Toronto Firm Partners with Sage Intacct to Tap into Growing Market for Cloud-based Financial Applications

Toronto, CA– May 24, 2018– IWI Consulting Group, a leading technology consulting firm focused on Sage software products, today announced a new partnership with Sage Intacct, the customer satisfaction leader in cloud financial management software. As a Sage Intacct Partner, IWI will sell, implement, support, and develop enhancements for Sage Intacct’s award-winning cloud financial applications. IWI, a Sage Preferred Partner, is aligning with Sage Intacct in response to increased demand for Software as a Service (SaaS) business solutions from its prospects and clients.

According to Krish Thurairajah, President of IWI Consulting Group, “We are committed to delivering the best products and services available to our clients. With the addition of Sage Intacct to our existing Sage product line, we can offer a full spectrum of best-in-class financial systems to mid-sized companies in the Greater Toronto Area.” Sage Intacct is the only company the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) acknowledges as the preferred provider of financial applications because it offers deep functionality to streamline and automate complex financial processes and delivers unmatched visibility/insight into what’s driving company performance.

Layered on top of Sage Intacct’s strong functionality is IWI Consulting Group’s excellent customer service. Thurairajah said, “IWI Consulting Group’s philosophy is built on the premise that superior customer service is vital. If you need help with a business solution, we will help you find the answer, or we will build the solution for you. We are committed to strong and lasting relationships with our clients. This commitment dictates that we deliver the best service available and be completely responsive to the needs of our clients. Our success is based on having a solid understanding of our clients’ needs and expectations. IWI’s unique mix of industry knowledge combined with technology expertise delivers a measurable competitive edge.”

Taylor Macdonald, SVP of Channel Sales at Sage Intacct, commented, “We are pleased to have IWI Consulting Group as a part of the Sage Intacct Partner Program. Their extensive background in Sage software implementation, customization, and training will be a huge asset to our mutual clients.”

About IWI Consulting Group 

IWI Consulting Group assists Canadian businesses to adapt the best operations and financial systems software for efficiency and growth. Their dedicated consulting team specializes in helping small to medium size companies select and adapt business management software systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resource Management (HRM) and IT services. IWI is a Sage business partner servicing the Greater Toronto Area. For more information on IWI Consulting Group, please visit www.iwigroup.ca or call 866-916-3851. Connect with IWI on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

About Sage Intacct

Sage Intacct is the innovation and customer satisfaction leader in cloud financial management software. With the powerful combination of Sage and Intacct, the Sage Business Cloud offers the best capabilities of both companies. Bringing cloud computing to finance and accounting, Sage Intacct’s innovative and award-winning applications are the preferred financial applications for AICPA business solutions. In use by organizations from startups to public companies, Sage Intacct is designed to improve company performance and make finance more productive. Hundreds of leading CPA firms and value-added resellers also offer Sage Intacct to their clients. The Sage Intacct system includes accounting, cash management, purchasing, vendor management, financial consolidation, revenue recognition, subscription billing, contract management, project accounting, fund accounting, inventory management, and financial reporting applications, all delivered through the cloud.

Sage Intacct is based in San Jose, California, and is an entity of Sage, the market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems, supporting the ambition of entrepreneurs and business builders and a FTSE 100 business. For more information on Sage Intacct, please visit www.sageintacct.com or call 877-437-7765. Connect with Sage Intacct on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Sage

Sage (FTSE: SGE) is the global market leader for technology that helps businesses of all sizes manage everything from money to people – whether they’re a start-up, scale-up or enterprise. We do this through Sage Business Cloud – the one and only business management solution that customers will ever need, comprising Accounting, Financials, Enterprise Management, People & Payroll and Payments & Banking.

Our mission is to free business builders from the burden of admin, so they can spend more time doing what they love – and we do that every day for three million customers across 23 countries, through our 13,000 colleagues and a network of accountants and partners. We are committed to doing business the right way and giving back to our communities through Sage Foundation.

Find out more at www.sage.com/en-us.

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Sage Intacct and the Sage Intacct logo are trademarks of Sage Intacct, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Sage Intelligence Delivers on Its Promises

Business intelligence solutions can help you find, assess, and use data aggregated from many departments within your company. The MIT Sloan Management Review reports that 91% of executives are either planning a big data initiative or have such an initiative in progress. Clearly, data and analytics remain an important component of business success.

One often overlooked part of the success of any business intelligence initiative is the user interface or the dashboard through which you manage the information received from the system. Without good dashboards, your data initiative may not be as successful as you hope it will be.

Reasons Why Data Initiatives Fail

Too much of a good thing is often just as bad as not enough of a good thing. That’s often the case with data where too much data can result in inactivity. Such “data fatigue” can lead to people abandoning business intelligence solutions before they’ve really given them a chance to succeed.

To reduce data fatigue, you can take several steps to improve business reporting. Implementing a standard reporting process is a great first step. So, too, is deciding upon a standard set of business reports that everyone agrees are necessary. This reduces the number of reports to a level all stakeholders can feel comfortable with and use.

The last step is one of the most important steps to reduce data fatigue and increase the usefulness of business reports. Building an executive dashboard that provides users with exactly what they want and need to know is the right step to reduce data fatigue and increase the usefulness of your existing business intelligence system.

The Power of Dashboards in Business Intelligence Solutions

Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) provide data on various departments in your company. Business intelligence solutions such as Sage Business Intelligence aggregate the data flowing in from different areas into reports that can be viewed and shared to better understand the data.

To get the most out of your business intelligence solution, it is vital that you build dashboards that suit the needs of the users. There’s often a push for a “one size fits all” dashboard from well-meaning IT folks, but users need the flexibility to customize their dashboards for their unique role in the company and the information that is most useful to their jobs. The CEO needs very different information than the warehouse manager, for example, and each person should have a dashboard that reflects those needs.

To build a useful and powerful dashboard for your business intelligence system, use the following questions as a guide.

• What do you want the dashboard to do?
• What are your goals for business reporting?
• How will you measure the success of business reporting?
• What metrics should we measure? What do you care about?
• Which metrics do you use frequently?

The answers to these questions can help you determine what should be prominently displayed on the dashboard and what may be kept in a secondary drop-down menu or another place on the user dashboard. Prioritize the features and functions that people need and you’ll build dashboards that are useful and easy to understand.

Tips for Building Great Dashboards in Business Intelligence Systems

1. Prioritize based on action. Emphasize data on the dashboard upon which executives can take action. Although executives might be curious about website data, if they aren’t going to take action on the numbers, don’t include them on the dashboard. Instead, talk to your executive team about their most pressing concerns and make sure that the data they need is front and center.
2. Keep navigation and views simple. Another tip for building executive dashboards for business reporting is to keep them as simple as possible. Don’t try to do too much on one dashboard. Keep it to about one page. Remember that people do not take the time to read the text. Simple icons and short text blurbs that provide as much information in the shortest time-frame possible are ideal ways to organize a dashboard so that it will be used frequently for business reporting.
3. Use sub-menus for depth. Another way to make business reporting dashboards indispensable for executives is to add depth to the reports. Instead of just data, make it useful data. Add annotations, explanations, and visualizations that enhance data so it can convey as much information as possible at a glance.

Context is also important for adding depth. The context through which reports are viewed can help users make accurate conclusions. Provide as much context as needed to help people understand the parameters of the data shared and how to use it effectively.

Sage Intelligence: Business Intelligence Redefined

Sage Enterprise Intelligence can help you overcome that feeling of being lost in a sea of data. This business intelligence solution integrates easily with Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3), Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300), and most ERP systems for a seamless experience from day one. You can tie multiple databases together for real-time reporting and manage reports, sales pipelines, and more with drag and drop functionality.

Take a test drive today of Sage Enterprise Intelligence with IWI Consulting Group. You’ll never go back to your old method of business intelligence reporting again once you’ve tried Sage Enterprise Intelligence.

IWI Consulting Group helps Canadian businesses and non-profits choose and adapt the best enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for their needs. Small to mid-sized companies will find the help and resources they need to choose the right software at the right value. For more information, visit IWI Consulting Group or call 1-866-916-3851.

What does it take to be known as a good financial leader? Is it finding the right business systems for your company? Or is it being a go-getter, a decision-maker, and a resource-finder for your teams?

It’s this and more. The characteristics and traits of a good financial leader are like those of any other leader. Many of the traits of a good financial leader are the traits of a good person in general, and of a strong leader in any role.

What It Takes to Lead – 6 Characteristics of a Good Leader

• Ethical foundation: All leaders must have a solid ethical foundation. Financial leaders need a strong ethical framework from which to base their decisions. Accountants and CFOs must be rigorously and scrupulously honest, providing the clearest picture they can of the businesses’ situation and finances so managers can make decisions. Without the foundation of honesty, business leaders will make decisions based on incorrect assumptions and facts.
• Work-life balance: All work and no play does indeed make Jack or Jill dull. Good leaders understand that while hard work is valuable, family relationships and friendships, health and wellness, and a spiritual foundation are all equally important. Good leaders prioritize around their families, engage in physical exercises and other pursuits to cultivate wellness, and ensure their spiritual lives aren’t neglected. Work-life balance is an integral part of a whole person and one of the hallmarks of a mature leader.
• Leading by example: Good leaders do not make demands or act as dictators. Instead, they lead by example. They exhibit the personal characteristics and work routines that they desire others in the company to follow.
• Peer and subordinate relationships: Leaders also cultivate good working relationships with both peers and subordinates. They get on equally as well with the CEO and the cleaning crew. They know the importance of teamwork and that the company is made up of teams working harmoniously, not one superstar or leader who gets all the glory.
• Cross-functional teams: Strong leaders are equally well-versed in other jobs, as well as their own. They can step into a task if needed. They understand the work of others and demonstrate respect for others’ competencies.
• Clear communications: One of the most notable attributes of a strong leader is their ability to clearly communicate goals, objectives, and related information. They not only communicate as necessary but communicate proactively, offering information that’s helpful to others working on projects. They don’t guard or hold information to themselves.

How did you stack up? Do you have the traits or characteristics of a good financial leader?

If you do, congratulations. If you don’t, consider finding a mentor to help you build on your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. Mentors may be found among your peer groups, professional organizations, or other areas that put you into contact with leaders. You don’t necessarily have to find a financial mentor either; you can find any leader who has the skills you seek to cultivate to mentor you.

Business Systems from IWI Consulting Group

Leaders often find themselves seeking software resources to help grow their companies. If that’s the case, consider Sage Software. IWI Consulting Group offers a full range of business systems, tools and resources to help you with your accounting, finance, and other business needs. Please visit IWI Consulting Group or call 1-866-916-3851

Among the manufacturing software solutions you may be considering, cyber security, or keeping data and systems safe from hacks, leaks, and viruses, should be top of mind. You may have a terrific IT team that pays a great deal of attention to cyber security, but it takes just one data breach to seriously damage your company’s systems and reputation.

IT World Canada published facts on the cost of data breaches to Canadian companies that may surprise you. In 2016, the average cost of a data breach, as assessed by studying 27 Canadian companies, was $5.78 million, or $255 per lost or stolen record.

Can your business afford manufacturing software solutions that are less than state-of-the-art? With so much on the line, it pays to find secure software from well-known manufacturers who understand the potential risk to your business.

Preventing Cyber Threats with Cloud-Based Manufacturing Software Solutions

You don’t need a computer science degree or expensive software, either. Much of this protection comes from applying good old-fashioned common sense to your computer use and teaching your employees to do the same.

1. Update your software: You know those annoying update notices that pop up on your screen every now and then? Instead of ignoring them, run them. Software manufacturers sometimes issue updates and patches when holes in the software code are exploited by hackers to spread viruses and malware. Older software is more vulnerable to problems than newer software, and updates help prevent and protect your system. Run those updates and invest in new software or better still, cloud-based software, which typically features even better security than company-housed software.
2. Add virus protection: Software that scans incoming emails and checks websites before allowing you to enter them also adds a layer of protection to your online interactions. Some virus codes can be picked up just by visiting an infected site. To prevent this, software that scans sites for safety can help you avoid problematic places online.
3. Improve password security: Change your passwords monthly and ask your staff to do the same. Instruct them to use complex passwords that include upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Strong passwords incorporate phrases that only the user knows but are hard to crack. Avoid sharing the same password among different systems or websites. If one is hacked, that password can now be used to access any other places online that share it. And lastly, don’t share passwords by email or tape them to your computer, especially mobile devices. That’s just asking for someone to steal them!
4. Switch to the cloud: Cloud-based software such as Sage Business Cloud products offer excellent data security. Not only is your data protected behind numerous firewalls, but it’s backed up frequently on the cloud. Cloud-based systems can protect your data better than most on-site systems.
5. Teach your team simple email protection: Many hackers use simple tricks to enter systems. They send “change password” emails that pass the glance test or look great at a glance. Others send messages asking the recipients to click a link to access information or to change passwords. Never click links in emails unless you are sure they come from the company itself. When in doubt, close your browser, open your internet browser again, and manually enter a website username and password to check on your account. Simple precautions like this can save you a world of trouble later.

Avoid the Headaches—and Costs—of a Data Breach

Data security breaches can be costly, not just in terms of the financial impact but in terms of customer trust and goodwill. Many companies spend thousands of dollars to repair the damage caused by data loss and compromised data security. Others find that they lose customers after a major data breach. Even if the breach isn’t your company’s fault, customers will still see it as a reason to take their business elsewhere. Good data security can help you retain customers.

Although you can’t guarantee that your data will remain secure, taking these simple precautions can help you prevent costly problems later.

Cloud-Based Software Offers Additional Protection

Cloud-based ERP systems offer additional layers of security between your company and cybercriminals intent on stealing data. Cloud providers invest additional money into security because they know that they are protecting not just their own assets but those of their clients. Sage software has an excellent reputation in the industry for providing quality software that works well over the internet. If you’re considering adopting ERP software this year, consider cloud-based products such as Sage Business Cloud.

IWI Consulting Group

IWI Consulting Group helps Canadian businesses and non-profits choose and adapt the best enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for their needs. Small to mid-sized companies will find the help and resources they need to choose the right software at the right value. For more information, visit IWI Consulting Group or call 1-866-916-3851.

Cloud ERP software can help your manufacturing business cut costs and improve productivity. With so many choices available now in ERP software and delivery methods, you can add powerful productivity packages to your company without incurring the astronomical cost of adding staff and buying hardware to maintain it.

For example, cloud-based ERP software adds great functionality for manufacturers without the need to purchase new hardware. IWI Consulting Group offers Sage Business Cloud, which includes Sage Intacct and Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3), to provide you with accounting, financial, and operational insights and tools that add great value to your business.

Cloud ERP is creating quite a stir in the manufacturing world, opening up many new possibilities for companies worldwide. About 25% of small manufacturers use cloud-based software, while 20% are looking to expand into cloud software.

Benefit 1: Lower Costs

Anytime you can lower production costs, you have an opportunity to increase profits, even without raising the prices of your goods. Manufacturers are learning that cloud ERP can help lower production costs.

One way in which cloud ERP can help lower costs is by providing useful data and accurate cost analysis. By combining data from various areas of the company into one system and set of reports, you can see at a glance the production activities, inventory status changes, and more that can impact your business.

When you know what your inventory status is and you understand the costs of maintaining your inventory, you can make adjustments that improve inventory management. The results lead to lower costs with improved inventory accuracy and the potential for sustained growth.

Benefit 2: Free Up IT Funds

How much are you currently spending to patch, repair, and duct-tape your existing information technology systems? If you’re like the average manufacturing company, you’re probably running several outdated systems and keeping them operational through plenty of hands-on work. That’s neither practical nor cost-effective in the long term.

Companies shifting to cloud ERP find that they can divert information technology resources away from propping up the existing IT infrastructure into more forward-thinking projects. Cloud ERP is updated automatically by the software vendor, so you do not need to worry about loading updates and managing patches. The vendor takes care of all of that.

Benefit 3: Improve Cyber Security

While many companies also worry about security, and rightly so, cloud ERP tends to be more secure than typical on-site infrastructures. Cloud ERP hosts provide tight security to safeguard both their own reputations and that of their clients and implement the latest security methods to safeguard against code injections, viruses, ransomware and other problems and nuisances.

Lastly, maintaining systems on site and ensuring they are working at peak efficiency does take up considerable IT resources. Many cloud ERP hosts provide assurances of up time in their contracts, with some guaranteeing up to 99% up time. That’s probably better than you’re averaging now.

Cloud ERP software can help you save information technology costs as well as divert staff to more productive projects.

Benefit 4: Support Lean Manufacturing Principles

Cloud ERP can also help companies adopt a lean manufacturing philosophy. Many companies rely on multiple spreadsheets to run daily operations. With spreadsheets existing in every department, and multiple spreadsheets per project in some cases, managing data turns into a tedious and time-consuming task. Spreadsheets must be printed, tallied by hand, and selected data re-entered into new spreadsheets just to run reports or combine data.

Adoption of cloud ERP shifts the tedious task of data entry into automation, saving considerable time and effort. Once you can see the data, you can scale and shift production into more profitable ventures, and you can do so more quickly.

Employees using cloud ERP can view all customer orders at one time and batch production accordingly. This enhancement incorporates lean manufacturing processes and enables more efficient use of materials, equipment, and staff.

Studies have shown that overtime costs can be cut by as much as 60% after cloud ERP adoption because of lean manufacturing processes. With better use of time, equipment and personnel, companies no longer needed to add shifts to accommodate extra orders. This increases profits by lowering costs and increasing production time.

ERP Software: Manufacturing Made Better

If cloud-based enterprise resource planning software sounds ideal, we’re ready to help you choose the best package for your needs. ERP offers outstanding value by packaging together accounting, finance, and other tools into one package. Sage software also offers CRM, HRMS, and additional tools that can help you improve productivity, manage human resources functions, and increase sales.

IWI Consulting Group helps Canadian businesses and non-profits choose and adapt the best enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for their needs. Small to mid-sized companies will find the help and resources they need to choose the right software at the right value. For more information call 1-866-916-3851 or contact IWI Consulting Group.