An interview with Lynn Ryan, Project Manager at Broadway Ventures LLC.
“Create value by providing mission-critical services and solutions for government and commercial customers by improving service quality and cost,” is Broadway Ventures mission that has given them direction that enabled them to grow into a $7 million revenue company. Headquartered in Amite, Louisiana, Broadway Ventures is a professional service contractor that delivers administrative, cybersecurity and consulting solutions. Broadway Ventures is also 8a, HUBZone, and SDVOSB certified small business, which has helped them become established contractors with The Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services.
Founded in 2013, Broadway Ventures started as an independent insurance agency, and in 2018 made a transition to government contracting, after winning their first contract with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In 2017 Lynn Ryan joined the team with 35 years of experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs, with a strong background in healthcare administration as he led a 10-hospital network as CFO and Deputy Network Director. Lynn originally came to Broadway as the Chief Operating Officer and, as the COO, he wore a multitude of hats, including accountant, human resources manager, recruiter and payroll manager.
Getting Started with Deltek Costpoint and Deltek Pro Bookkeepers
As Broadway Ventures grew internally and, in the government contracting industry, the team knew they needed a cost-effective scalable solution for timekeeping and payroll that was DCAA and SCA compliant. The team started looking for experts to help them understand what compliance meant and how they could be compliant most efficiently while planning for their future growth. They found Deltek-partner, Redstone Government Consulting, who in 2019 implemented Deltek Costpoint, a project-based ERP solution purpose-built for government contractors. Deltek Costpoint was a long-term accounting solution that could be one source of truth for the team’s timekeeping, payroll, and accounting reporting needs, while staying up to date with DCAA compliance requirements, from bid to invoice. As a COO of a small business, Lynn described how many plates he spun day-to-day and the limited time and resources he was confronted with regularly. This is why Broadway Ventures relies on Deltek Pro Bookkeepers accounting services to get the most from Deltek Costpoint.
The Deltek Pros™ program helps with the accounting challenges small businesses face by connecting customers with expert bookkeepers in their industry that are also certified in Deltek Costpoint. Deltek Pro Bookkeepers helps businesses maximize the value of Deltek Costpoint by managing back-office operations faster - improving accuracy, optimizing cost, and providing compliance support, for less than the cost of hiring a full-time employee. Lynn describes how working with Redstone Government Consulting, a Deltek Pros™ Authorized Member Firm, to manage Deltek Costpoint is like “working together with your own team that you hired.”
Supplementing their small business with an industry expert
As Broadway Ventures evolved, Lynn realized he wouldn’t be able to manage the additional day-to-day responsibilities by himself, and unfortunately, hiring an HR payroll manager or an internal bookkeeper wasn’t feasible for the company because of the cost associated with managing a team and internally keeping up with compliance standards. So instead, Broadway Ventures left it to the Deltek Pro Bookkeepers at Redstone Government Consulting to manage both payroll and accounting using Deltek Costpoint. Lynn states, “Deltek Costpoint has most likely saved us 7,000 working hours. Assuming that I would have needed four full-time employees (FTE) to accomplish everything we needed to get done, with Deltek Pros we are only paying for one and half FTEs dollar-wise.” As a former CFO, Lynn’s biggest focuses were the value and the cost. Deltek Pro Bookkeepers is, “a way that a small business can leverage everything they need at a relatively low cost.” He knew that by using Deltek Pro Bookkeepers the company would benefit from not having to make layoffs and would avoid any hidden costs.
In addition to the product, Lynn stressed, “it’s the people that make the difference.” When connecting with Deltek, Lynn says he’s been able to speak with a person and come to a solution that works for the Broadway Ventures team. Working with Redstone Government Consulting, he describes it as “everybody that’s come along, it’s like I’ve known them forever.” He explains that it’s the people around him, supporting him day-to-day in the system that makes him successful. Overall, he explains the services Deltek Pro Bookkeepers provides as the perfect arrangement for a small business.
Why Deltek Costpoint?
Broadway Ventures previously ran their business on QuickBooks® to manage accounting and invoicing but realized that without a DCAA-compliant system it was going to be harder and more time-consuming to reach their growth goals. Redstone Government Consulting knew Costpoint was the industry standard for government contractors, and that Broadway Ventures didn’t need to look any further for a top-tier system.
The transition from QuickBooks to Deltek Costpoint was “a very organic process that happened, starting out with the simple question ‘Are we compliant?’” Lynn recounts. Broadway Venture’s priority was investing in a timekeeping and payroll system that supports the industry’s compliance requirements.
Lynn emphasizes that the two major items Deltek Costpoint did for them were (one), it brought peace of mind that the necessary guardrails were in place to support compliance requirements, and (two), it allowed him to do invoicing in a more timely and cost-effective way. Lynn explained, the biggest thing for the company is they know they are supported with compliance requirements, and they can trust that everything is being properly captured and reconciled. They know their reports are “consistent with industry standards that government contractors and government entities are accustomed to.”
New Opportunities for Broadway Ventures
Broadway Ventures currently has 43 employees and is expanding quickly. Lynn states, “It’s a growing business. I feel like we are on the edge of an explosion of opportunities.” The team is confident in their ability to maintain industry compliance standards and safeguard government information with Deltek Costpoint supporting them, even with their rapid growth. In the future, Broadway Ventures vision is to penetrate deeper and evolve its portfolio of contracts seeking opportunities in the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of State.
Advice for Small Business Government Contractors
The advice Lynn would give to small businesses considering using Deltek Pro Bookkeepers is to work with a Deltek Pros™ Authorized Member Firm to determine your strategy and company’s goals. The next step would be implementing Deltek Costpoint and working with your Deltek Pro Bookkeeper as your Deltek Costpoint expert to help you achieve those goals.
As a small and growing business, it’s vital to have an agent with their attention fully devoted to supporting and managing your business as it can make a difference in productivity and profitability - “you need to find someone that’s familiar with your project-based ERP system either to advise you or to be your agent”. For Broadway Ventures, working with Deltek Pro Bookkeepers is a “beautiful arrangement.”
