Our team has completed a large project on 1C:ERP implementation. It was a big challenge, but we have successfully solved this untypical and complex task
In 2015, a large service company (that has 1400 employees, 25 branches, over 200 separate business units throughout Russia and a turnover amounting approximately to 1 billion RUB) contacted us after making a decision, in 2014, to have 1C:ERP implemented.
Third-party advisors had been engaged in 1C:ERP implementation, but something went wrong, and the implementation process was drawn out causing inconsistencies in accounting; and the accounting process went out of control. As a result, the company incurred substantial financial losses and went bankrupt. By the end of 2016, 1C:ERP had not been implemented because the internal accounting office was closing the first half-year in December. There were conflicts and misunderstanding between branches’ accounting offices and the head office’s accounting department. The state of reporting was far from satisfactory. As a result, management decided to start a business from scratch in a brand-new company.
We were charged with a task of arranging and maintaining accounting records using 1C:ERP in the new company with the same business processes and organisational structure.
First thing we faced with – our Client wanted to have, by the commencement of the project, the description of all business processes of the accounting and roles of project participants: on the part of the Client (over 30 employees) and on our part (18 specialists); despite the disagreement about “how it must be”, we met the Client’s wish.
The second challenge was a huge nomenclature (over 10 000) of items of goods and materials. We had to study and unscramble it and set all reference materials in order. Then, we had to customisetheaccountingsoftware for subdivisions and branches.
The next issue was connected with a lack of branch accountants’ qualification; they didn’t know how 1C:ERP system worked. Since February, Client company’s accountants had started to record day-to-day activities in the system, but each of 25 accountants had their own opinion as to how to make entries. It turned out that none of them was trained to work with the system. We closed the first quarter and corrected all errors manually. Therefore, we fully understood all working peculiarities of the system and customised it taking into account specific aspects of Client’s business. After that, we could share our knowledge with other participants of the accounting process; we moved to the stage of training Client company’s accountants.
We organised small teams, and each team took a “bunch” of branches. On our part, a leading specialist with an extensive experience in 1C implementation was appointed to customise 1C:ERP system. Then, through trial and error, the system setup began. However, we clearly understood how source documents had to be transformed in reporting. On our part, 10 specialists and 8 assistants worked on the project.
In order to increase the efficiency of 1C:ERP implementation, we regularly carried out briefings where all members of the team gathered and shared their experience and achievements in the system setup and the training given to Client’s employees. The rest of project participants used best practice of their colleagues to speed up the process.
As a result, at the end of the second quarter, 23 of 25 branches were trained fairly well, and they significantly reduced the technical error rate! However, work with 2 branches went not really well, and we had to redo all work for them. Nevertheless, financial statements were prepared in automatic mode, without any manual finalisation, and met all standards of fairness!
Big and complex software was set up, and the accounting process became automated at a good level. Since then, the Client has promptly obtained all necessary data in the convenient format. Tax risks were significantly reduced. Automation of many accounting functions resulted in the decrease in number of Client’s accountants. Costs for the accounting office fell from 3.5 million to 2 million per month.