Describe your company and its product.

For over 25 years, The Answer Company ERP consulting group has been a certified value-added reseller (VAR) dedicated to empowering companies with effective accounting and ERP solutions for their unique needs. In our detailed ERP implementation process, we discover room for process and financial improvement to ensure that organizations are not just operating — but thriving.

As a Sage Certified Platinum Elite partner and Acumatica Gold partner, our ERP implementation consultants are experts in Sage Intacct, Sage 300, Sage X3, and Acumatica, and also serve numerous complementary solutions including CRM, HRM, and Managed IT Services. Holding offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Portland (US), we serve both national and international clients, and both SMBs and larger-scaled enterprises. We offer long-term support for our clients, when a company pivots, grows, or faces new challenges. Some of our client relationships date all the way back to our founding in 1994.

What year did your company start?

1994.

Which city (or cities) are you located? 

Our head office is in New Westminster but we have a great team across Canada in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.

Describe your company culture in three words.

We’ll do even better, we’ll give you 5!

Collaboration, Accountability, Simplicity, Character and Community

How do you celebrate company or employee wins? 

We celebrate our wins in many ways, from special recognition to those that go above & beyond to celebrating accomplishments as a team. We’re also a big fan of Surprise and Delight boxes! We’re committed to accessibility and equal opportunity both in the work we do and the people we hire.

What is the problem that you are trying to solve?

What we’re really trying to do is Propel Companies Forward. Companies are often overwhelmed when it comes to asking the right questions and selecting a business solution that meets their current needs but also aligns with their growth plans.

So we step in to help with that – we answer all the hard questions, we tackle workflow inefficiencies by providing tailored solutions to improve functionality. Our team collaborates closely with our clients to consult, design, install, train and support distinctive needs and areas of opportunity. We develop software solutions and ensure effective implementation, followed by long-term support.

What is your biggest milestone to date? 

While we are proud of so many of our milestones, growing from a team of 2 to 100, celebrating our 25th business anniversary, and the array of positive testimonials we receive from our clients – what we’re most proud of is our footprint in giving back to the communities we do business in. As a team, we’ve contributed over 25,536 volunteer hours to community initiatives. This number continues to grow through our Answering the Call program and our active involvement with social initiatives like the Down Syndrome Research Foundation (DSRF), Canucks Autism Network, World Vision and SPARC BC. Each team member is also given 4 days every year to focus on community work of their choosing.

A key example is our recent partnership with The Calgary and Area Child Advocacy Centre (CCAC), a non-profit organization that exists to be a centre of hope for children, youth and families who are survivors of abuse. We worked with the CCAC to tackle their challenges using Sage Intacct ERP and provided in-kind implementation services of $20,000.

We’re also a National Partner and Diamond Sponsor for the DSRF’s annual fundraiser, “Up the Down Market” in Canada. Our involvement dates back to 2016, but this is the first year where the fundraisers had to move online due to gathering restrictions. Previously, the events were hosted as a large, in-person dinner raising funds through a stock exchange trading game. The Answer Company developed an app that enabled event participants to make their trade selections electronically – just in time to help them weather the storm!

What is your biggest challenge?

Getting everyone on board with adopting a new ERP is not an easy feat, especially because people are often resistant to change. However, once people see the value of using the right ERP solution, they realize quickly that an effective financial management process is fundamental to their company’s success. Our focus is to find the right business solutions for every stage of growth, which means identifying our customer’s ERP needs and business goals through a detailed discovery process. The recent addition of a Software Development department means that we can customize and adapt systems to meet businesses where they are today, and set them up for where they want to go in the future.

What is your motto?

We Propel Companies Forward

How are you making an impact?

With the global pandemic and social distancing orders, we’ve found that a lot of our customers are beginning to outgrow on-premise software and are interested in true-cloud software solutions. This is especially true for multi-entity and multi-location organizations that are looking for real-time insights and remote access.

We make an impact by leveraging our experience to facilitate this transition. With our team located in cities across Canada, The Answer Company’s infrastructure, employees, and business processes are already optimized to accommodate a remote workforce. Our team has a tremendous amount of experience in this transition and our priority is to help our customers quickly leverage technologies that will help them through this challenge and position them for future growth in the “new normal”.

What is your hope for the future of tech in BC?

At a time like this, we need to stand together so that we all can emerge from this pandemic more agile, resilient, and stronger than ever. We hope the tech community continues to grow and support each other as we navigate through these foreign waters.