Companies can be riddled with failed implementations. Long after the business case has been made and the vendor is chosen, all too often, timelines stretch from weeks to months or even years, and reaching an official go-live seems hopeless.
With the FASB and IASB deadline looming on the horizon, a successful implementation process is more critical than ever. To ensure your project stays on track, be sure to avoid these 5 red flags:
1. The plan is overcomplicated with customization.
If your vendor comes in with promises to customize your solution, it isn’t making your operations any easier. In fact, it’s complicating them.
Custom coding can make your department reliant on IT, and worse, any upgrades you need will be costly. Plus, you’ll be back on the vendor’s timeline, waiting for the newest iteration.
Choosing a secure, cloud-based platform makes it easy – with any upgrades occurring seamlessly. And be sure to look for a solution that offers simple, user-managed dashboard configurability, which provides a quick setup without the complications.
2. Your vendor is installing the software behind your firewall.
If your vendor suggests installing the software behind your firewall, they will be tasked with ensuring the new software operates seamlessly in a brand new environment, on an unfamiliar platform.
They will also need to acquire the necessary hardware for a successful install, which can threaten to push out timelines even further. And after installation, your team will need to participate in extensive Quality Assurance testing as the software has been installed directly into your environment.
All of this could lead to a higher burden on your IT department, and a higher likelihood of implementation failure.
3. Your vendor doesn’t have a trusted data conversion methodology.
Without industry expertise, your data conversion process may be in jeopardy. It’s crucial that you select a solution that can deliver on its promises to capture, convert and load your existing data quickly and accurately.
Choosing a newer vendor in the market is risky due to their lack of a proven and repeatable data conversion and migration process.
To avoid loss, it’s best to work with a technology partner with a history of converting from legacy products; especially your legacy product. And with the new FASB and IASB lease accounting requirements, you may need support to collect and extract data, so select a vendor that has the resources to assist.
4. You can’t validate your vendor’s track record of success.
The industry is ripe with implementations that never get off the ground. Be sure to evaluate your potential partner by examining their implementation success rate with your legacy system.
- How many times have they done it?
- What was the average project completion time?
- Can they provide references from others who have moved off the solution you are converting from?
- Will they provide the training and support your team needs to be successful and minimize the impact to your daily operations?
When you add these variables to your selection process, you can find a solution that will grow with you, no matter how your business scales or regulations change.
5. There’s no customer success commitment after implementation.
Even if the project timeline seems attainable, what happens after implementation is complete?
Some firms are quite satisfied with their vendor of choice until they need additional training and support. Be sure to select a vendor that has a strong commitment to customer service even after the project ends, as proven by a high customer retention rate and customer satisfaction history.
We are a trusted partner in the industry because of our proven, proprietary implementation process. In fact, our team has successfully converted nearly every major legacy lease system in the industry to our cloud-delivered solutions — with a 100% rate of success and without any customization. And our team ensures your team is ready for the new FASB and IASB standards.
To learn how you can start seeing your data in just weeks, instead of months, contact us today.
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