When a fast-growing placement agency was losing revenue from unbilled and undocumented time, they knew they needed to have more control over their contract management. This agency has hundreds of sub-contracted workers and freelancers that are placed on contracts varying in length. The placement agency would then enter the time and details manually into the system. This caused a delay with regard to having up-to-date information on a particular sub-contractor. The agency needed a better method for collecting a worker’s time and expenses, fulfilling their contract requirements as well as having it be integrated to their payroll system.
With Microsoft Dynamics GP, the agency got all the functionality they needed with an in an easy-to-use interface that required little training for the freelance workers. Sub-contractors now enter their timesheets and supporting documentation through a portal — all they need is an internet connection. For workers serving more than one client, new contract allocation is simplified through an easy project assignment tool to help review over and under-utilization of a particular freelancer. Since timesheets are fully integrated to payroll, double entry was also eliminated and it also reduced the processing time for the accounting clerks.
By removing the manual process of entering the details of a sub-contractor’s timesheet into the system, the agency has been able to improve their cash flow by shortening billing cycles since the information is automatically entered into Dynamics GP. These entries can also include details with regards to specific documentation outlined in the client’s contract which in turn also minimizes the number of collection issues.
To maintain the profitability of the agency’s operations, setup rules can include predefined markups corresponding to the cost of the freelancer. Automated allocation of costs can also be configured to reduce the number of manual inter-departmental entries that are required to ensure that the costs are being associated to the appropriate accounts. By having these entries routed to the appropriate accounts at the time of entry, this makes it faster and easier to create and send reports based on the past and current activity levels therefore having a better control over their business operations.
This is idea #20 from the white paper: 25 Brilliant Ideas to Outsmart Your Competition with Microsoft Dynamics ERP. To learn about other creative ways you can stay ahead of the competition, download the document www.erpsoftwareblog.com/brilliant-erp.
By, JOVACO Solutions, a Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner in Quebec,
