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Events & Trade Shows / Finance Systems Multi-Entity · US + UK Operations

Three siloed QuickBooks instances.
One unified Sage Intacct environment.

A global events and trade show company needed to migrate three US subsidiaries from QuickBooks to Sage Intacct — with multi-entity consolidation, multi-currency reporting, and a 10-day close cycle. Their UK parent had frozen further acquisitions until financial infrastructure was modernized.

3 → 1
siloed systems → unified platform
15+ → 10
day close cycle reduced
7
enterprise deliverables
6 months
structured migration program
The Client

Global Events & Trade Show Company

This client operates multiple US entities acquired over recent years under a UK-based parent company. Their business spans the trade show and events industry — managing complex revenue streams including booth sales, sponsorships, registrations, and media partnerships.

Each entity was running its own independent QuickBooks instance with cash-basis accounting. The UK parent required accrual-basis, multi-currency (USD→GBP) consolidated reporting — and had blocked further US acquisitions until the financial infrastructure was upgraded.

Before RelayLaunch

Problem Area Impact
3 siloed QuickBooks instances No consolidation capability
Cash-basis financials only Can't meet UK GAAP/IFRS requirements
No multi-currency translation USD→GBP reporting impossible
15+ day month-end close Manual processes, no quality gates
No deferred revenue tracking ASC 606 compliance gap
Result Acquisitions frozen by parent
The Problem

Three systems. Zero consolidation. Acquisitions frozen.

🔀

Siloed Data

Three separate QuickBooks instances with no consolidation capability. Each entity operating independently — no unified view of financial performance across the organization.

📋

Compliance Gap

Cash-basis financials that didn't meet UK GAAP/IFRS parent reporting requirements. No multi-currency translation. No deferred revenue tracking for ASC 606 compliance.

🕐

15+ Day Close

Month-end close exceeded 15 business days with manual processes, no quality gates, and no RACI assignments. Decision-quality data arrived too late to act on.

🚫

Growth Blocked

UK parent had frozen all further US acquisitions until financial infrastructure was modernized. Every month without migration was a month of stalled growth.

The Approach

Two-Lane Delivery Model.
Architecture separated from execution.

The previous attempt failed because it tried to combine systems architecture with day-to-day accounting in one role. RelayLaunch introduced a Two-Lane Delivery Model — separating the architect from the executor with clear boundaries and accountability.

Lane A: Executor

Controller / Staff Accountant

Day-to-day transactions, book cleanup, close execution, bank reconciliations, journal entries. Stays as a permanent finance team member.

The Deliverables

7 enterprise deliverables.
6-month structured program.

🏗️

Target-State Architecture

Entity structure, dimensional Chart of Accounts, UK consolidation alignment. Fewer base accounts, richer dimensional tagging for flexible reporting.

01
🔗

Integration Blueprint

API contracts, data flows, and exception handling for all upstream systems — event platforms, payment processing, and internal tools.

02
📊

Migration Mapping Workbook

Field-level mapping from every QuickBooks account to Sage Intacct dimensions, with transformation rules and reconciliation evidence.

03
📅

10-Day Close Calendar

Day-by-day close schedule with RACI assignments, cutoff rules, and quality gates. Reverse-engineered from the UK reporting deadline.

04
📝

SOPs & Runbooks

Step-by-step procedures for every close task, journal entry type, and reconciliation — nothing left undocumented.

05
🚀

Go-Live Cutover Plan

Phased 3-wave strategy: pilot one entity first, prove the architecture, then scale. Rollback triggers and acceptance criteria at every gate.

06
📦

Handoff Bundle

Admin guide, training materials, and 8-day close roadmap. The team operates independently from day one after handoff.

07
The Roadmap

6 months. 3 migration waves.
9 quality gates.

Month 1

Discovery & Design

Current-state assessment across all 3 entities. Data quality profiling. UK reporting requirements mapping. Target-state architecture approved.

Month 2

Architecture & Mapping

Field-level mapping workbook built. Integration blueprint documented. Close calendar designed. Every account mapped to its Intacct destination.

Month 3

Pilot Migration — Wave 1

First entity goes live in Sage Intacct. Architecture proven. Reconciliation evidence generated. Lessons learned applied to Waves 2 and 3.

Month 4

Wave 2 & Hardening

Second entity migrated. Close process hardened. Controls implemented. Consolidation tested — first USD→GBP translation report produced.

Month 5

Wave 3 & First 10-Day Close

All three entities live. First full 10-day close achieved. KPI dashboard built. Consolidated report delivered to UK parent by Day 12.

Month 6

Stabilization & Handoff

Hypercare support. Team training. Complete handoff bundle delivered. 8-day close roadmap for continued optimization. Team operates independently.

The Methodology

Engineering-grade project delivery
applied to finance systems.

Phase-Gated Delivery

9 quality gates govern the entire program. Each with specific acceptance criteria, responsible parties, and rollback triggers. No gate is passed without documented evidence.

Automated Testing

Custom-built automation pipelines run data integrity checks at every transformation step. Reconciliation evidence generated automatically — not manually in spreadsheets.

Change Control

Every decision logged. Every scope change assessed for timeline impact. Every migration has a rollback procedure. Cloud infrastructure rigor applied to ERP migration.

Wave Strategy

Prove the architecture on one entity before scaling. Each wave follows a repeatable playbook: extract, transform, load, reconcile, accept. Lessons learned cascade forward.

This is systems integration at scale.

Whether you need an ERP migration, multi-entity consolidation, or a structured approach to replacing disconnected systems — RelayLaunch brings engineering-grade methodology to complex business problems.

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