Sales Funnel Visibility, Streamlined Integrations, and Improved Collaboration

CHALLENGES

Rigid Restrictions and Limited Visibility

The CFAR team had relied on legacy software for finances, basic sales management, and centralized account data for fifteen years. The previous solution was initially purchased as a single solution, which meant adding any unique features required development. However, according to CFAR CFO Mary Kelly, this software structure quickly became unmanageable, as each update resulted in broken add-ons that required patching—often paired with an overall software price increase. 

“It was expensive for what it was,” said Mary.  

These updates rarely came with capabilities that were useful to the CFAR team. In fact, workarounds were common for legacy software users at CFAR.  

External Relations Manager Cathy Brundage noted that when the team initially brought their legacy software on board, the expectation was that team members would use it for calendaring, tracking contacts, and managing data. While the old software did have some barebones contact management capabilities, it was certainly not a sales-focused accounting program. Even tasks as basic as reporting were not simple—Cathy noted that, although the software had reports, the team often transferred the data to Excel in order to customize it how they needed.  

So, who at CFAR worked out of the legacy software? It was just Cathy—she was the only team member who put opportunities into the solution. According to Cathy, there was no way to automate data entry, and the available fields and forms did not capture all of their leads and customer conversations. 

Asking the software provider for help brought its own challenges. Mary and Cathy said they felt like “small fish in a big pond” as they dealt with a revolving door of account managers and frequent software update issues.  

All of this, paired with an unreliable search function and clunky data-fetching, led the CFAR team to realize that the solution they’d relied on for data centralization was not a good fit for their business model.  

“We just needed to start fresh,” said Mary. “And we did realize that this world isn’t a one-stop shop anymore—we can get things in different places.” 

SOLUTIONS

Salesforce Sales Cloud and Sage Intacct

The CFAR team sought a new accounting package with strong reporting and timekeeping, though the software search wasn’t a lengthy process. A few years prior, CFAR had considered investing in Sage Intacct financial management software, and it was with Sage Intacct that CFAR began its journey.  

According to Mary, CFAR went directly to Sage Intacct to discuss pricing, features, and implementation. The Sage Intacct team recommended CFAR identify a software partner for implementation and beyond, which led CFAR to connect with Cargas.  

To the CFAR team’s surprise, they got more than Sage Intacct out of the Cargas deal—in addition to new accounting software, they also purchased Salesforce CRM to expand their sales capabilities. The Cargas team’s proposed Sage Intacct-Salesforce bundle was a cost-effective investment for CFAR and offered the sale and accounting features the team desperately needed. 

Cathy described the CFAR-Cargas relationship in one word— “perfect.” 

“I don’t think we could have asked for anybody better,” Cathy said. 

Mary agreed, citing Cargas’ five-step software implementation methodology and expertise. She said that frequent communication with a small group of Cargas team members helped empower the CFAR team and streamline implementation. 

Although CFAR defines leads and opportunities in unique ways compared to traditional businesses, they were able to communicate those needs with Cargas and ultimately were rewarded with software that was perfect for their business. 

“The Cargas team never said, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ It was always, ‘I’m not sure, but we’ll figure it out and we’ll make it work.’”

—Cathy Brundage, External Relations Manager, CFAR

BENEFITS

Software Accessibility Across Departments

Replacing their old solution meant CFAR was overhauling several internal processes; CFAR wanted an accounting package with a sales package. This way, CFAR could use the CRM to sell service work and pass that information into their accounting software for project management. Without that connection between the two systems, it would be much more difficult to manage projects, resources, and forecasting.  

Salesforce and Sage Intacct fit the bill when it came to CFAR’s software search. The connection between these systems facilitated that all-important communication and would allow CFAR to manage projects out of the accounting system while still drawing data from their CRM.  

On Cathy’s end, this overhaul meant less manual work for her and more collaboration with the sales team. With their old software, any sales team members who wanted to review open opportunities had to request reports from Cathy. Now, each salesperson has a folder with their own reports, which saves time and offers better visibility of the sales pipeline.  

Other team members can add data to Salesforce, which automatically sends a notification to Cathy. She can then go into Salesforce and review new information. Plus, it’s easy to pull data from Salesforce into Sage Intacct when it comes time to evaluate financials. And, while the legacy system’s search function required fifteen seconds to pull up results, Salesforce’s search function is near-instantaneous for all users. 

“Salesforce has opened so many doors,” said Cathy. “I think it’s eased some of the behind-the-scenes things.” 

CFAR’s new customer onboarding process is now a streamlined, collaborative effort that seamlessly goes through multiple software systems and team members. Everything from inputting leads to requesting proposal signatures to estimating project costs is part of one cohesive process. 

Mary also sees the impact of Salesforce on the sales team’s capacity. According to Mary, “Having things so visible gives constant reminders that shorten the sales cycle.” 

With so much visibility, the CFAR team is better equipped to understand every area of business—not just new sales. 

“It gives us a better picture to understand what the firm’s needs are going to be, against hiring, against who has time available, and what’s coming down the pike,” said Cathy. 

Salesforce has become the team’s central hub for sales data, but according to Mary, “Salesforce kept selling itself, even after we got it.” In fact, the CFAR team didn’t know just how many features they’d acquire by purchasing Salesforce until they dove into the software. 

“It’s a one-stop-shop,” said Mary. “So, if you’re looking for something, you don’t have to go to three other places, you just look it up here, and it’s all there now. It’s like magic.” 

A Reliable Software Support Team

Cathy and Mary cited the Cargas experience as a highlight of their investment in Salesforce and Sage Intacct. According to Mary, the experience boiled down to two crucial elements—process and people. 

“We connected very well with everybody, and that made the process that much better. It’s not even the process; it’s the people. It’s their knowledge of things. It’s the way you set the process up, knowing the steps you need to take.”

—Mary Kelly, CFO, CFAR

Cathy agreed, noting that Cargas trained the CFAR team in their new software with compassion and patience. While CFAR’s previous software provider hadn’t offered much training for the software’s daily users, Cargas ensured everyone could use the latest solutions confidently. 

The CFAR team understands that software adoption takes time and is a process that continues even after go-live. Cathy and Mary both said they appreciated the Cargas team’s availability to answer Salesforce questions and train them in Sage Intacct. As they dig deeper into Sage Intacct, they anticipate even more connectivity within their software environment and the discovery of new, transformative report methods.  

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