Association Software Project Question
Posted on : 02-28-2008 | By : Legal Information | In : Other Legal Topics
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I am an Executive for an Association located in the Washington D.C. area. Last year our organization put out a Request for Proposal for a new association management software package. We investigated several different Association management software vendors and dwindled down our search to 3 companies. During the final stages we had a favorite, however, our favorite was a little over the initial budget approved by our Board of Directors. We went back to the vendor and told them we would have to move forward with another vendor if they couldn’t somehow come in within our approved budget. Needless to say, after several conference calls, the company made an exception and dropped some of the fees within the proposal (license fees).
Once we began the implementation process we noticed that our monthly payments were much higher than expected and now over 9 months of implementation we still don’t have a deliverable. They seem to be having trouble implementing our product. On Monday, I received another invoice which puts us well over our budget. They are claiming that we changed the scope of the project during the implementation phase and the increased cost are a result of this change. This is completely false. Furthermore, we are about 3 months out before we have a system in place.
One of the vendors that worked with us during the process explained to both myself and the Executive Director that this company oftentimes goes over estimates and we should require them to put a “not-to-exceed clause” into the contract. The same vendor also sent out an email to the folks on the board that were part of the initial evaluation process, stating this could happen. When we met with the board prior to the final approval, we assured them that we did our due diligence and this was a ploy for the other company to get back into the deal. We didn’t want to prolong the evaluation process any longer.
I spoke to the Executive Director today and the board has requested an emergency meeting with both myself and the Executive Director to discuss why we have allowed this project to go over the budget. This meeting is to take place first thing Monday via a conference call. I’m extremely worried that my job could be at stake and the Executive Director told me to prepare for the worst.
My question is based upon the information I provided can I be legally fired for making one poor decision? This organization is a non for profit.
Thank your for your help
I have known several Executive Directors that were dismissed shortly after making decision on large purchases for their organization. Unless you are under an employment contract with the association they can fire you. Washington D.C. is an at will state.
My organization is going through a very similar situation with our AMS vendor. We were working with an AMS consultant and felt like their expertise lumped with our due diligence would put us in the best position to make the right decision. We also went through an RFP process and we shortlisted 3 different vendors. Our team was divided between 2 vendors. One vendor was a small company located in Virginia and the other whom we ended up choosing was a much larger company. Our staff was almost 50% divided and the consultant swayed us towards the larger company.
We purchased the software almost a year ago and we are finally up and running with major “BUGS” (4 months longer than projected). Some of the functionality they promised doesn’t exist to say the least. We also went well over our estimated costs.
Our B.O.D also called a meeting with our Executive Team and I found out we pointed the finger toward the consultant.
If we had to do it all over again, we would have gone with the other vendor which was my choice. Our ED still has her job but I’m assuming its with a huge target on her head.
If you made a decision with a consultant, blame the decision on the consultant.
I can tell you that our Executive Director was very nervous about losing her job so I’m assuming it would be the same for you.
Good Luck
That is not what I wanted to hear. I did not sign a contract with the association but I think my ED may have.
J.E. we used a consultant company that formed an RFP for us and helped in the selection process. They didn’t sway us one way or the other, however, they didn’t tell us that this company was notorious for going over budget and not implementing within the assigned time frame either.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we have the same AMS vendor!
I had a colleague send me this link: This is a very interesting post especially for a legal site. I work for an association located in Maryland. The two stories I’m reading here are very similar to what our association went through a few years back. We went with a AMS vendor that was in the tail end of redeveloping their product in a different technology environment. Although this product wasn’t fully developed we felt like the company and product was headed in the right direction. We were one of the first associations that jumped on board with their new offering.
To our dismay, this vendor didn’t have a good grip on exactly how hard it was to get their technology onto a different platform. Unfortunately we paid heavily for their inexperience. We met with our legal team and threatened to go into litigation with our vendor.
We ended up getting a large portion of our money back from the vendor; unfortunately we have a product was never fully completed. We are using a bastardized version of their new product and there isn’t much more we can do.
Our executive team didn’t come under fire because our board of directors played a major part in the decision process which was our first mistake.
It is important that you have a rebuttal in the event the board of directors asks you about the not-to-exceed clause. The correct response: If we had put a not-to-exceed clause into the contract, this would have given the vendor the flexibility to charge us up to 20% more than the estimated costs. We spoke to several of their references and each association told us that the vendor implemented their solution on-time and within the estimated budget.
This may be your only saving grace. I would love to know what vendors you guys are talking about. Would it be a coincidence if we were clients of the same vendor?
Thank you for your comment Tech Geek. I think this is a great idea and I will share it with the Executive Director. My only worry is they remember us telling the board it was a ploy. I guess we could somehow spin this. This makes me feel a little better. If I get fired I will come back to this question and tell you the name of the AMS vendor.