Process
How we work
Discovery comes first and sets the price from real invoices and a mapped order-to-cash process. Each phase then ships one module, switches off one rented tool, and is accepted against a test the client can run.
The phases
A typical sequence for a distributor. The sequence for each client is set at the audit.
P0
Discovery and systems audit
Two to three weeks
What the client gets first
Every estimate is replaced by a figure from the company's own invoices, and the order-to-cash process is mapped one hand-off at a time.
Acceptance test
A signed-off map of the current systems with real costs from the company's own invoices, the accountant's acceptance criteria for the books in writing, and every open question answered or consciously deferred.
P1
Order management and accounting integration
Two to three months
What the client gets first
Orders are entered once, and the order channel no longer depends on a platform the company rents.
Acceptance test
Every accepted order reaches the accounting system without a person entering it a second time, and the tax accrued for the period reconciles to the invoices.
Switched off
- The rented ordering platform
- Manual entry of orders into accounting
P2
Inventory and compliance integration
Three to four months, starting before order management is finished
What the client gets first
One count of stock across every system, and shipping paperwork built from the pick.
Acceptance test
A full physical count at every location matches the platform's count within the agreed tolerance and, where there is one, the compliance system's records, and every outgoing shipping document for a week was created from the platform.
Switched off
- The warehouse app
- The marketplace channel
P3
Production and costing
Three to four months, overlapping the inventory phase
What the client gets first
A cost per batch the accountant can defend.
Acceptance test
A month of production runs is costed to the batch and posted to the books by entity and activity, with no login to the old production system.
Switched off
- The industry ERP that is used for a fraction of what it does
P4
Finance, parallel run and cutover
Built alongside the earlier phases, then two periods run in parallel
What the client gets first
A period closed on the new books that reconciles to the old ones to the cent, signed by the accountant.
Acceptance test
Cutover is complete at a reconciled period end with the outside accountant's written acceptance, and the first period after cutover closes on the platform alone.
Switched off
- The per-seat accounting system and its partner fees
P5
Reporting and legacy retirement
Throughout, closing after cutover
What the client gets first
The monthly reporting package for the lender or the board comes out of the platform.
Acceptance test
The monthly reporting package, the tax return support and the reconciliations the auditors test all come out of the platform without a spreadsheet or a login to the old ledger.
Switched off
- Automation tools
- Spreadsheet reconciliations
- The old ledger, once it has stayed read-only through a tax filing
How we work
Discovery comes before the price
We price a build after discovery, from the company's own invoices and a mapped order-to-cash process. That map is the specification.
The biggest gap ships first
The first phase closes the hand-off that costs the most, usually order management and the accounting integration. Each phase is useful on its own, so nobody waits for the whole platform to see something work.
Each phase switches off a rented tool
A phase replaces a subscription or a manual step, and the savings show on the next invoice. The list of what each phase retires is written down before it starts.
Accounting moves last, after a parallel run reconciles
The old ledger and the new one close the same periods side by side. Cutover waits until they agree to the cent and the outside accountant signs.
Rules are configuration, not code
Every rule the platform enforces is a versioned setting with an effective date. A rule change is a new version, and every past computation keeps the rule it was made under.
Nothing is deleted, and everything is auditable
Postings are reversed rather than edited. Imported history is flagged as imported and never altered, and a retired system stays read-only until the next financial audit has passed.
What it costs
The price is set at the audit.
Every phase is a fixed price, accepted on its own before the next one starts. The client never commits to the whole platform at once, and never waits until the end to learn the total.
A sample phase
A sample of the lists every phase carries: assumptions, exclusions and acceptance tests. The real lists are written for each client during discovery.
What a phase assumes
- Each current system can export its data through a documented interface or a full database export.
- The outside accountant is available for a working session during discovery and for sign-off at cutover.
- One named person on the client's side approves each phase's acceptance test.
- The number of entities, locations and users is the number confirmed at the audit.
- Where an integrator approval from a regulatory agency is needed, the request is filed in the first week.
What a phase excludes
- Point-of-sale hardware and consumer checkout.
- Payroll calculation. Payroll journals are imported as entries.
- Customizing or extending a system that is being retired. It is connected, migrated from and switched off.
- New modules, reports or integrations that come up after a phase starts. Each one is quoted before work begins.
- Marketing, content and search work on the public website.
What a phase is accepted against
- Record counts and totals reconcile between the old system and the new one for every migrated table.
- Trial balance, agings and inventory valuation reconcile to the cent for two consecutive periods.
- A week of real orders flows from acceptance to the books with no manual re-entry.
- A full physical count matches the platform's count within the agreed tolerance, and the compliance system's records where there is one.
- No critical or serious accessibility issue remains on any customer-facing screen.
Book a systems audit
Start with a systems audit.
Each phase has a fixed price and an acceptance test the client can run, and the next phase starts only when it passes.
Built in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Or write to dev@bravuramarketing.com.
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