Let's Start A Conversation

This week, I want to take a step back from the SyteLine® tips and basics and talk about something that doesn’t get said enough:

Not all consultants are created equal—and not all businesses need the same kind of support.

Some of you are working with big firms. Some of you use solo consultants. Some of you are still deciding if you need outside help at all. And the truth is, there’s no universal right answer. It depends on your business, your team, and what kind of help you actually need.

Me? I’ve been on both sides of the table. Before I was a consultant, I was a corporate controller for a multi-site, multicurrency subsidiary of a public company—with our own international subs to manage. We ran SyteLine® across all of it. And, if you've read my story, you already know: I hated it at first.

Why? Because I was a power user in other ERPs. I knew SQL. I could write custom reports. But SyteLine®? It didn’t make sense at first. And the consultants we had couldn’t help—because they weren’t finance people. They showed us the usual suspects—basic forms, basic steps—but nothing deeper. Because they didn’t understand what we actually needed the system to do. Or worse, that the system could do it at all.

That’s when it hit me. While yes, we needed a trainer, what we really needed was a partner. Someone who understood finance and understood the system—and could bridge the gap between the two.

Fast forward to today: I’ve worked with dozens of teams—big, small, public, private, single-entity, multi-entity, domestic, global. And no matter the size or structure, here’s what I’ve seen make the biggest difference: true partnership.

If you only call your consultant when you have a specific question, you’re missing the real value. Because half the time, you might not know the right question to ask.

When you let a consultant in—when you walk them through your business, your struggles, your processes, your team’s pain points—that’s when the good stuff happens. That’s when we can show you what SyteLine® can really do. That’s when we can say, “Actually… did you know there’s already a feature for that?” Or “If we fix this upstream, finance won’t need that manual workaround anymore.”

That’s real impact.

I’ve had clients come to me with full-blown third-party software plans for problems that SyteLine® could already solve—if only they’d known or asked. I’ve seen IT teams build reports from scratch for things that exist in the base product (not because it improved on the standard version, but because they didn’t know it existed). It’s not because they’re doing anything wrong. It’s because no one had the opportunity to show them what was already possible.

So if you’re working with a consultant—me or anyone else—here’s my best advice:

• Don’t just ask how to do something. Talk about what you’re trying to achieve.

• Don’t bring a fully baked solution—bring your problem.

• Don’t be afraid to say, “We’re struggling, but we’re not sure where.”
  
  

Let us in. Let us see what’s going on behind the scenes. Not to critique. To help.

Because when you do, you give us the chance to give you real options—and help you make the best choice for your business. Not a one-size-fits-all answer. Your answer.

This entry is posted. See you in the next journal.
Stacey