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Solutions Case Study “ JOVACO’s consultants do more than just implement ERP solutions, they are actually accountants by trade - when they implement and configure a solution, they make sure that the product meets our needs and business rules.” Marcel Theberge, CMA, MBA VP Finance, CIMA+ The Challenge In 1987, when CIMA+ initially chose Project Suite, there was no other project accounting solution on the market that integrated into a quality accounting system. JOVACO was a pioneer to develop such a solution, and CIMA+ was one of the companies who actively participated in working with JOVACO to help define the application’s initial management rules. CIMA+ experienced an internal growth as a result of the merger of several small engineering companies in the 80s to the mid 90s, they grew from 300 employees in 1995, to more than 1650. To support this rapid expansion, CIMA+ needed a system that could evolve with them and required a solution that offered efficiency, flexibility and adaptability when managing their many projects. The Solution At CIMA+, projects are their primary focus as they are currently managing between 5000 to 7000 projects concurrently. “The most important thing for us without a doubt is that the system is comprehensive and has a seamless integration. From entering an employee's timesheet, to invoicing, and then creating financial statements, the information must be standardized and consistent,” Marcel Theberge, CMA, MBA and VP Finance at CIMA+ explains. “It is always the same transactions that are being pushed through the solution, thus ensuring the integrity of the data and the reliability of the information stored within the system,” adds Molita Sexton, CMA, MBA and Controller. This feature has enabled the reduction of double entries and lowered the risk of errors as well provides up-to date information to the Project Managers. Projects are also becoming more and more detailed; “as early as 1987, Project Suite offered the third level of detail to allow for a project-phase-modification within the hierarchy. This feature is extremely popular at CIMA+ because it offers great adaptability when tracking our projects. Even today, Project Suite is the only project management software that we have found who offers it” notes Theberge. CIMA+ is a multidisciplinary company working in the fields of engineering, project management and new technologies. The company has offices in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta as well as abroad, mainly in Africa. The Results Centralization of information Dependability and integrity of data Increase in the reliability of information Reduction in the number of entry errors Ease of distribution of information Adaptability of the solution Supports the growth of your organization The Solution Microsoft Dynamics GP JOVACO Project Suite JOVACO Professional Invoicing JOVACO Time & Expense JOVACO Web Reports Case Study Tmesheets Sexton goes on to explain how Project Suite has grown with them throughout their expansion. “When I arrived at CIMA+ in the mid 90s, every Monday the accounting staff would be immobilized due to the entry of timesheets for all employees in the company from the Controller to Office Assistants to Photocopy Clerks. We spent a lot of time searching for the missing data (undefined phases, missing project numbers, new projects not yet opened, etc.). Shortly after this, there was the implementation of TEDI the web-based timesheet, it completely changed the game for CIMA+ because from that point on, employees were able to complete their own timesheets in a uniform manner.” Web Reports More recently, the Web Report module has also helped CIMA+ improve their company’s efficiency, “every Monday the hours from the previous week are reported and the information is emailed to the Project Managers. Before JOVACO implemented the Web Reports module, we had to manage these reports manually for each of our Project Managers. Today, everything is managed by the system and the reports are automatically sent to the Project Managers according to the security and confidentiality criteria specific to their role within the project, and it has been proven to be a time saver within our organization" mentions Sexton. "Since Project Managers can now receive their reports automatically, they can confirm if the data is correct and follow their budgets this has helped relieve the pressure of the number of requests for the Accounting Department. Consequently, this has enabled the whole company to work more efficiently” adds Sexton. Consortia Management To ensure group synergy, the Project Control module within Project Suite can link several companies that share tasks within a project. Thus, all resources involved in a project can directly enter their time and costs which will then be automatically attributed to the appropriate company. By doing so, we can avoid manually calculating the inter-company charges and this allows for an analysis the results that are specific to each company therefore having the ability to view project costs for all companies at any time. Since CIMA+ is a firm that manages many consortia, the challenge is that each consortia is managed as a separate entity, the Project Control module enables CIMA+ to manage them more efficiently because the system can transfer all the transactions to the appropriate company participating in that particular consortium. This integration was another step that was implemented to ensure the integrity of data since it is now only entered once for each specific resource. Microsoft Dynamics GP and Data Mining Sexton also emphasized that integration of Microsoft Dynamics GP and Project Suite was a definite factor in their choice. “All the information is available within one solution. For example, by using the Microsoft Dynamics GP's data mining functions, you can go all the way back to the original document. This feature has enabled us to reduce the number of hours spent researching information.” She concludes by stating: “The Project Suite solution and the tools developed by JOVACO in partnership with CIMA+ allow us to be much more effective and efficient in our daily tasks. We need reliable financial information to run our business and we are well equipped with our current solution." Implementation The initial implementation of Project Suite dates back to the late 80s. However, as the system is constantly evolving with new modules being installed regularly, for CIMA+ it is important to stay proactive in utilizing the system to its full potential. For example, in the case of the Professional Invoicing module, they were the first company to invoice its projects in their entirety through Project Suite. CIMA+ was the beta testing site for the original version and history repeated itself once again when JOVACO launched their new Professional Invoicing module. “Whenever a new need within the organization becomes apparent, JOVACO’s accounting consultants are there to help us. For example when we opened an office in Algeria, we had to consider among other things, the exchange rates and international accounting standards. JOVACO's consultants supported us throughout this new adventure, thanks to their help we are even able to produce financial statements according to Canadian or Algerian standards since both are based on the same transaction,” explains Sexton. Partnership with JOVACO Speaking of JOVACO, Theberge refers to the long-standing partnership that unites the two companies. He particularly appreciates the fact that the consultants are trained in accounting. “The additions and modifications made in the software are guaranteed to be accurate as much from the accounting perspective as from the IT one - something that is not always the case when you work only with IT people. " Solutions 6555, Metropolitain Blvd. E., Suite 302, Montreal (QC), H1P 3H3 · (514) 323 3535 · (888) 988 3535 · www.jovaco.com