The Client

A well-established single-family office (SFO) faced significant challenges in modernizing their accounting and data management systems. Previously utilizing Dynamics SL, they sought a cloud-based, next-generation solution that would offer enhanced data access and reporting capabilities while giving them the flexibility needed to map their business processes.

The Challenge

The client’s existing system, Dynamics SL, was nearing its end of life. The organization grappled with numerous manual accounting and reporting processes, making data consolidation for management decision making both time-consuming and inefficient. A significant pain point was their expense approval process, which was not integrated with their ERP system and involved a complex multi-level, multi-approval setup involving multiple stakeholders.

Additionally, manually scanning and processing invoices and managing over 100 bank accounts was incredibly time-intensive. The family also owned a lodge, for which invoicing was done inefficiently through Excel and Word templates, posing challenges in tracking and efficiency.

The Solution

The TM Group recommended Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, complemented by several third-party applications and some custom development to address these challenges. Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management was included in the project to manage multiple entities within the same Business Central instance, effectively reducing the complexity of handling hundreds of separate ones.

To address the need for GAAP-style reports and manage consolidated financial reporting for over 100 entities, the TM Group team implemented Solver for Business Central. This provided a robust CPM platform for better and faster decision making through streamlined forecasting, budgeting, reporting and analysis.

For enhanced bank account management, TMG implemented an application to import transactions for the numerous bank accounts using a BAI file, automating bank account reconciliations. Microsoft Power Automate was then set up to facilitate the approval process by sending emails for stakeholder approvals outside of Business Central users, which could then be approved or rejected with a single click. Additionally, TMG developed a custom payment dashboard and check format writing application within the Business Central application, allowing for consolidated payables batches across multiple bank accounts.

The Results

Transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with The TM Group’s expertise brought the client numerous benefits.

 1. Invoicing efficiency: By bringing their lodge invoicing into Business Central, the SFO ensured up-to-date billing information and invoice formatting consistency, benefiting directly from the ERP system’s capabilities.
 2. Banking management: The TMG-developed payment dashboard automated and streamlined reporting across more than 100 bank accounts, saving significant time and effort. The process of sending positive pay files to various banks was also simplified and automated, enhancing efficiency.
 3. Payables process management: Through Microsoft Power Automate and TMG’s custom development, the SFO could better manage their payables process, catering to both family members and business stakeholders.
 4. Customized approval process: TMG configured an extensive approval process within Business Central, combining core Business Central programming and Power Automate. This system was tailored to the family’s unique requirements, allowing their need for complex approval rules.
 5. Enhanced invoice processing: The introduction of a “purchase invoice inbox” based on multi-entity management dimensions streamlined the approval process by making it easier to attach scanned documents and key information faster for their legal entities.
 6. Financial consolidation: The Solver implementation offered significant benefits in financial consolidations, simplifying the complex task of managing financials across their numerous entities. This also allowed the client to combine the reporting for two different MEM profiles which had different fiscal calendars.
 7. Ownership profiles: TMG is planning a future phase to create Solver data warehouse trees to track the constantly changing multi-layered ownership percentages, determining access rights for accountants and family members based on responsibilities and partial ownership.

Through these solutions the SFO not only transitioned from an old, on-premise accounting system to a more advanced, cloud-based ERP system but also significantly improved their operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities.

Rooted in a rich history of guiding SFOs and numerous other organizations across a diverse range of industries, The TM Group stands as a beacon of excellence in implementing intelligent business solutions especially for family offices. Our expertise empowers businesses to operate at peak performance.

Reach out to our expert team to discover how we can elevate your business to new heights.