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Reducing Excel Dependence
Melissa Case, CPA, Controller, R.A. Smith National, Inc.PS-68
2 ©2012 Deltek, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Introduction
Background
Ideas: Identify spreadsheet tasks that could be handled thru Vision
Business Needs: Explore how some Excel based processes have been improved with Vision
Quantify the time saved by utilizing Vision
Questions/ Discussion
Agenda
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Introduction
Controller at R.A. Smith National, Inc located in Brookfield, WI Offices also in Appleton, WI; Irvine,CA; and Pittsburgh, PA
Civil engineering & surveying firm
12 years with firm
140 employees
Implemented Vision Accounting in Fall 2007
Work smarter, not harder Number of hours worked value
Background
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Excel as a Crutch
Pros Comfortable Easy to manipulate Everyone has access to the program
Cons Doesn’t update automatically Keeps information to itself Only works when you are working
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Something Better than Excel?
Is there a program that: Stores data in an organized system Customizable to my firm’s needs Updates data itself Reminds me when I need to do something Accessible to people that need certain data
VISION!!
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Where to Start?
Look for spreadsheets where fields from the Info Centers are duplicated
Employees Projects Clients Contacts Vendors
Ideas
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Ideas
Employee Pay history Annual reviews Bonuses Worker’s compensation codes General liability insurance codes Dependents Driver’s license numbers Office location (for floor plan) Health insurance election
Annual enrollment process
State professional licenses PDH requirements Cell phones & other company equipment Professional organization memberships
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Ideas
Projects Contract & change order tracking Subconsultant contract & insurance Archived documents – records management
Vendors Insurance
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Business Need: Provide Data for Worker’s Compensation Audit
Excel Pulled information from 3 different payroll reports and keyed into Excel Difficulties balancing with that much manual entry
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Business Need: Provide Data for Worker’s Compensation Audit
Vision Created field to assign code to employee
Business Needs
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Provide Data for Worker’s Compensation Audit
Vision Created report to match audit dates Calculated fields to remove overtime premium
15 ©2012 Deltek, Inc. All Rights Reserved04/18/2023
Track & Report on Employee Bonuses
Excel Payroll Manager entered information after each payroll Sent email to Controller to notify there was a bonus paid Controller entered Labor Adjustment in Vision to balance payroll in GL If payroll didn’t balance because email wasn’t sent, hopefully the
spreadsheet was updated
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Track & Report on Employee Bonuses
Vision Created custom grid in Employee Info Center
Payroll Manager enters bonus in grid
Workflow emails Controller and Executive when bonus is entered
Email provides the information needed to enter a Labor Adjustment and balance payroll
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Keep Professional Licensing Current
Excel (Access) File is reviewed weekly to see what renewals are needed
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Keep Professional Licensing Current
Vision:
Workflows used to notify employee and Admin when items are going to expire or have expired.
Employee License Expiring in 60 & 30 days: Once to employee Expiring in current month: Weekly to employee, supervisor & Admin Expired last month: Weekly to employee, supervisor & Admin until the
license is inactive Corporate license
Expiring in 60 & 30 days: Once to Admin & Accounting Expiring in current month: Weekly to Admin & Accounting Expired last month: Weekly to Admin & Accounting until the license is
inactive
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Keep Professional Licensing Current
Vision Prior database was replicated and linked to the employee or “Corporate”
Employee
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Keep Professional Licensing Current
Vision
Employee example
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Ensure PDH Requirements are Met for Engineers
Excel
Admin completed Excel file per employee per year
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Ensure PDH Requirements are Met for Engineers
Vision
Employee or Admin fills in information in the Employee Info Center grid
Information is centralized, linked to certificate, and employee has easy access
23
Track Cell Phone Equipment and Service Plan
Excel (Access)
Difficult to keep current
Supervisors or HR did not have access which led to problems when there was turnover
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Track Cell Phone Equipment and Service Plan
Vision
•Workflow notifies Admin when equipment contract is expiring
•Easily accessible if the employee is using company equipment
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Track Cell Phone Equipment and Service Plan
Using Vision Data
Reporting Services utilized to update SharePoint site nightly with a current report
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Ensure Subconsultants Comply with Insurance Requirements
Excel
Quite frankly, we didn’t manage to get it into Excel
We never had it in an automated fashion
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Ensure Subconsultants Comply with Insurance Requirements
Vision Grid in Vendor file tracks insurance type, limit, and expiration
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Ensure Subconsultants Comply with Insurance Requirements
Vision Report scheduled monthly to notify when Insurance is not current.
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Ensure Subconsultants Comply with Insurance Requirements
Vision
Subconsultant grid added to the Project Info Center
Stored procedure runs nightly to add new subconsultants to grid
Subconsultant added based on AP transaction posted to the project
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Ensure Subconsultants Comply with Insurance Requirements
Vision Scheduled report runs weekly to notify when a sub has been added to a project
and their insurance and/or contract has not been verified
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Record Management
Excel (Access) Huge file, many fields, one to several rows per completed project
Difficult to keep current
Did not have a record of the retrievals requested to match the storage company’s invoice
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Record Management
Vision Condensed fields
Centralized information, with other key project data
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Record Management
Vision User initiated workflow to email Accounts Payable when a file is retrieved
A/P able to match the retrieval to the invoice and bill the correct department
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Ensure Memberships are Reviewed/ Renewed
Excel (Access) Admin entered data, rarely notified if something was not renewed
Many duplicate fields
Employee also filled out a paper membership request form
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Ensure Memberships are Reviewed/ Renewed
Vision (And SharePoint) Partially automated the membership form for the employee
Populates from computer loginPopulates from Vision
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Ensure Memberships are Reviewed/ Renewed
Vision (and SharePoint) Grid populates nightly from forms which have been approved by Accounting Workflows notify employee when membership will expire in 60 & 30 days
Quantifying the Time Saved
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Quantification of Changes
Most of the savings came from Vision doing the follow-up Vision doesn’t call in sick Vision doesn’t forget when follow-up is needed Vision is as assertive as you decide it should be Vision works 24 hrs/day 365 days per year without overtime pay!
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Time Savings
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Feature Duplicate Fields Records
# Entries(fields*records
)
Minutes Saved
Follow-up Min/
Record
Follow-Up Savings
Total Annual Savings
Worker’s Comp
7 200 1,400 90 0 0 90
Bonuses 5 35 175 6 10 350 356
Corporate Licenses
1 82 82 3 15 1,230 1,233
Employee Licenses
1 180 180 6 15 2,700 2,706
PDH’s 1 143 143 5 10 1,430 1,435
SubconsultantInsurance
1 195 195 7 15 2,925 2,932
Record’s Management
5 1,100 5,500 183 10 11,000 11,183
Memberships 12 84 1,008 34 10 840 874
TOTAL 33 2,019 8,683 334 20,475341 hours
20,809347 hours
347 hours per year saved from just these 8 changes!
Questions/Discussion
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There is more to life than Excel
Vision can be the place for all your data
Ideas where you can reduce duplicate entry & improve efficiency
Workflows can be used to automate, follow-up, and work when you are not
Takeaways
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QUESTIONS?
Contact Information:Melissa Case, CPAR.A. Smith National, IncBrookfield, WIMelissa.case@rasmithnational.com
Other ideas for eliminating spreadsheets?
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PS-81: 30 Workflow Automations to Save Time and Money
PS-237: Best Practices for Creating Real Time Financial or Project Reports in Excel
PS-50: Streamline Your Business with Vision Workflows
Call to Action
Thank You!
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