Tips for implementing new technology solutions in 2022
A new year always brings about the opportunity to take stock and re-evaluate what’s working and what isn’t. A huge part of that is deciding whether implementing new technology will help you reach your 2022 goals. In today’s world of accounting and bookkeeping, the answer is most likely yes. So how do you decide which technology solution to go all in with? And what’s the best practice process of implementation?
We have five tips to help with implementing new technology:
- Do your research
- Delegate a Champion User
- Free trials are your friend
- Get feedback from key team members
- Launch - go all in!
1. Do your research
What are the issues you’re trying to address? What problems are you looking for a solution for?It may seem obvious but these are the questions you need to ask yourself when you’re looking at implementing new technology in 2022. While the marketplace listings for Xero, MYOB and Quickbooks are a great place to start - often the best place to get information on the best apps for your industry is - well, your industry! If you want to know what works well for people who are in the same boat as you, then ask them! Check out the reviews for the apps you’re looking at. Ask questions of your colleagues and peers and get involved in accounting software groups to see what’s working for other people. Reading case studies on the software company website will help too.
2. Delegate a Champion User
It’s absolutely crucial someone in the office owns the knowledge of your incoming technology. Not everyone can be across the details of everything - you need a hero to be the expert and own implementing the new technology. That way, they can take on the role of training additional staff and dealing directly with the software customer success team with any wider issues and implementation strategies. Founder of Next Dimension Accounting, CA Brendan Lucas, says nominating ‘Super Users’ in his office for relevant tech tools has helped them not only keep up with technology, but ensure they’re working most productively. “We use Slack as a communication tool in our office, and we’ve created Slack channels for every software we use; that way, it’s clean, tech tips can be seen for each software and easily found. We also use Loom a lot for internal training, showing processes, and even troubleshooting or sharing information with clients.”
3. Free trials are your friend
Most solutions offer a free trial period - make the most of it. This is the time you can ask questions, get used to the flow and features of a product and whether they will, in fact, work with your organisation. Ask for a demonstration from the experts – and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Particularly when you’re looking for certain features, it’s much easier to ask from the outset about X, Y and Z rather than waste your time getting into a product only to find it doesn’t have your non-negotiable feature sets.What's more - bring to the table your business goals and what you're really looking for in a tech solution.
4. Get feedback from key team members
If you’re looking to use your incoming tech tool to manage staff, or will have multiple people using the tool - you might want to get at least one or two on during the trial, to get a feel for how they will be working. Yes, you need a hero but you’re going to need to ensure your key team members are on board and feeling good about what the solutions will bring to their work day. Mid-way through your free trial is a good idea, once your champion user has had time to get their head around the product and how it will work. The free trial is the perfect time for them to ‘dip their toes in’ and get a feel for what’s going to work and if there’s anything that won’t.The other benefit of having more than one person in the trial is that they may also see some places for improvements, or ask for features that would be beneficial to their workflow and productivity.
5. Launch - ALL IN
When you decide to go ahead - go all in. Commit to the process and you will find, when you have partnered the right apps and taken the first four steps - you will quickly see efficiencies and solutions to the issues you wanted addressing.
