Efficiency Powered by Integrated Systems and Streamlined Data

CHALLENGES

Disparate Systems and Outdated Approaches to Data Management

According to Becky Shearer, the director of finance at MANTEC since 2022, the organization was outgrowing its former accounting software’s capabilities. Moreover, their solution didn’t have the functionality required to integrate with Salesforce, which MANTEC uses for project management.

Another drawback of that accounting system was that grant management — both grants MANTEC receives and those it awards to manufacturers — had to be done manually. “It was done in separate Excel spreadsheets outside the accounting system and then had to be entered manually,” explained Shearer. That double-entry was time-consuming and opened the door to errors.

As MANTEC realized the need for a new accounting solution, they also recognized the way Salesforce was set up years ago no longer satisfied their present and future needs. “We weren’t really using Salesforce in a way that enabled our accounting software to talk to or correlate closely with it,” shared Shearer.

In 2021, the project to transition to Sage Intacct got underway with Cargas, who had collaborated with MANTEC on various projects since the early 2000s. But staffing changes at MANTEC necessitated halting it temporarily.

SOLUTIONS

Sage Intacct With Salesforce Integration

Jump forward to 2022, when Shearer came on board as Director of Finance at MANTEC. She had past experience with Sage Intacct and was prepared to re-engage with Cargas to complete the changeover. Within a month and a half, she was able to start using Sage Intacct.

“The transition went smoothly and quickly,” said Shearer. “Lilly Ruiz at Cargas, the project lead for the transition Intacct, was fantastic from the get-go. She had the tall task of getting me up to speed and really going through implementation all over again.

Since July 1, 2022, MANTEC has been live on Sage Intacct, using its core financial features and grant management functions.

Also, MANTEC has enrolled in a Cargas Monthly Optimization Plan, which provides a set number of support hours each month and allows MANTEC to anticipate monthly costs and pace projects. Under that plan, Cargas is assisting MANTEC with re-evaluating its Salesforce setup and automating input from Salesforce to Sage Intacct to gain efficiency, ensure data integrity, and improve the user experience.

“We’re playing in the sandbox, trying to work through our internal processes, our internal levels of security for users, and how we function at MANTEC with transitioning from ownership of opportunities vs. projects in the system,” explained Shearer.

Although the integration is still in progress, Shearer shared that Cargas has already helped them identify and execute “low-hanging fruit” changes that have helped them streamline how they use Salesforce.

Shearer said that Cargas Salesforce Consultant Toru Kawate has helped them change where they enter and store information — e.g., clients, new contacts, and new opportunities — in Salesforce so the data can move properly into Sage Intacct.

They’re also in the process of switching their contracts platform from S-Docs to PandaDoc with Kawate’s assistance.

BENEFITS

More Efficient Internal Operations and Better Business Insights

According to Shearer, “Transitioning to Sage Intacct has helped us streamline processes. It’s more user-friendly and intuitive, and reporting is easier. We’ve improved our internal reporting capabilities. It’s a much more flexible system.”

She shared the system saves them time on data entry because making journal entries and entering accounts payable information requires fewer keystrokes. All grant management and tracking are now accomplished directly in Sage Intacct via using the general ledger and setting up codes by grant.

“Lilly really stepped up to the plate. She is very knowledgeable and was able to make the system do what I wanted it to do,” said Shearer.

“Eye-opening for the entire team” is how Shearer describes what Kawate has shown they can achieve in Salesforce.

“We’re very pleased to have a partnership with Cargas. They’ve provided great support every step of the way.”

—Becky Shearer, Director of Finance, MANTEC

“We’ve already reduced the number of clicks someone has to do when entering a new client or new account. That’s been well-received by the entire team because it has saved them time,” Shearer shared.

Before working with Cargas, it was cumbersome for MANTEC to run reports on project contacts because Salesforce was set up to store contact information at the account level but not at the project level. Kawate restructured Salesforce to address that. “That one simple change was a game-changer for our reporting capabilities and tracking the history of contacts for a project. It takes less time to gather data,” said Shearer.

Cargas has also helped them customize their Salesforce user interface to make it more user-friendly. Shearer shared that Kawate has helped them revamp the screens people see when entering a new client, contact, or opportunity.

“He’s helped us restructure where fields are and where data lives. It’s become more intuitive.“ she commented. “When we look at where we were and where we are now with the visual aspect of Salesforce, it’s been a positive improvement.”

Currently, Cargas is helping MANTEC implement various stages of an opportunity’s lifecycle within Salesforce. “There are various stages of a project vs. an opportunity. We were keeping everything in the opportunity bucket. And in order to allow for integration with the accounting system, we have to move things from an opportunity to the project bucket for that status change,” described Shearer.

In addition to Kawate, Shearer shared that Matt Brandt, A CRM consultant partnered with Cargas, has been essential in assisting MANTEC with transitioning from S-Docs to PandaDoc.  “Matt is knowledgeable in both Salesforce and PandaDoc. His expertise is allowing MANTEC to further streamline our internal vendor invoicing process.”

MANTEC’s new leadership is learning as the organization grows — and Shearer said working with Cargas has been a great experience for all their team members.

“We’re definitely moving toward our goals. Cargas has helped us grow our knowledge internally about the system, and we are much more confident about how it works, how it functions, what the underlying structure is, and where the data is stored.”

—Becky Shearer, Director of Finance, MANTEC

When asked what she values most about working with Cargas, Shearer replied it’s the Cargas team’s commitment to communication.

“I’ve gone through many different system changes and upgrades and new software implementations in several different industries, and it always comes down to ‘the devil is in the details about the communications.’ With Cargas. every step of the way, there has been honest and open communications about timelines and expectations, including costs. There have not been any surprises.”

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