Cloud Accounting - From Spreadsheet Misery to Affordable Cloud ERP. David Russell W.
“Mine too.”
“Imagine that,” said Peter, stepping past them to grab a third cup that slid across the pick-up counter.
Peter started to smirk as they both shook their heads. He had ordered and paid for their drinks on his cell phone before leaving the conference room. After thanks were exchanged and drinks collected, the three found their customary table by the window.
“Well,” said Esther, “Everyone seemed to have a lot to say in the meeting today. Wouldn’t you agree, James?”
James shrugged, obviously a bit uncomfortable. “I may not be the best person to ask. I was up late night last night.”
“I don’t buy it,” Esther challenged. “When George gives his two cents in meetings, you usually draw at least another dollar out of him. Where were the questions and cross-examinations today? You’ve been tired for years! What’s really going on?”
James fiddled with his coffee cup for a few seconds. “Well, work has been extra stressful recently.”
“I thought your business was booming,” remarked Peter.
“It has been,” agreed James. “The only problem is some of our systems haven’t been able to keep up with the growth and it’s coming back to bite us.”
Esther shifted in her seat. “What systems?”
“Our small business accounting program and spreadsheets specifically,” replied James. “We have outgrown their ability to manage accurate, detailed records of our accounts, invoices or expenditures.
“I got cussed out this morning by a contracting agent after we went over budget on their project. I told him we’d fix the problem tomorrow. He’s willing to pay for the extra work, but two other clients this month made us eat the errors. I’m not sure how to solve the problem, or prevent it from happening again with the software we’ve got. Too many details are getting lost or reported inaccurately when it comes to measuring actual costs against budgets for projects.”
Esther was frustrated. James apparently did not have the magical fix she needed for her systems, but that was not what upset her. “You are playing the victim now, but you could have avoided this if you followed my advice a year ago to implement more scalable software.”
James looked up from his frothy cup of caffeine. His stress was showing. “Our systems were working fine back then. I like to rely on proven products and solutions. Heck, you wanted to be a pioneer in cloud computing. It’s still just catching on.”
“Yeah, well it couldn’t have put you in a worse position,” responded Esther. “It was worth the gamble, assuming there are any significant risks to the cloud versus our on-premise solutions. Just look at the business you’ve gained in the last four months.”
James paused for a moment, then looked up and started to work his way out of the corner of this debate.
“What about you?” He replied. “I noticed you nodding today, and smiling. Not much talking, though. Are you feeling alright?”
Esther waves her hand dismissively. “The topics we discussed today weren’t really my area of expertise.”
James laughed. “As if that’s ever stopped you before! My guess is your company’s growth is giving you headaches just like mine. How’s it going over there?”
Esther smiled. If James had held back in the meeting, he was coming alive now. Being able to verbalize and talk through his concerns must have brought back his competitive spirit.
“Times are tough right now,” said Esther, looking Peter and James in the eye. “Business is growing, but we’re having trouble with our software as well. In fact, I had to deal with a payroll situation on the way here with an employee who entered hours for a day he had taken off. It turned out to be an honest mistake, but our current system has too many manual processes and opportunities for errors. We’ve got to find a solution for recording hours worked by employees and to manage our sub-contractors better in order to keep the business profitable.”
Esther paused. “Actually James, the more I think about it, the more I realize the need to thank you for my problems. You’re the one that persuaded me to put off upgrading my software a year ago.”
James was ready. “Back then neither of us had this much business coming in.”
“Oh, baloney! Our growth today is just a continuation of our growth over the last five years. Now we need to get this fixed fast. Otherwise, we can say goodbye to our increased business. Last night I did just a quick search online and found dozens of companies offering alternatives to our small business accounting software and spreadsheet hell. It should take no time at all to find the right one.”
James countered. “They all sound great, but what if you pick the wrong one? Why go to the cloud when we might be able to stay with the on-premise solutions our people know how to support? At least now we know how to use our software. Sure there are problems, but maybe they can be fixed with add-on products to our small business accounting program. This isn’t like buying paper cups. I’m not even sure we need a new system. Maybe it’s just a factor of my people learning how to deal with the increased workload.”
A brief debate ensued, with Esther arguing a cloud solution would make the transition to new software simple, lower costs, and be faster to implement while James countered cloud computing was still in its infancy and too risky.
Looking on, Peter could tell the two were at an impasse. Esther could pick a vendor tomorrow and run with their solution, while James sounded like he would rather hold on to his comfortable, “proven” yet broken system until it killed his company. A compromise had to be reached.
“Alright! Time out!” Peter interjected with a smile. “Let me suggest a compromise.”
Esther and James quieted down to listen to the ever-diplomatic Peter. “First of all, let’s not lose sight of the fact the only reason you share this big problem is because you are so successful. It may surprise you, but our non-profit has similar problems. We have also outgrown our accounting software so it is in all of our best interests to find a solution.” Peter paused for effect, and the new information about the non-profit’s problem further caught their attention.
“I propose each of you take the next month to identify and do preliminary interviews with five different companies that you feel can meet your needs. Then, after our next board meeting you can present a one-page summary on each of the top two companies you feel offers the best solutions.”
“Sounds reasonable,” said Esther.
“Yeah, it’s alright with me,” echoed James.
Peter was particularly glad Esther and James were fast tracking ways to solve their dilemmas because answers to their problems might help him solve his technology challenges too.
After saying their goodbyes, Peter was deep in thought returning to the office. He wondered how Esther and James would approach the situation. James was a natural skeptic, but Esther was born to sell. Sales people could be the easiest ones to pitch; therefore Esther’s quick decision-making style could make her an easy target for a lying sales person.
Then again, if a shrewd sales person sold James a solution based on his fears rather than his true needs, James could be led like a lamb to the slaughter. Peter wondered if they would balance themselves out in this process or just choose to go their separate ways.
Chapter 7
What Cloud?
As Peter returned to his office he thought less of James and Esther, and more about the technology challenges of his non-profit. It was spreadsheet hell. Maybe his organization’s growth could help him purchase a new system and the payback of increased efficiency would reduce his long term overhead.
Without letting his staff know, he had started a process to create a list of what they needed from their accounting and business software to support