System Administration Overview

Before you can begin using the system and the reports it will produce, information must be gathered, organized and entered into the system. CGC recommends setting up an implementation schedule; this is very important regardless of the number of applications being installed at this time.

Include as much detail as possible in your schedule. Allow time for tasks such as the design and printing of forms and checks, gathering and checking information, staff training, and ample time and resources to key your initial records. Your schedule will also be affected if hardware must be purchased or upgraded.

At this time, you will want to consider report distribution, record handling and storage, special treatment for confidential files and disposal of same. As you are planning, make a visible record—a chart, time-line or graph—that will provide you, and your staff, with an overall view of the scope of the work before you. This will also give you a place to indicate areas of responsibility and to record the progress of your staff as they complete their tasks, without losing track of their place in the overall plan.

Personnel from CGC will be available to assist you in this preliminary planning phase. Their experience in system implementation will be valuable to you in estimating the time and effort required to accomplish each phase of this activity.

The implementation schedule for individual applications varies considerably by corporation. Much of the scheduling will depend on the priorities established by your company. However, the General Ledger system must be installed first, as the general ledger chart of accounts is required by all of the other applications. CGC recommends that you install Job Cost next because so much of the reporting generated by the other applications is dependent on the Job Cost Coding system.

Installation and implementation beyond that point will depend on your own schedule. The time necessary to complete installation depends on the complexity of the corporate structure and coding systems, and the amount of effort and resources, both staff and equipment, which can be committed to the project.