Boxworks 12 - Bigger, better and with more Box!

07/31/2012

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By Amanda Grainger-Munday
So big news in Framework/Timeraiser land today - my picture is up on the BoxWorks homepage! It’s not just because my social media profile photo looks cute, but more importantly because I’m speaking at BoxWorks '12. And I’ve tried to tell my team that I’m extra special because I’m just one photo-degree away from the Lead Magician himself, and not because the speakers are listed in alphabetical order. They’re not convinced.

On Tuesday October 9th, I’ll participate in a chat about the Top 5 Ways Box Moves Business Forward. As someone who has seen the integration of Box, Google Apps, Salesforce and Echosign save us hundreds of staff hours and many thousands of dollars, I can’t wait to get the opportunity to showcase just how Timeraiser’s move to the cloud has revolutionized our small team - big goal operations. We’ve scaled to 12 Canadian cities this year (up from 8 last year) with the same number of staff and a regular turnover in volunteer leadership positions.

As a non-profit, it’s a given that technology choices should be affordable and lead to greater efficiency, but I've see many examples of the opposite in the sector - big custom developments and tools that slow or inhibit workflow. As you can imagine, I have much to say on the topic, but my thoughts for BoxWorks will be focused on maximizing user adoption, with some case studies on exactly how our core team has succeeded with our approach to an open cloud sharing model. While I’m on the “why I love Box” train, did I mention we were recently featured in a Customer Success Story? Check out the video below.

As for BoxWorks '12, I’m particularly looking forward to the Wonder Women session by Karen Appleton. I’m keen to hear about the journey of kick-ass females rocking the Valley and the keys to success that accompany the story. I’ll report back with live tweets from the conference, and maybe a video summary after, though with less deep staring then my previous video stardom.
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Graphic Design in the Cloud

03/22/2012

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Graphic Design in the Cloud
By Simone Motiwalla

As a graphic designer, diving into work at Timeraiser was an easy feat because of the connectivity of the Cloud.  Today we hear the term “cloud” being thrown around quite rampantly and ambiguously. Having worked at Timeraiser a few weeks it is clear to me that, in terms of graphic design, it is the most logical and organized way of sharing, updating and finding things. From a sponsor’s logo, to a phone number of a print house I may need to contact: it is all there. And not only is it there; it is easy to find using search engine tools in each of the programs such as Box and Saleforce.

Using a system that promotes radical openness and sharing makes the training period for a new designer very short and not an arduous or overwhelming endeavor. Training basically consists of a “tour” of the Cloud and instructions on where to find things and how to look for them.

The Cloud’s interconnectedness of resources concerning both the design side, and the project management side, of what I do that puts a layer of structure and tranquility within the fast paced and sometime chaotic world of design. The constant updating, transferring of files, editing and image switching is also safeguarded because of the fact that everything on the desktop syncs to the cloud server automatically.

Additionally, there is the mobile component to the Cloud. As mentioned before, everything is synced to a web server. This means that I can access all Framework resources from anywhere that is connected to the web. This mobility really does live up to its namesake “the Cloud” because this vast amount of information is able to lightly follow me anywhere I need to go to get work done.
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Beer and Box

03/17/2012

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Want to send a quick thanks to our friends at Box. They sent us a box of Sierra Nevada beer just in time for St Paddy's day. As we share space with Canadahelps, we shared the beer with them as well. Mr Spock also joined us for a little while as well. 

Box was in Toronto a few weeks ago as part of their World Tour. You can view the presentation we gave here.

Thanks again!!!
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Bottom-Up Budget Forecasting: Major Breakthrough

03/17/2012

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By Anil Patel

We are pleased to share a major announcement. Framework and Team Timeraiser have been able to develop a kick-butt, bottom-up budget build forecasting and reporting process (click here to view the schema).  This process allows us to do several things:
  1. Be more efficient. We are adding 4 new cities on top of the 8 we currently do by only adding a little bit more core operating expenses. We need to be able to be fast and flexible to meet the demand coming from across the country.
  2. Be more transparent. All our budgets include, where possible, invoices confirming the expenditures. By including links to invoices and contracts, we are able to report back to donors in record time. 
  3. Be more collaborative. We have different partners in different cities. In the past we have always struggled with providing people with updated budgets and goals/game plans. This process allows us to share a publicaly viewable link, and our stakeholders have what they need, when they need it.

Here are three links that walk you through the bottom-up build:

  1. Toronto Planning Page (click here)
  2. Timeraiser Summary Page (click here)
  3. Framework Core Operating Expenses Page (click here)

As you will see from the photo below, we did a lot of white boarding and quick prototyping to determine what fields we needed in the city budgets (including naming convention) and which information would syndicate to the summary budget. This included approches to capture in-kind support plus purchases from social enterprises. 
This might be one of our biggest breakthroughs to date because we've also been very frustrated with traditional book-keeping and accounting processes. A number of our colleagues are in the same boat: key financial information does not flow as quickly and accurately using traditional techniques and software. 

Like so many small to medium sized nonprofits (our budget is under $1 million), we only have budget/need for a bookkeeper a few hours per month. But that time is doing the basics of processing cheques, reconciling the bank statements and preparing basic reports such as monthly balance sheet and general ledger. But often the software used is a closed garden. It is tricky with so much going on in our office to have program related financial data shared amongst the staff and key volunteers. 

In the past, this has lead to lots of confusion about what has been paid, what has not, which invoices where processed, which ones are outstanding. This new process should clear up a lot of this. Our estimates is that this will help us become 10x more effective in 2012. And we look forward to keeping you posted.

What do you think? Does your nonprofit struggle with providing key financial data to the right people at the right time? Would like to collaborate with us on testing new methods for modern budgeting & book-keeping? 
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