[ CLIENT SUCCESS ]

American Marketing Association: Saving $250K with a Cloud Financial Stack

Industry

Professional & Business Services

Solution

Financial & Operational Systems

Client Since

2017

About American Marketing Association

The American Marketing Association (AMA), founded in 1937, is a leading non-profit professional association dedicated to advancing the practice of marketing. The organization supports marketers through memberships, publications, live events, professional certifications, and corporate sponsorships, operating with both B2B and B2C transaction models.

With multiple lines of business and a strong focus on member experience, AMA requires integrated systems that deliver timely, accurate data to support decision-making and personalized services across its diverse activities.

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“We’re able to expand our services to the organization without adding finance staff. And the fact that we will be able to get our accounting done in less time will save the organization money that can be repurposed for other priorities.”

Jeremy Van Ek

Chief Operating Officer, American Marketing Association

The challenge

When chief operating officer, Jeremy Van Ek, arrived at AMA, the association had technology issues which hampered its mission. AMA’s technology was aging and most systems were not well integrated. “As a membership association, how we serve members is critically important to us. The more we know about them, the better we are able to provide the right services and resources,” he explained.

In order to drive a better membership experience, AMA wanted to replace its legacy association management system, Personify, with new cloud-based CRM and content management systems (CMS). The move to an entirely cloud-based technology stack also created the need to replace Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains, an on-premise legacy accounting system used for nearly 20 years.

Why BT Partners?

BT Partners served as technology consultants for AMA’s major cloud transformation initiative. They were brought in for both strategic planning and hands-on implementation support as the organization moved to a fully cloud-based technology stack.

AMA selected BT Partners for their expertise in financial system implementations and their collaborative approach. The team conducted functional requirements workshops, mapped business processes, and provided ongoing guidance to ensure the new system met the association’s specific needs.

The solution

BT Partners supported the transition to a modern cloud financial platform that integrates seamlessly with Salesforce CRM and other systems. They led configuration efforts, including the setup of a dimensional chart of accounts, role-based dashboards, and custom reporting tailored to AMA’s multi-line business model.

Key enhancements included real-time visibility into financial performance, streamlined month-end processes, automated data flows, and improved drill-down capabilities for detailed analysis. BT Partners also provided training and ongoing support throughout the implementation.

Results & business impact

AMA now has real-time access to critical financial insights, enabling better decision-making such as restructuring or cancelling unprofitable events. The finance team saves significant time on reporting and month-end close processes, with reduced manual work and fewer errors.

“It was difficult for me, the accounting team, and our business managers to access financial information in Great Plains, so it was not looked at as frequently as we would have liked,” Van Ek recalled. “For example, some of our events lost money and this was not fully realized. With Sage Intacct, we can access real-time information about gross margin on events, so we’ve restructured or cancelled unprofitable events and scheduled more successful ones.”

These efficiencies allow the organization to deliver the same level of service with less overhead, freeing up resources to invest directly in member programs and value-added initiatives. The integrated cloud systems have transformed how AMA uses data to support its mission.

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[ Client Success ]

American Marketing Association: Saving $250K with a Cloud Financial Stack

Industry Professional & Business Services

Solution Financial & Operational Systems

Client Since 2017

About American Marketing Association

“We’re able to expand our services to the organization without adding finance staff. And the fact that we will be able to get our accounting done in less time will save the organization money that can be repurposed for other priorities.”