Contents
Before we begin
Initial payment and license fee
Getting started
Agreed roles and responsibilities
Activation of your sheepCRM, access to shared tools
sheepCRM settings and configuration
Data Migration
Training and Support
Going live with your community
Before we begin
Once you've decided that sheepCRM is right for your organisation and arranged for us to set-up your flock in sheepCRM, we'll need the following to be completed before we can begin the process:
Sign up to sheepCRM - this involves the signing of our contract & our Data Protection Addendum (GDPR).
Completing our Direct Debit Mandate request.
Initial payment and license fee
Payments will be taken by sheepCRM when:
Set-up fees will be invoiced at the start of the on-boarding process, this is when we get in touch to confirm we are setting up your project.
The sheepCRM licence fees will apply when your system is activated and it will be in use during your onboarding project.
Please note this may be before you have user access to enable technical set up to commence. If you have decided to pay license fees for a period of one year or greater in advance, the full amount for the period is applicable.
This article provides clarity across a range of FAQ's about onboarding, the realities of projects and areas important to be clear and transparent about.
The stages for getting you up and running on sheepCRM
Just like a journey up a mountain, we plan our route, we prepare our tools and equipment before we then start our journey, this informs three stages;
Preparation - The objective of this phase is to enable a highly effective pathway through the next two stages which are set up and launch. This will include making all choices, decisions and completing a range of preparation tasks.
Together we will go through your detailed requirements to get the most out of the system for the licence and features you have chosen, but also all your migration needs such as preparing your data, training and change.
This step will lead to a number of preparation actions for your project members to complete before you are ready to move onto the step below.
Set-up - Once all your preparation has been completed, together we will set up the system workflows, features and tools.
This stage is only completed when you have checked that it is ready to be launched to your external members/customers and your internal users and stakeholders.
Launch - This will be a planned sequence of events to achieve a successful launch, including things like loading your data, activating integrations and implementing the change!
We break each of these three stages down for managing the project as follows;
A number of separate milestones to complete the whole stage
Specific task lists are allocated to each of those milestones so we all know what work needs to be done to complete each milestone.
We will allocate project days in advance for each of the stages above, these days will be used for meetings, workshop sessions but task completion by both our teams also as the primary reason for these days is to complete these stages in full. To keep everything moving smoothly, we ask that you pre-allocate sufficient time to attend these meetings and ensure the right people from your staff participate.
There will be tasks to complete remotely in between sessions also. Your PM will be responsible for co-ordinating your resources to ensure completion.
It is really important you and your team members understand that every session with a sheepCRM Team member is to be considered a learning experience, and that the information transferred is retained, so please ensure your team arrive with clear responsibilities allocated for things like note taking.
We heavily focus our sessions to 'Train the Trainer' so that as you go through the project you learn what is required for completing project tasks but also to maximise success and speed of adoption.
This is in dedicated 'Train the Trainer' sessions, as well as other project sessions.
Also like a journey up a mountain, we must take one step at a time, complete one section at a time to successfully reach our destination;
For effectiveness we implement this process in a PLAN > DO > CHECK approach. This means we PLAN what is needed, assign tasks to DO what is required, then CHECK it is completed. We apply this to each step within the three stages above, so it is important to understand that to move on to the next step, the current step actions must be completed and checked before we move onto the next step.
We will have a project window to complete your onboarding "journey", it will have some contingency planned into it of course, but your project team must be supported with this being a high priority to ensure we complete on time.
As per above, this article provides some very important clarity and FAQ's about scenarios that are possible during onboarding projects. Please view this here
Agreed roles and responsibilities
During the set-up process, we'll provide detailed tasks/articles to support you along the way. In these tasks/articles we'll make it clear who needs to do what, but there are also high level expectations in key areas which we've highlighted below:
The general approach
Our aim is to make sheepCRM a simple and highly effective system which operates and evolves in line with best practice across all of our customers. One of the core functions of sheepCRM is that it enables your self-service, which is most effective for your time and cost effective for all customers.
Therefore, it is important to understand that sheepCRM expects self-service and self management of its customers - but when we you need us we have a range of services to support your ongoing success or when you are ready for the next leg of your journey and would like us to guide or help you complete it.
There is always ongoing work in some areas of the system as we evolve it on our journey to success, hence it is important to understand that in the settings of sheepCRM there are many things you can configure yourself without our involvement, but there will be some things that we need to do for you. These are made clear throughout the on-boarding process, our articles and explained at a high level below.
Project Roles
Our nominated sheepCRM project manager is responsible for organising our resources to complete the sessions and tasks we have for your project.
Your nominated project manager is responsible for organising your resources to attend the right sessions and complete the tasks allocated, as well as engaging any resources required for decision making.
Your project team should include those who will have dedicated responsibilities to manage and support the system and your users, for example;
Trainer/s
System Administrators/Owners of the tool kit (who will become specialists in the product)
Knowledge specialists - people in your team who have the knowledge of your products, services and processes.
These can obviously be the same people in some areas!
Activation of your sheepCRM, access to shared tools
We will activate your sheepCRM system (we call this your 'Flock'), including all the modules you have licensed. We will invite your main system administrator to become a user. From this point your system administrator is responsible for adding users and managing their permissions to ensure data access is based in your decisions, not ours, to reduce any risk to data privacy.
To support the on-boarding process we may also invite your core team to be users of our project management system where it is deemed necessary, which is used to organise tasks into the stages discussed above, assign them to the members of both teams so we have a centralised view and record of progress and notes.
We may also provide access to a shared folder with access limited to both teams so we can share information as required in a secure way.
Data Migration
We have a number of options for importing your data, the choice will be made based on what is the best for you, where it is currently stored, its cleanse level and your schedule.
We will review your data with you and collaboratively reach this decision and agree a plan.
You are expected to provide and prepare data where required which may include adding it to our import templates.
You are expected to check the imported data and formally confirm successful import. After this point any re-import may require additional costs - for example if you find more data to load, or original data was incorrect.
⚠️ Please note: Do not send any data samples or data exports to us via email. We will provide Google Sheets templates or a secure transfer mechanism.
Integrations
You will need to create accounts with any approved third-party systems or services you would like sheepCRM to integrate with.
You will also need to obtain the necessary API keys and information to be entered into sheepCRM settings to connect. Articles are provided to support.
⚠️ Please note: Do not send any API keys through email. We ask you to enter any keys directly into the sheepCRM settings.
There is of course more detail to these areas above, as well as other areas to discuss and these will be covered in your project, but please let us know if you have any questions in the meantime.