RAICO's Previous Solution

Specialising in the design, supply and installation of electrical mechanical, and firefighting systems, RAICO has an impressive portfolio of building service works on the island. Prior to implementing Business Central, the company was using Excel which had worked until it didn’t. Being very prone to human error it came to be a limiting factor to the company’s growth. Scalability was a salient concern, for instance when one person leaves the role, hand over is much more difficult with Excel than having something that is based on an ERP solution. When using Excel a thorough explanation of how it works, formulae used and how numbers came to be, needs to be carried out.

A system based on an ERP solution facilitates continuation and reduces the possibility of dependency on a particular user since there’s more clarity within the process. Having no automation unless macros or complex functions are implemented might also mean that the company would have needed to reach out to an Excel Expert and outsource the generation of reports. While the idea was entertained, the company was in the knowledge that it would have been a very short-term attempt of a solution, which also would have neither achieved the desired results nor been cost effective.

Implementing The Solution - Excelling with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is very easily available and being an ERP solution created by Microsoft is a big plus! For instance, while a locally available ERP solution might look promising, there is a high risk of becoming vendor locked. In case the provider is no longer available, the company would have to start all over again by retrieving data, transferring to a new solution and moving to support. It is an arduous process and with Business Central there’s peace of mind since there are various supporters. In addition, RAICO had already been running on Microsoft 365 solutions, such as Excel. Business Central felt like the next natural step to take.

Accounting Software

• Bank Reconciliations and Payment Registration. Easily compare deposits, adjust bank statements, adjust cash account and compare balances. Accurately confirm and verify all forms and information is in order to submit flawlessly.

• Fixed Assets Module maintenance. Obtain an overview of your fixed assets and ensure correct periodic depreciation. Keep track of your maintenance costs, manage insurance policies, post fixed asset transactions, and generate various reports and statistics.

• Receivables Management. Easily reconcile bank accounts, by applying incoming payments to customer or vendor ledger entries to close sales invoices and purchase credit memos as paid.

• Payables Management. Generate due vendor payments or employee reimbursements, prepare check payments, and export payments to a bank file when posting.

VAT

• Local VAT Setup. Effortlessly view a history of VAT entries or generate built-in reports such as EC Sales List report and VAT return report including VAT for sales and purchases to customers and from vendors.

Automated Reporting

• Custom reporting. A click away from accessing indispensable data. Run and schedule custom reports to gather information on your desired criteria. Organize and present desired information in a concise format that you can print or save as a file.

• Jobsheet reporting. A flexible and open reporting facility with which users can search and filter jobsheets by any data field determining relevant information or calculated totals.

• Jet Reports Add-on

Inventory Management

• Stock Costing. Record and report business operating costs including manufacturing and inventory costs taking into account; how items are valued when they leave inventory; the cost of goods sold with related purchase costs posted after the sale; inventory values posted to dedicated accounts at regular intervals.

• Stock Replenishment. Create a detailed supply plan to cover demand for items that are replenished by purchase or transfer only. Launch production orders as per scheduled production orders.

• Stock Transfer. Inventory items can be transferred between locations by creating transfer orders or alternatively through a reclassification journal. New location codes can be easily updated to facilitate stock management.

• Warehousing. Ensure an effective flow of warehouse activities through the organization and maintenance of company inventories. Keep track of happenings, such as removing items, transposing items within or between warehouses, as well as picking up items for assembly, production or shipment.

• Stock re-ordering solution. Through Business Central, a range of planning parameters for every stock item can be entered, such as reorder points, safety stock lead times, safety stock quantities, time buckets and order modifiers.

Mobile Solution

• Easy access to the inventory available. Access your inventory from wherever you are through your phone providing for a flexible, easy to use and accessible solution. With Business Central, nothing can hold you back from completing your doings.

• Base functionalities easily done via tablet app. Benefit from the portability and flexibility, allowing users to perform tasks when they are away from their desk. The availability on a smaller device allows for the solution to be in the hands of many more users making the app easy to distribute.

Project Management

• Tracking project and job progress. Keep track of time, projects, schedules and progress throughout all your tasks within the company. Along the process, the materials used, resources and other expenses are consumed which need to be assigned to a particular job.

• Resources required. Set up your resources and the related costs and prices to correctly manage resource activities. Once set, you can effectively plan and prepare yourself with the needed resources for tasks to be completed without any hiccups, ensuring smooth operations.

• Time consumed. Time sheets can help track time and resources that are spent on a project which in turn can help identify issues early, avoid delays or cost overruns.

• Costings. Manage resource activities by setting up resources and the related costs and prices. Job-related prices, discounts, and cost factor rules are set up on the job card with specific costs and prices for individual resources, resource groups, or all available resources of the company.

• Invoices. Settle purchase invoices promptly whether you pay purchase invoices in cash, check, or bank transfer. A specific payment method with a balancing account can be set up for the balancing account number to be inserted automatically on the invoice header every time you create a new invoice.

Choosing the Right Provider

While the software solution is indeed crucial, the service provider is as equally important to ensure a smooth implementation and the necessary support. Michael Aquilina (RAICO Director), said that:

“What enthuses me working with On Point the most, is that they showed me that they are the ones who can appreciate and dedicate the most time for the company. There are some very big companies which support Business Central but they couldn’t give us a person in touch that will look for us and I think On Point has a big plus for it.” - Michael Aquilina

Michael continued by saying that working on a weekly basis with Stephen and Mark sustains the good rapport which he appreciates as they quickly respond without bureaucracy. There are no unmet promises and the process is very transparent with On Point support.

Safe in the Cloud

When the Cloud was available, it didn’t take RAICO long to realise all the benefits it brings with it at a very reasonable price which makes it all the more worth it. An analysis of the users who were using Business Central was made and within a week in total, everything was migrated to Cloud. When it comes to Cloud Accounting Solutions, backup of data or maintenance of the system is handled by Microsoft, which represents a safe and secure solution for companies. "While at first there was some resistance to introducing an ERP solution, nowadays, it is a fundamental part of our everyday lives, as safety is a big factor to concern", Michael explained.

Using a Centralised ERP + Accounting Software Solution

Five more perks for Business Central to be your natural choice.

1. Access your client data anytime, anywhere. Grow your practice and collaborate with clients using a business management solution with automated workflows, compliance, and audit trails.

2. Deliver more value to your clients. Expand the services you offer through a connected suite of Microsoft solutions, including Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Power BI.

3. Take your practice to the next level. Manage clients from a single dashboard and get the insights you need in real-time. Innovate across your business with better visibility into cash flow.

4. Provide dashboards and analytics. Deliver key business insights to your clients using powerful reporting tools and custom dashboards, enhancing your role as a trusted adviser.

5. Streamline accounting workflows. Effectively manage accounting tasks and eliminate manual processes, freeing up time to take on new clients and better serve existing ones.