Suffice to say, when we signed off last year’s Year in Review, we never imagined all the change that 2020 would bring. A world at a distance. Meetings over Zoom. Full-time workers like yourself taking on new roles as educators and caretakers while tirelessly keeping your business afloat in this “new normal.”
2020 has not been an easy year. For many of us, our goals, both professional and personal, changed. Every day became about surviving instead of thriving. And that’s okay. We were forced to adjust to a world no one in our generation has seen before. But we did it. You did it. Thank you for sticking by our team, for trusting us with your business, and for holding us accountable when we needed it most. This year has shown what we have known all along: that it is you, our clients, who truly make us cheerworthy.
Now, let’s take a look back and celebrate the KDG employees, clients, and partners who didn’t just make it work, but made it happen in a year like no other.
KDG: At a Distance
Working remotely took some getting used to, but Team KDG was able to find some creative ways to stay connected! From #FunArtFriday and #BuddyCallWednesday to virtual happy hours and socially-distanced splatter paint, we were able to collaborate, create, and communicate safely.
(ICYMI: The Wall Street Journal even gave us a shout out!)
Helping You Grow
This year saw the launch of some of the most innovative and challenging projects our team has ever worked on. From custom applications and ERP implementations to accounting migrations and digital transformations, take a look at some of the projects we helped bring to life this year.
Write for the Bar
When Alisa Geller came to KDG several years ago with the idea for an online Bar Exam study tool, we knew she had something amazing up her sleeve! This year, all of that hard work came to fruition when Write for the Bar was launched. The one-of-a-kind application uses cognitive science to customize the study process, along with practice essays, flashcards, and tutor tips to help users get a feel for what it’s like to sit in on the Bar Exam.
Alisa made it possible for future esquires across the country to study smarter and more efficiently. We were honored to be her partner in this process and can’t wait to see her future students make a difference!
HTSS Accounting Migration
In early 2020, our accounting team completed a data migration project that brought over three years’ worth of data from QuickBooks into Zoho Books. Then, this data was reconciled so that HTSS, a leading Lehigh Valley staffing service, could have the accurate insights they needed to make decisions regarding payroll, expenses, and invoicing.
But that wasn’t all! Our Zoho Development team worked with HTSS to build a custom Zoho Creator application that would sync to their new instance of Zoho Books. Employees could track time in this application. Then, data was synced directly into the company’s payroll system for more accurate invoices.
Fenwick High School’s Annual Day of Giving
Thursday, February 20, 2020, marked Fenwick High School’s fourth-annual Raise the Shield Day of Giving. Students, faculty, family, friends, and alumni all donated to the cause and celebrated the day with videos, social media, and on-campus events.
Shortly after the campaign, we interviewed Cindy Erwin, Director of Annual Giving, to learn more about why Fenwick holds this tradition and how the online platform engages the school’s community.
Starnet’s Zoho One ERP System
Starnet connects over 180 flooring contractors across the U.S. and Canada, which means the organization needed a reliable application that could manage their data. They worked with KDG to develop a Zoho One ERP integration. Everything Starnet needs can now be managed in this singular technology stack, including over 500,000 invoices.
In an interview with KDG, Director of Marketing and Member Services Rob Starr explained how Zoho changed the way Starnet does business. For the better.
Helping Us Grow
As long as there’s a way to leverage technology to build durable and sustainable organizations, you can rest assured that our team will come up with a solution. The year’s shift to remote work proved to be no exception.
IT Inventory Management
When you’re remote, how do you get your employees the technology they need safely? How do you secure their home networks? How do you keep their productivity high and their risk of data breach low? To help, we launched IT Inventory Services. Our IT team didn’t only start shipping devices to remote workforces, but they also sanitized the devices to remove disease and secured these devices with the latest antivirus and monitoring software.
Code Reviews
This year, we witnessed more and more businesses turning to internal and external developers to build their web and mobile applications. However, these applications launched months late, hundreds of thousands over budget, and well below user expectations. We launched code review services in late 2020 to provide external code validation and developer accountability before applications are launched into production.
Bookkeeping & Accounting Services
2020 saw tremendous growth in our bookkeeping and accounting services. We expanded this offering by hiring more accountants to help with back-office accounting services like payroll, invoicing, and accounts receivable/payable. We have migrated dozens of clients from QuickBooks to Zoho Books and have reconciled, in some cases, nearly a decade of records. It is no wonder accounting services has become one of our most in-demand offerings.
By the Numbers
Features & Awards
Thanks to you, KDG is no longer one of the industry’s best-kept secrets! 2020 saw us recognized by Clutch, Forbes Small Giants, and even The Wall Street Journal.
Giving Back
Giving back has never been more important. We were fortunate enough to be able to donate over $25,000 to local food banks, shelters, and nonprofits that support healthcare, education, and the environment. These donations were made possible thanks to the generosity of our employees and you. Every time you gave feedback, we donated to an employee-chosen charity.
We understand that we were fortunate to even be in a position in which we could give back. As long as we can, KDG will always be a company that invests in our community.
What’s Next?
It’s safe to say we, like you, have plenty of questions about what the next year holds. But here’s what we hope for:
- Growth & learning. We know there is always room for improvement. We will continue to grow, to learn, to explore, and to innovate. And we will continue to make mistakes. We hope you’ll hold us accountable when we do. And we hope you’ll celebrate with us when we win.
- Transparency. Whether you’ve been a partner for a few weeks or a few years, you know we value transparency. It’s why we showcase our reviews, why we send you progress updates, and why we’re only a phone call away when you have a question. Look for more updates in 2021 that build on this value and your feedback from 2020.
- Health & happiness. More than anything, we hope 2021 brings a return to normalcy for our employees and for you. Until then, we hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy until the time we can all be together again.
Thank you for your support this year. Team KDG would not be what it is without you. Happy holidays!
Now, let’s bring on 2021!
