RGF Staffing switches to standard ERP for managing financial activities

Worldwide, RGF Staffing is one of the biggest players in the field of HR and staffing solutions. With over 1,400 employees on its own payroll, plus 47,000 agency staff, the Dutch arm of the business serves over 2,100 clients via agencies such as USG and Unique. Their joint mission is to make a match between professionals and businesses.

A single standard

For key financial transactions within its temporary employment activities, RGF Staffing uses Mysolution, an application specifically developed for this sector. “This application works based on Microsoft Dynamics Business Central,” explains Antonio. “All other financial and payroll activities were integrated in SAP, which was beset with customized solutions.” Over time, it was becoming a major source of irritation and RGF Staffing expressed a wish to separate payroll accounting from financial accounting and to find a standard system to solve this. Creating a single IT environment within Business Central was deemed the best option. “That works best in combination with Mysolution which already runs in Business Central. As a Microsoft Dynamics 365 expert we were asked to sever the link between the two and put the migration into effect.”

Anchorman role

The project got underway in May 2022. “Along with the Conclusion MBS team, I was responsible for implementing Business Central in RGF Staffing’s day-to-day financial accounting and integrating it in Mysolution,” Antonio elaborates. “That meant being on location two days a week. In fact, I played more of an anchorman role. RGF Staffing is an umbrella for several different labels. This includes some businesses that enter invoices and so also need integration with Business Central. It meant I was able to use my expertise on all fronts and also give feedback and advice to departments such as Accounts Payable and Receivable. To this end, my acquired understanding of financial processes helped enormously and allowed me to implement the necessary optimizations in these departments without further ado.”

In detail

In addition to the labels requiring integration with Business Central, a number of other IT projects were running simultaneously at RGF Staffing, all aimed at standardizing the environment. For example, AFAS was implemented for HR accounting and a data warehouse created. “The great thing was that three other Conclusion labels were working on this,” adds Antonio, “so I often spent time consulting with other colleagues. That was fun. The strength of the Conclusion ecosystem came to the fore during this RGF Staffing project. Together, we really were able to make a difference.” Nevertheless, because of all the parallel projects, there were multiple stakeholders that had to be taken into account. “The project therefore provided us with a big challenge which we were only too happy to take on,” Antonio explains. “In addition to our colleagues at Conclusion, for the Microsoft Business Central part, we were also dealing with members of the finance team, the HR department, Accounts Payable and the internal IT department of RGF Staffing, as well as a Mysolution expert.”

It is Antonio’s conviction that a detailed planning was the key to the project’s success and helped maintain an overview throughout. “We set a deadline for every action that needed to be taken together with RGF Staffing’s project manager. This way we knew exactly what had to be done, when and with whom. In fact, it was such a huge project that a detailed planning was absolutely essential. It provided us with a road map, especially at the point migration to Business Central was required.”

Enough confidence

In just under a year, the new environment was handed over to RGF Staffing. “The results are there in black and white,” says Antonio. “RGF Staffing is now working on a single platform with Mysolution and the financial and HR accounting. The processes have been optimized and they can work in a different, proactive manner.” On completion of the project however, Antonio stayed on for another two months. “This was mainly to give Accounts Receivable the training they needed to work with the new system confidently. Each day, the team processes around 30 to 35 bank statements, for which some banks use 800 lines or more. That and all the catch-up work that was needed. You can imagine this is a huge job and requires speed. Not only that, the data all had to be entered directly into the new system. And with it being financial data, it all has to be correct. That’s why I stayed on for longer.”

New colleagues

Antonio can look back on the project with satisfaction. “No matter how big the project, the collaboration was close and we completed everything within the allotted time frame. At that point you realize that integration of Microsoft products really is our speciality. In that respect, at RGF Staffing, we were all able to reap the benefits of this together. The biggest challenge for me was having to familiarize myself with Mysolution, so it was even better to get a ringing endorsement from RGF Staffing at the end. Over time you get to know the system and everyone involved better, so you acquire a new set of colleagues with whom you can collaborate effectively.”

From a single ERP system with many custom solutions to best-of-breed environment within the standard. 

With four Conclusion divisions by its side, the HR service provider managed to complete this formidable task in just nine months. Are you curious to know more about the IT migration at RGF Staffing or how the HR service provider experienced the project at first hand?