Author Archives: Brett Mundell

About Brett Mundell

Brett has more than 20 years of business software sales and company management experience. Brett has been involved in more than 300 ERP projects. His passion is customer satisfaction, making sure every client is more than just satisfied. Brett wants our customers to be driven to refer their friends and peers because we offer the best services and technology available and because we exceeded their expectations.

Sage Intacct – the perfect solution for financial services companies

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Financial services companies across different sectors of the financial services industry have a lot in common when it comes to requirements for corporate accounting:

Multiple ABN’s / entities
Requirements for inter-entity accounting
Consolidated reporting
Eliminating entries
Complex reporting requirements (especially for ASX listed companies)
Accounts payable and purchase order approvals
Budgeting and forecasting
Foreign currency reporting (overseas entities)

A lot of financial services companies operate on basic (entry-level) accounting solutions. These solutions, whilst inexpensive, do not cater for the complexities of growing financial services companies. Financial services companies typically want to be able to:

Quickly view financial information across multiple entities
Access each entity from a single database sign-on without the need to log into different databases
Review consolidated financial reporting at the click of a button
Ensure statutory reporting is timely and accurate
View eliminating entries across entities
Ensure accurate reporting of foreign currency valuations per relevant accounting standards
View financial data by fund
Manage multiple asset types
Report on complex cash flow requirements

See Sage Intacct in Action – Sage Intacct for Financial Services Companies:

Sage Intacct is a cloud-first solution built for corporate accounting aimed at a handful of core vertical markets including the financial services industry. Core functions and features relevant to the financial services industry include:

Dimensions – use dimensions to slice and dice your financial data – by the fund, region, investment type, department and more. The great thing about dimensions is that you can get an excellent view of your general ledger data with minimal setup and maintenance of your general ledger chart of accounts.
Collaboration – use the collaboration tools in Sage Intacct to improve communication across the finance team
Automation – automate reporting, dashboards, recurring journals, template journals and more. Saving you time, saving you money and reducing errors.
Reporting – ASX or other reporting requirements can be automated based on report templates.
Dashboards and KPIs – give you great insight into your corporate accounting, cash flow, financials and business trends.

Sage Intacct is a cloud-first solution – this will help your business achieve a quick return on investment. Implementations can be achieved in a few weeks with an excellent implementation methodology focused on delivering real value and business benefits in the shortest possible timeframe.

Financial services companies that could benefit from moving their corporate accounting solutions to Sage Intacct include:

Wealth management
Financial services
REIT funds
Venture capital
Private equity
Family investment offices
Private equity

If you want to know about Sage Intacct and the real business benefits that Sage Intacct can bring to your financial services business, please feel free to contact the Leverage team.

What does it cost to implement MYOB Advanced?

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A question we are often asked by potential customers is “what will it cost to implement MYOB Advanced”. The answer to this question is dependent upon several factors. A good MYOB Advanced implementation partner will ask you several questions to enable their consultancy team to provide you with an accurate estimate.

Factors which will influence the cost to implement MYOB Advanced include:

Number of users – the number of MYOB Advanced users will affect your cloud fees (MYOB Advanced monthly cloud fees are based on a “per named user” basis). User numbers can also have an impact on support (often costed by user numbers) and implementation (a greater number of users usually equates to greater functional complexity). As user numbers increase, so too does the requirement for additional training, change management and user acceptance testing.
Geographic locations – each additional location, for example, interstate offices, add additional resource requirements – training, user acceptance testing and local functional requirements (different courier companies, transport management etc.). The number of locations does not exponentially add to the cost to implement MYOB Advanced but, it is certainly a factor that should be considered.
Internal resource – a huge factor in analysing the required investment to implement MYOB Advanced. If your business has internal “muscle” and resources to assist your MYOB Advanced implementation partner with the implementation process, you will be able to reduce your cost to implement. Internal resources can be trained as super users to implement a “train the trainer” approach. Internal resources can also assist with data conversion, user acceptance testing, project admin, authorisations and forms set-up.
Number of companies / ABN’s – MYOB Advanced has a strong set of functionality for multi-company, inter-company and consolidations. As a result, MYOB Advanced is well suited to multi-company configurations. Each company will add some level of detail and complexity to the implementation process depending on whether each company has similar functional requirements, the same users, the same chart of accounts, the same customers etc.
Functional requirements – the extent of the functional requirements that a business expects from MYOB Advanced will have a big impact on cost and timeline to implement. For example, a standard finance only implementation of MYOB Advanced takes 15-18 consultancy days to implement. If you add in inventory and warehouse/distribution requirements you will add another 10-20 days to the finance only implementation estimate. Each functional area and the level of complexity within that functional area (landed costs, batch and serial number traceability, project accounting etc.) adds to the number of days and resources required to implement MYOB Advanced. Carefully map your functional requirements so that your MYOB Advanced implementation partner can make an informed assessment as to the number of consultancy days required for implementation.
Industry – certain industries have more complex requirements or might have industry-specific requirements. For example, medical companies might require a TGA license which requires the configuration of additional inventory tracking in MYOB Advanced (serial numbers or batches). Some industries are a better “standard / out of the box” fit for MYOB Advanced. A standard fit for any ERP software solution reduces the investment required to implement.
A phased approach to implementing MYOB Advanced – a phased approach to implementing ERP software has pros and cons and should be assessed based on several factors – specific to your business. A phased approach might be required to ensure that your business can manage the change management and internal resource requirements when implementing MYOB Advanced. More information about a phased approach to implementing MYOB Advanced is available at this Leverage blog.
Legal and fiscal requirements – requirements for industry and geographic compliance can have an impact on implementation timeframes and cost to implement.
Corporate standards – larger companies with multiple offices that follow corporate standards can have increased structural, management and configuration requirements.
Third-party solution requirements – if your implementation includes integration to third-party applications you will need to factor in whether or not these applications are “pre-integrated / approved” ISV solutions for MYOB Advanced. The accredited MYOB Advanced ISV’s are usually well integrated into the core MYOB Advanced solution and require little or no additional configuration beyond what is recommended (configuration, training, UAT) by the 3^rd party solution provider. A list of Leverage technologies MYOB Advanced 3^rd party solution providers is available here.
Development requirements – can have a substantial impact on implementation timeframes and cost to implement any ERP solution. Development and integration work is not about pure development coding. There are multiple other aspects of development work:
- User training
- Development functional scope
- Development technical scope
- User acceptance testing
- Go live

MYOB Advanced is an open solution that offers excellent integration and development options. Even with this excellent architecture, time should be taken to ensure development work is well managed as part of the implementation process.

Data conversion – the team at Leverage Technologies has written multiple blogs on the topic of data conversion. Data conversion is one of those interesting subjects – if not scoped and managed properly data conversion can cause project delays and cost overruns. Make sure you run a comprehensive data conversion plan that includes test plans, reconciliations and resources to manage this fundamental business requirement. Additional information about MYOB Advanced data conversions can be found here.
Reporting – I have always been impressed with MYOB Advanced reporting – standard reports with drill down to source transaction, pivot table analysis, dashboards and integration to multiple BI reporting solutions. Even with all of these standard reporting options available to users across the MYOB Advanced platform (finance, inventory, purchasing, sales, manufacturing and services) it pays to review your companies reporting requirements to ensure that the standard reporting options will cover your requirements.

With so many “moving parts” to implementation of ERP solutions how does a company manage their budget analysis:

The team at Leverage Technologies typically use a requirements analysis to establish accurate details of implementation scope, resource requirements, timeline and budget required to implement MYOB Advanced.

Other factors to include in your “what does it cost to implement MYOB Advanced” assessment include:

Support – post-go-live support is an important part of any 3-5 year cost evaluation when implementing MYOB Advanced. Consider your post-go-live support agreement – what is included in your support agreement, response times etc.
Implementation – in our assessment of factors that can influence the implementation timeframes and investment required to implement MYOB Advanced we have discussed users, functional requirements, data conversion and more. Companies need to consider all these factors when requesting an estimate for the implementation of MYOB Advanced. As a rough guideline, MYOB Advanced implementations look something like this:
- Finance only implementations – 15-20 consultancy days ($20K-$30K) over 2-3 months of elapsed time
- Finance, distribution, inventory implementations 25-40 consultancy days ($30K-$50K) over 3-4 months of elapsed time
- Finance, distribution, manufacturing implementations 40-60 consultancy days ($55K-$75K) over 4-5 months.
Cloud subscription – your cloud subscription fees will be calculated based on named users with access to MYOB Advanced. Different user types are available for different roles within a business (finance, warehouse etc.).

There are multiple factors which influence the investment required to implement MYOB Advanced. Investigate your options carefully and plan well for a smooth transition into MYOB Advanced. Make sure you focus on achieving business benefits with a quick return on investment (ROI). The team at Leverage Technologies can assist you with the evaluation of your MYOB advanced implementation to help you get the most from your ERP project. Call the friendly MYOB Advanced team at Leverage Technologies today on 1300 045 046 to start your MYOB Advanced evaluation process.

Sage Intacct – reducing the cost of implementing business management solutions by focusing on industry verticals

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Sage Intacct is a cloud-first ERP / Business Management solution aimed at companies looking for corporate accounting solutions in the upper SME / mid-market. What is different about Sage Intacct is a deep vertical market focus on key industries:

This vertical market focus on a handful of key markets has allowed Sage Intacct to develop a reputation as the go-to solution within selected industries. By building a strong financial solution/business solution for corporate accounting and finance which includes:

General ledger with dimensional analysis
Multi-company, inter-company, and consolidations across multiple entities
Inter-company eliminations
Budget management
Financial reporting, KPIs and dashboards
Banking and cash flow management
Journals / recurring journals and template journals
Fixed assets management
Billing process management
Collaboration tools
Statistical accounting
Project accounting
Accounts payable and purchase order management
Accounts receivable
Management reporting

The team at Sage Intacct has also made available (sometimes direct, sometimes through third-party providers) additional industry-specific modules – for example, grant management for the non-profit industry and billing automation for the Software as a Service industry.

The ability to focus resources, implementation methodologies and functionality on key vertical market industries will allow Sage Intacct to build market dominance in these industries.

This will be achieved by offering customers highly focused, superior solutions at a lower price than other ERP providers can offer. This is specifically relevant when comparing implementation costs and timeframes. Let us explore the advantages of an industry vertical focus:

Lower risk associated with the implementation of the ERP solution – because Sage Intacct has been implemented multiple times within an industry vertical, the implementation team will have experience within that industry. There will be multiple common themes across an implementation when the implementation partner has implemented previously in the same industry. This reduces risks associated with budget and timeline.
Lower cost of ownership – the implementation of Sage Intacct can generally be done with a lower upfront and ongoing investment (when compared to competing ERP solutions) if implemented into one of the market verticals that Sage Intacct has been configured for. When a business management solution has been configured for an industry vertical there are several implementation savings to be made:
- Reports and analytics/dashboards can be used across multiple implementations – reporting requirements tend to be similar across the same industry. This allows the implementation consultancy team to implement standard reporting and analytics across multiple sites.
- General ledger settings – can be semi-standardised across an industry sector – based on best practice.
- Integration to third-party solutions – certain industries tend to use similar third-party solutions – for example, non-profit organisations will typically use a solution for case management and CRM. Within an industry, if similar 3^rd party solutions are used, the solution provider can standardise the integration and solution offering – sold and implemented as a cloud / monthly SaaS module. For example, Sage Intacct offers standard integration to Salesforce© for CRM.
- Configuration settings – Sage Intacct can be implemented in a relatively short timeframe providing a quick time to value. This is partly because Sage Intacct has been designed as a cloud-native application that lends itself to shorter implementation timeframes and partly because the system is configured with excellent functionality for certain industry verticals.
- Implementation consultant knowledge – the more implementation and support work that an implementation partner does in a particular industry vertical, the greater that consultants knowledge of the industry and the easier it is for the consultant to configure the solution to the customers’ requirements. This, once again, reduces risk and creates a quicker time to value.
A more complete, out-of-the-box solution – as a solution like Sage Intacct gains traction in certain industry verticals/markets the solution provider and the implementation partner can provide a more complete solution for that industry. New functionality, reporting, third-party solutions and configuration sets are typically aimed at these industry verticals providing a concentrated effort for R&D and developers.

If you want to know more about Sage Intacct for your industry, contact the Sage Intacct team at Leverage Technologies on 1300 045 046.

ERP Implementation – a phased approach to success

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ERP solutions are designed to deliver business benefits for companies that are growing rapidly, entering new markets and territories and are looking to digital transformation to gain competitive advantage. The challenge is that most small to medium-sized companies that consider ERP solutions do so when their businesses are growing rapidly and resources are under pressure. This leads to challenges with the ERP implementation – timelines, internal resource allocation and budgets. There are multiple competing priorities for growing organisations. The questions that are often asked are:
• When is the right time to implement ERP?
• How long will it take to implement ERP?
• What are the timeline and budget risks?

When reviewing ERP solutions SME companies get excited about all the great new functions and features that will be made available in the new ERP solution. Being excited about your new ERP solution is a great starting point for success but, it can also be a big downfall. Let us explore this in a little more detail.

Implementing ERP solutions takes commitment and resource allocation – to work through user training, system configuration, data conversion and user acceptance testing. The more functionality your business implements in the first phase of the project, the more resource and change management you will need to manage the implementation and adoption of new functionality.

The answer lies in looking for balance – new functionality vs internal muscle and budget to implement. The equation works something like this – new functionality you implement you will need increased:

– Budget
– Time
– Resource
– Change management

Your company’s ability to allocate budget and resources to the implementation of an ERP solution will have a massive impact on the scope of the implementation.

You should consider your current solution and pain points. If your business currently operates a basic accounting solution then, moving to an ERP solution with perpetual inventory, CRM and purchase planning is a big step to take. Yes, there are substantial benefits to be had from an ERP solution – increased cash flow, improved customer service and better information for decision making but, is your business ready for the implementation process, user acceptance testing and go live?

Consider a phased approach to your implementation so that you can get all of the benefits of ERP without the risks associated with timeline, budget and change management creating headaches for your team.

A phased implementation of ERP allows your team to implement functionality in “bite-size” elements – ensuring that the team implements and gets benefits from each phase before implementing the next phase of the solution. You start by building a “foundation layer” for digital transformation. This foundation layer is a strong ERP solution on a good database that has excellent core functionality and technology that can be expanded as and when required. As an example, a small to medium-sized wholesale/distribution company that is currently using an accounting solution and wants to move to a full ERP solution might phase the implementation as follows:

Phase I:
Core system implementation – financials, database, standard reporting, perpetual inventory, sales, purchasing

Phase II:
Purchase planning, Advanced BI / Analytics, e-commerce, CRM

Phase III:
EDI, advanced warehouse management, transport management/freight integration, B2B portal

The advantages of a phased ERP implementation include:
– Less internal resources required for each phase
– Spread out the workload over several phases
– Less risk associated with timeline and budget

The disadvantages of a phased ERP implementation include:
– It takes longer to get to the final solution / total solution offering
– The ROI can take longer to achieve
– There can be some sunk costs/overlap with certain costs as you implement each phase
– Your business goes through months of implementation and testing across the various phases

Each individual companies’ situation is unique and there is no right or wrong answer to the “phased or big bang” approach to ERP implementation. For example, a company that has specific pain points or compliance issues associated with retail orders might have to implement EDI in the first phase of implementation. Other companies that have TGA (pharmaceutical) and HACCP (food) requirements might have to implement batch traceability for inventory in the first phase of the implementation. There are also multiple co-dependencies in an implementation of an ERP solution. Splitting the solution deliverables into too many phases might not make sense if there is a co-dependency between certain modules or functional areas. We are often asked if a customer can implement inventory/operations as a phase I implementation and finance as a phase II project. If your ERP solution is real-time/integrated, then all inventory and purchasing transactions will flow directly into the financials and financial reporting (balance sheet and profit and loss). This being the case it makes no sense to implement the operational solution without finance.

Take a considered approach to all aspects of your ERP implementation, budget and resourcing to create a balanced view with regard to a phased approach to implementation. Being realistic about what is achievable based on budget and resource availability is critical to achieving success.

Remote work and long-term adaptability: is it time to invest in enterprise systems?

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The coronavirus pandemic has prompted urgent changes to how we work and a rush to implement new digital tools, but could investing in enterprise systems be the better long-term approach?

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Stopping the spread of coronavirus means life as we know it has changed dramatically—lockdown restrictions mean no large gatherings, travel, or even going to the movies or the gym.

While work must continue, Australians are being told to stay home wherever possible. That puts the onus on employers to make remote work a reality for your team where practical.

Business as usual throughout the pandemic may be possible by quickly cobbling together digital collaboration tools. But there is a real danger that piecemeal approaches will stymie your effectiveness—and therefore profitability—in an already volatile economic climate.

Executives making decisions about work from home policies and technologies need to keep in mind:

There is no clear endpoint to the COVID-19 threat and associated disruptions.
Every technology purchase needs to deliver a return on investment to be worthwhile.
Well-designed systems improve your productivity and resilience in all conditions.

In other words, this could be an opportunity to make a strategy pivot. To rethink the way you operate and empower your team to deliver value for customers by embracing an integrated enterprise solution.

For some businesses now is the ideal time to consider a long-term approach to creating a more agile, unified and mobile workforce.

Teams connected online is the way of the future

Working from home full-time is new to many and adapting to the change comes with a range of challenges. One example: there’s been a spike in the sale of home office supplies, desks, chairs and computer monitors.

However, ensuring employees have a safe work environment and the right equipment is just the tip of the iceberg. Your team needs to be able to access information and collaborate well, within a secure and easy-to-use digital environment. True connectivity requires more than mobility.

Effective remote working requires:

The speed and bandwidth to conduct multiple inter-connected activities online.
A secure and robust network that you can depend on to remain up and running.
Clear processes and workflows that limit manual/duplicated effort and errors.
Oversight of individual and team outputs, and overall business performance.
Intuitive tools that make finding, analysing and sharing information straightforward.

A recent Gartner HR survey shows the majority of organisations are asking employees to work from home during the coronavirus crisis, and that 70 percent of employers will be seeking to use technology more effectively as a means to cut costs.

It’s important to ensure that any tech investment you make now isn’t frittered away on multiple, disparate tools that don’t adequately address your team’s functional requirements or provide lasting business benefits.

Otherwise, the money you save on technology will be outweighed by lost revenue.

Stop-gap measures that don’t allow your business to operate at peak levels or continue to provide high levels of service and assurance to customers—mean your business will be less prepared to weather the ups and downs of coming months/years.

If you HAVE to invest in new platforms to make remote work possible, ensure you invest in technologies that will truly address your business needs now and into the future.

Enterprise solutions help future-proof growing businesses

Business leaders serious about using technology to underpin smarter and more cost-effective ways of working may conclude that a more comprehensive technology solution is the wisest option. A holistic digital business strategy is more likely to reap rewards.

Leading companies have been busy with digital transformation over the past few years. They’ve been finding ways to use technology to capitalise on data, provide superior customer experience, and run faster and leaner to reduce costs and waste.

For many Australian small to medium companies that have involved establishing integrated, cloud-based ERP systems on a centralised database that enables anytime, anywhere work.

Innovative enterprise solutions are more flexible and affordable than ever before. Not only can ERP systems be configured to coordinate all key business functions, when they’re deployed in the cloud they also maximise your mobility and scalability.

Scalability that you can rely on is critical when business conditions are volatile. It means you can add or remove users quickly and easily. It means your digital workspace is backed by world-class cloud architecture that is highly secure and can handle the increased volume.

Straightforward ERP implementations can be completed in a matter of weeks, or delivered in staggered phases to spread out the costs.

ERP solutions enhance business continuity

Businesses working on cloud-based enterprise solutions have reduced their risk of business disruption. Many of our customers have been able to maintain existing structures and work coordination processes, and simply need to move additional staff off-site.

Understandably, not all business activities can be done remotely. But information about what’s happening across your business can be captured, stored and shared via an integrated digital system to increase the visibility and efficiency of whole-of-business value chains.

For instance, production and stock movement information from the shop floor or warehouse that’s entered into enterprise systems ensure managers can monitor work in progress and company-wide profitability—plus it makes critical data available to back-office teams like sales, marketing, finance, and customer service so they can do their jobs and communicate with customers in turn.

Cloud ERP solutions deliver incredible benefits for remote teams including:

Centralised, web-based access to data, documents, and functions required day-to-day
Automated and streamlined tasks that remove delays, confusion and errors
Standardised processes and workflows across inter-related business functions
Customisable screens, alerts and dashboards for relevant and real-time data
Powerful queries, analytics, and data-sharing capabilities for faster decisions
Employee self-service features and user-friendly interfaces

Build your capacity for remote work and long-term agility

If you want to ensure your SME can leverage technology to face the challenges of today, and whatever the future may hold, take a moment to consider the unifying power of a cloud ERP solution.

Business-critical data and processes become more reliable, accessible and meaningful when you tailor a world-class ERP solution to match your precise needs.

That provides greater clarity and improves your ability to respond and adapt quickly to change—including a successful switch to remote working.

Interested in learning more? Our experienced consultants can help you determine whether an ERP solution is right for your business, and explain the cost and steps involved. Contact us now.

Sage X3 ERP solution supports a thriving Agribusiness sector

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Discover more about how Sage X3 and Aritmos (the integrated SAGE X3 Agri solution) targeted at the agribusiness industry can help your business overcome productivity challenges.

Australia’s agribusiness sector is growing fast—our food and fibre are in demand both locally and across the globe. Being prepared to take advantage of growing global demand for food is a challenge for the agribusiness industry.

Increasing productivity industry-wide requires new levels of modernisation and skills development.

In a report commissioned by AgriFutures Australia, making better use of technology was identified as a key driver of the future performance and growth of Australia’s agricultural industry. Yet the report suggests many land managers are held back by concerns about risk, the ROI of technology investments, and in some cases, poor digital literacy.

A ‘wait and see’ approach to technology adoption could cost many producers their livelihoods because the changes are happening so rapidly.

Technology for better agribusiness is available right now

Global consultancy KPMG predicts that how we produce and consume food will be transformed by new technologies like robotics, AI and wearables within the next 20 years.

Clever land managers and agribusiness leaders are future-proofing themselves by embracing technology now, starting with the day-to-day management of their business.

Innovative business and farm management software and data analytics are within reach today—when you implement an enterprise solution tailored for the agribusiness industry.

Our industry-ready solution for agribusiness combines the Sage X3 ERP system with Aritmos—a global agribusiness software application with specialised functionality for more than 20 agricultural industry verticals.

It’s a turnkey solution for agribusiness. Imagine being able to bring all your data together to improve the way you produce, market, sell, package, and transport your products.

Four key business benefits of an integrated agribusiness ERP solution

By working with Leverage Technologies to tailor Sage X3 and Aritmos for your agribusiness you can achieve business benefits including:

Smarter land and business management every day: An enterprise solution centralises key data from every part of your business and supply chain in one platform—that level of visibility and control leads to improved efficiencies in daily tasks. You can see what’s happening across your whole operation, enabling you to optimise the coordination of land management, logistics, people management, product marketing, and high-level financial management. That minimises effort, duplication, mistakes and time wasted trying to gather information when it’s needed. Instead, you have everything you need to know at your fingertips and can direct your on-farm employees, packing shed, distribution and transport suppliers more easily. Ultimately, that reduces your costs too.
A solid platform to embrace emerging tech: Leading growers and producers are already embracing robotic farming, the Internet of Things (IoT), precision agriculture, drones, and digital mapping. More work is being done by governments and land management groups to improve network connectivity so land managers can access real-time monitoring of on-farm activity such as cattle movement, soil health, and water tank levels. This kind of data is a boon for farmers—but you also need systems that allow you to do something practical with the insights you gain and keep track of the farm management approaches you put in place. Endpoint data, maps, and analytics won’t improve efficiency across your production systems on their own. Getting the most from emerging AgTech also often requires support from specialist service providers. Unified enterprise systems create a solid baseline from which to plan and implement agribusiness management in a coordinated way.
Improved ability to achieve long-term expansion goals: Consolidation in farming is a trend—fewer land managers are controlling larger tracts of agricultural land. It’s getting harder for smaller agribusiness operations to survive, especially if they aren’t innovating and looking for growth opportunities. Running an agribusiness across multiple locations or ABNs can quickly become complicated—sophisticated ERP solutions like Sage X3 are designed to handle multi-entity, multi-site and multi-currency finances with ease. In addition, cloud-based deployment of your ERP solution allows you to quickly scale your number of users and on-board new team members without any investment in IT infrastructure. Whether you plan to acquire additional properties, or new business divisions both within Australia and overseas, having effective farm and business management systems in place will make expansion simpler.
Better chance of attracting capital investment: Expanding production and strengthening export opportunities may hinge on your ability to attract capital investment. Agribusiness’ appeal to investors hinges on profitability and risk management. Unified business systems can overcome many barriers to capital investment by helping your business to:

- Collect and share better performance data.
- Diversify your business structures and models.
- Demonstrate resilience to risk and volatility.

Sage X3 and Aritmos: boost on-farm and back-office operations

Technologies that can boost on-farm and back-office operations are already here: and running a competitive and profitable agribusiness depends on their uptake.

A seamless integration between Sage X3 and Aritmos provides complete end-to-end control of production, quality assurance, logistics, marketing, purchasing, payroll, and financial management functions.

You’ll be able to clearly see what’s driving profits now and how to become more profitable through:

Improved efficiency and reduced production costs
Better money management and larger profit margins
Reduced risk and better adaptability to changes in inputs/weather

An integrated ERP solution with agribusiness capabilities is an affordable way for small to medium operators across farming, cropping, grazing, forestry, and food production industries to leverage technology for improved productivity and business success.

Ready to transform your agribusiness by adopting technology to unify your core production and business management functions? Talk to one of our friendly consultants now.

Why you cannot neglect post-go-live optimisation of your ERP solution

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Learn why optimising your ERP system after go-live is essential for continuing to achieve better business outcomes.

Implementing an ERP solution is a forward-thinking move. It helps to digitalise and transform the way your organisation operates, so you can embrace new business models and better meet customer needs in a rapidly changing, global marketplace.

However, it doesn’t mean your business systems and IT infrastructure will not need to evolve. It’s almost guaranteed that your ERP solution will need to be extended or modified over time, in line with changing business requirements.

The only reason this wouldn’t be true is if you plan to stop growing (we doubt that’s the case!).

Let’s explore why optimising your enterprise solution after go-live is essential and how it contributes to better business outcomes.

Consider the total ERP system lifecycle to extract the greatest value

A common sentiment we share with anyone considering an ERP solution in their business is this: adopting new technology in of itself doesn’t automatically deliver value. Making the most of technology depends on whether systems are strategically designed, configured well, and embraced by a skilled and motivated workforce.

It’s also true to say that adopting technology does not instantly unlock value.

Embracing an integrated, digital approach to running your business may begin with introducing an enterprise solution from SAP, Sage or MYOB—but it doesn’t stop once the system goes live.

When the implementation project ends, the work to harness technology as a competitive driver must continue.

‘Post-go-live’ can’t be measured in weeks. It’s a period that could be up to 10 years—and includes every stage in an ERP solution’s lifecycle.

What kind of things will affect your ability to derive value from your system after implementation?

Adjusting to the new system

Initially, your team needs to adjust to the new software plus come to terms with systematic changes triggered by the new technology—new management styles, processes, services, and workflows. They’ll need great support to iron out issues, but as they practically use the system they might also need tweaks to how interfaces, reports, and dashboards function.

Maintaining and improving functionality

The software product doesn’t remain static. Innovative vendors that we support are continually putting money towards research and development and have networks of independent software developers that create complementary products. You need to plan ahead for how your business will effectively keep your ERP solution relevant and embrace other emerging technologies or enhancements that become available.

Evolving business systems to underpin growth

Longer-term, there is a raft of things that will impact your business, each of which may necessitate new or revamped ERP system functionality, configuration, and training—such as:

Changing customer preferences, requiring new channels or customisation capabilities
Increasing headcount, opening new offices or divisions, up-skilling staff changing roles
Altered business structure, compliance/reporting outputs, or operational processes
Entering new geographies with different currencies, tax and reporting requirements
Establishing new products or services with different delivery models
Mergers or acquiring new businesses in different industries

Regular improvement helps you achieve business goals

You want to be able to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise, so you need to cultivate an ERP solution that empowers your team, works as intended, and provides a platform for growth.

Fortunately, world-class ERP solutions like SAP Business One, MYOB Advanced and Sage X3 have been built to allow for flexibility, scale, and continuous improvement. They’re developed on cutting-edge architecture, can be deployed in the cloud, and are easily extendable through integrations, custom development, add-ons, and complementary solutions.

You can mould your ERP to match your business and customer needs—for example, by modifying existing modules to match a bespoke process, adding wireless barcode scanning capabilities, or integrating with an eCommerce website.

The benefits of regular maintenance and improvements to your ERP solution are many. It means you can:

Always operate on up-to-date software versions with the most advanced features
Limit downtime and maximise uptime, while also improving security and continuity
Stay abreast of new capabilities and absorb these to improve business processes
Quickly adapt to new technologies, business practices, and customer experience trends
Pivot your strategy or quickly bring new businesses, products and services to market

Risks and costs increase if you fail to optimise your ERP solution

If you haven’t considered the best way to support and optimise your system going forward, you’re not only missing out on the benefits of a high-performing system (and team)— you’re setting yourself up for increased risk and costs.

You risk:

Haphazard changes/additions that result in a complex, insecure, and unstable system
Poorly maintained systems that become obsolete or too expensive to upgrade
Systems that no longer empower your team to deliver on your business strategy

In other words, the investment you made in implementing a quality ERP solution could be squandered if you don’t support and improve the system over time. If you want to benefit from an ERP solution throughout the entire lifecycle of the application, you need to wisely invest in your system throughout its lifecycle.

In turn, investing in post-implementation support and optimisation projects allows you to better control total lifecycle costs. How’s that?

If you neglect your ERP for years, your operation will become less efficient (and more costly), and you’re likely to be ‘surprised’ by an expensive bill to bring it back to a usable level, or throw good money after bad by switching systems again.

On the other hand, regular maintenance and enhancement ensure your system is always performing at its best which extends the usefulness of the system, help you get the best out of your talent, and run a more efficient and cost-effective business.

We can help you improve your systems to keep pace with change

Post-go-live optimisation and improvement can’t be left to chance. Maintenance and optimisation must be planned and enacted by experienced and technically proficient people or providers.

Leverage Technologies are one of Australia’s leading software consultancies because we build collaborative relationships with our customers, and focus on helping your business be successful over the long-term. ERP system optimisation is a key service we provide.

We’re no fly-by-night business—we’ve been around since 2005, helping SMEs Australia-wide to choose, implement, support, maintain and optimise the ideal ERP system for their needs.

Talk to us today about working together to support or enhance your ERP solution.