Growth Enabled by Organised Data

MGR Group is an innovative and proactive accounting and business advisory firm based in Central Victoria, Australia. With offices in Bendigo, Castlemaine, and Elmore, MGR has consistently featured in the Business Review Weekly's top 100 accounting firms in Australia. The firm specializes in helping business owners and primary producers grow their businesses, profits, and wealth.

However, MGR faced challenges with their legacy software and reporting capabilities, which hindered their ability to efficiently serve their clients and provide valuable insights.

MGR faced several key challenges that hindered their ability to effectively manage their high volume of projects and deliver valuable insights to their clients:

Inefficient Data Management

• MGR's legacy software provided a poor user experience and lacked the necessary features to efficiently manage the significant amount of project data
• The inefficient data management processes resulted in time-consuming manual tasks and limited the team's ability to analyze and utilize the data effectively

As a large-scale residential builder, MGR handled a substantial number of projects, each generating a vast amount of data across multiple stages. The company's existing legacy software struggled to cope with the data volume, providing an inadequate user experience and lacking the functionality needed to efficiently manage and analyze the information. This led to team members spending countless hours on manual data entry, organization, and retrieval tasks. The inefficient data management processes not only drained valuable time and resources but also hindered MGR's ability to gain actionable insights from their project data, making it difficult to make informed decisions and drive business success.

Inadequate Reporting Capabilities

• The legacy software's reporting features were insufficient to generate comprehensive and meaningful reports for stakeholders
• The lack of effective reporting made it challenging to assess the true status of the project portfolio and identify areas requiring attention

Effective reporting is crucial for keeping stakeholders informed and enabling data-driven decision-making. However, MGR's legacy software fell short in this area, providing only basic reporting capabilities that failed to meet the company's needs. The generated reports lacked the depth, clarity, and visual appeal necessary to convey key insights and project progress. This inadequacy made it difficult for MGR's management to gain a clear understanding of their project portfolio's health, identify potential issues, and prioritize resources effectively. The absence of robust reporting capabilities hindered MGR's ability to communicate project status to clients and stakeholders, leading to misalignments and missed opportunities for improvement.

Difficulty in Prioritizing and Managing Work

• The combination of poor data management and ineffective reporting made it challenging to identify priority work and address project blockages proactively
• The lack of a clear understanding of the project portfolio status led to reactive problem-solving and inefficient resource allocation

MGR's inefficient data management and inadequate reporting capabilities had a compounding effect on their ability to prioritize and manage work effectively. Without a clear, real-time view of the project portfolio's status, managers struggled to identify critical tasks, anticipate potential roadblocks, and allocate resources optimally. The lack of readily available, accurate, and actionable data led to a reactive approach to problem-solving, with teams often addressing issues only after they had escalated. This firefighting mentality resulted in wasted time, effort, and resources, as well as increased project risks and delays. The difficulty in prioritizing and managing work effectively hindered MGR's ability to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of their clients.

To address the challenges faced by MGR, a comprehensive solution was implemented, leveraging Power Automate, Power BI, and SQL Server:

Automated Data Management with Power Automate

• Power Automate was utilized to streamline data management processes and reduce manual effort
• Automated workflows were created to collect, organize, and transform project data from various sources, ensuring data consistency and accuracy

Recognizing the need for efficient data management, MGR implemented Microsoft Power Automate to automate and optimize their data handling processes. By leveraging Power Automate, the company created customized workflows that automatically collected project data from multiple sources, such as their legacy software, emails, and other systems. These workflows intelligently organized and transformed the data, ensuring consistency and accuracy across the board. The automation of data management tasks significantly reduced the time and effort required by team members, allowing them to focus on higher-value activities. With Power Automate, MGR established a solid foundation for data-driven decision-making and improved overall operational efficiency.

Insightful Reporting and Data Visualization with Power BI

• Power BI was employed to create visually appealing and interactive dashboards and reports
• The dashboards provided real-time insights into project portfolio status, enabling data-driven decision-making and proactive problem-solving

To address the inadequate reporting capabilities of their legacy software, MGR turned to Microsoft Power BI. This powerful business intelligence tool allowed the company to create visually stunning and interactive dashboards and reports that provided deep insights into their project portfolio. The dashboards were designed to present key metrics, trends, and project status in an easily digestible format, enabling managers to quickly grasp the overall health of their projects. With Power BI, MGR could drill down into specific projects, identify potential issues, and make informed decisions based on real-time data. The enhanced reporting capabilities empowered the company to proactively address challenges, optimize resource allocation, and keep stakeholders informed with accurate and timely information.

Robust Data Storage and Management with SQL Server

• SQL Server was implemented as a centralized database management system to store and manage project data securely
• The integration of SQL Server ensured data integrity, scalability, and efficient retrieval for reporting and analysis purposes

To support the data management and reporting initiatives, MGR integrated Microsoft SQL Server as their centralized database management system. SQL Server provided a robust and secure platform to store and manage the vast amount of project data generated by the company. The integration of SQL Server ensured data integrity, eliminating inconsistencies and duplications that previously hindered effective reporting. With its scalability features, SQL Server could handle the growing volume of data as MGR's project portfolio expanded. The efficient data retrieval capabilities of SQL Server enabled seamless integration with Power BI, allowing for real-time reporting and analysis. By leveraging SQL Server, MGR established a reliable and high-performance data infrastructure that supported their data-driven decision-making processes.

Customized Training and Support

• Comprehensive training sessions were conducted to ensure team members were proficient in using the new tools and processes
• Ongoing support and guidance were provided to address any challenges and ensure smooth adoption of the solution

To ensure the successful adoption and utilization of the new tools and processes, MGR invested in comprehensive training and support for their team members. Customized training sessions were conducted to educate employees on how to effectively use Power Automate, Power BI, and SQL Server in their daily workflows. These sessions covered best practices, practical examples, and hands-on exercises to build proficiency and confidence among the team. Additionally, ongoing support and guidance were provided by the implementation team to address any challenges or questions that arose during the adoption phase. This dedicated support ensured that team members could leverage the full potential of the solution and integrate it seamlessly into their work processes.

The implementation of Power Automate, Power BI, and SQL Server has delivered significant benefits for MGR, enabling them to streamline processes, enhance decision-making, and improve overall project management:

• 88% adoption and utilization rate within 4 months - ensuring widespread use of the new tools and processes across the organization
• Real-time project portfolio visibility through interactive dashboards - enabling proactive issue identification and resource allocation
• Over $20 million in live project reporting handled through a single dashboard - providing a centralized view of project health and performance
• Timely, regular, and accurate reporting - empowering management with reliable data for informed decision-making
• Accessible reports for all team members, including those without IT access - fostering a data-driven culture throughout the company
• Data error table for identifying and addressing data quality issues - ensuring the integrity and reliability of project data

By partnering with Workhorse, MGR has transformed its project management capabilities. The company can now efficiently manage a high volume of projects, make data-driven decisions, and deliver exceptional results to its clients. The streamlined processes, enhanced reporting, and improved data management have positioned MGR for continued growth and success..