Q2 Customer Town Hall Recap

Overview

The Q2 Customer Town was hosted by John Meibers (VP & GM), Barb Laws (Senior Product Director), Maribel Scarnecchia (Director of Consulting), Gary Smith (VP, Customer Care) and Brian Heil (Product Marketing Manager) on June 25th, 2020. Below is a recap of what was covered.

Join Our First User Conference, Deltek Insight

Now that we are a part of Deltek, we will be hosting our first annual user conference for customers!

Because of COVID-19, the user conference will be digital, but for the first time in Deltek history, it will be free to attend. The conference will consist of educational sessions about construction accounting, software training, and opportunities to connect with our experts.

COVID-19 Specific Features When You Need Them

At the beginning of the year, the Deltek + ComputerEase Product Task Force established a product roadmap for features to be released every quarter. This is a new release discipline that Deltek + ComputerEase has adopted from Deltek. It keeps focus on frequently improving the product in a cadence that is defined in advance. It’s a great practice and it will ultimately result in accelerating the capabilities of what Deltek + ComputerEase can do for contractors. 

However, COVID-19 impacted the roadmap that was defined at the beginning of 2020 by requiring new payroll features to accommodate constantly changing legislation such as the FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act) and CARES Act within a matter of weeks. As we continue through these uncertain times, the Product Task Force is dedicated to ensuring contractors have what they need when they need it.

Track FFCRA pay types with new FFCRA features

Stay Updated on COVID-19 Related Product Updates

In addition to the COVID-19 specific features, Deltek + ComputerEase stood up a centralized location for customers to check on product updates regarding COVID-19 features called the COVID-19 Resource Center. 

In this Center, there are updates regarding COVID-19 product releases, training manuals, training videos, and new Meet the Expert sessions (free and hosted twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays). The COVID-19 Resource Center will continue to be updated over time to include upcoming updates regarding PPP Loan Forgiveness and the Q2 941 Form.

Learn How to Navigate COVID-19 from Industry Experts

At Deltek + ComputerEase, we are more than software to contractors. We are here to help provide guidance and content that is helpful to contractors even outside what the software can do. 

In the month of June, we stood up the Moving Construction Forward Webinar Series. This webinar series was led by expert construction CPAs, contractors, surety agents, and more to discuss their recommendations on how to navigate these times as a construction business. We highly recommend watching the webinars on-demand if you weren’t able to join.

Q1 Enhancements Release Delayed to Late Spring

Given the urgency to stand up COVID-19 specific features around the end of the 1st Quarter, the planned Q1 Enhancements Release was delayed until late Spring. The features that were delivered in the Spring were a reflection of what many customers have been requesting, which will always be our north star in what we deliver in the software. There is plenty more on that list, which is the nature of a software product that has over 4,500 clients, but Deltek + ComputerEase is laser focused on delivering what contractors want and more importantly, what they need. Highlights of the Q1 Enhancements Release include the following:

• Tax rate updates no longer require a system update
• New design for Management Centers
• New WIP Management Center
• Custom sales reporting with the new CRM reports in QTool
• Revenue Recognition Report
• Reproduce check stubs easily with YTD information
• Easily pay subcontractors, vendors, etc. via an ACH export

New Work-in-Progress Management Center

Q2 Enhancements Release Scheduled for July 9th 

While the Q1 Enhancements Release was delayed, Deltek + ComputerEase will return to a regular cadence of delivering features around each quarter mark. Therefore, the next planned enhancements release is scheduled for July 9th, 2020. This release represents less features than planned because there was less time given the delays from the previous releases. Core improvements to the product for the Q2 Enhancements Release include the following:

• Q2 941 Form
• Email alerts
• PPP Loan Forgiveness Report
• QTool reporting improvements
• Enhanced scanning capabilities

What's Coming Next in the Product in 2020

For the second half of 2020, there are several exciting enhancements that are scheduled to be delivered. Highlights of those enhancements include the following:

• Improved expense management in the ExpenseEase mobile app
• Additional payroll flexibility to include 3rd party sick pay
• Improved communication between Payroll and Accounts Payable
• APIs to enable better integrations with other software
• CPA dashboard for your CPA(s)
• Continued enhancements to QTool

Enhancement Release Training Videos and Meet the Expert Sessions

The Deltek + ComputerEase Training and Consulting team, led by Maribel Scarnecchia, has made significant improvements to the training experience for enhancement releases as well as standing up free Meet the Expert training sessions twice a week to support customers during COVID-19. 

Now all enhancement releases will be complimented by a thorough training video of how to use those features, which are made available on the Deltek + ComputerEase Customer Corner. 

In addition, given the difficult times, the Training and Consulting team is hosting free Meet the Experts training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1PM and 2PM ET. These sessions are great for customers that have general questions or employees new to Deltek + ComputerEase. These sessions will continue for the foreseeable future given the current environment.

What’s Next

Given that the timing of the user conference, Deltek Insight, is around when the next Q3 Town Hall was scheduled, we will be cancelling the Q3 Town Hall. All of the content that was planned to be covered in the Q3 Town Hall will be covered at Deltek Insight. We will continue the regularly scheduled Town Halls in Q4 and we look forward to seeing you there!