Onboarding & Implementation
Because SmartyGrants is hosted by us, onboarding and implementation are very simple at your end.
Onboarding
SmartyGrants onboarding processes are designed to swiftly and painlessly introduce new users to our software. Onboarding is free as part of your year-one SmartyGrants subscription.
During this process we will guide you through initial setup of your SmartyGrants account and help you become familiar with key features and functionalities. The goal is to ensure you can quickly start using the software effectively.
Onboarding is managed by a SmartyGrants human (no bots!), so you will get very practical, very targeted support every step of the way.
Key activities
- Confirm your subscription: Our sales team will confirm your subscription level/cost and will issue you with a contract to sign. Once the contract has been signed and the first year’s subscription has been paid, we’ll configure your account to reflect your time zone and activate any optional features that you have requested. We’ll send you an email to confirm that your account is ready to be accessed and provide more information about next steps.
- Setting up your “Applicant Site”: We will ask you for some design guidelines so we can “skin” your customer-facing website (your “Applicant Site”) to match your organisation’s existing look and feel. This usually takes around two weeks to complete. In most cases we will convert your trial account to a live account, so you can carry over any work you have done during your trial period (e.g. form building).
- Onboarding consultation: About a week after your subscription has been confirmed we will contact you to conduct your onboarding consultation (this is free, as part of your year-one subscription). During this consultation a SmartyGrants expert will ask you about the nature of your program(s), your timelines for going live with your first round, and your progress to date. We’ll advise you on how to set up your account and configure user access.
- Training: You and your team members get free access to SmartyGrants training for the life of your subscription. Training is mostly self-serve via our learning management system, SmartySkills. You also have access to the SmartyGrants Help Hub, a source of comprehensive written documentation on all functionality. You can complete as little or as much of the training as you wish, but we do recommend all users complete the “SmartyStarter” bundle of courses, which takes approximately 10 hours in total (via 33 short courses). If you’re very pressed for time, you could start with the “No-Time-For-Training” bundle, which will give you a quick overview (via three short courses), taking around 40 minutes to complete.
Duration
Typically, onboarding takes two to four weeks from your first meeting with a SmartyGrants onboarding team member to the time where you feel you’re in a position to confidently manage your own SmartyGrants account. At this point, you will move from onboarding to implementation, as described below.
The onboarding process may take longer for those with less time to spare for meetings and training, those with more complicated processes, those who wish to migrate data into SmartyGrants, and those who require more extensive and/or customised training.
Implementation
Implementation involves integrating SmartyGrants into your existing systems, workflows, and business processes. Most SmartyGrants users self-manage this process, but help is available for those who require more assistance. We can provide you with a tailored quotation if you wish to engage us to guide you through this phase.
Key activities
- Configuration: You will need to consider your existing systems and processes (e.g. roles and responsibilities, reporting requirements, forms, reports, workflows and budgets) and configure SmartyGrants to support them. (If you’re setting up a brand new programme, we have some guidance and templates that can help you get started.) Examples of steps involved in your technical set up include adding users and setting permissions; setting budgets and delegations; considering your reporting needs and using that to define your data model (e.g. standard fields, contact fields); planning for and building your forms; and setting up workflows and tasks.
- Data migration: Some users may wish to migrate data into SmartyGrants either for historical reporting, or for ongoing rounds. If this is the case for you, you will need to factor this process (and associated costs and timelines) into your budgets and plans for implementation. We can provide more information if required.
- Testing: We recommend you set up a test program and round; create a suite of simple test forms (application, assessment, acquittal); publish the round; and simulate the applicant experience by filling in the forms and looking at the outputs in the back end (your “Manage Site”), including running some simple reports. This will allow you to gain a practical understanding of how the system works and will give you the opportunity to start building out your real-world grants programmes.
- Additional training: Most users continue to self-serve training via SmartySkills, our learning management platform, during the implementation phase, and may also request custom training if and as required.
The SmartyGrants support team is available to help and advise you throughout the implementation process (and beyond) – basic support is free as part of your subscription. If you would like additional support, you can engage our Managed Services team for a custom quote, or request some custom training (additional costs apply – ask us for details).
Duration
Implementation may take days, weeks or months, depending on the complexity of your setup and the requirements, timelines and capacities of your organisation.