Tag Archives: ERP Guide

A beginner’s guide to choosing the wrong ERP software in 5 steps

#1 – Overlooking the “ERP readiness” signals

The first (and easiest) way to start your journey to a new ERP software solution with the wrong foot, is to delay your ERP implementation. Not implementing an ERP software when the time comes can be a costly exercise for the whole business.

In the article “6 ERP readiness signs growing businesses are likely to encounter”, we identify the main readiness signals as:

Your business has outgrown the current accounting software;
Your business is using too many manual workarounds;
The current solution is running too slow;
Your capabilities to expand a geographic expansion are limited;
You need new tools (eCommerce, EDI, AP Automation,…);
You need better reporting (“A single source of truth”).

When these six signals start showing themselves in your business, it’s time to start looking at a new ERP software solution.

#2 – Not defining your technical requirements (In details!)

ERP requirements should be defined prior to commencing any research and selection process. The requirements list should come from every department and area of the business including finance, warehouse, logistics, manufacturing and customer service to name a few.

The requirements list should define the purpose and goals of the new system and answer the question – “how does the perfect environment look for my various departments and for us as a business?”.

It is vitally important to structure the ERP selection process according to your requirements list to ensure success in the short, medium and long-term.

Businesses that don’t have a clear idea of what the new ERP system should possess are likely to encounter a number of challenges post-implementation.

Our advise is for you to take enough time to write a requirements checklist for the new system or to work with an experienced ERP provider to guide you through the process.

#3 – Not considering Cloud Vs On-Premise

Cloud ERP or On-Premise ERP? If you haven’t asked yourself this question, you probably should. ERP software solutions are rapidly shifting to a Cloud deployment model for several reasons – cost-effective implementation, fully managed and maintained, low OPEX, enterprise-grade security, and more. On the other side, an On-Premise ERP setup means that you have to implement and maintain the technology environment to host the software.

There is no right or wrong answer when choosing between the two. However, you should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages that these solutions present. Ultimately, you should look beyond the 5-year ROI to truly understand the benefits that one setup will give you over another.

#4 – Overlooking to capabilities of a modern ERP

Think about your new ERP software as an enabler, rather than a cost centre. New technologies available to businesses of all industries and sizes mean that you can unlock further efficiencies for your business.

Large high-tech companies are already pioneering disruptive technologies, so you don’t have to. Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Customer Experience Platforms to name a few. When choosing a new ERP software, keep in mind these new technologies.

#5 – Not defining your budgetary requirements

How much should you spend on your ERP implementation? Have a rough idea of the budget available to the implementation of a new ERP for your business. This will help you narrow down your research and avoid wasting time researching the wrong solutions.

The budget is a critical part of any ERP implementation; it should be discussed internally and with your third-party provider upfront in order to set the right expectations.

Conclusion

At Leverage Technologies, we have implemented ERP software for more than 250 Australian businesses since 2005.

Over the years, we have developed a deep understanding of how different ERP solutions serve the needs of various businesses, from any industries and size.

For more information or to start your journey to a new ERP software solution, call us on 1300 045 046 for a no-obligation consultation or email [email protected].

ERP Budgeting: How Much Should I Spend on ERP Implementation?

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How much budget should a company of your size allocate to your Enterprise Resource Planning implementation project?

Before you even start researching your options, you may want to get a high-level understanding of what ERP actually costs.

The cost of an ERP implementation depends on multiple factors such as:

Size of your business
Number of ERP users
Requirements and integrations
Deployment options
Customisations

In this infographic, we will try to give you an indicative reference price chart that you can use to scope the size of your ERP project and allocate a tentative budget based on the size of your organization (employees and turnover).

ERP implementation budget: How much should a business of your size spend on ERP implementation?

The following illustration breaks down ERP implementation cost by business size. This is based on our experience in implementing ERP systems for over 180 companies since 2005.

A more accurate estimate can be obtained by contacting our staff.

ERP budgeting explained

For simplicity, let’s consider three main category groups:

Tier 3: These are small businesses with up to 75 staff and $80 Million turnover. These organizations typically look at small office software and lower market ERP software. Prices may vary anywhere from $25k to $100k+ depending on the number of users, customisations and specific industry requirements.

Tier 2: For growing SMBs and medium-size organisations with approximately 75 to 500 staff the ERP implementation budget is around the $80k to $1M mark. Once again, the project scope and costing will vary significantly on a case by case basis depending on the requirements.

Tier 1: This is the larger end of town and more geared towards an enterprise software option. Business with 501+ staff and $250M+ turnover typically fall into this category.

Conclusion

If you want to get an idea of how much an ERP implementation will cost to your business you need to consider the number of users, Cloud or On-premise deployment, customisations and maintenance costs.

In this infographic, we have provided a breakdown of the indicative ERP implementation cost you can expect according to your business size in terms of the number of users and annual turnover. This may vary significantly depending on your specific requirements and circumstances.

Leverage Technologies have implemented ERP systems for more than 250 businesses since 2005. For more information or if you would like to get an exact estimate contact 1300 045 046 or email [email protected].

ERP Software Implementations – making the implementation plan work from start to finish

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When implementing ERP software we all know the importance of the ERP project plan – let’s take a more detailed look at what should be included in your ERP software project plan.

This article has been specifically written for small to medium-sized businesses looking to implement ERP software.

Template ERP Software Implementation Plan

It pays to have an individual serving as the internal / company Project Manager for the ERP software implementation.

Project managers have many responsibilities during an ERP Software implementation and one of the most important is the design and updating of the ERP project plan. The most commonly used tools for ERP project planning (for small to medium-sized companies) is MS Project or MS Excel.

An ERP Software project plan: (Click to enlarge sample)

This ERP Software implementation plan might serve as the basic guide for the project managers, ERP implementation consultants and you – the customer. Note the elements of the project plan –

– Planned start date of activity,

– A description of each activity,

– The hours allocated to each activity,

– The status (started, in progress etc.),

– The customer time allocated to each activity,

– The role of the customer in each activity,

– Who has responsibility for each activity and a general comments section.

It is important that the project plan is updated on a regular basis and those roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. It is important that completed tasks are tested and verified. It is no use ticking an item off the project plan as completed to find out later during the project that the item has not been completed to specification or to the desired outcome. This is one of the major tasks of a project manager – verify that the items marked as completed are actually ready for go live.

Conclusion

There are a number of different roles and responsibilities during an ERP Software implementation. The ERP Software implementation plan should highlight these responsibilities and “required by dates”. Let’s not forget that as the customer you have a number of key responsibilities during implementation.

Make use of a good, updated project plan to manage your ERP implementation and to ensure that all parties are aware of their roles and responsibilities.

Need help planning and implementing your ERP? Call 1300 045 046 or email [email protected] to speak to one of our consultants in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

8 Reasons You Need Internal “Muscle” To Implement An ERP Solution

Internal “muscle” required to implement an ERP solution

Here is what I mean by internal “muscle”. Every business will need the following internal resources allocated to the ERP implementation project to complement the efforts of your ERP development partner:

Internal accounting skills
Internal project management
Availability of company resource
Company sponsorship from C-level executives

If you are a small to medium-sized business and you want to move off your entry-level accounting solution to an ERP solution then consider your internal resource and capacity as an important factor to ensure a positive ERP Return on Investment.

To clarify – I am not talking about large business ERP implementations. I am referring to smaller businesses embarking on their first ERP project. These projects typically take 4-6 months to implement.

The point to be made is not that you require teams of people to implement an entry-level ERP solution. The point is that you can’t allocate any internal resource to an ERP implementation.

Most small to medium-sized businesses will not be able to allocate full-time resources to the ERP project. In most cases, a financial controller is doubling up as a project manager or superuser for the duration of the ERP implementation. For smaller ERP implementations, this works.

What does not work is either the allocation of no internal resource (part-time or otherwise) to the project or the implementation of ERP without internal systems, processes and the right people. You can’t expect to successfully implement an ERP solution if you don’t have proper internal processes and people.

For example, if your business does not have an internal accountant with the skill set to work with an ERP team and articulate what the chart of accounts should look like then you might be heading for trouble. The setup of the chart of accounts is only one simple example of a challenge that you will face if you don’t have the required internal skill set to implement an ERP solution.

Let’s focus our attention on what is required to successfully implement an ERP solution

A full-time, internal, accountant. If you do not have the services of a full-time accountant to do your internal accounting, then you are most likely not ready for a full ERP implementation.

Business process mapping. If you are embarking on the implementation of an ERP solution you should have already mapped out your business processes. There is very little point in implementing an ERP solution if you don’t have your internal processes mapped out and formalized.

Access to internal resources for the ERP implementation. If you are implementing an ERP solution it is highly likely that you will use the services of an ERP reseller or implementation partner. The company that you choose will have responsibility for the overall implementation of the ERP solution. However, there is a responsibility on you, the customer, to be involved at every step of the way. This requires resources and time.

Super users. Every well-implemented ERP solution needs internal “super users” to keep the system running fluently. These super users take responsibility for basic admin tasks, first-line user assistance and training.

Data. You will need to get deeply involved in your ERP implementation data conversion process. This takes time (and knowledge of your data). Think of the time taken to export data from legacy systems, change data formats, test data after upload and reconcile with legacy data. Even with a lot of assistance from your ERP partner, you will need time and people to make these changes happen.

Train the trainer. Most ERP resellers are going to want to train the senior team members in your organization and then ask that these super users train other team members.

User acceptance testing. A critically important part of any ERP implementation. You will need to develop (together with your ERP implementation partner) test scripts. There will need to be a format for testing, the time assigned to conducting UAT and checking the results.

Project management. Even with Project Management provided by your ERP implementation partner you will need to provide your own internal Project Management resources. These internal resources will be required to deliver internal Project Management, communication and structure between your organisation and the ERP implementation partner.

Conclusion

Leverage Technologies have worked on ERP implementations since 2005 and delivered solutions to more than 250 clients around Australia. From our experience, every project requires internal work from the business to ensure successful delivery.

The amount of “internal muscle” that you need to deliver an ERP project will depend on the size and complexity of the implementation.

Another factor will be budget. If you are willing to spend the money a lot of the above-mentioned tasks can be outsourced to your ERP implementation partner.

Have we missed something? Let us know in the comments below!

A step by step guide to selecting the right ERP Software [INFOGRAPHIC] – Part 2

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If you are reading our guide to selecting the right ERP Software, chances are your organisation is in the market for a whole of business management solution to support future growth. The good news is, we have implemented hundreds of ERP solutions over the years. Today we are bringing this knowledge to you.

In our previous post “A step by step guide to ERP software selection” we spoke about the key steps to eliminating confusion and ambiguity from the ERP Software selection process. These include;

Defining requirements and budget
Researching ERP options on the Web
Choosing between On-Premise or Cloud
Researching your industry
Shortlisting ERP Vendors
Contacting ERP providers
Conducting discover meetings
Getting budgetary estimates
Organising ERP demo presentations

In this article, we will continue to explore the key aspects to selecting the right ERP Software, starting from the selection of a provider to project kick off.

Selecting the right ERP Software [INFOGRAPHIC] – Part 2

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Key takeaways

Shortlist ERP Software – You have previously contacted ERP implementation companies and conducted a first assessment of various ERP software. It’s now time to conduct a more detailed investigation of the software and vendor.
Scope of works – Ask your potential software provider to do a high-level scope of work. The outcome of the scope of work should be a project proposal with timeline for implementation.
Always ask for a fixed price ERP Implementation – SMEs should always ask for a fixed price proposal based on the scope of work by the provider.
Review the proposal – Now that you have completed the ERP demonstration, evaluation and scope of work, you are in a position to take an informed decision. During this stage ask to interview the key people that will be involved in the implementation of the Enterprise Resource planning system for your business.
References – Ask to talk to two reference customers to learn more about their experience.
Sign the Agreement – Sign off typically include End User License Agreement and Service Agreement.
Project kick-off.

By now you should have a clear idea of how the process for selecting the right ERP software looks like.

Are you implementing or have implemented an ERP solution in the past? We would love to hear from you. Leave a comment below to let us know your experience selecting the right ERP software!

A step-by-step guide to ERP Software selection [INFOGRAPHIC] – Part 1

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Many Small to Medium Sized Businesses are confused and overwhelmed by their ERP Software selection process.

Deploying the right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software means setting your business up for increased productivity and operational efficiencies. However, choosing an implementation partner, selecting the right ERP vendor and managing the project can be daunting.

Over the past 12 years we have helped many small, medium and large businesses make the right ERP choice and we have learned a lot in the process. Today we want to share this knowledge with you!

Want to be in control of your ERP Software selection process? Let us help you with this step by step guide to choosing the right ERP platform, no matter what industry you are in.

ERP Software selection – A business guide to choosing the right solution [Part 1]

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Key takeaways

Define your specific requirements and budget. Every business is different, and so are the requirements. Get all your departments – including Accounting & Finance, Logistic & Distribution, Research & Development, Human Resources, Marketing & Sales and Production – to list their specific requirements. Determine what budget you are allocating to your ERP implementation process.
Research your ERP options on the Web – Using your requirements list and allocated budget, get an idea of what ERP software you can research further by looking them up online. Use software comparison sites like Software Advice and Capterra to research the options by Industry, Business Size, Price range, Modules and more.
Choose whether to deploy the ERP Software On-Premise or in the Cloud – We have previously blogged about the benefits of Cloud-based ERP software. However, the Cloud not always yields the same results for every business.
Talk to your peers – Contact other companies in your field or use industry specific sites to discover what ERP platforms work for other businesses similar to yours. Collect information from other businesses, government bodies, trade publications, industry associations, and market reports.
Shortlist possible ERP providers – Based on your investigation select possible ERP vendors/resellers.
Contact ERP Providers – Contact ERP companies that specialise in consulting and implementation of your selected ERP systems.
Conduct a discover meeting – Meet the potential ERP implementation partner to go through your list of requirements, budget, implementation timeframe.
Feedback from the first meeting – Ask the potential vendor / reseller to provide a budgetary estimate for the project. Make sure to include Hardware, Cloud, Software, Services and annual fees.
Demo presentation – Ask the potential suppliers to demonstrate the ERP software for you and your team. The demonstration should be tailored to your requirements, using some of your data.

Conclusion

If you are looking to implement a whole of business solution to fuel your business growth, let this ERP Software selection infographic guide you through the steps to remain in control of the process.

Stay tuned for the upcoming release of “A step-by-step guide to ERP Software selection – Part 2” in the coming days!

Are you implementing or have implemented an ERP solution in the past? Leave a comment below to let us know your experience selecting the right ERP software!