PROPHIX

Prophix Is Hiring

2012-02-07T22:18:56Z

We are excited to announce that we are currently looking to add an Education Specialist to the Prophix team.

The Opportunity:

Thousands of finance leaders around the world use Prophix to empower their organization and gain greater insight into business performance. The Education Specialist role is a challenging and dynamic position responsible for developing and delivering all learning materials and courseware to our customer, partners and staff.

Why Prophix:

Prophix is a rapidly growing, cutting-edge organization, committed to providing employees with the opportunities to achieve their personal and professional goals. Prophix provides a work, life, balance atmosphere, offering immense internal growth opportunities.

Visit our Career Section of the Prophix website to learn more about this opportunity, and to view our other exciting openings.

P.s - We are also hiring Consultants, Business Analysts II, and Project Managers. Apply today!

Take Control of Your Year-End Close

2012-02-02T21:19:58Z

Closing the books at the end of the month and year can be a daunting thought. When efforts are spent on time consuming data entry using inadequate accounting processes, it's inevitable to find yourself in a difficult position. Month-end and year-end closes are stressful, leaving employees working overtime hours for days or weeks at a time.

Challenge:

There are a number of common challenges to a year-end close that limit a department's ability to complete their tasks promptly. Does your organization experience any of these challenges?

Lack of staff training on systems and procedures
Passive support by senior management
Lack of departmental transparency
Inadequate financial systems in place
Failing to communicate across the organization

So why is a faster year-end close important?

A faster close is a good indication of how well a company's financial systems and procedures are performing. In today's competitive market, the accounting function needs to improve existing processes to achieve greater efficiency and accuracy.

Fast and effective closing saves time, money, resources and minimizes re-work. The time saved directly translates to time dedicated to performing value-added activities throughout the organization.

There is a solution! The Faster Year End Close White Paper provides you with the steps needed to eliminate these end of year challenges, and achieve a faster year-end close.

Prophix Continues To Evolve

2012-01-31T21:53:21Z

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Here at Prophix, we are driven to provide the best results for our customers and the most innovative solutions in our industry. With that in mind, it gives us great pleasure to present our new Prophix logo:

As we are approach our 25th anniversary, we will be releasing more exciting changes. Be sure to stay in the loop by:

Subscribing to our RSS feed

"Liking us" on Facebook

Following us on Twitter

Prophix in Action: LUSH Streamlines Inventory Flow

2012-01-26T20:21:59Z

Company Information:

Lush is an internationally recognized cosmetic retailer, specializing in natural handmade products
Approximately 2,000 employees in North America
150 locations in North America

Problem:

Historically, LUSH's store managers would prepare purchase orders after analyzing the previous year's sales data. Unfortunately this method resulted in:

Inability to accurately forecast customer demand
Increased risk of lost sales, lower margins and poor customer service

Solution:

LUSH turned to Prophix, more specifically the Demand Planning feature to help solve their operational business needs. Using Prophix provided LUSH with a forward looking view by allowing them to measure, analyze, and validate corporate strategic plans against actual results.

LUSH's ROI:

15% year-over-year revenue increase per store
$500,000 savings in not-lost inventory over a two month period
Decrease the in frequency of shipments, cutting costs, increasing sales opportunities, and reducing LUSH's carbon footprint
And more...

Read the Case Study to see how Prophix is helping LUSH to better serve their customers.

Evolve 2012 User Conference: 5 reasons you should attend!

2012-01-23T21:33:21Z

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Who doesn't like to mix business with a little pleasure? Our 8th annual Prophix User Conference is taking place at the Walt Disney SWAN Resort in Orlando, Florida from Sunday May 20th to Wednesday May 23rd, and we couldn't be more excited! Offering something for everyone, Evolve 2012 will allow you to:

Network with the right people:
- Other customers
- Prophix Executives
- Prophix experts
Receive training on:
- Detailed Planning Manager
- PROPHIX 10
Educate yourself:
- Understand how you can leverage all aspects of your Prophix investment
Listen to:
- Customer Case Studies discussing real problems and solutions
- Industry experts
Earn up to 28 CPE credits

In addition, you'll be able to fit some family time in, enjoying discounts for the Walt Disney World Resort theme park, spas and dining areas, including exclusive hotel rates.

We are working hard to bring you an even bigger and better User Conference than last year. See all of the fun from our 2011 User Conference, in our blog post.

Register today,to take advantage of our educational, insightful and fun filled Evolve 2012 User Conference.

Movember Madness at PROPHIX

2011-12-01T19:37:39Z

In Canada and around the world, thousands of men decorate their upper lips with moustaches during November each year. With their sporty (and sometimes scary-looking) 'mo's', these brave participants raise vital funds and awareness for men's health issues in general and prostate cancer in specific.

This past Movember, our once clean-shaven male employees trimmed and brushed their way into the annals of moustache lore. These selfless and brave individuals sacrificed their faces and endured a month of caustic comments both inside and outside the office.

Our brave PROPHIX employees on October 31st

Our "Mo bros" one month later

Thanks to our generous employees, families and friends, Team PROPHIX proudly supported Movember and raised over $4,000. We enjoyed laughs, smiles and a fresh shave on December 1st, all for a good cause. See you again next Movember!

Microsoft Recognizes PROPHIX as Independent Software Vendor of the Year

2011-12-01T19:20:44Z

We're pleased to announce that PROPHIX was recognized as Canada's independent software vendor (ISV) of the year at the 2011 Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards!

Microsoft chose PROPHIX as a finalist in the ISV category based on its unique solution for operational planning. PROPHIX 10 enables businesses to significantly improve their demand forecasting and planning by driving improved accuracy, efficiency and collaboration in their financial budgets and forecasts.

The award honours an ISV partner that has demonstrated leadership excellence in the development and delivery of Microsoft platform-based business applications (ERP, CRM, ECM, BI, industry) to mutual customers over the past year. Furthermore, the award acknowledges the ISV that merits great distinction in driving Microsoft-based solutions that solve new or existing business issues.

Congratulations, Team PROPHIX!

A complete list of winners can be found at http://www.microsoft.ca/awards.

2012 PROPHIX User Conference: Save the Date!

2011-11-10T16:34:34Z

We're excited to announce that registration for the 2012 PROPHIX User Conference is now open! Our 8th annual conference will take place at the Walt Disney SWAN Resort in Orlando, Florida from Sunday, May 20th to Wednesday, May 23rd!

A few highlights include the following:

Learn from the experts with hands-on training using our latest application, Detailed Planning Manager
Collaborate with users and product experts to create a FREE strategic roadmap
Network with PROPHIX customers from around the world
NEW: Introducing "Meet the Product Manager" day!
Earn up to 28 CPE credits
Enjoy discounts for the Walt Disney World Resort theme park, spas and dining areas, including
exclusive hotel rates

Detailed Planning Manager training will take place on Wednesday, May 23rd, the final day of the conference. Registering for the conference before December 31, 2011 saves you $200, so register now to take advantage of our exclusive early bird special!

Last year's conference in Boston was educational and a lot of fun, we hope you'll join us in May 2012 to make our next conference even better. If you're coming to the conference, tweet us at twitter.com/prophix with #Evolve2012!

See you in Orlando!

Keys to Accelerating Results: Now Archived Online

2011-11-08T17:00:01Z

Executives today are under pressure to keep pace with rapid global change and demonstrate results faster than ever before. But in a climate of financial and political uncertainty, and permanent volatility, organizations have struggled to implement strategies that achieve successful results.

Watch Business Finance's lastest webcast with Bob Paladino, Keys to Accelerating Results, to learn five key principles of CPM your organization can use to successfully implement business strategies by linking them to your budget. You will also learn how finance functions have built on traditional services to offer corporate performance management services from award-winning organizations.

Webcast:	Keys to Accelerating Results
Speaker:	Bob Paladino, founder of Bob Paladino & Associates, LLC

This webcast was part of the ongoing Business Finance webcast series . In this series of webcasts, each presentation zeros-in on a specific dynamic financial discipline, allowing attendees to build upon their knowledge as they advance down the transformation path. You can view past webcasts on demand by clicking here.

Introducing PROPHIX 10 R2!

2011-11-02T14:12:15Z

Today we are excited to announce the release of PROPHIX 10 R2, delivering the highly anticipated Detailed Planning Manager (DPM) functionality to the global PROPHIX community. This release represents a milestone for customers and partners by offering a wealth of valuable new capabilities to further enhance the PROPHIX experience.

The introduction of DPM builds on the latest wave of product development that started early last year with the initial PROPHIX 10 release. Customers will now benefit from the robust integration of personnel planning and more within a single unified application.

But that's not all; PROPHIX 10 R2 also introduces several new features and enhancements that come in response to an overwhelming wealth of customer feedback. Besides Detailed Planning Manager (DPM), several other enhancements come packaged with this release. Together, these capabilities will further enrich the user's experience.

Product highlights for PROPHIX 10 R2 include:

Templates
Ad Hoc Analysis
Financial Controller
General Interface
Technical Infrastructure

PROPHIX and our product planning team would like to thank those who have taken the time to submit their ideas and comments using the feedback.prophix.com portal. We appreciate your ongoing support. Please keep the ideas flowing!

Want more information on PROPHIX 10 R2?

Is Forecasting in a Volatile Economy a Waste of Time?

2011-11-01T12:55:29Z

Through this recession, many companies have watched their forecasts become meaningless because they were unable to account for unforeseen volatility in their respective markets. Their use of traditional processes to govern how they built their forecasts made it impossible to recognize and react to the unpredictability that characterizes today's economy.

Business Finance has compiled a number of excellent articles on how organizations can enhance their forecasting and budgeting processes to better execute business strategies and perfect their forecasting with more intelligent performance management tools.

Here are five things you'll learn when you read these articles:

How your company can be proactive instead of reactive in an unpredictable economy
Which traditional methods of Corporate Performance Management are obsolete and what they should be replaced with
What top priorities CFOs should be focused on for the coming year
How to explicity address risk in your forecasting
What Corporate Performance Management tool is best for being proactive, implementing new methods of forecasting, providing CFOs accurate and updated data and accounting for risk when building budgets and forecasts

Download "Performance Management: A Game Plan for the New Economic Reality."

PROPHIX Software Inc. an Independent Software Vendor of the Year Finalist in the 2011 Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards

2011-10-28T21:55:16Z

We're very pleased at PROPHIX to announce that it has been selected as a finalist in the Independent Software Vendor (ISV) category for the 2011 Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards!

PROPHIX was chosen as a finalist in the ISV category for its unique solution to operational planning, enabling businesses to significantly improve their demand forecasting and planning by driving improved accuracy through their financial budgets and forecasts with increased collaboration, accuracy and effectiveness.

Technology partners are at the core of Microsoft's business." said Neil Tanner, Vice-President, Small Business, Midmarket Solutions & Partners, Microsoft Canada Inc. "We are honoured to celebrate and recognize the outstanding achievements of industry leaders like PROPHIX through the Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards. We are proud to work with them as they deliver innovative solutions to mutual customers.

The ninth annual IMPACT Awards recognize excellence within the Microsoft technology partner community in Canada.PROPHIX, along with other technology partner winners and finalists in each of the award categories, will be honored at an award ceremony in Toronto on November 30, 2011.

Read the full announcement from PROPHIX here. For a list of all 2011 finalists, and more information on the Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards, please visit http://www.microsoft.ca/awards.

Budgeting for Global Success

2011-10-07T17:31:12Z

Here's an article from Bill Hite, the CEO of Hull Speed Associates, a firm that helps companies set up overseas operations. His article, from CFO.com, highlights the
importance of collecting, properly assessing and managing all of the necessary fine
details when budgeting for expansion of overseas operations.

Budgeting for Global Success

When planning for a multi-country expansion, nailing the finer details can make or break your budgeting effort.

A privately-held software company based in California is starting to pursue new sales in Europe. The company has already opened a U.K. office as its headquarters in the region, and is now charting its course into other European countries. As executives there begin to budget for these efforts, they are struggling to understand country-level requirements, in part because they are in a bit of a rush. In particular, they are concerned about whether or not they have captured all important expenses. While they can use their U.S. and U.K. expense bases as a starting point, there will be items that are materially different in other European countries, and if these are not properly captured and planned for, they could have a negative material effect on their budget.

Here, we look at the major budget categories and some common pitfalls finance executives face when going into new territory.

Revenue
Projecting revenues is one of the trickiest parts of the budgeting process. Getting it right requires a true understanding of how the sales cycle may differ from country to country. Here is a current example: for this California-based software company, it takes three to four months to close a $100,000 deal in the U.S. In Germany, this same deal under similar conditions can take six to nine months, and require a lot of customer handholding and a "proof of concept" that most U.S. customers do not require. Since this company is new to Europe and virtually unknown in an established market, it in fact should expect a 12- to 14-month sales cycle. The lesson: Be as realistic as possible when estimating new international revenues, and don't forget to do your homework.

Labor Expenses
The largest category of expenses the California company expects to incur in Europe is labor. In this case, employee compensation plus employer contributions to social security and insurance represent nearly 80% of their expense base. Why so high? Here are a few components:

Market norms for salary and benefits in Europe are likely to be higher than in the U.S. In the U.S., this California company offers salespeople nominal salaries, with up to two-thirds of compensation riding on commissions. It is also the cultural norm that it - and most U.S. companies - does not offer benefits such as company cars nor car allowances, and that annual vacation is two or three weeks.

If the company were to offer this package to potential sales candidates in Germany, it would not only be hard-pressed to get anyone to interview for the position, it would also be in violation of certain labor laws for failing to meet the minimum vacation requirements. In Germany, salespeople expect a much higher salary and smaller commission, a company car or car allowance, and for the employer to pay half of the health insurance. Last but not least, the legal minimum required vacation in Germany is 20 days, or four weeks.

Labor-related taxes can vary significantly country to country. If you were to apply an average percentage, say 15%, across the board for employer-related social security and insurance contributions for all countries in your budget, and you have a large number of people in France and Belgium, the budget-to-actual differences will be material.

For example, the employer's social security and related insurance contribution costs as a percentage of gross compensation for the California-based software company are as follows:

UK: 13.8% with no ceiling
Germany: 20.18% with a ceiling of U.S. $94,000
Belgium: 35% with no ceiling
The Netherlands: 35% with ceiling up to U.S. $57,000
France: 42% with no ceiling
Comparing the U.K. to France, the cost of social security and related insurance contributions varies 28.2%. Multiplied across four sales people in France with an overall package of U.S. $284,000 per person annually, the difference is over U.S. $320,000. This is a material difference for most companies.

Operational Expenses
These are a typically a smaller overall percent of total expenses for a sales office, but there are still potential surprises. Travel and entertainment expenses, for one, can vary widely per employee depending on their region. In the U.S., air travel can represent a large portion of the overall travel budget for many companies. In Europe, car and train travel can be the dominant means of transportation. Most important, make sure you understand the cultural norms surrounding meals and meetings. In the U.K., a business lunch could mean meeting at a local pub, a meal that would cost under GBP 30 (U.S. $48). In France and parts of Belgium, however, lunch with a customer or prospect will probably include a bottle of wine, with the total bill easily exceeding U.S. $160. Several lunches of this kind per month per employee can easily be a sizable five- figure amount annually, and have a noticeable impact on a tight budget.

Marketing expenses - and strategy - are also important to consider upfront. The classic mistake that many American companies make is repeating a winning marketing strategy from the U.S. in other countries. While there are countries such as the U.K. and the Netherland that lean towards a U.S.-style of marketing such as cold-calling, direct mail, and E-mail campaigns, there are others, like Germany, where such marketing programs are not accepted and sometimes illegal. Without some advance consideration, you will more than likely waste good money on fruitless efforts.

In summary, when planning and budgeting for your expansion abroad, take enough time to ensure you have covered all items which could have a material impact on your budget. The more research and homework you do during the beginning stages of your planning, the more likely you are to produce an accurate outcome.

Learn how Prophix can help your organization simplify their budgeting process!

FMT Consultants and PROPHIX Software Announce Partnership

2011-10-06T13:41:41Z

We're very pleased at PROPHIX to announce FMT Consultants, Microsoft's leading Southern California provider of integrated business solutions and information technology services, is now a PROPHIX Partner!

By partnering with PROPHIX Software Inc., FMT extends its existing Business Information offerings with a product that has an all-in-one financial budgeting, forecasting, and reporting solution. "We have many clients that are looking for additional analytics and budgeting functionality beyond their core ERP system and to aggregate information across systems, and PROPHIX is a great fit for this. The customer feedback from the implementations completed already has been very positive." says Eric Casazza, CEO of FMT Consultants.

"PROPHIX and FMT have been very successful together early in the relationship and we are proud to support FMT in bringing valuable PROPHIX solutions to their customers and prospects. We're very much looking forward to a long and expanding relationship in North America." says Cheryl Power, Director of Channel Partners.

Welcome aboard, FMT Consultants!

Feeding America Uses PROPHIX for Forecasting

2011-09-22T14:29:52Z

Feeding America is the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the United States. We at PROPHIX are very proud to be in business with a non-profit that's literally feeding America's hungry.

PROPHIX allows Feeding America to eliminate the use of complex spreadsheets in their budgeting efforts. This has given Feeding America additional and better analytical functionality, greater visibility of plans, budgets and forecasts and enabled them to control costs, impact employee productivity and support their future growth.

For Feeding America, the benefits of the PROPHIX solution were quickly realized and their impact immediately felt. Employees were no longer burdened by the efforts and time required to manage the complex formulas and the multiple versions in circulation. "With a centralized solution, you make data available using security permissions rather than mailing forty different budget files and collecting forty back," says Martin. He also appreciates the support the centralized cell notes offers to the budgeting process and the customized reporting that provides Feeding America with visibility into the overall health of the business and a forward looking view of companywide performance. "We didn't have that before," explains Martin.

The benefits were also immediately felt amongst its users. According to Martin, "all levels of the department, from administrators to executives, use the application." As the application becomes more widely adopted and its additional functionality utilized, Martin anticipates that the number of users will continue to grow and the benefits will continue to spread throughout the organization.

You can read more about Feeding America and how they're using PROPHIX in the Feeding America Case Study.