You have invested in a systems discovery. The report sits on your desk with detailed process maps, a recommended software stack, and a clear picture of what needs to change. The hard work is done, surely?
Not quite.
The discovery phase identifies where the gaps are and what to fix. The implementation phase is where you actually fix it, and this is precisely where many projects come unstuck.
Why finance systems projects fail
We have seen businesses spend tens of thousands on new software only to abandon it within six months. The system worked perfectly in the demo, but it didn’t work in real life for their team.
The usual culprits are predictable:
- Data migration goes wrong, and nobody can find last year’s supplier invoices.
- The nominal ledger structure does not match how the business operates.
- Staff were given a two-hour training session and left to figure out the rest themselves.
- The consultants disappeared after go-live, leaving the finance team to troubleshoot alone.
The result is a team that retreats to spreadsheets and workarounds, a leadership team that loses confidence in the numbers, and a significant investment that delivers very little. Worse, it makes the next attempt at change even harder because everyone remembers how badly the last one went.
How to implement finance systems successfully
When we complete a discovery report for a client, it includes a fixed-price quote for implementation. This means you can take the proposal to your board or trustees knowing precisely what the project will cost. There’s no scope creep or surprise invoices at the end.
More importantly, the report includes a wireframe demonstration of how your new system will work. This is not a generic software demo. It shows your data, your specific processes, and your reports in a working prototype. By the time you decide to proceed, you have already seen what the finished product looks like.
Data migration: moving financial records without losing them
Moving financial records from an old system to a new one is fiddly work. We export your transaction history, supplier invoices, customer invoices, and bank reconciliation records, then format everything for import into the new platform.
The goal is for your team to be able to pull up historical information without having to log in to two different systems. We reconcile bank accounts in the new software and match transactions so that everything balances from day one.
We typically recommend migrating all of your current year data and all of your previous financial year data. You can bring across more, but the cost increases with each additional year. For most businesses, it makes more sense to keep the old system or a data dump accessible for older records rather than paying to migrate everything.
Configuring software for your business processes
Standard software rarely works out of the box. We configure your new system to match how your business runs, including approval workflows, nominal ledger structures, VAT schemes, and integration points between different applications.
If you have specific requirements, such as continuous supply VAT rules or service charge accounting, we design configurations that keep you compliant without creating extra admin. These setups are documented so your team knows how to maintain them after we step back.
Reporting tools are also built during this phase. Dashboards, management accounts templates, and board pack formats are all ready before go-live, so you have useful output from the start rather than spending the first three months building reports from scratch.
Staff training for your new finance system
Systems projects fail when the team does not buy in. We have all seen it: expensive software sits unused because nobody really understands it, or worse, people use it incorrectly, and the data becomes unreliable.
We train your team on-site over one to two days, depending on complexity. This covers both the technical operations and the reasoning behind the new workflows. When people understand why a process has changed, they are far more likely to follow it properly.
We work with frontline staff, accounts teams, and management to ensure everyone understands their role. We also identify team members who can handle day-to-day queries and help maintain system discipline after we leave.
Post go-live support: the critical first six weeks
The first six weeks after go-live are when problems surface. Someone tries to process an unusual transaction and does not know where it should sit, a report doesn’t look right, or a supplier payment fails. These are the moments that make or break a new system, because if people lose confidence early, they stop using it properly.
We provide dedicated support during this period, typically one to three days of availability, to resolve issues before they become bad habits. This is included in the implementation fee, not an optional extra. We have learned that successful adoption requires hands-on help at the start, so we build it into every project.
What changes after implementation is done properly
Businesses that complete implementation properly report consistent results.
- Finance teams spend less time on manual data entry and more time on analysis.
- Monthly reporting becomes faster because the information is already in the right format.
- Decision-makers gain visibility into profitability by client, project, or team without having to wait for someone to build a spreadsheet.
One client told us the new system meant they did not need to hire an additional person for their finance team. The efficiency gains covered the implementation cost within the first year. Others say they finally felt confident in their numbers for the first time in years.
Implementation costs vary depending on data volumes and customisation requirements. We estimate projects using a low-high method, and our track record shows that final invoices tend to fall at the lower end.
If you are sitting on a discovery report, wondering what comes next, or if you are considering whether to commission one, we would be glad to talk through what implementation could look like for your business.
If you have a discovery report ready to action, or you’re stuck mid-implementation and need expert support, get in touch to discuss your project.
Read more about our discovery workshops.