Microsoft Project

Joe,

I would recommend Microsoft Project for our accounts payable automation project coming this summer. Lotus Notes is outdated and is not providing as a good timeline resource.  It’s exhausting going back forth between Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Lotus Notes. Microsoft Project is a one-stop shop for projects and it consolidates the different Microsoft programs into one main program.

          We weren’t efficient with time and we were over the budget by $150,000 during the credit card project. We spent an additional $100,000 in consultants and another $50,000 in overtime with staff training.  We were not accurate with time and relied too much on the Lotus Notes calendar. I don’t want another timing debacle similar to the credit card project. The CFO came into my office last week and encouraged me to improve our time management in projects.   In my opinion, Microsoft Project will give us the opportunity to make sure we don’t go over $150,000 in our budget and that we stay focused each day on our daily tasks.  Microsoft Project provides us with a significant impact in visibility and accurateness for achieving deadlines in a timely manner. I want to ensure we save time and money for the a/p automation project.

         Microsoft Project is a one-stop tool that is neat, organized and efficient for future projects. The built in features gives you the various different charts to see your reports. The Ganntt chart is where you input your timeline data and it gives you the visibility of the task.   You can insert a column and begin your timeline. It gives you an endless amount of features using the drop down field columns. For example, there is a % complete column that shows how far complete you are with a project. The % complete drop down option is great way to monitor your project. You have the ability to take notes and there is a sticky notepad symbol that you can add additional comments. The cost drop drown feature is another great way to ensure you are on target with the budget. The budget shows a comparison to actuals in a Microsoft Excel format. You can create charts and diagrams with the spreadsheet analysis making it convenient using one program instead of Excel and PowerPoint. This analysis will be great for the upcoming a/p automation project as we can monitor each week and see how committed the a/p consultants are achieving the deadlines. The goal is update the actual data daily and not go over the budget. This will be a key area where we could make a significant improvement. I’m ready and eager to get my team and the solution up and going within three months. Please open the attached Microsoft AP Automation file as there are 5 easy steps to view the project summary into 1 sheet.

1. Click Projects
2. Select Reports
3. Select Overview
4. Select Project Summary
5. Print

Please see the $150,000 cost savings below.
Total Yearly Cost Savings – A/P Automation Project

•          $100,000 in a/p consultants –Microsoft Project provides new visibility to projects.                                
•           $50,000 in training – The structured timeline will require no overtime.    

       We can use Microsoft Project for other tasks such as electronic time sheets for the entire company. We don’t have a timesheet policy and HR is looking for a timesheet software solution. HR should stop looking for an HR software and we can utilize Microsoft Project as the replacement. We have a significant expense in overtime and Microsoft Project would solve our problems. This will modify our paper archaic timesheets and will serve as an electronic timesheet. I can partner up with the HR director and show the benefits of Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project is more than a project timeline and we need to be creative with this application. We could deploy Microsoft Project onto employees’ laptops and the application would be installed within 45 minutes. There would be a training demo on Microsoft Project for the new time sheet procedures.   We could save $250,000 in HR software and maintenance!! I will have visibility in overtime for fulltime employees. Also, I can keep track of the part time employees compared to receiving a monthly invoice from Robert Half. I created my employees in the Timesheet file and I have access to view my employee summary. Please open the attached Timesheet file as there are 5 easy steps to view the weekly payroll expenses. 

1. Click Projects
2. Select Reports
3. Select Overview
4. Select Project Summary
5. Print

Please see the $450,000 cost savings below.

Total Yearly Cost Savings – Microsoft Project Company Timesheet

• $250,000 – Software/Maintenance. Why do we need new complex electronic timesheet software from a HR vendor? The HR Software is going to 6-8 months to implement. Also, do we need to pay another $50,000 a year in yearly maintenance to the HR vendor?
•  $200,000 –Company overtime. Microsoft Project’s electronic timesheet will serve   as                a better visibility tool compared to monthly P/L’s ($300k o/t savings - $100k Microsoft Project Users = $200k).   

I am ready to discuss Microsoft Project since we have Microsoft already installed on our laptops. The IT department can install Microsoft Project to our laptops quickly so we can get started with organizing the project timeline. I want to ensure Microsoft Project will give our team the ability to meet tasks timely and accurately so we don’t go over budget compared to the credit card project.  Microsoft Project’s one-stop feature will make all of our jobs easier and efficient. I am ready to show the HR Director    that Microsoft Project is an electronic timesheet feature for the entire company. I want to show the CFO that I am ready for the/p automation project and I will be cost effective, utilizing Microsoft Project as a timeline resource. A $600,000 cost savings reduction within a year is a great story to build on to my resume.