with a single number driving efficiency across the supply chain.
Support continuous improvement programs by identifying issues, adjusting and then following up on previously identified problems allowing businesses to reduce costs and improve customer experience.
Cloud Service Offerings
Delivery of world class cloud capabilities offering customers unrivalled choice.
Service offerings include Single-tenant solution-as-a-service (SaaS), Single- tenant platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and multi-tenant SaaS running on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Customer First Experiences
New responsive design framework will allow users to work on a variety of different devices regardless of the type or size of the device. It provides a page layout that adapts automatically to the size of the screen.
Connected Ecosystem
Introduction of new GraphQL API framework and Data Integration API to enable the connected ecosystem with flexibility and ease.
Global Compliance & Finance
Enhancements in multiple geographies supporting updated and new compliance requirements.
Updates to key day-to-day operations including bank statement reconciliation, automated journal creation and enhanced traceability.
Non-Conformance Management
The new Non-Conformance capabilities allow organizations to implement continuous improvement programs by identifying issues, adjusting and then following up on previously identified issues.
Tax Declaration Framework
Enhancements in multiple geographies supporting updated and new compliance requirements across Australia, France, Germany, North America, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.
License Plate Management
Manage logistics and track key information for a group of items with a single number driving efficiency across the supply chain.
If you are ready to take the next step in upgrading your software and want to find out more about Sage X3, get in touch and we would be happy to discuss your requirements and offer an on-line demonstration off the product. Contact our team on 0845 0943885.
X3 Consulting will be attending this years it Showcase held on the 3rd March at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. This event is specifically focussed on helping businesses identify what software they require to grow their business.
Ready to upgrade now?
If you have already decided it’s time to update your business software, the itSHOWCASE event is a great place to start looking.TheX3 Consulting team will be there to guide you through the benefits of upgrading to Sage X3 and discuss the unique software from Trax3ion developed to help in scoping your needs prior to the Sage implementation.
Not quite ready to change yet?
That’s no problem either. You still need to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s out there. Meet our Sage X3 experts and discuss what the future holds so, when the time comes to upgrade, you know you’ll be ready.
Learn what the future holds
The pace of technological change has never been greater. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). The Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Cloud Computing. Visiting itSHOWCASE will help you demystify the technologies that fuel digital transformation and help you avoid some of the pitfalls when deciding to embrace digital change for your business.
If you’d like a one-to-one discussion with our team you can book a session now on-line here or come along on the day and speak to one of our experts.
We look forward to seeing you there!