You've likely ended up at this guide because you are ready to move to Beacon; excellent!

However, implementing a CRM for your organisation is not an easy task, so it's best to make sure you're as prepared as possible before you decide to take on the commitment.

Here are a few handy tips and things to consider before you get going.

For a successful implementation, consider the resource you have internally. As part of your migration, you're going to be working on things like:

Depending on the size of your current data set, this can be a lot of work for one person. Whilst we recommend allocating a single project manager to your implementation and migration project, it's important to ensure that you have enough team time and resource on your hands to get the project done.

Make sure you prioritise this project.

Taking on something like this yourself, without the help of consultants or product experts, can typically lead to a less structured and therefore less successful project. Nobody knows your charity like you do, so this project is already in great hands! However, without some clear time set aside to make sure this project is completed, tasks may end up taking longer or not getting completed at all.

Don't view this as a side project - you'll likely need to find a time where other day to day tasks can be set aside for a while.

You're likely moving to Beacon because your organisation wants one place to store everything. This will often mean collating and understanding multiple team processes in order to successfully migrate them.

We recommend beginning with a simple process mapping from each of your teams to make sure you understand exactly what they do, what data they handle, and how they need Beacon to work for them.

For example:

At this stage, a good process flow will capture the steps that happen in the majority of cases and any common deviations or variations. It does not need to capture every possible outcome, but should display the people who are involved, and the tools that are being used:

e.g. Service Delivery team use Excel to track the case load and assessment details, for their beneficiaries.

This will serve you well later down the line when it comes to collecting your data and creating processes in Beacon to mirror or improve what the team is currently doing.