Lesson 1: Charting a course

Overview

The time before your implementation is very important. During this time, after much discussion and buy-in from key people in your firm, you and your consultant will develop a plan for a successful implementation.

Identifying what you want

To ensure Ajera produces the reports and general ledger entries you want, you must set up your data in Ajera correctly for your firm.

How do you do that?

Start by thoroughly discussing with your Axium consultant where you want to go with Ajera - that is, what kinds of reports, billing workflow, payroll process, and project management does your firm want?

For example:

• Do you want employees to enter their own time and expenses?
• Do you have separate offices that you want to treat as individual profit centers?
• Do you want to completely restructure how your firm bills clients and manages projects?

After defining your goals, discuss where your firm is currently.

Identifying what you need to do

Only after understanding where your firm is and where it wants to go, can your consultant help you develop a road map to success.

Your consultant will work with you to develop a detailed implementation plan for your firm.

The plan will be based on the resources available at your firm, the key players involved, and the amount of time and effort your firm can commit to the implementation.

Identifying key players

Identify the key players in your firm who will be part of your implementation team. Make sure that all team members understand their role in the process and are able to commit the necessary effort.

Key players may include:

• Implementation point person: The person in charge of the implementation process for your firm (most likely you). Because of the time demanded by this role, a managing principal is not recommended.
• Managing principal: The principal in your firm most closely tied to project management.
• Information technology: The IT specialist in charge of network and server maintenance and updates for your firm. Can be in-house or outsourced.
• Financial manager or certified public accountant: The person in charge of financial reporting and tax preparation for your firm. Can be in-house or outsourced.
• Lead project manager: The project manager in your firm most closely tied to project management. Can also be the managing principal.
• Project manager team: The other project managers, or senior project managers, in your firm. The makeup of the team depends on the composition of your firm.

Different dynamics within your firm will affect the implementation. To ensure that the implementation remains a team effort, clearly communicate your firm's progress and the tasks remaining to the entire team during the implementation.

Identifying key risk factors

Nothing is perfect. As a team, you should plan for contingencies by identifying risk factors and developing possible solutions ahead of time.

Developing a realistic timeline

On average, an Ajera implementation takes 12-20 weeks, from start to finish.

The size and complexity of your firm, your beginning balance date, and whether Axium converts your existing data for use in Ajera are major factors in determining how long the process will take.

Your implementation team should review the resources at your firm and develop a timeline accordingly.

Setting a beginning balance date

Implementations are based on the beginning balance date. In Ajera, you enter this date in Company > Preferences.

The beginning balance date officially marks the discontinuance of your old system. Transactions entered in Ajera are live, and the beginning balance date is locked down and cannot be changed.

The goal of your implementation is to ensure that you and your firm are prepared before and after the beginning balance date. If you are unsure about anything, discuss it with your Axium consultant promptly. Be sure to validate your firm's processes in Ajera and resolve any inconsistencies before going live.

If you need more time, discuss changing the beginning balance date with your consultant so that no transactions are inadvertently recorded in Ajera.

Test your knowledge

Quiz: Charting a course

Next

Lesson 2: Making preparations