Recently, we discussed why it is so important to choose the right super users for a GHR Payroll implementation. These are the people who should be involved in design meetings from the beginning of the project. Doing this ensures that everyone is on the same page and that there are no surprises once we get to parallel testing the supervisor structure. If you're using a time to tenant system, something to keep in mind is to make sure that the supervisor structure is accurate for time approvals. Th...

Our main goal with Yoga Content is ensuring our product offerings are synergizing together and serve more than one purpose. It's not just an AP automation tool with OCR invoicing because we expanded to provide the entire procure to pay and bring in automation steps throughout that entire process. All of this complements the Infor solution – we're not trying to redesign anything that tool is doing, but there are additional areas that we can enhance to help make sure the Infor process is efficie...

When it comes to AP automation solutions, there are a variety of options available to choose from. Some of these are cloud-hosted software, which is not necessarily the same as cloud-native, and requires additional administration that your organization may not have expertise in. A lot of these applications were written for client server-based architecture, meaning that larger software companies are basically hosting their legacy systems in the cloud, which is not ideal.

Last week, we covered what a managed services contract with RPI looks like from perspective of a longtime client. Now, let’s discuss what this contract might look like for a large healthcare organization who is also relatively new to us. Our team initially preformed a large-scale accounts payable redesign by leveraging Lawson v10, Perceptive Content, Brainware, and Yoga Flexible Software, forming a very complex and robust solution.

Defining the business case for your organization to move onto a cloud based ERP system is not easy. The first thing you need to realize is that this type of project isn't driven solely by IT - all business areas that will be impacted by this project should have a seat at the table. This is when you start talking about where does Lawson (or your current system) meet your needs, and where does it fall short? Are there any outstanding pain points with the business applications that are in place tod...

Recently, we discussed what a managed services contract with RPI looks like for a client who needs on-demand Perceptive Content and Brainware support. In addition to creating Learnsets, for this client our team also made enhancements to the line matching functionality within Brainware. This allows them to easily read important invoice details such as PO number, company name and address, but also automatically matches the lines of each PO, reducing clicks and manual work, overall.

Last week, we covered how to handle different kinds of data ahead of a conversion. Data conversions for CloudSuite are an extremely complex process and it's important to know what you can do to improve this process. One of the main reasons they are so complicated is because data is structured differently in the cloud than it is in legacy systems. CloudSuite has a lot of data integrity rules in place to ensure that business objects are complete, accurate, and can relate to the master data and oth...

We’ve discussed a lot about implementing GHR Multi-Tenant Payroll on this blog, so let’s dive into some of the specifics of the system. Payroll History Import is a business class delivered by Infor that allows you to bring S3 data over to GHR. This means you still have access to historical data and the ability to review payroll, the pay employee paychecks, and other kinds of details in GHR, instead of having to access S3 data. As we have said many times before, you should limit what you brin...

We’re going to transition away from our managed services blog series for a couple weeks to discuss our Yoga Flexible Software Suite of products, why RPI Consultants decided to develop it, and what it can do for you. Yoga Connect is where this story begins, a handy piece of software formerly known as Lawson Com Object, developed by RPI Partner Richard Stout. All of our Yoga products stem from two decades of experience in software and management consulting.

What should you expect if you have a managed services contract with RPI? To start, we utilize an easy-to-use ticketing system to report and track issues. For example, one of our clients audits our changes to their production environment on a yearly basis. The reporting we provide makes this process easy - as simple as sending an email to your custom ticketing email address provided by your RPI project manager.

Last week, we discussed how to create a snapshot of tagged items within Configuration Console. This action is similar to a CD import or import configurations utility. Once it comes up, you specify the file name and the system will pull it into a list of imported snapshots. This allows you to see a partial list of all the snapshots that are currently imported, but have not been applied yet. Each time you apply a snapshot to a configuration, they disappear from this list, which helps manage upcomi...

If there is one takeaway you have from our CloudSuite HCM blog, it's not to wait until S3 is decommissioned to begin preparing for the upgrade to v11. So that you understand the level of effort required, let's use a basic company structure as an example of what a migration project looks like. Let's say the migration is for GHR Payroll with Absence Management (AM) for roughly 8,000 employees at a 43-week timeline. You could potentially cut some of that time out if AM is not being implemented alon...

Last week, we discussed how RPI empowers clients through custom managed services agreements. These can be modified in a variety of ways, including varying Support Tiers based on your needs, ranking from Tier 1 (basic help desk support) through Tier 3 (custom development, coding, proactive monitoring, and maintenance). Each tier can be adjusted or further customized to what works best for your organization. These agreements are available for any of the enterprise software solutions RPI specialize...

Last week, we discussed how to create the business case for GHR Payroll. One of the most important questions to answer is when do you think you can implement it? Once you're on GHR, you can start looking at a go-live date. We recommend January 1 - it's the cleanest way to do payroll and payroll history, year to date payroll, and a W2 all in one system. Once a go-live date has been set, then you have to decide when you will decommission S3.

Now that we’ve covered the flexibility of a managed services agreement, let’s discuss how it can be customized. This boils down to how much assistance is estimated to be needed, which type(s) of assistance are needed, and which combination of resources are the best fit, depending on the systems and solutions in place. It is of the utmost importance that consultants with appropriate skills and knowledge levels are involved and actively working on client teams as a seamless addition.

You know what the end game is when it comes to migrating your payroll processes to the cloud, but sometimes it can be hard to articulate the reasons for such a massive undertaking. Is it going to save you hours a week because you'll be able to optimize your processes? No, but it's an opportunity to re-examine everything that was built decades ago through the lens of your current team. This will allow you to figure out what you need to support payroll based on where your organization is today.

Last week, we introduced some of the different ways managed services could potentially help your organization. Although we won’t go over everything that you could get out of managed services, it’s worth repeating that you get what you want out of it – the scope of your contract is totally up to you. Whatever your specific needs are, we will make sure to address them.

Last week, we discussed some of the pros & cons of GHR Payroll. One of the biggest benefits of Infor's multi-tenant cloud is that the cost of software, hardware, and databases is shared across multiple organizations. It's very secure and each set is isolated from everything else, so it's not just a big soup of data in there. The only problem you might run into is not having access to the data right when you want it. Since other organizations also store their data on there, it has to be moved out...

Lately, we’ve been discussing what is not managed services, so now let’s take a moment to dive into what it is and what it can do for you. Ultimately, it’s up to you in terms of how you want to approach your managed services contract. One of the biggest features of our managed services offering here at RPI Consultants is on-demand support. Not only does this guarantee that you know who to contact for issues, but also eliminates scope concerns and the need to contact multiple vendors if you...

Since we've covered the reasons you should care about GHR Payroll, let's discuss some pros & cons. If you're on-premises today (which a lot of people are), then you own the hardware, the software, and the database. The good thing about this is if there's any kind of processing speed issues or you need to add more resources for the system to work better, then you have control over that. The flip side of that is if there's any issues, you need to buy new hardware and license the software yourself....

Let’s expand on what we discussed last week in terms of a managed services offering versus an SMSA. To be entirely honest, there’s not a huge functional difference between ad hoc support hours and managed services hours, except that the latter offers significantly more scope flexibility. Rather than outsource a managed services contract to another company, RPI resources are available to assist with whatever helps you derive maximum value from your software, be it Hyland’s Perceptive Conten...

Last week, we discussed the console view on the Web UI configuration console. There is also a report console, which is a very easy way to track down reports that have been generated and find out who they've been shared with and who authored which report. It provides an easy way to see the filter information defined on those reports, locate the source of certain data, as well as generate and edit the orientation of a PDF.

The Origins of ERP Enterprise Requirements Planning (ERP) systems were created to solve a series of problems organizations had 25 – 30 years ago, mainly data and process inconsistency. In the early days of enterprise applications, many organizations had systems which were centered around functional areas – Finance had theirs, as did Procurement, HR/Payroll and other teams. This application era was commonly referred to as “best-of-breed”. The applications worked for the respective func...

The console view is the first thing you see when you enter Configuration Console. Some key features are the search functionality, which means no more navigating through the tree as you do in Rich Client. It's very easy to come in here and search if you know the configuration name right off hand, or you can go by business class type and status. Some other things that we want to point out on the homepage are the edit and activate buttons, which let you edit the LPL once you find that configuration...

When comparing on premises and cloud implementation in terms of success criteria, the biggest criteria time & time again is executive leadership and sponsorship. What these two things do is set the vision and help people understand why you’re going through this migration, what’s in it for the organization, what are the expectations, etc. In making sure all of that is communicated to the organization, they establish governance, which is vital to the success of a project. This is a term that g...

Continuing our conversation around the Web UI version of Configuration Console (which comes available with Infor CloudSuite), another widget you will come across on the homepage is Invalid Configuration. This is very helpful prior to and after CU when you're trying to verify everything to ensure whatever is coming over won’t break anything. In the event that it does, this widget will call it out very clearly so you have the ability to go through an make the necessary updates to get everything ...

If you can't already tell, we really love to discuss the recent evolution of ERP and its technology. As a delivery organization, something we're constantly trying to figure out is how can we best support our customers in this constantly shifting landscape. New systems and capabilities are constantly emerging, and we are faced with the challenge of trying to get our customers to change their mindset about the systems. Everything's had to change on the vendor side: the training system, the support...

Pivoting away from general CloudSuite knowledge, let’s take a deep dive into one of its most exciting features, the new Configuration Console. Of course, this application has been around for a long time in the rich client, but Infor has made it available on Web UI. There's a lot of new functionalities that we want to highlight and showcase in this tech series.

We've been talking a lot about feature functionality, so let’s shift gears a little bit. One of the things that's the major advantage of the cloud and SaaS is the fact that it increases vendor efficiency because they no longer need support multiple versions of the software. One of the fundamental differences about applications being sold and deployed today is that the technology and capabilities of the applications themselves are advancing fairly quickly, regardless of vendor.

Keith & I have spent a lot of time digging into the technical side of a CloudSuite implementation and detailing the various things that must be taken into consideration ahead of kickoff. The other, equally import side of the coin is the people who are involved in the migration.

We covered some of Yoga Content’s EDI & OCR processing capabilities last week; now, let’s look at one of the ways it can help users manage documents. When it comes to spaces where users can interact with each other within enterprise content management solutions, there are some good workflow-centric use cases that may not be handled well by Infor Process Automation (IPA) or other case management flows. Having robust options for interaction within your ECM software can help to cut out much of ...

Every organization is different when it comes to their data and what needs to be brought over during a cloud migration project. Although we don't recommend bringing over more than a year's worth of historical data, some may require more than that for certain business processes or legal requirements, so it's important to take stock of your data before getting started so that you can avoid the transfer of unnecessary data.

We discussed how to properly handle the effective dated queue last week, so let’s cover canceling an action in there. If you realize that something was entered erroneously, like someone retired but then decided to come back, you have the ability to cancel this action if it's in the future.

Last week, we discussed the importance of implementing change management strategies ahead of a CloudSuite migration. These projects revolve largely around the technical development, which is always one of the most challenging parts for our clients. This is partially due to the differences between interfacing with a legacy system and a cloud-based program, but also to the impact is has on daily business processes.

We have already introduced you to the Infor Government Essentials program and discussed how it encompasses the core scope of an ERP project. We’re going to dive into this further from an HCM financial perspective to explain what this “core” is and what sort of extended functionality could be implemented or deployed downstream.

In our ongoing conversation around data correction within the multi-tenant payroll system, we discussed how the effective dated queue impacts the total scope of the correction. When you change an effective date in the queue, you can only change a future effective date to another future date – a current or past date will not be accepted by the system.

We discussed how we use IDM Capture last week, but we also work with Kofax Express to capture documents. Built with scanning in mind, it is a lightweight software that can be installed on a single desktop. This solution doesn’t require server administration, and it can be a great addition to some technology stacks because it has a very small footprint.

Last week, we introduced you to the 60/30/10 concept for implementing ERP systems. Let’s move on to how to approach this project from a delivery standpoint. Looking at this from an ERP SaaS standpoint, the biggest challenge we have encountered in talking to hundreds of customers before they move to the cloud is that there is a mindset shift that the customer needs to have about taking what the vendor delivers out of the box. It may not be exactly what they have envisioned, but it's going to wo...

Over the past several weeks, we have covered how to handle the historical data process using the IDM bulk import tool, Spreadsheet Designer Plus, and Yoga Connect. Once you've got your historical documents taken care of, it is important to consider how to optimally capture documents going forward.

How does pre-planning for your organization’s CloudSuite migration benefit you? It minimizes the risk of the project being over budget or timeline, or even project failure all together. Having our consultants guide you through this process gets everyone on the same page as in terms of what your goals are and what resources are needed to get it done.

In our ongoing conversation around Payroll History Import, we spoke last week about how to handle purging tables. I’d like to bring your attention to the purge process that Infor provides within the GHR system. If you find yourself in a situation where you haven't run your pending payments, or there's still an outstanding pending payment, or perhaps none of them has been processed, there is still a way to purge that data. Infor recommends you purge pending payments first, so once you click the...

We have previously discussed Payroll History Import and the way it processes pending payments. Let’s take a closer look at how that works within GHR. The system takes all pending payments and creates a bunch of tables, a payroll payments record, as well as a payroll register. If you process that Payroll History Import, it will prompt you to create checks (also known as a payroll registry). Once these have been created, all wages and deduction tables will be updated. This process creates the bi...

Last week, we discussed why the need for customizations is eliminated by a cloud-based system. Let’s dig into why it is beneficial to keep the version the same for all customers. There's a tremendous advantage to doing so, both for the vendors and customers. The one that you mentioned that is the most important is the vendor is the only one supporting the version of the software. Anyone who has worked as a vendor would agree that even when there was only an upgrade once every one or two years,...

Some people ask us, "If I do pre-planning, does that mean I don't have to do planning during a project?" I want to emphasize that is not the case at all – planning throughout the project is equally as important as pre-planning. This is true even during implementations where there will be a time for planning during each individual phase. You can’t prevent things from happening over the course of a project, but you can prepare for it by allotting space on your timeline from the beginning. We c...

We recently touched on something that's really important about CloudSuite, which is the fact that the customizations are not really necessary. One of the principal things that happened in the ERP space over the last 20 or 30 years is a diversification of systems. It used to be that when I put a system in for a client, it was designed to work for multiple companies of various sizes and vertical industries. This meant that almost everybody who installed one of those systems would have to tweak it ...

To be as prepared for a CloudSuite implementation as possible, one thing you can do today is your own independent research. You can definitely engage with a partner because we're here to offer our services and our expertise, but it is also beneficial to talk to other customers and ask them what their experience was like. You’ll hear about projects taking anywhere from "18 months" to "two years," as well as stories about huge projects that were really resource dependent, so you can figure out w...

One of the things that Infor has done over the last several years is invest heavily in a move from on premise ERP to the cloud. Most vendors in this space are doing this and there's a couple of reasons for this. It’s profitable for the vendors and it gives the vendors themselves the capability to enhance and improve the products.

"Whenever we engage with teams that have done their homework ahead of an implementation, it makes things move so much more smoothly. The level of resource that you need to bring to the project is going to be impacted by the clarity of the scope and timeline. In addition to what's being implemented and in how much time, understand that you're calibrating to how much resource you're going to need. If you're planning to implement everything under the sun in 9 to 12 months, you will need a huge amou...

On a recent visit to our Baltimore headquarters, Joe Hoover met with Mike Guay, a VP of Customer Success at Infor and former ERP strategist at Gartner, to discuss the current state of the public sector. Mike focuses on improving the customer experience and cloud-based operations, so he was able to provide Joe with insight onto how the Essentials program fits in to the picture.

Continuing his ongoing discussion around change management, Justin Braun is back to suggest some ways that leaders can support their team during a CloudSuite migration project.

Among the many governmental challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, loss of revenue and the necessary transition to remote operations have been two of the most common. Additionally, recruiting and retaining quality government workers is a greater challenge than it ever has been. In response to these ongoing issues, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 includes $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) for state, local, territorial, and tribal governments.T...

Last week, Justin Braun addressed how vital is it for an organization to prepare their team for the level of change brought on a CloudSuite migration project. A task that is much easier said than done, Justin has some advice on how leaders can approach this conversation.

Let’s expand on our discussion around Payroll History Import. If you have a parameter to extract eight months of historical data from 2021, this RPI tool will take it from S3 and build one CSV file per month, which you can then load that to GHR. It's a sizing control as well, meaning that you want to limit the number of records you want to move to the Cloud. You don’t want to overload the system, so be sure to test those files to make sure all your components are there. That process generate...

One of the most critical items to address before embarking on a CloudSuite implementation is making sure there are procedures in place for scope management. It’s easy to deal with scope creep where there are a lot of little changes to the solution that ultimately impact the success, complexity, and ability to test the system. Much like issue management, scope management has to be identified and resolved at the right levels.

As Jeremy Stoltzfus, one of our Principal Technical consultants, pointed out to our readers last week, there are a lot of new tools to teach you how to develop effectively for CloudSuite. One of those tools is not a programming language per se, but rather a management technique. When you are going through a CloudSuite implementation, it's so critical to have these items built out in a short period of time.

We’ve been discussing technical development and some of the things you can get squared away ahead of a CloudSuite implementation. Getting up to speed on the various tools and technologies that are going to come into play is important, so to tell us more about that, we have one of our lead developers and principal technical consultant, Mr. Jeremy Stoltzfus.

In terms of technical development ahead of a CloudSuite implementation, let’s discuss some of the things you can do today to prepare. The first thing is to figure out all those technical development items that you're currently maintaining and make sure you understand not just why they're there in the first place, but also what business processes they enable. Are they going to be required for CloudSuite? Do they represent a unique business requirement that CloudSuite probably isn't going...

When it comes to user expereince in the cloud, the process is much more streamlined than it was in S3. For example, when you go through cycle processing, it will walk you through based on your payroll schedule. You go through the steps based on your payroll cycle from calculating overtime all the way through the post payroll, which means that you will need to go to your payroll cycle to access that information. As you calculate your overtime, it brings up a button to process the next one, and th...

If your organization is embarking on a CloudSuite journey, it's important that your IT & business teams are up to speed first. Put them in a position to guide your business through a successful transformation to CloudSuite with RPI's CloudSuite Bootcamp. This is an in-person training hosted by RPI's Infor certified consultants at the RPI world headquarters in Baltimore, MD. Limited slots are available on a first come, first serve basis so don't miss your chance!

It is the week after HIMSS 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Booths have been broken down, everyone has traveled home or is enjoying the vacation they tacked on to their travels. As we reflect back on the event that boasted attendance numbers ranging from 18,000 to 28,000, there were a lot of things to be excited about. HIMSS did a great job ensuring everyone was either fully vaccinated or had been tested prior to attendance, and as such attendees generally went without masks. It was a welcome vision ba...

Barbie Hunley: The last characteristic we’d like to discuss around projects is connected to the project itself. Joe Hoover: We've talked about the people, processes, systems, and now projects. From this perspective, one of the most important aspects or characteristics of a successful implementation has to do with the deliverables. When I say deliverables, those are the work products that are reviewed and approved formally by the project team. Those deliverables will range in design document...

At the core of its processes, Infor Document Management (IDM) is a document repository. While it is not required to have a record in CloudSuite Financials to link to the document, we see the most value having that record in FSM linked to the and appearing in that contextual viewer. To achieve that though, what we have to do is attach that unique identifier when we upload those documents. That way the system knows when I'm looking at this invoice, it's matching to this invoice image.

The last element of GHR Multi-Tenant Payroll that I want to cover is the integration between payroll and finance. Once payroll has been closed, you will have a finance interface appear, which are all the payrolls that are closed. You can see they're posted and that this interface run group has been interfaced over to finance to tie them together. After this, the general ledger interface and accounts payable import into the new system.

Whether you have Perceptive, OnBase, OpenText, DocuWare, or MHC, these are all legacy on-premises software. They require integration to whichever new cloud ERP you're looking to migrate onto. When it comes to those legacy content management systems, integrating with S3 requires design studio customizations to put a button or URL in to call it back to a web client. OnBase has an application enabler that dynamically retrieves documents based on the current screen. Before, you would have to go back...

Last week, we covered some of the new and exciting features of GHR Multi-Tenant Payroll like the administrator dashboard and tax locator errors. Now let’s discuss the lock payroll feature in depth. Once you’ve calculated overtime, then you can begin this process. Once lock is on, then you would go through and calculate your payroll. When that is complete, the next one that would pop up would be print payroll, making it a very simple payroll process.

We’re going to discuss some of the newest payroll features on CloudSuite. The first one I would like to go over is the payroll administrator dashboard. This area provides the administrator with a quick glance at where the payroll process is at any time. In the case of a payroll that is currently open and calculating payments that are in error, there are no off cycle payrolls in process. There are some quick links to deduction alerts, BSI tax alerts, and tax errors. It also has some deduction e...

Change can be very difficult for a lot of people, specifically for those that have been using software for a very long time and feel comfortable with it. Bringing on a new project and new tool to use new software to use can be quite scary. That is why it is so important to have an awareness of that when you are rolling something out that’s new to people.

Barbie Hunley: The last item for our business processes is the organization actually accepts changes in the business processes. Joe Hoover: What helps in that area is the goal of standardization, right? The more the organization can accept standardization, the more simple and more consistent the outcomes are. When we talk about change management and accepting the business processes, there must be a reasonable balance between understanding those new processes and accepting them.

Over the years, RPI has done several key surveys like this - we are happy to share the results so that you can see how the market is doing. Your information and answers are confidential, but all respondents will receive the trends afterwards. Additionally, all who respond will receive a $10 Starbuck's gift card. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete this survey.

As a change manager and strategic services consultant at RPI, I know exactly why change management is one of the key elements you'll want to consider when preparing for the move to CloudSuite. It might be a little bit less obvious than some of the other considerations that Leigh and Keith have discussed throughout this series. but it’s actually one of the most important things you can do during a migration to the cloud.

Aside from ensuring your IT team is adequately supported, the second thing you can do today is start working on a change management strategy. Obviously, this should start with a look at your internal change management capabilities. Some organizations have well-developed internal OCM experts, some do not. Look into getting some support so that you can start evaluating your organization's change hardiness and potential change resistance points.

Another challenge we have on CloudSuite projects in that they are multi-tenant, so the updates are continuously coming. If this is new to you, it requires a little bit of a change in mentality. Like Keith was saying last week, when you look at potentially doing a training video, you might want to do it two months after you go live and things have settled down a little bit to prevent it from immediately becoming obsolete.

The bottom line when it comes to moving to the cloud is ensuring end users are engaged and involved in this project to help work through any issues in a constructive way. Although an executive might be able to talk about the value of having a cloud-based modern enterprise application that features better reporting and is always up to date, that same executive probably doesn't know how to sit down and correctly process an AP invoice.

Up to this point we've talked about how to make the business case for Infor CloudSuite and the crucial importance of careful pre-planning before under going a migration or implementation. Now we'd like to move on to cover some of the major challenges that every CloudSuite implementation needs to overcome to have a successful go-live. We will also talk through what organizations can do before they start to be best positioned to overcome those challenges.

We’ve already discussed why you need to establish your supervisor structure ahead of taking on a payroll implementation. Something else to keep in mind is that it’s not just about driving decisions makers to understand your organization and the strategies necessary to take it in the right direction. The important thing is making sure those decision makers are empowered.

If you don't have a good supervisor structure in place before you start you project, that needs to be your team's top priority. This is especially true if you are using a time keeping system because they will rely heavily on your supervisor structure for time approvals. The same thing with your position structure. If you currently don't have a strong position structure, start thinking about how you want to restructure it - if you don't, it will have a negative impact on your time keeping, regard...

We have reached the conclusion of our 2021 Winter Webinar Week – it has been a great success and our team has enjoyed the opportunity to present this information to you live & in-person. We have a variety of topics on the slate for today, such as document imaging within CloudSuite, multi-tenant payroll, and Birst. Below is a list of today’s presentations (12/9), along with the link to register. All webinars can be watched on-demand once registration is completed.

For months now, everyone at RPI has been excited about the prospect of coming together in our new Baltimore headquarters to bring you a slate of some of the best educational content around in the format that really helps the topics shine. Yesterday, we kicked our 2021 Winter Webinar week and that excitement was only ratcheted up a notch, as the day was a resounding success!

When it comes to having a successful CloudSuite project in the Public Sector, what do you want to know? On Wednesday (12/8) at 1:00 PM EST, Richard Leigh Stout & Barbie Hunley will tell you everything you need to know about what the Cloud means for Public Sector. If you want to know how to get ready for it and how to be successful, come listen to two of RPI public sector experts discuss projects they’ve worked on, the impacts of the clouds on an organization, and needs in the Public Sector in ...

Is your organization looking down the road at a CloudSuite project? At noon on Wednesday December 8th, RPI partners Keith Wayland and Richard Leigh Stout will discuss common implementation challenges and how to lay the groundwork early to ensure a smooth project. Learn what you and your team can do now to prepare for CloudSuite. Topics include stakeholder engagement, data cleanup, technical development, and pre-planning.

Joe Hoover: Last week, we discussed how the honest assessment of your staff's ability to be involved in the project is critical to its success. Barbie Hunley: Something else that's super crucial is having an efficient and effective decision making process.

Once the project vision and the project goals and objectives have been defined, the right quality and quantity of executive support and sponsorship are established so that when we have major accomplishments, we celebrate those accomplishments with all levels of executive support. It's not a question of setting up the vision or setting up the project goals, rather it's having continuous involvement of executives allowing the project members to get the feeling executive leadership is engaged is su...

Something that's really important when we're talking about an approval process in a software solution is that the application needs to know who has the authority to approve what kind of transactions and who needs to see what kind of transactions. In the past, every approval system that's been bolted on to Lawson, whether it be IPA, On-Base, or a separate imaging system, basically has had to store the logic within its own configuration and its own way. Those systems have been really disconnected ...

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, we had just begun the unit testing for a client's payroll implementation. So everything was from unit testing all the way through go-live was 100% remote for us. We were able to easily adapt to the project. The team lead was their only payroll person. It was her idea to have daily team calls. We had an online Microsoft Teams meeting that was just an open meeting for her and me.

Here is a sample timeline for implementing GHR, although it can definitely be done in a shorter amount of time. Usually, absence and payroll together have a 43 week go-live. During this process, there's a lot of activities occurring at the same time, but the biggest thing to remember is that there will be three payroll parallels. Of course, we'd love to do 100 of them until there's no errors, but that's unrealistic.

Barbie Hunley: With regards to the people and organization, the first characteristic that we advise people is really to ensure that they have the right quality, quantity and availability of their project staff. Joe Hoover: Right, for a successful ERP implementation, it's a people project. First and foremost, you want to identify on your organization team those individuals that will be assigned to the project and the ability of them to dedicate their time to the project will directly impact or...

Regarding system uptime in CloudSuite, anyone that has a subscription is probably on their email notifications list. This means Infor will let you know whenever there's a service degradation across any of the apps, or within any of the CloudSuite portfolios that you subscribe to. We've definitely seen a pretty steady stream of updates lately. So, the other question is how do you prepare for CloudSuite being down unexpectedly?

Let's talk about data migration. Infor does offer data migration services where they take information from single-tenant Cloud to move it to the multi-tenant. They take information from Workday 4 for example. So if your payroll application is on a third party system that is not a loss in system, that will also be migrated from loss in S3.

Designed to address the evolving needs of small to medium-sized governments, Infor CloudSuite’s Public Sector Essentials package bundles HCM, Payroll, Financials, & Procurement into one integrated solution at an affordable price point.

When it comes to cloud implementations, I divide them up into three varieties. One is the kind where your project goes off the rails, you spend a lot of money, and you don't get to the other side. Obviously, that’s a risk that you want to try to avoid, by planning, finding the right partner, and making sure you understand what you're about to take on, all while having a realistic budget.

Something else that's really important when you look at CloudSuite is the robustness of the reporting. This aspect of the new Infor CloudSuite solution is really driven by two major factors. First, is the ability to set up GL dimensions, which are indexed. You no longer have to work around the limitation of your account unit activity to track different information. Secondly, you can analyze this information through the self-service tools Infor puts at your fingertips.

Each Friday afternoon at 12:00 pm ET, RPI Consultants holds our familiar “Tech Talks” series. The topic for September will focus on RPA, also known as Robotic Process Automation. We will follow our usual format of Tech the 1st Friday, HCM the 2nd Friday, SCM the 3rd Friday, and Finance the 4th Friday, so there is something for everyone in your enterprise. All the sessions will be recorded and available for future playback. During September, we will also be running a Survey on RPA all month l...

I think everyone acknowledges that the concept of having a single ERP that handles everything you need has been outdated for a while. It can become difficult and overwhelming having a different solution for each piece, as well as thousands of integrations and interdependencies. This is why it's about finding the right happy medium for your organization, which is something that starts with a foundation that's going to take care of 80-90% of your needs. While it's possible that there are some thin...

One of the most challenging components of an ERP implementation project is project governance. While this aspect starts with the project management, it extends to the executive sponsorship as well as the actual project team members who are implementing the ERP system.

The third principle we talked about is identifying implementation constraints and objectives. What we mean by that is, is it a single phased implementation or a multi-phase implementation? It comes down to how much change management and change readiness the organization can absorb at that time. In terms of business transformation, what are those components that need the greatest impact. Is the organization having issues around the procurement process or employee satisfaction? Ultimately, the str...

Once the strategic vision for an ERP implementation is clear, it will typically evolve and be revised by the second guiding principle: establishing the strategic business transformation objectives and approach. This stage always dictates what the scope of the ERP implementation would look like. When we think about any public sector organization, somewhere there is a plaque that says your mission statement, your goals and objectives, all of which focus on constituencies and how to be a better, mo...

One of the questions that we're asked often from public sector organizations is how do I prepare for an ERP implementation? If you look at it from a strategic perspective and consider what the guiding principles would be, the answer would come down to three parts. The first is knowing the scope of your ERP project, the second is establishing your strategic business transformation strategies and approach, and the third is determining your ERP implementation objectives and criteria.

In general, Infor has incredible reporting capabilities. While a multitude of reports are actually delivered within the system, it also has the capability to extract data into an Excel spreadsheet. One of the great things about GHR is the visibility that managers have into their own employees' data, where they can run a report to see who in their group has a vaccination or has been given a face shield, ect. Anyone who is an administrator can use these company-wide reports, which would be some of...

  TAKE QUICK SURVEY   Over the years, RPI has done several key surveys like this - we are happy to share the results so that you can see how the market is doing. Your information and answers are confidential, but all respondents will receive the trends afterwards. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey - you will be entered for some great prizes including iPads, Rokus, and a host of Amazon devices (Echo Dots, Echo Shows, Fire Tablets, etc.) as we love Tech. The s...

Over the course of the last fourteen weeks, Keith and I have walked you through a high-level explanation of what RPI's pre-planning engagement is and how, together through this process, we can maximize the powerful features of Infor CloudSuite for your organization. Aside from discussing how this assessment helps get everyone on your team ready for a CloudSuite implementation, we also covered the project's scope & approach, how to handle different types of data ahead of a migration, ...

All the work that is involved in a successful pre-planning assessment culminates in the executive summary. This week, Keith takes you through the specific deliverables you will receive in our executive summary. This step is extremely important on the road to CloudSuite, so we relish the opportunity to demonstrate what we can do while providing budget estimates for your organization to consider. Check out Keith’s latest post to find out more information!

A large amount of our customers have been on Lawson for many years, which is another big factor in these pre-planning engagements and projects in general. This familiarity means they've developed very sophisticated flows, integrations, and extensions, so they're concerned about how those are going to migrate forward into CloudSuite. Today we’re going to explain what that effort and future state might look for a client in this situation. This part is actually a big component in t...

A question we often get from clients who are looking to implement CloudSuite is what should an organization do to prepare for an RPI pre-planning event? While I think it’s the same as planning for an engagement, there are basically two things to consider. The first is that the better you both understand and document your current processes and pain points, the better you can articulate them to a consultant. This way we already know what you’re looking to achieve from the beginning ins...

Now let’s discuss the key deliverables a client might receive out of this engagement. We have a written deliverable which covers the scope and approach of our project, as well as the organizational profile. It contains everything gathered during the discovery period; this information forms the narrative of how the Lawson application is used, how well it is meeting the client’s needs, and any other noticeable gaps that we can close wit...

Why would you want to pre-plan for your CloudSuite implementation? In a nutshell, these projects are big and complicated and they disrupt an organization’s business processes for the better by their very nature. Since this undertaking is nothing like an upgrade, you really want to set yourself up to have a successful implementation. Remember, this venture will last the next twenty, twenty-five years – as ...

RPI at the MWLUG Virtual Meeting Join RPI this Thursday, March 18 for the MWLUG virtual meeting. The MWLUG virtual meeting will feature special interst group breakout sessions, a special Infor update by Matthew Bragstad, and a riveting ADDINS Session with Mr. Don Peterson! If you're not yet registered for the MWLUG virtual meeting you can register here.  RPI will be participating in the HR, Technical, Financial and Supply Chain special interest groups and will h...

Mike Gardner, our esteemed, long-time colleague, has officially retired from the RPI ranks and Infor-Lawson community. A sales superhero, Mike had a lengthy career in consulting and sales which outlasted most everyone I know. In addition to working at RPI, he previously owned his own consulting firm, Mid-Point Consultants, and some larger Systems Integrators before that. He was an icon in the Infor-Lawson market, truly a classy guy, and he certainly will be missed.   I will always re...

What Can you Learn About CloudSuite Today?  RPI is proud to announce our next iteration of Tech Talks with our “CloudSuite Series”, which will be 15 progressive sessions on each Friday for the next several months. Continuing our series this week, is: Watch On-Demand: CloudSuite 101: CloudSuite Migrations This is your starting point to the transformative potential of CloudSuite, so let RPI help you get off to a good start with the “secret sauce.”&...

Watch On-Demand: CloudSuite 101: CloudSuite Migrations CloudSuite 102: v11 HCM Differences CloudSuite 103: v11 Financials Differences Future Tech Talks You Can Register for Today: CloudSuite 104: v11 SCM Differences Friday, October 2. 12:00 pm EDT CloudSuite 105: v11 Pre-Planning Friday, October 9. 12:00 pm EDT CloudSuite 106: Global Ledger Sandbox Friday, October 16. 12:00 pm EDT CloudSuite 107: CloudSuite for Healthcare Friday, October 23. 12:00 pm EDT .......

The decade of Hospital 4.0 is here. So far clinical operations may have been the primary beneficiary of the innovations brought by this initiative. But as RPI director Michael Grace explains in his article for ERP News, the robust enhancements and process-driven frameworks of the new generation of Cloud ERP solutions when combined with the exciting potential of robotic process automation (RPA) promises even more transformative outcomes for the digital worker in healthcare.  Read Michael&...

RPI's 2019 Spring Webinar Mini-Series RPI's Infor Lawson Spring Webinar Mini-Series will take place May 14-15, 2019. This time we'll be featuring new information on planning for v11, why you really need a business intelligence strategy and how to get one, and show you why and how managed services can still save you time and money in a Cloud-based world. Featured guests will include Infor's Todd Stratton, and Birst's John Duda. Infor's Top ...................

Where does your organization rank when it comes to BI & Analytics maturity? We agree that most organizations are either Basic (spreadsheet-based analyses and personal data extracts) or Opportunistic (individual business units pursue their own data and analytics initiatives as stand-alone projects, lacking leadership and central guidance); so where do you start if you want to improve your maturity? Don’t reinvent the wheel and make the same mistakes others have, lean on the experts at R...

Take a Tour of the Infor HCM Evolution (& Revolution) Join Infor's head of HCM Product Management, Amy Ihlen, and RPI's Richard Leigh Stout on a tour of what's new, where Infor is headed, some industry trends, and the technology in Infor's HCM (Human Capital Management) Evolution - it's a revolution.    Infor's Next Gen Payroll is Coming: An Update & the Evolution   Join Infor's head of HCM Product Management...

As the current year winds down, RPI is pulling out all the stops for our Winter Webinar Series. We're bringing you topics from HCM, GHR, SCM, and Finance focused around CloudSuite FSM v11 and beyond. Some familiar faces, some new faces and a few special guests will be popping by the studio to help us out. So amongst all the hustle and bustle that the month of December entails, take a little time to join us for some new and informative presentations!

We still have a lot more prizes to give away so don't miss your chance to win! Complete RPI's Infor Lawson community survey and you'll be automatically entered into the drawing for a YETI cooler, an Amazon Echo Show, an Amazon Tap and Starbucks gift cards. You will only be able to take the survey until November 2, so don't wait to participate. RPI Consultants administers this survey to gauge the progress and perceptions of the great Infor Lawson community. The survey cap...

Free Coaching Sessions with RPI at Inforum 2018 - Schedule Your Session Today! Schedule a 30 or 60 minute meeting with RPI while at Inforum. Talk about specific topics or just sit down and have a general conversation with one of our consultants about where your organization is now and where you want to be tomorrow. You've seen our webinars, now spend time with those same RPI experts as they provide coaching on the topics that matter to you most. There is no better way to spend your t...

Time is running out to register for the MWLUG IPA Symposium. In this video, RPI’s Richard Leigh Stout and Jeremy Stoltzfus discuss about what you can expect to get out of the event. Check it out here! The IPA Symposium is a collaboration of developers, users, thought-leaders and other community members focusing on how to get the most out of IPA. It is a unique opportunity to share your experience and expertise around this powerful tool as well as to further your knowledge and understand...

RPI's Infor Lawson Summer Sizzler Webinar Series begins on June 4th! As we count down the days until the practical, informative webinars, we're also here to count dow the top 5 things you need to know to make sure you're prepared to experience every bit of value that these webinars have to offer.    5. Log on Early! This may sound a bit underwhelming, but we've all been there — you log on to your webinar and experience the dreaded "technical difficul...

RPI at the KLUG RPI Consultants is proud to sponsor the Keystone Lawson User Group (KLUG) Meeting being hosted at the Wyndham Garden Inn in York, PA on Friday, April 27th. RPI will be the exclusive sponsor of the 2018 KLUG Meeting with over 20 subject matter experts in attendance and 8 sessions to present. Attending from RPI will be Business Analysts, Senior Consultants, Practice Managers and Partners. For more information or to register for the KLUG 2018 Spring Meeting, please visi...

Again this year RPI Consultants is excited to sponsor the 2018 Infor Winter Showcase in St. Paul, MN. For those attending, we would like to help you get the most out of this important event. RPI and WorkOutLoud have teamed up to produce our 2018 version of the Infor Winter Showcase Visitor’s Guide. In this visitor's guide, we’re highlighting some of our favorite restaurants, bars and destinations to visit while attending the 2018 Infor Winter Showcase.

Register now for RPI's Winter Webinar Webinar Series! As current year winds down, RPI is pulling out all the stops for our Winter Webinar Series. We’re bringing you topics from HCM, GHR, SCM, and Finance including AP Automation plus several presentations on CloudSuite FSM v11. A special guest will be popping by the studio to help us out, so amongst all the hustle and bustle that the month of December entails, take a little time to join us for some new and informative presentations! ...

During the Southeast Lawson User Group on September 18th, RPI Consultants matched the donation by the SELUG board to aid the victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The partners, staff and family at RPI Consultants very much appreciated the privilege of being able to match the generous $1,000 donation made by the SELUG to the United Way for hurricane relief. Managing partner Keith Wayland was on hand with VP Sales & Marketing, Bill Geddy, to present the donation to SELUG’s Tanya an...

Why take the time to respond? 1. Prizes! Who doesn’t love prizes? 2. Every respondent will get a copy of the survey results when completed. Get the low-down on what’s happening in the community and see where you stand in comparison to your peers. 3. RPI’s goal is to be the premier source for knowledge-sharing and enablement for the Infor Lawson community. To do that most effectively, we need to know what’s important to you and what you’d like to see in the future educational initiat...

FLUG Spring 2017 Meeting The FLUG Spring 2017 meeting will be held at the Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, FL. Date: Friday, April 21, 2017 from 8AM - 3:30PM Where: Hillsborough Community College Brandon Student Services Center 10414 E Columbus Dr Tampa, FL 33619-7822

This Friday February 24th registration will end for Infor’s Power Training and Winter Showcase taking place March 6th and 7th and then March 8th through the 10th respectively. The Power Training will cover Landmark Security, Process Automation, Technology Foundation, and Infor Security Services. These are some of the most requested training classes and they’re going to be led by some of Infor’s leading instructors. If you’ve had your eye on any of the courses, I can’t recommend strongly enough taking advantage of this opportunity. You get the entire course content condensed into two days which is really going to maximize the time you spend. The training will take place in Infor’s Educational Floor in their St. Paul headquarters which was just renovated and re-opened a couple of years ago, so the facilities are nice, new, and comfortable. I highly encourage you to check it out, especially since time is running short to sign up!

It happens way more often than organizations realize.  Invoices get coded directly to the inventory account – which is no bueno when we are talking about a balance sheet GL account that is purportedly supposed to tie to a sub system (and that system is IC, not AP!)

The following is a clever workaround for receiving a substitute inventory item.

We’ve all gotten the request before…. What was our spend on item 11111 last year? Where do you go to provide them the data behind the request? PO54, MM280, or maybe you get a little crazy and start pulling records directly from POLINE?

It happens way more often than organizations realize. Invoices get coded directly to the inventory account – which is no Bueno when we are talking about a balance sheet GL account that is purportedly supposed to tie to a sub system (and that system is IC, not AP!) So why do we see directly Coded Invoices and Credits for Inventory Items in the first place? Don’t inventory items need to come through a PO to be received in as Inventory in the first place? Yes, they sure do!

RPI Consultants Lawson Candy Apple Webinar Fall Festival! Register today and take home all of your Lawson Festival goodies. www.rpic.com/webinars

Pack up your lunchbox and hit the books on August 18 to learn everything you need to know to ace Lawson 10.

Schedule a meeting with RPI's HCM Practice Manager, Melissa Olson. Melissa is a senior Infor/Lawson Human Capital Management applications consultant with origins in the technical side. She is experienced and certified in Lawson Global Human Resources and Talent Management as well as the Lawson S3 HR applications. Schedule a meeting with Melissa today. www.rpic.com/inforum

We often provide the recommendation to clean-up your users in LSF before running an ISS synch, other than identifying and deleted orphaned records here are some pointers on running an ISS synch.