ERP Software

Accounting Software Training: important beyond the obvious-Part 1

When a company rolls out new accounting software, it often meets with a certain amount of resistance.  It is rare for all staff to readily buy in to such a major change without anyone pushing back.  Many people are resistant to change, thus the phrase “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” Virtually everyone has heard it and has even used it at one time or another.  The fact is that change is as much a part of who we are as human beings as is the comfort of having things remain the same. It is a balance that we aspire to.  

Since change is inevitable, it is best that we make that change as painless as possible with a well-planned rollout of new accounting software, including sufficient training.  Some businesses choose to do this training by means of professional trainers that are often worked into the purchase agreement for the new accounting software package. Some use consultants (third-party trainers) and some have business analysts on staff dedicated to training issues.  

Electronic training is becoming more and more popular, however caution should be exercised when training the “resisters” as human to human likely works best for them.  Training in advance of the go live can work as a morale booster, a team building experience and to encourage end-users to take ownership of the new product.

It is good to get the most resistant individuals involved first.  They should be among the testers as they will often unearth some fine tuning that needs to be done and though they take pride in ownership of the current system and their own expertise in using it, they will become equally as enthusiastic about the new accounting software if they have a larger personal stake in it.

Be sure to “uber-train” some individuals.  Power users within a department are a vital support tool and other workers are far more comfortable approaching a colleague with a question.  This will also help to minimize the go-live onslaught for the IT department when the big day comes and will also shorten the learning curve, helping return to business as normal (an hopefully better) in as short a time as possible. Remember, your accounting department employees are in the business of accounting first and foremost and accounting software for them is no more than a tool to perform their accounting duties. For them, time is quite literally, money and that’s that.

Written by :

kristine H