Having a fund accounting system can considerably streamline your finance perform. You will have automation, workflows, and dashboards instantly after implementation.
However you might be able to take it a step additional.
Instruments like Energy Automate and Energy BI can prolong your fund accounting and rework your nonprofit accounting software program into an much more highly effective device. Leveraging these applied sciences helps you save much more time and extract much more actionable insights out of your knowledge.
Extensibility initiatives like these may be intimidating to get began. Fortunately, low-code and no-code options make embarking on these initiatives extra accessible than ever, permitting you to customise your fund accounting software program with out intensive technical experience. From automating experiences to enhancing knowledge visualization, this course of empowers your crew to attain larger accuracy and effectivity, in the end driving your mission ahead.
This weblog put up will information you thru a structured 60-day plan to efficiently launch your fund accounting extensibility venture, enabling you to optimize your operations and make extra data-driven selections.
Week 1: Analyze Your Enterprise Processes
First, perceive your present enterprise processes. Spend the primary week detailing the key workflows that your group depends on. Search for areas that contain repetitive handbook duties, bottlenecks, frequent knowledge entry errors, or person frustration.
Visually map these processes that will help you determine inefficiencies and alternatives for automation or enchancment. Use this course of map to pinpoint the place enhancements will probably be most impactful. Contain crew members to get sensible insights and be certain that the recognized areas align with day-to-day operations.
This foundational understanding will information the event section, guaranteeing your venture meets your organizational targets. And having this course of map will make your subsequent extensibility venture go even quicker.
Week 1: Plan for Profitable Outcomes
When you are analyzing what you are promoting processes and understanding the problems, additionally determine what success will seem like. Are you making an attempt to shut your books quicker, cut back errors, or create higher knowledge storytelling?
Spend the primary week additionally verifying you may have methods to trace these metrics persistently—or setting them up in the event you don’t—guaranteeing your venture stays aligned with its targets. Common assessments will enable you spot areas needing additional enchancment and supply tangible proof of success to stakeholders. This ongoing analysis not solely retains your venture on observe but in addition ensures you may reveal its worth clearly and convincingly.
Week 2: Supply Examples and Templates
In week two, you progress from “the what” to “the how” of your extensibility venture. Discovering related examples and templates can considerably speed up your venture’s progress. These assets present confirmed frameworks which you could adapt to your group’s particular wants, saving you the effort and time of ranging from scratch.
Search for profitable case research and discover ready-made templates so you may perceive what works effectively and keep away from widespread pitfalls. Be part of communities (just like the Microsoft Energy Platform) and ask others what’s labored for them. Templates may also help standardize your strategy, guaranteeing consistency and reliability all through the venture.
Moreover, many examples include detailed documentation, providing step-by-step steering that may make clear complicated processes and enable you implement greatest practices. This strategic strategy empowers you to construct on present information and create efficient options tailor-made to your group.
Week 2: Accumulate Finish-Consumer Enter
When you are gathering greatest practices and templates, additionally collect enter out of your crew.
Gaining suggestions out of your end-users is essential for a profitable venture. They’re those interacting with the system each day and might provide sensible insights into what works and what doesn’t.
Share your course of maps within the format that works greatest in your viewers—a PowerPoint presentation or a Visio diagram, for instance—and ask for his or her enter. This collaboration ensures that the enhancements you propose to implement are aligned with precise person wants, decreasing the chance of unexpected points. Their suggestions can spotlight potential issues and provide progressive options that you could be not have thought of.
By involving end-users early on, you additionally foster a way of possession and buy-in, which may be vital for the graceful adoption of latest processes. Be sure that to combine their options into your planning section, refining your strategy to handle the real-world challenges they face. This step not solely improves the accuracy of your venture but in addition boosts person satisfaction and engagement.
Weeks 3 and 4: Develop and Check the Preliminary Model
In weeks three and 4 you start placing the items collectively.
Begin by constructing the preliminary model of your resolution, specializing in probably the most vital options recognized throughout your planning section. This strategy ensures that you just deal with the important thing ache factors first, delivering quick worth to your group.
Have interaction your crew within the testing course of to make use of numerous views and guarantee complete protection. Handle bugs and efficiency points early on to save lots of time and assets in the long term. By iteratively refining the answer, you may guarantee its stability and effectiveness earlier than shifting on to broader implementation. This hands-on improvement and testing section is essential for making a dependable, high-quality product that meets your group’s wants.
Week 5: Have interaction with Neighborhood and Consumer Networks
Plan on spending week 5 figuring out the kinks.
While you encounter obstacles, reaching out to group boards and person networks can present invaluable assist and sensible options. These networks consist of people who’ve confronted comparable challenges and might provide recommendation based mostly on their experiences. Utilizing these assets helps you rapidly resolve points which may in any other case delay your venture.
Consumer teams and boards devoted to your fund accounting system and Microsoft Energy Platform are notably helpful. They usually characteristic discussions on greatest practices, troubleshooting ideas, and progressive methods to make use of the software program. By collaborating in these conversations, you achieve entry to collective information that may improve your venture’s success.
Asking questions and searching for recommendation from seasoned customers can present new views that you just may not have thought of. These interactions can result in discovering instruments and strategies that simplify complicated duties, making your venture extra environment friendly. Moreover, contributing your personal insights and options helps construct your repute throughout the group and fosters collaborative relationships.
Have interaction with these networks usually to remain up to date on the most recent traits and developments, guaranteeing that your venture incorporates present greatest practices. It additionally creates alternatives to community with friends, which might result in future collaborations and assist. Leverage the collective knowledge of group and person networks to beat hurdles and drive your venture ahead efficiently.
Week 6: Check Your Undertaking on a Small Scale
In week six, take a look at your venture on a small scale. This strategy minimizes threat and ensures that any changes may be made with out disrupting your complete group.
Begin by deciding on a particular division or group to pilot the venture. Monitor the efficiency intently, listening to person suggestions and system conduct. This real-world testing section supplies beneficial insights into how the answer performs beneath precise circumstances.
Collect detailed suggestions from the pilot customers to grasp their expertise and determine any extra enhancements wanted. Use your most well-liked survey device—like Microsoft or Google kinds—so you may simply analyze the suggestions. This focused strategy allows you to refine the answer, guaranteeing that when it’s deployed on a bigger scale, it meets person expectations and performs reliably.
Conducting a small-scale take a look at not solely boosts confidence within the new system but in addition enhances general person satisfaction by addressing any points early on.
Weeks 7 and eight: Use Suggestions to Enhance Model 2
Plan to spend the final two weeks refining your resolution. Analyze the suggestions rigorously to determine widespread themes and particular points that want addressing. Prioritize modifications that can have probably the most important impression on person expertise and operational effectivity. This ensures that your changes are each significant and sensible.
Incorporating person suggestions not solely enhances the answer but in addition boosts person satisfaction and adoption charges. By addressing their issues and options, you create a system that actually meets their wants. It’s important to speak the modifications made based mostly on their enter, reinforcing their worth within the course of.
As you implement these refinements, keep an iterative strategy. Develop the improved model in levels, permitting for steady testing and suggestions. This cycle of enchancment helps catch any new points early and ensures the answer stays aligned with person necessities.
In the end, integrating person suggestions into Model 2 transforms your venture from a primary implementation to a tailor-made resolution. This strategy not solely meets present wants but in addition positions your group to adapt to future challenges.
Construct on the Momentum
Your profitable implementation of your fund accounting extensibility venture has streamlined operations and enhanced knowledge accuracy. These enhancements translate to elevated effectivity and person satisfaction, contributing to the general productiveness of your group.
As you progress ahead, keep the momentum by constantly assessing the efficiency of your newly applied system. Common evaluations will assist determine areas for additional enhancement and make sure the system evolves together with your group’s wants. Participating with the group stays essential; these interactions present ongoing assist and entry to new concepts and greatest practices.
There are at all times new options in your fund accounting and different methods that may additional optimize your processes. Give your crew an hour or two a month to experiment and study each new performance and potential different extensibility initiatives. Keep watch over technological developments and rising traits that might provide new alternatives for enchancment.
Able to study extra about how Blackbaud prospects are utilizing the Microsoft Energy Platform to increase the performance of their merchandise? Be part of the Energy Platform group and begin asking questions!
Heather McLean, Principal Product Supervisor for Innovation at Blackbaud, offered foundational experience for this text.
