Diocesan Implementation Guide

Transcription

1 Diocesan Implementation Guide

2 1.0 Vision & Discovery 1.1 Sales-to-Service Handoff After the contract is executed, the ParishSOFT Account Manager and Diocesan Project Manager will meet to review the Diocesan Post-Sales Handoff Form. The Sales Account Manager, throughout the implementation, should act as a liaison to clarify contract understanding, to conduct periodic checks with the diocesan business owner(s), and to assist in the implementation process as necessary. 2.0 Consultation & Strategy 2.1 ParishSOFT Diocesan Implementation Kickoff Meeting The Sales Account Manager, Diocesan Project Manager and key diocesan contacts should schedule a ParishSOFT Kickoff Meeting within a week of the signed contract. Key diocesan contacts would include, but not be limited to, the purchasing decision maker(s), the overall diocesan business owner(s) of their strategic initiative, and the designated diocesan project manager(s) for implementation. 2.2 Form Implementation Team Successful implementations share a common thread: they have a dedicated diocesan staff member who serves as the lead ParishSOFT project coordinator; and they establish, communicate, and follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) throughout their diocese. 2

3 2.3 Communications Plan Communication is vital in having a successful implementation. The following is a list of communications that need to be put in place when starting a project Weekly Meetings Regular weekly meetings are held throughout the project. The Diocese and ParishSOFT will determine who should attend these meetings and who should receive the documentation (meeting minutes) that follows. The ParishSOFT Company Project Manager will lead the meeting. The ParishSOFT Project Coordinator and Trainer joining as needed Arch/Diocesan Project Manager The Arch/Diocesan project manager is responsible for communicating issues or questions to the ParishSOFT project manager with specific details in a timely manner so items can be addressed as quickly as possible. They will also create a plan to communicate to parishes the specifics on how this rollout will occur and in what timeframe. Additionally, they will commit one key person from each parish to the project orientation, account mapping, training, and conversion (if applicable) ParishSOFT Project Manager ParishSOFT will keep the diocesan project manager informed about changes that will impact the dates outlined in the project plan. ParishSOFT will provide monthly support ticket reports that will assist the diocesan project manager in identifying additional areas that may need training. ParishSOFT will also monitor 3.0 Implementation & Rollout 3.1 Rollout Plan Preliminary Considerations The implementation of new software diocese-wide is a significant change in how the diocese and parishes go about their everyday work. The success of a diocesan-wide implementation may hinge upon the buy-in and cooperation of parishes. Therefore, it is important that parishes be closely involved and consulted to prevent the perception of a forced change. Focus groups, regional meetings, software demonstrations, surveys, core or key business manager meetings and other communications can help promote feedback and lessen apprehension about a new software system. It is also important in these communications to focus on the benefit to the diocese, each parish, and the individuals themselves. 3

4 Parish Implementation It is recommended that you implement ConnectNow Accounting in onsite/hands on groups of fifteen to twenty parishes each to provide effective and economical training and conversion services. If forgoing conversions, larger groups (up to 120) could be implemented at the same time. Please, ensure that the Arch/Diocese is staffed to address the initial questions that will arise from Parishes, Missions and Schools. Parishsoft and the Arch/Diocese will work together to coordinate and schedule various milestones in the implementation process. 3.2 Organization List The most important data in the diocesan system is the list of organizations within the diocese; this includes all Parishes, Missions and Schools. This must be done before the initial ParishSOFT database can be delivered. 3.3 Standardization of Chart of Accounts Having a standardized Chart of Accounts for the Parish Accounting allows for easy reporting and analysis and allows all parties to talk the same financial language and have the same definitions for the various funds. By itself, attaining consensus about the COA can take as long as all of the remaining elements of the roll out combined. The ConnectNow Church Accounting system utilizes a multi-level account code structure that supports multiple entities, categories, cost centers and accounts. These relationships are easy to define and flexible enough to allow the diocese to modify or expand the account structure as needed. With the multi-level account code structure, the Parish or Diocese can report on any level(s) of the organization as desired. The Arch/Diocese will complete the Chart of Accounts worksheets and return the data set to ParishSOFT for review and the initial population of the live and training ConnectNow Accounting database. The Chart of Accounts is required to create the parishes databases. The arch/diocese will be responsible for monitoring any changes needed to the Chart. 3.4 Database Creation After the Organization List and Chart of Accounts are submitted, the ParishSOFT Project Manager will submit these documents to Development to create the Diocese s ConnectNow Accounting Databases. Two databases will be created, one for live data entry and the other for training. 3.5 Orientation ParishSOFT and Diocese Representatives will do onsite visit to groups of parishes to give them an overview of the software, not designed for training purposes. The orientation will help answer any questions from Parishes, alleviate any fears of change to new software, and show ease of use. Orientation meetings are generally 2 to 2.5 hours and may require travel. Diocese should share the steps they took to evaluate software applications and why they chose ParishSOFT. ParishSOFT Project Manager will demonstrate application and answer any questions regarding the software. 4

5 3.6 Diocesan Training Diocesan Representatives will be trained by ParishSOFT on the Consolidation Manger and the ConnectNow Accounting. This training can be done onsite in conjunction with the Orientations, as a separate onsite visit, or as a webinar. 3.7 Mapping Meetings Diocese is advised to host meetings with Parishes to review the Chart of Accounts as well as assist the Parishes in mapping their current chart of accounts to the new chart of accounts provided by the diocese. Meetings should be held before the training time. Documents to aid in the mapping process should be distributed before the mapping meetings. Parishes should have the majority of their mapping done before the meeting to maximize efficiency. 3.8 Data Conversion (if Requested) The Arch/Diocese will decide what startup options they will use/ make available. The options include beginning balances or data conversions. Beginning balance entries are the prevalent choice for new users. Users simply enter beginning balances for their Asset, Liability, and Net Asset accounts and then do journal entries for changes in account balances as needed/desired. A data conversion takes all of the financial data from the old accounting system and brings all of the transactions, vendors, employees, budgets, etc into ConnectNow Accounting. Users cannot select what time from of data is converted. Everything that ParishSoft receives will be input into their ConnectNow data. ParishSOFT can convert from Logos, CMS, or QuickBooks. If a parish has chosen a conversion rather than a beginning balance entry, total implementation time for each organization can be up to two weeks. The parish may continue to use their current system to process payables or payroll with the understanding that such transactions should be put aside for re-entry in PARISHSOFT after receiving their converted data. The ParishSoft Project Manager and the Diocese will coordinate the scheduling of conversions. It is the responsibility of the arch/diocese to follow up with each parish to ensure the source data has been submitted to ParishSOFT for conversion by the submission deadline. 3.9 Training New Users will attend onsite, hands-on training by ParishSOFT. Ledgers & Payables and Payroll require a full day each (two days total) to cover training, exercises, and system set up. It will be the responsibility of the arch/diocese to communicate the training dates, times and location to the attendees. The arch/diocese will provide the training location & equipment. After training is complete, the Arch/Diocese will provide ParishSOFT with a list of attendees (name, orginization name/city, and training attended). ParishSOFT also offers a train-the-trainer option in which a specific diocesan representative would be trained by the ParishSOFT trainer so the diocese could train the parish and diocesan users themselves. More in-depth or refresher training can be done by a diocesan staff member or ParishSOFT during a parish user group meeting. 5

6 4.0 Evaluation &Culmination 4.1 Project Evaluation & Support Handoff Criteria for moving diocesan customers to support: When all modules have been implemented, staff members have been trained, and the module is being used, the customer will be transitioned over to support for that module. The Arch/Diocese should be the first line of support for Parishes. Encourage Parishes to contact diocese for any Accounting or Chart of Account Issues. When Parishes/Diocese contacts ParishSOFT for Support issues, they will call (866) x 2. ParishSOFT Support is available 8:00 am 6:00 pm CST Monday Friday. Diocese will contact the Sales Department for Support Issues, but may use Project Manager as a contact if escalation is prudent. Evaluation: After the implementation, it is important that the team evaluate how the implementation went and document any follow-up needed. The diocesan project manager will be responsible for monitoring the monthly support ticket reports submitted by ParishSOFT to determine if there are additional areas of training needed or if there is a particular issue impacting the diocesan organizations that might need further attention. Each arch/diocese may be contacted postimplementation to provide information for a white paper and customer reference. 4.2 Users Groups Users Groups keep the momentum going for the parishes and Arch/Diocese. Users groups provide an ideal forum to communicate changes in diocesan policies or procedures, discuss new functionality in the software, handle updates, and conduct training. Users groups build collaborative relationships, create a sense of ownership, and demonstrate to the parishes that the Diocese is their friend, helper, and resource. 6