Brittenford Systems helps government contractor Shared Spectrum implement Microsoft Dynamics SL cloud-based accounting system to improve their organization's project management and accounting functions and overall company reporting.

1. Microsoft Dynamics
Customer Solution Case Study
Government Contractor Improves Insight, Reporting
With Cloud-Based Project Accounting Solution
“Not only did Microsoft Dynamics SL cost about 15
Customer: Shared Spectrum Company percent less than Deltek Vision, it is also flexible
Website: www.sharedspectrum.com
Customer Size: 26 employees
enough to support a commercial business environment
Country or Region: United States when our products catch on in the private sector.”
Industry: Engineering—Electrical
engineering Dan Simmon, Controller, Shared Spectrum Company
Partner: Brittenford Systems
Customer Profile Business Needs Shared Spectrum Company. “With 16
Based in Vienna, Virginia, Shared Founded in 2000, Shared Spectrum simultaneous projects and reporting that
Spectrum Company is a government Company (SSC) is a government contractor took as long as two hours per project,
contractor focused on establishing new focused on developing technology that there wasn’t enough time to report at a
technologies that leverage the radio dramatically increases the use of the radio faster interval and perform the rest of my
frequency spectrum. frequency (RF) spectrum. Since its job.”
founding, the company has become an
Software and Services expert and innovator in the development At the same time the company aimed to
 Microsoft Dynamics of cognitive radio technologies and ease project accounting, it also sought to
− Microsoft Dynamics SL pioneered the development of Dynamic simply gain new functionality to support
Spectrum Access (DSA) technology for the several key business processes. Of these,
US Department of Defense. the company wanted to automate
timecard processing and government
As a small, growing company, SSC had reporting, primarily as it pertained to
relied on Intuit QuickBooks for nine years Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
to manage accounting and Microsoft Excel compliance.
for project management. For a company
that once had a single, large government “Accounting for employees’ time was a
contract, QuickBooks worked well. But, by manual process,” says Simmon. “It took me
2009, SSC juggled multiple contracts and about four hours twice a month to enter
projects, making the tying together of employees’ time into QuickBooks to run
financial and project management data an payroll.”
increasingly cumbersome task.
SSC also saw that, should its innovations
“We had no insight into a project until we take off in the commercial space, the
ran month-end financials and related company would need a more solid
For more information about other
those financials to a project by using infrastructure in place to accompany rapid
Microsoft customer successes, please visit:
Excel,” says Dan Simmon, Controller for growth. Says Simmon, “At any point in
www.microsoft.com/casestudies

2. time, our technologies could become a management and accounting. Because of Achieve Government Compliance
major hit as they become available to the this, we can work to streamline our As a government contractor, having a
public, and we needed to be ready for that reporting and be ready for whatever central source of information has also
growth with an integrated project opportunities the future may hold.” meant easing compliance, a particular
management and accounting system.” benefit when it comes to DCAA. “With
Establish Central Source of Truth, Microsoft Dynamics SL, we have all the
Solution Streamline Reporting and Cash Flow information and functionality we need for
For its new project management and Now, with all project and financial DCAA reporting,” says Simmon. “We can
accounting solution, SSC chose Microsoft information in one system, SSC can also see our fixed and variable costs and
Dynamics SL after also closely considering perform reporting with ease. “Managers determine the variance between our
Deltek Vision. Says Simmon, “Not only did used to have to wait until the end of the provisional and actual rates and that
Microsoft Dynamics SL cost about 15 month for me to run them a report; now variance’s financial effect on individual
percent less than Deltek Vision, it is also they can see real-time reports with a few contracts.”
flexible enough to support a commercial clicks,” says Simmon. “With Microsoft
business environment when our products Dynamics SL, I can report on just about Enable Ongoing Growth Through
catch on in the private sector.” anything that can come down the pipe, Flexible Platform
which is a nice feeling to have. In addition, SSC is now developing its DSA technology
Working with Microsoft partner Brittenford the solution makes it possible to get and expects that technology to have
Systems, SSC has begun to deploy invoices out more quickly, which helps to commercial applications in the near future,
Microsoft Dynamics SL in a cloud-based accelerate our cash flow.” leading to rapid company growth. With
environment hosted by Data Resolution to Microsoft Dynamics SL in place, the
eliminate IT support and infrastructure This central source of truth has also led to company eyes that future in confidence.
requirements. Says Simmon, “As a company measurable improvements: Says Simmon, “For a growing company,
with one person in IT and one person in  Saving 32 hours per month in project the inflexibility of QuickBooks was
finance, it made a lot of sense for us to go accounting by eliminating the need to becoming a liability. With Microsoft
with a hosted deployment of Microsoft combine project and financial Dynamics SL, we can adapt the system to
Dynamics SL.” management information. meet the needs of our business as it
 Saving eight hours per month by continues to change.”
Already, the company has started to use eliminating the need to manually enter
Microsoft Dynamics SL for core processes employees’ time for payroll.
that span project management, accounting,
and timecard processing. Says Simmon,
“Now that employees input their hours into
Microsoft Dynamics SL, managers can see
project financials in near real time.”
Benefits
With Microsoft Dynamics SL in place, SSC
has improved project accounting, eased
reporting, and laid a solid IT foundation for
ongoing company growth. Says Simmon,
“By using Microsoft Dynamics SL, we have
been able to bring all facets of our business
together under one solution— from
timecard entry to integrated project
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
SUMMARY.
Document published April 2012