Editor's note: This blog is written in partnership with Family Office Exchange and was originally published on their blog, linked here.
You spent six months selecting accounting software for your family office or firm. You just signed the contract, your team is happy, the principal is happy, and you’re looking forward to implementing the solution.
One year later, you’ve held tons of training sessions and have had many headaches over this. Yet, the system is not live. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is a common story.
In this post, we’ll talk about the realities of implementing any software, but specifically for family office accounting, and share the secret formula for a successful implementation. In a nutshell, it comes down to the software, the team implementing it, data readiness, and your readiness (you read that right — this part is unfortunately often ignored!).
As mentioned, the software, teams, and data readiness are all key components to a successful software implementation. With that said, there are considerations that need to be evaluated and planned for before you even start your research. These mainly come down to three things:
First, let’s talk about timelines. Time is money, right? Selecting the software will, from the get-go, determine what the process looks like. Will you go for an all-in-one solution? Or will you go for best-of-breed software with different solutions?
All-in-ones will, most likely, take half a year (at the very least). But what most users forget is that even when you implement the software, most of the time, you forget to account for a few more months of acclimation and learning how to use it.
In reality, you’re better off earmarking one year for this process — unless you choose a more modern, simple solution. Simplicity is key in our world and should be a priority when you’re choosing software, especially if you can use one that puts everything you need in one place.
OK, so you chose the software and you’re now working with someone to implement it. Who is that someone? Well, there’s a whole spectrum — from expert consultants to in-house teams. If you go the consultant route, make sure they’re an expert in the software you selected. Chat with referrals to discuss how long the implementation took for them so you can understand what the expectation truly is.
With that said, choosing an in-house team has some perks. For starters, the cost and time spent typically come out to be less, and, more importantly, you can give feedback to the platform’s team as you learn about it.
Yes — there’s a team behind the software! Giving them feedback as you onboard their software creates a strong relationship that extends beyond the implementation. Sometimes, you can even get tailored assistance or features.
Going back to the importance of simplicity, you can also communicate directly with the vendor’s product team to help them understand what features in the software would make your life easier.
Of course, none of this matters if you are not ready. This aspect comes down to your data and your people. Your employees already have at least 40 hours of work every week, yet they must also learn and manage new software. This adds another layer of difficulty to an already packed week.
On top of that, do you know exactly what kinds of reports you are trying to get out of the new system? Do you know what you want workflows to look like with the new software? How much time can you and your employees afford to spend figuring this all out?
While it’s easy to want to switch software because of acute pain points, such as lack of multi- and inter-entity capabilities, not knowing the output will set you back. Be clear about this and look for vendors that can centralize and automate data reporting, for example, to ensure that your data isn’t a hurdle any longer.
OK great, you chose an investment reporting platform! But wait, your accountant has never dealt with portfolio accounting… This needs to be addressed before you even look for software. And if your data is not clean, it’s pretty much a guarantee that implementation will take significantly longer. You have a few options, such as uploading opening balances as of a certain date and then cleaning the data backward, but that’s also not ideal.
The best-case scenario is finding family office accounting software that makes this process simple for you. This way, you don't have to expect long lead times due to the typical back-and-forth on the data. We’ve even found that clients sometimes want to bring in many years of data history, but they don’t actually need to do that — often, one year’s worth of data (with month-end balances, for instance) is enough for software to run a comparative analysis.
To add, implementing software follows a specific step-by-step flow, and you have to go with that flow. A failed implementation can stem from wanting to take shortcuts, which we have seen first-hand. As a result, always push to go through each step.
For us, the process comes down to four actions:
In fact, we once had a client who wanted to book entries into the system right away without going through our process. In all humility, this was our mistake. We learned from that situation and, as a result, do not allow that to happen anymore — we know the importance of saving time while doing our due diligence. Otherwise, everyone spends more time cleaning up the mess later on, and our goal is always to simplify the complexities of family office accounting, not take shortcuts.
So, now you roughly know what it takes for an implementation to be successful. Easy, right? We fully expect AI to make this process easier in the future, which will benefit everyone. We foresee this especially with ingesting data and streamlining the process of uploading to a new system.
While the thought of a self-serving AI onboarding tool is enticing, we’re humans after all — we will always need an implementation partner! Establishing and maintaining a relationship with a vendor’s team is one of the most important aspects of implementing new software.
On our side, it helps us build the best possible software and always prioritize what to focus on next. On your side, it ensures your needs are heard and you get the attention and simplicity you deserve in a solution.
If you’re looking to add or transition to a new accounting software to your business soon, hopefully, these tips will help you make your investment as worthwhile as possible.
