The same story keeps coming up in finance departments: a well-chosen software solution following lengthy decision-making and requirements phases, but a surprisingly, or disappointingly, rocky implementation. Timelines stretch, scope expands at every meeting, costs bleed past the initial fixed price. Not usually through bad faith, but because of a structurally fragile model: the software vendor and the implementation team are two separate entities, with different expertise, different agendas, and interests that don’t always align with the Treasurer’s.
At Datalog Finance, we made a different choice from day one: to be both vendor and integrator of our own treasury TMS software, a choice that fundamentally changes the nature of your project.
The real risk isn’t the software
Selecting a treasury TMS starts with evaluating features, connectors, and usability. But what matters most happens between contract signature and go-live.
A successful implementation requires four simultaneous capabilities:
- understanding treasury processes
- mastering the software down to its finest parameters
- managing a project over time
- making clear commitments on scope and costs.
This is well documented: in its 2024 report on TMS technology, EY confirms that enterprise deployments take several months and often more than a year depending on scope complexity, in most cases involving consultants external to the software vendor.
This integrated model is what allows us to manage each project end to end: by maintaining team and expertise continuity from one phase to the next, we guarantee consistency of timelines, costs, and deliverables, regardless of the complexity of the scope.
TMS vendor and integrator in one: a unique model
Our Consulting, Product, and Support teams work closely together and are in constant dialogue. When a consultant is working on your project, they can reach the R&D team the same day. If a specific need arises during the configuration phase, the response doesn’t go through an external party raising a ticket with the software vendor: it comes directly from the team that designed the feature.
This closeness produces concrete results: short decision-making cycles, rapid adaptability, and product knowledge with no equivalent at a third-party integrator.
Our consultants bring between 15 and 20 years of experience in treasury and payments. Some come from corporate finance departments, others from established market players. They implement your requirements directly, through configuration, leveraging the native capabilities of Datalog TMS: no custom development, no approximation, no timeline surprises.
This dual business/solution expertise is also at the heart of the AFTE’s certified TMS training programme, which recognises Datalog TMS as one of the French market’s reference solutions. This impartial industry endorsement reflects our solution’s standing in the corporate treasury ecosystem.
Our experts speak your language before they speak the language of the software.
Fixed-price TMS projects: putting an end to scope and cost ambiguity
One of the most common frustrations in treasury TMS projects is a lack of clarity around commitments: what is actually included in the fixed price? When does billing shift to a time-and-materials model? Who decides that a request is “additional”?
The AFTE confirms this in its reference TMS project training: success depends as much on methodology as it does on technical and human factors. One of the key risks to anticipate explicitly is the “tunnel effect”, the point at which a project drifts without the client having clear visibility.
J.P. Morgan highlights this too: the project plan must be defined before execution begins, with a clear distinction between essential requirements and nice-to-haves. That is exactly the approach we apply.
Our projects are structured as fixed-price engagements (defined scope, fixed budget, defined timeline), with a clear distinction between the committed scope and any additional requests. No tunnel effect, no unpleasant surprises mid-project.
This transparency rests on a proven methodology, structured around four phases:
1. Design & launch
Scope definition, objective alignment, project structuring. Rigorous design prevents costly revisions downstream.
2. Configuration
No-code configuration of the solution in Datalog TMS. No custom development required: the platform is functionally rich enough to meet your requirements through pure configuration.
3. User acceptance testing
You validate the built solution. This is also the central phase for knowledge transfer: your teams take ownership of what has been built for them.
4. Go-live & support
A managed go-live, followed by warranty period (VSR) and a structured handover to the Support team, with the project team on standby if needed.
Two project models: turnkey or co-build
We offer two project formats, depending on the level of involvement your teams wish to have.
Turnkey
Datalog Finance handles all configuration. You validate. Knowledge transfer takes place during the user acceptance phase, on the finalised solution. It is the choice of peace of mind, and the model selected by the majority of our client references.
With guidance
We lay the foundations of your solution; your teams handle the complementary configuration. Knowledge transfer runs continuously from the configuration phase, enabling a progressive and early build-up of autonomy. This model suits organisations that want to rapidly develop strong internal expertise.
In both cases: by the end of the user acceptance phase, your functional administrators are equipped to manage and evolve their treasury TMS independently, if that is your strategy.
A successful TMS project is measured by your autonomy, not your go-live
Go-live is not the finish line. It is where the real life of your cash and liquidity management begins.
The Association for Financial Professionals (USA) puts it clearly: the need for support does not stop once implementation is complete. The vendor must have a model for specialised, responsive assistance delivered by experts who understand treasury.
After the warranty period, the Datalog Support team takes over for level-2 assistance to your administrators. The project team remains available in the background. You don’t start from scratch with a new provider who knows nothing about your environment: continuity of knowledge is preserved.
This is also one of the key findings shared by the Association of Corporate Treasurers (EUR) through its members’ experience: continuity between the project team and operational support is a determining factor in the long-term success of a TMS deployment.
The goal we set ourselves is simple, and non-negotiable: by the end of the project, your Treasury department must be fully capable of running its own solution.
What this means in practice
Working with Datalog Finance on your treasury TMS project means benefiting from:
- A single point of contact who knows both the product and the business
- A clearly defined fixed price from the outset, with no surprises or subsequent overruns: scope, budget, timeline
- An in-house team with no outsourcing of critical expertise
- Structured knowledge transfer, for genuine autonomy at go-live
- Assured continuity between the project team and the support team
This is not the promise of a perfect implementation, but of a framework that makes it possible.
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Frequently asked questions about treasury TMS projects
How long does a treasury TMS project take?
The duration of a treasury TMS project varies depending on scope complexity: typically 3 to 6 months for a standard group-level project, including multi-entity or multi-bank environments. At Datalog Finance, the timeline is fixed and committed from the project’s outset as part of the fixed-price engagement; it does not slip phase by phase. The most critical factor is the quality of the initial scoping carried out during the design phase.
What is the difference between a turnkey TMS project and a guided project?
In turnkey mode, Datalog Finance handles all configuration. The client validates, and knowledge transfer takes place during the user acceptance phase on the finalised solution. In guided mode, the client’s teams co-build the solution from the configuration phase: Datalog lays the foundations, the client handles the complementary configuration. In both cases, the goal is the same: full autonomy for functional administrators at go-live.
Why choose a vendor-integrator for your treasury TMS project?
When the software vendor and integrator are two separate entities, the risk of project drift increases: diluted responsibility, coordination delays, divergent interpretations of requirements. A vendor-integrator like Datalog Finance controls the entire chain (from configuration to support) with no intermediary. Its consultants combine treasury and payments expertise with deep knowledge of Datalog TMS, eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth and ensuring implementation that faithfully reflects real business needs.
How do you avoid budget overruns in a treasury TMS project?
The primary lever is choosing a fixed-price model with a clearly defined scope before the project starts — not a time-and-materials model where every request generates additional billing. You should also ensure the integrator has a formal methodology to prevent the tunnel effect: regular progress updates, a clear distinction between committed scope and additional requests, and a timeline held firm from the design phase.
What is knowledge transfer in a treasury TMS project?
Knowledge transfer refers to all the actions through which the integrator trains the client’s functional administrators to master their TMS solution — not the software in general, but the solution as it has been configured for their specific context. At Datalog Finance, this transfer is structured from the user acceptance phase, so that at go-live, client teams are fully autonomous in administering and evolving their treasury TMS without dependence on the integrator.
