Winged Disc provides specialized services to convert accounting data between different accounting systems (Conversions), and to integrate industry-specific, or custom applications with back-office accounting programs (Integrations).
If you have been using an accounting system that now no longer meets your needs and you want to convert your existing data to a new system, then you may be candidate for Winged Disc Data Conversion Services.
Conversions can range from relatively simple transfers of master file information (chart of accounts, customers, vendors, employees, and the like), to the more complex complete conversions of master file items, historical transaction data, and open current transactions. A conversion project is viable to the extent that the work involved in performing the conversion is more time and/or cost effective than manual reentry of the information into the new system.
The decision to hire a specialist, such as Winged Disc, to perform a conversion of master file items can be made relatively easily by determining the number of items involved and the ease of extracting those items from the old system into a format that can be imported into your new system. A complete master file and transaction conversion is another matter. In many cases it is sufficient to have the historical transactions remaining in the old system where they will be available to be researched if needed, then enter open transactions and other beginning balances into the new system, and simply start going forward without the effort of converting the historical transactions to the new system. However, there are situations where it is very desirable, or even essential for all the data to be converted to the new system.
Winged Disc uses cutting edge technology tools and methods, together with the intangible asset of years of experience with all kinds of accounting systems and databases in order to be able to handle the even the most complex conversion projects.
Our client, a former member of the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list, had experienced a significant decrease in its business as the technology industries slowed down. They no longer had multiple offices, multi-state payroll, or an in-house accounting staff. However, they still were trying to use a sophisticated mid-market ERP accounting package that was getting more and more burdensome every day. Their venture capital investor was deeply concerned about the company's turnaround and kept asking for financial statements, but the effort involved in cleaning up the books and generating useable statements was overwhelming.
It was clear that the Company needed to convert to a simpler, user-friendly system that could be operated by a non-accountant, and where errors could be easily corrected without making journal entry on top of journal entry. QuickBooks® was the obvious choice, but the year was almost over and good financial statements for the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary had never been produced, and were still needed on a month-by-month basis for the entire year in order to see the status of the turnaround.
A complete master file and transaction conversion was the only real solution. Winged Disc extracted the data from the old system and used a high-level technique involving the Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC) specification to import the master file items and transactions into QuickBooks®. The successful completion of this project was also highly dependent on the understanding by Winged Disc of the data structure in the old system, the accounting considerations that were involved, and our expert knowledge of QuickBooks®. The company was able to supply its investor with month-by-month consolidated financial statements just a few days after the conversion was finished. (Preparing consolidated financial statements from separate QuickBooks® company data files is another little trick that Winged Disc can show you.)
ask for help with a conversion project
Does your organization have unique aspects that can't be handled by and an off-the-self, general purpose accounting solution? You may already have an application that is designed specifically for your industry, which operates separately from your "real" accounting system (we'll call it your "back office accounting system" from hereon out.) Maybe you don't even have a real back office accounting system, but are trying to use something that is built-in to your industry-specific (vertical) application that is supposed to make it a function as a complete "accounting system." Or, you may be holding back on getting the vertical solution that you know your business really needs because you are convinced that it won't connect with your back office accounting and will just create more problems than it solves.
If any of this rings true with you, then you could benefit from Winged Disc Integration Services. General purpose accounting systems cannot possibly meet every need that every type of business may have, and there are a plethora of vertical solutions available to meet the special needs of almost any specific business you can imagine. Vertical solutions usually do what they are intended to do very well; that's the whole point of their existence. However, when it comes to general ledger accounting, accounts payable, and cash/bank accounting; vertical solutions either don't even try to include that kind of functionality, or if they do it is usually substandard at best.
You may think (or have been told) that integrating a vertical solution with a back office accounting package can't be done. However, we think that you will be pleasantly surprised to find that it can, in fact, be accomplished if the vertical and the back office products use modern technologies and you employ a competent consultant. Winged Disc specialized in working with Microsoft® and Intuit® products, which both have excellent tools on the back office side to achieve integration with a wide variety of vertical solutions. Winged Disc has the knowledge and experience to evaluate a proposed integration and give you a straight-up, realistic opinion about whether it can be accomplished in a manner that will fulfill your expectations. And, if it can be done, then Winged Disc has the technology, tools and experience to make it happen.
Our client, a wholly-owned subsidiary of a multi-billion dollar European technology conglomerate, operates a specialized business of importing aeronautic equipment for sale in North and South America and providing equipment repair and certification services, all under strict FAA supervision. For years the company had been using an internally-developed Microsoft® Access database application to track its inventory and repair work orders, but this system functioned completely separate from the company's very limited, low-end accounting system. This was a painful situation that required transfer of transactions from the Access database application to the back office accounting package by manual reentry. The inventory carrying value in the general ledger was never completely up to date, and was not very reliable in the Access database either. The company was growing rapidly and these problems were becoming more and more obvious and costly, and had become a great impediment in generating monthly financial statements on the timetable required by the parent company.
Winged Disc recommended that the company convert its back office accounting to Microsoft® Business Solutions Great Plains running on the Microsoft® SQL database, at the same time we located, evaluated, and recommended an aviation maintenance-specific vertical solution (using an Oracle® database) that closely fit the company's special needs. Using a third-party integration utility program, Winged Disc then set-up and fine tuned a tight integration between the aviation maintenance solution and the Great Plains back office accounting package. After the implementation of these new systems the company is handling almost double the sales volume with the same number of accounting staff because the integration has removed so much of the redundant manual data entry work. Also, the company can now submit accurate financial reports to its parent company within a few days after the end on each month.
This success could not have been attained without the combination of Winged Disc expertise with Microsoft® technologies, general database concepts and tools, together with our knowledge of and experience with the underlying accounting and business process issues that had to be addressed.
ask for help with a integration project