Maynard Marks Improves Financial Management and Project Performance with Deltek Vantagepoint

An interview with Paul Gillies, Financial Controller at Maynard Marks

Maynard Marks is a New Zealand building consultancy firm with offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The company has a clear mission: to raise the quality of the built environment and improve people's well-being by providing sustainable, best-practice solutions for new and existing buildings.

With an expert team of consultants comprising architectural designers, building surveyors, quantity surveyors, project managers, structural engineers and asbestos consultants, Maynard Marks has the combined strength to make any building project a success. The team is dedicated to demonstrating best practice and offering professional, dependable advice across a range of building opportunities and challenges.

The company's aspirational approach to building has clearly resonated with its clients, as it has experienced significant growth since it was founded over 15 years ago. In light of this growth, Maynard Marks needed to update its internal systems to ensure they could continue to support its people. That job was given to Paul Gillies, Maynard Marks's financial controller.

A Growing Company Deserves a System Upgrade

Legacy systems were starting to slow down processes at Maynard Marks. The project cost and billing sides of the business were becoming more difficult to manage, with a lot of manual intervention causing invoicing timelines to get longer. "Those issues were particularly challenging on large, multidiscipline projects," Paul explains. "The company was outgrowing the legacy systems and did not have adequate workflow controls."

Maynard Marks needed a new approach, and it chose Deltek Vantagepoint as its project-based ERP to provide a secure, long-term solution to its business needs in the cloud. "We had worked in cloud-based systems before, so we were comfortable with that environment and knew the cost savings were significant," Paul shares. "We also knew a company like Deltek would have protocols around ensuring our data was safe."

Deltek also provided proactive support to Maynard Marks from the get-go. "One of the things we found with Deltek from the start was that they were very responsive," says Paul. "They included a number of senior Deltek team members in discussions very early. We were impressed by that."

A Successful Implementation Despite a Global Pandemic

Once the recommendation to go with Deltek Vantagepoint was in place, Paul also led the implementation team. "The implementation process was interesting," he explains. "We began just before Covid came along, and had even started testing and training, but initially put it on hold during the lockdown. However, as it became clear that the pandemic would go on longer than anticipated, we took the bold decision to complete the implementation remotely, whilst Auckland was still in lockdown. And that, to me, is quite an amazing achievement."

"This meant no Deltek employees could be on site, and the finance team could not sit with staff to guide them through the new system," Paul adds. "Our main contact at Deltek provided excellent training over Zoom and, despite being involved in other rollouts, was always able to get back to us in a timely manner on our queries."

Day-to-Day Ease for Colleagues and a Better Service for Clients

Deltek Vantagepoint has eliminated the need for multiple systems, reducing manual tasks and minimizing errors. Maynard Marks now has an all-in-one system to track project performance and financial metrics.

"Invoicing has become much easier for both simple and complex projects because of Vantagepoint," says Paul. "Now, we can manage invoicing without manual interventions. And our clients can see the benefit, too. For example, there is a one-page summary included on the front of each invoice, which our clients really appreciate, particularly on complex projects."

"Deltek Vantagepoint centralizes all the necessary information for a project's setup in one place. "We now have a clearer understanding of the total cost of a project,' explains Paul. 'This allows us to apply those insights to future projects of a similar scope, enabling us to estimate costs with even greater accuracy."

Maynard Marks has also begun to utilize Vantagepoint's CRM capabilities, which will ensure streamlined customer interactions. "As a multidisciplinary group, it's not uncommon for multiple staff members to engage with the same client. With the CRM fully operational, we'll be able to ensure our team can meet clients with a comprehensive understanding of their background, previous interactions, and discussions with the business."

Three Things to Focus on for Your Vantagepoint Implementation

Paul also offers his advice to other firms looking to implement Deltek Vantagepoint successfully:

1. Harness your team's enthusiasm and openness to change

"You need to have a strong—and enthusiastic—finance team. I was very lucky that we had enthusiastic people on our team who wanted a challenge."

2. Focus on high-quality and accessible training

"Make the training as understandable as possible. Vantagepoint is a sophisticated system, but it's intuitive once you are familiar with it. You need a team that can simplify the process and make it accessible to everyone."

3. Make sure your entire firm is on board early

"Get the support of the company leadership and key stakeholders, resources to support the implementation, and champions in every team. It's a large undertaking and will impact every member of staff."

Simplify Project Management with Deltek Vantagepoint

Deltek Vantagepoint is designed with project-based businesses at its core and is valued by consulting firms worldwide. Discover how it could transform project and financial management at your firm and help you deliver an even better service to your clients.