Skip to content
English
Sign in
Contact us
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Legacy Onboarding Guide

An overview of how to set up legacy customers

  • This is a support document to provide best practices along with a rough outline for onboarding new legacy customers. This should be used in conjunction with Onboarding Quick Reference Guide
  • What Legacy Onboarding
    • Legacy onboarding is building a customer account that utilizes the core, original functionality of Purchasing Platform.  This includes, but is not limited to, larger uploads (locations, users, business units, etc.), building a multi-step approval work flow, activating or setting different configurations (expense & lot requirements)
  • Who Are You Working For?
    • Type of Companies
      • Legacy onboarding is always going to involve small to large property management firms with a portfolio of assets (rental properties). These assets can vary in type from single family homes to multi-family apartments to mobile or manufactured houses.
      • The type of asset will influence the type of configuration you build
    • Key Contacts
      • When onboarding you will need a customer contact(s) that can address a number of issues ranging from accounting functions to supervisor structure. It’s best to have one of the following contacts to ensure a smooth build and launch
        • Operations or Asset Manager
        • Accounting/Finance team member (Controller, AP contact, or general accountant)
        • C-Suite member
          • Useful for lighting fires on individual requests made of customer team members and buy in for company as whole
          • These people can enforce or mandate use of Purchasing Platform
  • Where Do I Start?
    • Build or find the customer
      • See account creation article
      • Locate the customer requesting an onboarding
        • Often a single customer contact will use self-registration to sign up for an account
    • Send an intro email or schedule a demo for basic account functions
      • These are meant not just to serve as an introduction to Purchasing Platform as a company, but to gather a list of requirements from the customer
    • Determine core account setup
      • Access the specific customer page and move to the editing to set core
      • Require unit/lot number during expense classification
        • This feature compels users to select a lot designation during expense classification
        • In order to function, lots/units must be manually added or automatically linked via Rent Manager (RM) integration
          • See Quick Reference Guide for more info under “Lot Designation”
          • For RM specifics see RM Onboarding Article
    • Override Default Expensing
      • Toggling this feature wipes out any and all default expense classification. This will require the any users to manually code all line items prior to checkout
    • Requires PO notes at Checkout
      • Toggling this feature requires users to enter a note or PO reference in the “Notes, PO/Project #, etc” field on every line item prior to completing checkout.
    • Payment Terms
      • Not to be granted unless Purchasing Platform finance team has signed off
        • Start the conversation with Susie Luong where needed
    • Membership Fees
      • Currently we are shifting away from a membership model and very few new customers will be assessed monthly fees
      • Ensure that “Exempt from membership fees” is toggled if not assessing fees
    • After customizing the above features, click “Update Customer”
    • Send data request
      • Use this base form to request key data points needed to build the full account profile
      • Adjust the form to suit the size or current build of the account as necessary
  • Building the Account
    • The key objects needed to build a legacy account are locations, users, payment methods, and chart(s) of accounts
    • Locations
      • See Onboarding Quick Reference Article on Location Uploads
      • Locations should be entered first as they are linked to a number of other objects (payment methods & users)
      • After successful upload, confirm that all locations have been geocoded correctly
        • Without geocoding key vendors like Sherwin Williams will not function correctly
    • Users
      • See Onboarding Quick Reference Article on User Uploads
      • Any approval chain is built during this task
      • Uploads should be done top down
        • Start with the top of the approval chain and work your way down
        • This allows you to assign supervisor as you go
        • See also Approval Workflows Article
      • Be cognizant of sending invites to uploaded users
        • Make sure users are aware of Purchasing Platform before sending invites, see section on launch for more details
    • Payment Methods
      • Payment methods can only be added by the prospective customer, see Adding Payment Methods article
      • It’s important from the outset to confirm with the new customer how they would like their payments methods assigned
      • Payment method assignment type are set by editing whitelabeling on the specific customer page
        • Via Location
          • This is ideal for most Legacy accounts. This will pull the payment method based on the selected billing location
          • This method provides the least room for payment method errors, requires the least maintenance, but is also the least flexible
        • Via User
          • User are assigned payment methods and if assigned to multiple payment methods, must select the correct one
          • This method has higher incidence of user error as well as a greater need for maintenance
        • Hybrid
          • You can assign on either the user or location level
          • If used, best practice is to assign methods to higher level users (finance, senior managers, C-Suite, etc.) while lower level users rely on location based method
    • Chart(s) of Accounts (CoA)
      • CoAs are used to populate the expense classification function
      • Once loaded, business units added to each individual property are required to link the CoA to a billing location
      • See reference Onboarding Quick Reference Article for information on loading CoAs and business units
      • Once loaded you can assign default expense accounts to broad categories
        • In it’s current form I do not recommend using this feature. Category defaults and taxonomy fall short of accuracy and can create errors and dependencies if left unaddressed
  • Launching an Account 
    • Once the account structure has been completed and is ready to start accepting orders, it’s key to coordinate the roll out with the customer.  The key consideration for this process is when user activations are distributed.
    • When uploading users, you may elect to distribute invites at the moment of upload.  If you opt out of these invites, you or the customer will have to manually resend for launch.
    • The Incremental
      • Customers want to slowly roll out Purchasing Platform to their users by launching a region at time
    • The Complete
      • All locations and users active from the start
  • Training Sessions
    • Ensuring training across all users is key way to drive adoption and compliance.  During the onboarding process, make sure you offering training sessions and demos
    • Most customers are strategic about training.  After the the initial demo the customer may request additional sessions once some of the particulars have been worked out
    • Most of the requests are to train approving managers (regionals) directly so that they can train their direct reports
    • Very rarely have customers requested a company wide training session
    • If after launch a customers reports persistent errors or issues, propose a corrective training session or offer to draft a deck to bridge any knowledge gaps
  • Account Configurations Examples
    • Roots - The HH/TRS example
      • Roots has two distinct locations for every one of their parks
      • These locations are indicated by an HH or TRS in front of the location name
      • These location are set up to track or record items required for park owned or managed homes (ex. appliances, repair materials, general rehab supplies)
      • These accounts have their own CoA (Homes) and payment methods
      • Key to smooth operations are location based payments and supervisor oversight
    • Osprey & Island Communities
      • Osprey and Island both have locations that are primarily billing only entities
      • These locations are designed to only be used as the billing address on orders, they need an active and valid ship to to be successful
      • Both accounts also feature the opposite, shipping only addresses. Certain managers who are in charge of multiple locations will set up an official location to use exclusively as a ship to address, while using the billing to route the expense to the correct location