Achieving Straight-A Implementations
By Rick Kostopoulos, CEO, NewGen Business Solutions
In today’s trade show and event industry, agility and visibility are everything. That’s why more organizations are migrating from legacy tools and disconnected systems to enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms like ConventionSuite, built atop Oracle NetSuite, the #1 AI-powered cloud ERP.
ConventionSuite is tailored to venues, exhibit houses, and general service contractors seeking accounting transparency, operational control, and long-term scalability. By implementing ConventionSuite, they gain a centralized system to run financials, manage inventory, and oversee production.
And the true value begins after successful implementation: continuous improvement.
ERP Report Card: Grading Your System from Booth to Back Office
Remember school report cards? They didn’t just evaluate performance, they highlighted areas for growth and focused attention towards progress. ERP system implementations should do the same.
ConventionSuite’s implementations use an ERP Report Card to organize and evaluate areas that require the most attention, which provides clear direction and gives clients a benchmark they can use to hold us accountable. That mutual accountability lays the groundwork for continuous optimization post-go-live.
Here are some ERP “subjects” on each report card:
Financials
Are revenues and expenses tracked accurately to produce meaningful profit analysis? Trade show projects move fast, making accurate margins non-negotiable.
Accounts Receivable
Are invoices, credits, and payments recorded in real time to maintain strong cash flow? For exhibit houses, venues, and GSCs, payment delays can disrupt events.
Sales Orders & Estimates
Is there a clear, logical workflow from estimate to sales order to invoice? Precision here keeps clients informed and projects on track.
Accounts Payable
Do we know exactly who we owe and when? Avoiding duplicate payments or missed deadlines protects vendor relationships.
Purchasing
Do purchase order costs and receipts match what was promised? In the world of custom builds and rentals, consistency is everything.
Inventory, Rentals, Services, and Assets
Whether tracking booth components, rental gear, labor hours, or equipment, each item must be properly classified and accounted for, or margin and efficiency will suffer.
Informing the Report Card
To build an effective report card, our team surveys an organization’s current systems and workflows to identify Pass/Fail processes, using those to create implementation milestones.
This discovery phase often reveals gaps that, once addressed, instantly improve the organization’s bottom line and operational efficiency.
We do this through project tracking, payroll analysis, and AI-powered insights tools that support clients in making smarter decisions and faster course corrections. These tools remain in place for clients even after go-live.
Success Takes Collaboration
A successful ERP rollout is a team effort. On the ConventionSuite side, our consultants manage the project scope, timeline, and deliverables. On the client side, it takes an internal champion to support data accuracy, and help translate internal business needs.
The report card approach brings both sides together under a shared framework, one that’s simple to understand, easy to communicate, and focused on measurable progress. And by the time we finish implementation, the goal is clear: Straight A’s across the board and the tools to measure continuous improvement.
Get Your Report Card Started
Are you ready to see how your organization measures up? Contact our sales team for a complimentary discovery call and next steps discussion. Reach us at sales@newgennow.com or fill out the demo request form at conventionsuite.com.
Rick Kostopoulos is an ERP expert with over 28 years in the industry. His company, NewGen Business Solutions, is the author of ConventionSuite, the only trade show and event industry ERP built on Oracle NetSuite, the all-in-one AI-powered, cloud business management solution.
For more information, visit conventionsuite.com or email sales@newgennow.com.
This story originally appeared as a truncated version in the Q4 2025 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 58. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/exhibit_city_news_-_oct_nov_dec_2025/58.
