Background

Government contractors process large amounts of data every day: from balancing budgets to tracking labor costs, strict federal regulations and DCAA require every penny to be accounted for in the right bucket. For small businesses without the resources for enterprise solutions, entry-level accounting tools can usually get the job done – but as they grow, they quickly outgrow their software.

This was the case for cybersecurity services and advisory firm ShorePoint, Inc. who depended on Intuit QuickBooks for their accounting needs. With only one dedicated accountant on staff, the software served their employees and clients initially without issue. When that inevitably changed, they turned to WJ Technologies (WiJiT) for help.

Situation

ShorePoint Inc., who recently received recognition as a Best Small Workplace from Fortune, experienced rapid growth in a short amount of time. It soon became clear that QuickBooks was hindering management and workflow due to several limitations.

• Labor-intensive – as an entry-level accounting tool with few automation features, QuickBooks requires extensive manual data entry and proofing; the workload became increasingly unmanageable as ShorePoint grew.

• Lack of insights – with few tools for data analysis or insights and no ad-hoc reporting features, QuickBooks tracked data but left executives to interpret it for themselves or wait on manual analysis and reporting.

• Partial integration – while QuickBooks provides integration with other systems – like timesheets and software to calculate indirect rates– it did not provide a single-point-of access to these business systems, requiring a cumbersome back-and-forth workflow.

• Error accumulation – with so many touchpoints for data entry and manual duplication, user errors can accumulate, which result in skewed projections and a higher risk of failure during DCAA audits.

Results

After a smooth and uneventful transition to Unanet, the client immediately experienced dramatically improved performance in workflow and productivity, paving the way to new operational efficiencies and continued business growth.

Download the full story.

Solution

With new contracts on the horizon, ShorePoint approached WiJiT for a solution. After meeting with key decision makers to discuss the client’s needs, WiJiT recommended the web based Unanet Financials product as an alternative to QuickBooks, and began implementation as soon as the client approved.

As a vendor-agnostic firm, WiJiT’s recommendation of Unanet was based on careful consideration of the client’s priorities, mission and business model rather than a profit-driven motive. Early on it became clear that the software would resolve established pain points through rich functionality including:

• Fully integrated system – the client could manage data collection for labor, expenses, projects, client billing and much more from one central location, cutting down on labor and unifying records.

• Custom report generation – with ad hoc reporting, upper management would be able to generate custom reports on the fly without the direct assistance of its accountant, unlocking insights and rapid decision making.

• Improved data collection – Unanet integrates with multiple software packages and enterprise systems to automate data collection and reduce workload; through dedicated modules, multiple employees could also share in routine data entry tasks.

• DCAA compliance – Unanet directly supports DCAA requirements for time tracking, projects, expenses and labor distribution, slashing the time spent on compliance procedures and ensuring audit-readiness.

Quotes

“We haven’t had a similar experience. WiJiT really gets to know their clients and thoroughly learned our pain points. In the past, external contractors have done what we asked, but they didn’t do the background research to learn about our company.”
Director of Finance and Administration, ShorePoint Inc