British Columbia Construction Association

Background

The BC Construction Association (BCCA) is a construction industry association serving organizations and professionals across British Columbia, with a focus on advocacy, workforce development, and technology solutions that strengthen the construction sector.

As part of its mandate, BCCA delivers a range of programs and initiatives throughout the year, including government-funded training and workforce development programs, as well as Construction Month, an annual campaign that celebrates the contributions of the construction industry. During Construction Month, BCCA administers grants and engagement activities that recognize and support industry participants while encouraging broader community involvement.

BCCA manages a complex ecosystem of programs through which participants can progress through several training and support streams over time. This requires accurate tracking of participant journeys, funding allocations, and program outcomes across the organization.

Challenges Due to Legacy Systems and Siloed Data

Prior to engaging Kwixand Solutions, BCCA was operating an on-premises version of Syspro alongside multiple disconnected databases supporting different programs. “We were finding that our software was an on‑premises system that was not keeping up with the changing technology world,” says Jackie Knutson, Chief Financial Officer, at BCCA. She noted that the organization had become limited in its ability to integrate with modern tools.

Beyond accounting constraints, BCCA faced broader operational challenges. Workforce development initiatives, membership records, and program delivery data were stored in separate systems, resulting in duplicated efforts, inconsistent data, and limited organizational visibility. “We had outdated, segregated databases between all our workforce development programs, and it was creating a lot of redundancy and not a lot of continuity in the data,” says Jessica Bonney, Strategic Initiatives Manager, at BCCA.

As a result, staff frequently re‑entered the same information across systems, and reporting relied heavily on manual consolidation, reducing time available for higher value work. Another key challenge was tracking participant activity and financial support across multiple programs in a unified way. Because participants often move between programs over time, BCCA needed a complete and accurate view of engagement and funding history.

In addition, BCCA administers government‑sponsored support funding, including requests for safety equipment and training materials. These funds needed to be tracked against budgets and actual spend at a participant level to support accurate reporting and financial oversight.

Modernizing Systems with Dynamics 365 and an Integrated CRM

To address these challenges, Kwixand Solutions implemented a set of integrated Microsoft‑based solutions. This included a migration from the legacy system to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, alongside a customized CRM solution designed to unify program and participant data. A key component of the solution was a customized Business Central Projects (Jobs) module tailored to BCCA’s program structure and funding model. This enabled:

• Tracking lifetime participant spend across all programs

• Managing support fund requests for items such as PPE, tools, and training materials

• Budget‑versus‑actual tracking at the participant level

• Consolidated financial visibility across government‑funded initiatives

Together, these capabilities provided BCCA with a more holistic view of participant funding and program investment across the organization.

The CRM solution centralized participant information across intake, program participation, progress tracking, and outcomes, creating a unified participant view across multiple workforce development programs. The CRM is also integrated with external and government systems using Power Automate, allowing BCCA to maintain required external reporting while improving internal data visibility and consistency. Some legacy systems continue to feed data into the new environment, while others were retired as functionality was consolidated.

A more recent initiative focused on streamlining the Lunchbox Celebration Grant program. This solution supports centralized management of grant submissions, approvals, and reporting, while creating a year‑over‑year historical record of grant activity. Manual tracking was reduced, and program data collection and analysis were simplified.

Across all initiatives, the focus was on reducing duplication, improving data visibility, and enabling easier reporting through centralized systems and tools such as Power BI.

Greater Efficiency Through Reduced Manual Work and Improved Data Visibility

The implementation of integrated systems delivered meaningful operational improvements for BCCA, particularly in time savings and administrative efficiency.

The Lunchbox Celebration Grant system, in particular, improved workflow efficiency. Information that previously required manual transfer into spreadsheets is now captured in a structured, exportable format that can be used directly for reporting and analysis. “One of the biggest gains has been time,” says Jessica. “What would have taken 15 hours last year probably took two hours this year. That’s going to be even more pronounced next year.”

Staff also reported a significant reduction in duplicated data entry. Processes that previously required input across multiple systems were eliminated, freeing teams from repetitive administrative tasks. “From the accounting side, we definitely found a lot of efficiencies which have freed up our time to be able to do other things,” says Jackie. “On the program side, it’s the same…there is no longer that duplication. Three people used to do that work in one program alone, so that’s a huge time saver. Less time on administrative tasks, more time with people.”

On the financial side, Dynamics 365 Business Central also improved efficiency in core accounting processes such as reconciliations, journal entries, and approvals, making day‑to‑day operations quicker and easier to manage.

From Implementation to Impact

BCCA describes the core implementation experience as well‑structured and collaborative, with strong training and post‑implementation support. “The cutover for the Business Central implementation was done on time, training happened ahead of time, and support afterward was great…it was really smooth,” Jackie explained. While some AP automation initiatives involved added complexity, the core implementation remained stable and well managed.

Both Jessica and Jackie highlighted the responsiveness and collaborative approach of the Kwixand team. “Throughout my project, the team was super responsive and very quick to get things done,” says Jessica. “They were clear about timelines and upfront about what was achievable. Even so, we ended up doing more than what we initially scoped, which I really appreciated.”

When asked to summarize the value of the engagement, BCCA emphasized simplification, efficiency, and a people‑centered approach to process improvement. “The work we’ve done together has simplified administrative systems and made our work easier,” says Jackie. “It allows us to focus more on people rather than processes.”

Key Outcomes and Business Impact

Following implementation, BCCA experienced improvements across several areas:

• Reduced manual data entry and duplication of work

• Improved access to centralized data across workforce development and membership programs

• Faster grant processing and simplified reporting

• Improved operational efficiency through streamlined accounting and approval workflows

• Enhanced ability to analyze program participation and membership engagement

With previously siloed systems now unified, BCCA has improved cross‑program visibility and is better positioned to make strategic decisions based on consolidated data. “We now have all the information in one place,” Jackie notes. “The next step is figuring out how we want to use it more strategically.” While reporting capabilities continue to evolve, the foundation is now in place to support more advanced analytics and cross‑program insights over time.