Where Entrepreneurial Mindset & Innovation Meet
How many times have you been working with some kind of technology and thought, “If only it could do this,” or “My life would be so much easier if it could do that”? Pete Eardley, president of the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Charter Industries, faced that exact predicament seven years ago as he migrated to a new business software package. Microsoft Dynamics™ GP (formerly Great Plains) was a capable inventory and accounting solution, but Pete quickly recognized a gap in the product’s sales module.
Determined to overcome the deficiencies, he called on software developer Matt Williams to engineer a fix. That “fix” became the foundation for SalesPad, a new front-end for GP and a solution that blends business savvy and technological innovation. SalesPad Solutions came two years later, when Pete and Matt decided to market their products regionally and, more recently, nationally. Now in its fifth year of operation, SalesPad Solutions is a great example of how entrepreneurial mindset and innovation can combine for success.
Why SalesPad?
“Microsoft Dynamics™ GP is a rock-solid, 25-year-old, proven accounting system,” says Pete, president of SalesPad Solutions, “but it’s not a customer-oriented sales product.” SalesPad, on the other hand, is.
SalesPad affords businesses expedited order entry and access to customer information, inventory, and historical data in a matter of seconds. Users can hover over sales line items to review gross margin data or use built-in reporting tools to compare yearly sales figures. It even has a system of checks and balances to protect organizations. For example, it allows you to review customer accounts receivable balances and react accordingly; if a customer falls below configurable thresholds, SalesPad can stop the order from shipping without the proper review and approval.
“SalesPad changes the way organizations do business,” says Matt. “We focused on creating a product specifically designed for working with customers and taking orders. My job is to leverage Pete’s business experience and my team’s programming talent to create software that addresses real business needs.”
SalesPad & Microsoft Dynamics™ GP
Before SalesPad came along, companies wanting to process sales orders in Microsoft Dynamics™ GP had to purchase a license for every salesperson. SalesPad provides an innovative alternative. While organizations still need Microsoft Dynamics™ GP, many traditional GP users can work in SalesPad exclusively — at a savings of about 30 percent. Moreover, there’s no magic ratio of SalesPad to GP licenses. You could conceivably purchase one license of Microsoft Dynamics™ GP and 20 licenses of SalesPad.
“One of our greatest challenges is convincing the GP dealer channel to sell our product — with every deal,” says Matt. “While it’s true that we can erode their GP seat count sales, it’s our opinion that we help the dealer, and Microsoft, be more competitive and get more deals.” And many Microsoft dealers agree. George Mackiewicz, a Microsoft Dynamics™ GP dealer out of Connecticut, says that SalesPad is the most exciting enhancement to Dynamics GP sales order processing and purchasing since he started selling GP 10 years ago. “It takes the GP application to new heights,” he enthuses.
Pete takes it a step further. “GP dealers are doing their clients a disservice, in my opinion, by not at least making them aware of SalesPad,” he says. “We keep hearing the same thing from end users: ‘I wish I would’ve known about SalesPad sooner.’ Speaking from a business owner’s position, it’s a great way for organizations to cut costs, enjoy greater functionality, and get immediate ROI.”
Coming Soon
In addition to Microsoft Dynamics™ GP, Microsoft has three other ERP (enterprise resource planning) software packages: Microsoft Dynamics™ AX (formerly Axtapa), Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV (formerly Navision), and Microsoft Dynamics™ SL (formerly Solomon IV). In 2010, Pete and Matt plan on expanding their products to do for those users what SalesPad has done for GP. “Our goal is integrate with more and more Microsoft products,” says Pete. “We want to be the sales order processing front-end for all four of their business products.”
Next up, however, is the rollout of two new products that will assist businesses with order fulfillment: a Windows Mobile bar-coding product and a shipping integration product for use with UPS Worldship™. Customers are beta testing both products now. “Another benefit of partnering with Pete is that we test our products in a real business, Charter Industries,” says Matt. “Then we work with other customers to beta test them further. We work hard to eliminate the bugs and little glitches that tend to drive customers nuts. I’ve never seen a significant software product that’s bug free, but my team does a great job; moreover, we’re committed to supporting our customers and giving them fast, personal support when they need it.”
In the end, that kind of customer service may be the biggest selling point of SalesPad. “Users sometimes compare us to the ‘old days’ of working with a smaller Great Plains organization,” says Matt. “We like that. Pete and I are fanatics about customer service and the value our product provides.”
“Thanks to SalesPad, Charter Industries enjoys shipping accuracy of more than 99 percent,” says Pete. “Our returns are less than 0.25 percent. It all comes back to customer service and satisfaction. A lot of businesses preach it, but SalesPad delivers it.”
