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ERP Guide
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Let's catch up
Why use an ERP?
In the previous part of Business’ Guide to ERP, we followed Spindl’s journey. We discussed some crucial concepts—the modular nature of ERP systems, and how you can use it to manage your business using monolithic software. Now that you know the basics of ERP systems and can identify what works for you, we can break down the most common modules into detailed sections. Every module contains individual processes that chain to form a workflow. It groups transactions and records that are thematically similar.
This helps to create scalable, repeatable, and interconnected strings of actions. These strings are necessary to provide structure and create SOPs or standard operating procedures. SOPs influence how your business workflow is made. These workflows can differ from industry to industry.
Think of this. How is pizza made?
First, the dough is prepared and fermented. Then, it’s shaped. The base is layered with a rich tomato sauce. The toppings and cheeses are spread over the sauce. Finally, the pizza is baked, cut, garnished, and served. All the ingredients are portioned and weighed to achieve a well-balanced taste. Pizza wouldn’t be pizza if you performed those actions in a different order using different proportions, right? (Okay, maybe some extra mozzarella isn’t all that bad.)
This is why workflows are important. They ensure a repeatable and consistent process for any product or service. A recipe for success, if you will.
Using modules, creating and maintaining these workflows becomes much simpler.
industry
Chapter 3
Evaluating an ERP
Why use an ERP?
After learning about how an ERP can benefit their troubled business, Saf and Mel decide to take the plunge. Given its immense scope, they realise that implementing an ERP is a meticulous process. It is (understandably) intimidating and overwhelming, and they begin questioning where to start.
At Frappe, we’ve seen more than a fair share of ERP implementations, and not all of them have succeeded. There are a few critical, intangible factors that set up a successful implementation. Spindl's team will have to consider these before deciding if and how to proceed.
The easiest and most cost-effective way of doing this, chimes in Lyn, is to set up an e-commerce store on their website. As it is, every modern company needs an online presence, especially in this digital age. Spindl is no different.
That’s where asset lifecycle management comes into play. Lyn, Spindl's ERP expert and Project Champion, introduces Saf and Mel to the Assets module of their chosen ERP. Using this module, they’ll be able to manage their fixed assets in a much more efficient manner.
Spindl is a product of love and labor by Saf, Mel, and all their employees. Now that they’re set to manage their most powerful assets (people), they turn their attention to assets of other kinds.
Yarn, branding labels, packaging, and thread are purchased from various sources
A manufacturing plan is charted (based on previous sales projections)
The yarn is separated based on the plan for various clothing items
The yarn is knit into a fabric
The fabric is dyed into different colors
The dyed fabric is bleached and then chemically washed
The fabric is compacted and steamed; the fabric dimensions are adjusted as required
The fabric is cut into individual shapes for each garment type, then the labels are attached
Various pieces of cut fabric are stitched together to form the final garment
Each garment goes through an inspection
Garments are then ironed and packed
Garments are packed into distribution boxes
A third-party quality inspection takes place from random boxes
Approved boxes are stocked in warehouses and await distribution The process is considered as discrete made-to-stock manufacturing. Equipped with this clarity, it becomes much easier for Spindl to translate the process into an ERP workflow.
They know that the manufacturing workflow must account for:
Organization of parts that arrive from suppliers
Material management and planning
Multiple, parallel processes of the yarn treatment
Human labor being accounted for
Automated labor being accounted for
Final assembly
Quality control
Packaging
Think of this. How is pizza made?
First, the dough is prepared and fermented. Then, it’s shaped. The base is layered with a rich tomato sauce. The toppings and cheeses are spread over the sauce. Finally, the pizza is baked, cut, garnished, and served. All the ingredients are portioned and weighed to achieve a well-balanced taste. Pizza wouldn’t be pizza if you performed those actions in a different order using different proportions, right? (Okay, maybe some extra mozzarella isn’t all that bad.)
This is why workflows are important. They ensure a repeatable and consistent process for any product or service. A recipe for success, if you will.
Using modules, creating and maintaining these workflows becomes much simpler.
Spindl's considerations before implementing an ERP
Websites are a crucial component of any business. After all, it’s what the customer sees. No matter how excellent your services and products may be, if your website doesn’t leave a good impression on consumers, they may not feel inclined to stick around. But having a good website can come with its own set of challenges—big monetary investment, difficulty in updating and maintaining the website, and having a non-interactive user experience. If you’re not a web designer or don’t wish to hire a team of one, it can be really difficult to meet these factors.
That’s where the website module on your ERP can help. It lets you do a plethora of things easily. Updating your product catalog directly from your system, creating web pages, writing blogs, and allowing you to set up e-commerce functionalities (so customers can buy things instantly from your website!) all become accessible.
Keeping that in mind, we’re going to learn how you can take advantage of the project management module in your ERP system—using which you can create, manage, and monitor every single project from right within the system. Purchasing and selling can be tracked against projects, helping you keep track of the budget, delivery, and profitability. It can also be used to manage internal projects, manufacturing jobs, or service jobs.
An important bit to note here is that the success of project management depends entirely on the people involved; merely setting it up won’t do the trick—people must follow through with it and keep updating the project to keep it moving smoothly.
Recruitment
Leave management
Lifecycle
Payroll
Expense claims
Attendance
The most widely used feature is payroll processing and generating salary slips. Most countries have complex tax rules which state the expenses the company can make on behalf of its employees (e.g., social security, taxes). All of this is taken into account in an HRM/ERP software.
Batch: Instead of churning out products constantly, the manufacturing takes place on a per-batch basis.
ERP is traditionally tailored towards discrete manufacturing. Typical functions include inventory and materials management, supply chain management, finances, and CRM. These act as individual modules but heavily interact with the self-contained manufacturing module (but more on that later!).
Maintain details of your products and warehouses.
While it’s possible to use software made specifically for CRM, it’s beneficial to use an ERP if other modules are also being utilized. Why? Because all of the CRM data integrates with adjacent modules (most importantly, Sales). Not only does this provide better insights into your business, but it also reduces the workload of maintaining two separate databases.
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Manage sales, purchases, inventory, billing, quotes, leads, customers, payroll,* *and much more.
Have your data safely stored in one place. No running around like a headless chicken looking for stuff from spreadsheets or emails or different apps.
Eliminate redundancy and repetitiveness. Because everything is integrated, you’re not entering the same data in multiple places.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Do we have the time for it?
Without exaggerating, remember that an ERP is an organization-wide change. That’s huge! Implementing an ERP is an extensive process. It will require time, effort, and dedicated human resources before all your business operations are up and running on an ERP (more on this in the next chapter, ‘How to Implement an ERP’). It is up to you and your team to evaluate whether or not now is a good time to commit to the implementation process. If yes, it is important to identify a Project Champion (or ‘PC’). The Project Champion is the one who leads the business into its implementation of an ERP. They’re responsible for ensuring everyone involved is on board, and ultimately the success (or failure) of an implementation. (We’ll discuss this in detail in the next chapter, Implementing An ERP)
While the initial time investment for an ERP is high, it promises to save time over a longer period. For example, if set up properly, the website module in an ERP will let Spindl update their entire catalogue directly from the system, create web pages, write blogs and most importantly, set up e-commerce functionalities so customers can buy directly from the website.
Keeping that in mind, we’re going to learn how you can take advantage of the project management module in your ERP system—using which you can create, manage, and monitor every single project from right within the system. Purchasing and selling can be tracked against projects, helping you keep track of the budget, delivery, and profitability. It can also be used to manage internal projects, manufacturing jobs, or service jobs.
An important bit to note here is that the success of project management depends entirely on the people involved; merely setting it up won’t do the trick—people must follow through with it and keep updating the project to keep it moving smoothly.
Recruitment
Leave management
Lifecycle
Payroll
Expense claims
Attendance
The most widely used feature is payroll processing and generating salary slips. Most countries have complex tax rules which state the expenses the company can make on behalf of its employees (e.g., social security, taxes). All of this is taken into account in an HRM/ERP software.
Batch: Instead of churning out products constantly, the manufacturing takes place on a per-batch basis.
ERP is traditionally tailored towards discrete manufacturing. Typical functions include inventory and materials management, supply chain management, finances, and CRM. These act as individual modules but heavily interact with the self-contained manufacturing module (but more on that later!).
Maintain details of your products and warehouses.
While it’s possible to use software made specifically for CRM, it’s beneficial to use an ERP if other modules are also being utilized. Why? Because all of the CRM data integrates with adjacent modules (most importantly, Sales). Not only does this provide better insights into your business, but it also reduces the workload of maintaining two separate databases.
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Manage sales, purchases, inventory, billing, quotes, leads, customers, payroll,* *and much more.
Have your data safely stored in one place. No running around like a headless chicken looking for stuff from spreadsheets or emails or different apps.
Eliminate redundancy and repetitiveness. Because everything is integrated, you’re not entering the same data in multiple places.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
How badly do we need it?
Urgency can be a catalyst or a detriment to any project. It depends on the business to ensure it's the former. We’ve already discussed the scope of an ERP, but each cog in a functional machine needs to be fitted individually. Saf and Mel must ask themselves what exact processes will be optimised by implementing an ERP and figure out to what scale it can help their business grow.
What do we hope to accomplish with it?
Setting up tangible goals for an implementation is one of the biggest initial challenges. Spindl has to prioritise what needs to be addressed urgently, and use that to derive what parts of the business need to be implemented first within the ERP.
Spindl has an all-hands meeting where they list out all the key issues:
Missing supplies
Quality issues
Late product deliveries
Cash flow and quickly diminishing profit
Based on this information, they plan out their goals:
Organise and manage their purchases
Categorise and track their inventory and stock
Create a quality assurance management pipeline
Streamline their production for quicker deliveries
Focus on increasing revenue and profit
The elements of a website
Most (if not all) of the terms below are fairly commonly used. Let’s quickly take a look at how they work in the context of an ERP system.
You’ll come across quite a lot of in-depth parts while setting accounting up, so let’s brush up on the lingo.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
What do you hope to accomplish with it?
The team behind Spindl has an all-hands meeting and they list out the key reasons for their delays. They are:
Missing supplies.
Quality issues.
Late product deliveries.
Cash flow and quickly diminishing profit.
Based on this information, they plan out their goals:
Organize and manage their purchases.
Categorize and track their inventory and stock.
Create a quality assurance management pipeline.
Streamline their production for quicker deliveries.
Focus on increasing their revenue and profit.
With these goals in mind, Spindl must now find the right software to build their system.
During this process, it is also important to remember that a finished product doesn't start as being good; it is built to be that way over time. Bob Ross doesn’t start his paintings by adding the trees, mountains, and birds. A positive attitude and acrylic gesso come first, and then the background, followed by the colour-blocking. The finishing touch lies in the details.
Missing supplies.
The team behind Spindl has an all-hands meeting and they list out the key reasons for their delays. They are:
The team behind Spindl has an all-hands meeting and they list out the key reasons for their delays. They are:
The team behind Spindl has an all-hands meeting and they list out the key reasons for their delays. They are:
Ownership: Assets are owned and can eventually be turned into cash and cash equivalents.
Economic Value: Assets have economic value, and can be sold or exchanged.
Resource: Assets can be used as resources to generate economic benefits.
In an ERP, the asset record is at the heart of asset management. All transactions related to an asset (e.g., purchase, depreciation, sales, movement, maintenance, etc.) are maintained and managed against an asset record.
Many factors come into play when managing assets, but to understand them well, we must first take a look at the different types of assets. They’re classified based on three broad factors: convertibility, physical existence, and usage.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Convertibility
An Operation is any manufacturing exercise that is performed on the raw materials to process them further into the manufacturing path.
For example, if the Cost Center 'B' and 'C' depend on Cost Center 'A' by 20% and 80%. Then, you can mention 'A' as a Distributed Cost Center. It helps to reflect the income, expense, and budget of 'A' in 'B' and 'C' with allocated percentages.
That’s when the lead turns into an opportunity.
An opportunity is created when a lead (or customer) is showing signs of purchasing from you. Once you’ve converted a lead into an opportunity, it’ll go two ways - either they lose interest (in which case, you mark them as Lost), or they wish to see a quotation, which we will discuss under the sales management module section.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Evaluating modules
ERP software is generally modular. This means that every business process is broken down and separated into modules. Each module has a specific workflow that allows the processes to be carried out productively.
Accounting, Sales, Purchasing, Manufacturing, CRM, HR & Payroll, etc. all have different processes that function under separate modules. The ability of an ERP to not only optimise processes within modules but also interconnect each module to ensure seamless data records is what makes it so efficient.
For example, processes in the Sales module would enable Spindl's sales team to streamline their selling efforts. It might look something like this:
Quotation -> Sales Order -> Delivery Note -> Sales Invoice -> Delivery Trip -> Payment Entry
Based on their goals for their ERP implementation, Spindl has decided on the modules they will require.
Purchasing: to organise and manage their purchases
Inventory: to categorise and track their inventory and stock
Quality Assurance: to create a quality assurance management pipeline
Manufacturing: to streamline their production for quicker deliveries
Accounting: to focus on increasing their revenue and profit
Now, Saf and Mel have a much clearer picture of what they’re looking for. The next challenge is to pick the ERP software that will become the backbone of their business. The modules they choose to implement will become the largest deciding factor of what ERP software they should select. Not all businesses need every type of module provided by an ERP, and not all ERP software provides the modules required by a business.
There’s a diversity in the needs of businesses, and that requires careful consideration of different software.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Considering cost
With their preliminary research conducted, Spindl begins the process of researching various ERP software providers out there. Having figured out what modules they require, Saf and Mel begin evaluating the costs of implementation for 30 users in their short-listed systems.
Due to the sheer amount of options out there, they turn to resources like Capterra and G2 to achieve this without being overwhelmed. Capterra and G2 have a plethora of software reviews and buying guides based on user inputs that Saf and Mel find insightful while deciding.
An ERP is a business-critical tool, and should be accessible to everyone. However, most cloud-based software is expensive and not all software is built (and/or priced) equally. Plus, there’s a ton of options to choose from! Most ERP software providers have a pay-per-user, module-based pricing system. Along with these costs, businesses often turn to consultants and implementers for their chosen ERP software.
But like Spindl, not every business has thousands of dollars to spare. Thanks to open source alternatives[1], there are free ERP systems that are just as good. Microsoft Dynamics 365, for example, prices their proprietary (closed-source) ERP product based on the business area and business scope (professional or enterprise) at a per-user cost. Odoo, which has an “open-core” (i.e. its most basic modules are free and open source), charges on a modular basis at a per-user cost as well, along with separate charges for hosting, support, etc. Then there’s ERPNext, an entirely free and open source, community-driven ERP software.
At the end of the day, it comes down to a business’s individual needs and how they can be met. Expensive does not always mean better. It’s a matter of what will help accomplish business’ goals.
It can be a daunting process to find the right fit. This is why we recommend using resources such as Capterra and G2 to look at reviews and compare pricing while researching different software.
[1] If you’re unfamiliar with open-source work, it’s simple: the source code (aka what makes the software work) is openly available to everyone to use and modify. Communities from across the world contribute to the code, which is how the product grows. Open-source is built on one single, incredible belief: information and resources should be freely available. Many companies use open-source software to develop and support their projects, including big guys like Netflix and Amazon.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Assessing the chosen ERP
“It’s not about making the right choice. It’s about making a choice, and making it right.”
- J.R. Rim (Author, Blogger)
After much deliberation and budgeting, Saf and Mel have narrowed down to a few options of ERP software providers. Now, it’s a matter of picking one software that they’ll begin their trials with. This is a pivotal stage in our Spindl's journey: which ERP will they finally go with? And how exactly will they decide that?
Picking the right ERP software is a meticulous process. Akin to making any other long-term investment like buying a house or picking the right school for your kids.
When evaluating an ERP, Saf and Mel need to make sure that it meets certain conditions for it to work well for Spindl:
Is it solving Spindl's core problems? Does the ERP software meet the goal requirements, or will they need to (again) fall back on other services?
Can it accommodate the business's future plans? As Spindl grows, so will its needs. An ERP should be able to scale to the company's future plans. The folks at Spindl know they will need a better system for their Human Resources department because of their growing company. They, therefore, make sure that the ERP they choose will have an HR Management Module they can implement later.
Is the monetary investment worth it? Charting out a budget for implementation and maintenance, including future considerations, is integral while evaluating an ERP. Spindl will have to account for future users, additional modules, and support. Will they be happy investing that money?
Is customisation required or does it work as-is? This is important to consider especially if the business is in a specialized industry. Will the software allow Spindl to do what it has to the way it is designed, or will it need to be altered to fit needs?
Does it accommodate localised nuances? Depending on where the company is, there are different laws and conventions for taxes, payments, processes, legalities, etc. Does the software integrate these localised conventions with ease?
Does the User Experience positively affect work progress? The point of an ERP is to save time and not waste it. It may sound inconsequential, but even the number of clicks it takes to get a job done counts in the long run. Is the software overcomplicated or efficient?
Does it support integration with any essential services? If not, is customisation an option? Take stock of what services are essential to the business’s functioning, and if it can be integrated within the chosen ERP. This way, clutter and redundancy will be eliminated from the work processes. For example, Spindl sells on Amazon Marketplace, so it's important to tell them that their ERP system can integrate with Amazon's MWS (Marketplace Web Service).
For example. Spindl sells on the Amazon Marketplace, so it’s important to them that their ERP system can integrate with Amazon’s MWS (Marketplace Web Service).
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Conducting thorough trials
“Discovering the unexpected is more important than confirming the known.”
- George E.P. Box (Statistician)
After evaluations, costs, and assessments of various ERP software providers, Saf and Mel know which one they’re leaning towards. But the only way to really know how something works is to use it. It’s going to be a bit of a challenge, but a necessary endeavour. For the next month, they must all document all their processes parallely with the ERP software. Every transaction, whether it a sales order, purchase order, or reimbursements for the company dinner bill, needs to be entered into the system along with their usual process. Trialing software is paramount—no matter how prepared a business is with their research. Before starting to manage operations in any ERP software, it is necessary to become familiar with the system and its many nuances. For this, a test phase is necessary.
While conducting trials for ERP software, a few things are recommended:
Treat it as you would a live system. Use it alongside your existing system, but replicate_ every process_ in your ERP system. Be diligent in following the processes, because it’s the only way of knowing if your system will be foolproof once it’s live.
Picking the right ERP software is a meticulous process. It’s supposed to be the foundation of your business after all. It’s akin to making any other long-term investment! Like buying a house or picking the right school for your kids.
When evaluating an ERP, there are certain conditions it should meet for it to serve your purpose
Treat it as if it is a live system. Spindl will use their existing system but also diligently replicate each process in the ERP trial instance. This will tell them if the system will be foolproof once it is live.
Read the support documentation/manual. Boring, maybe, but incredibly useful in understanding the specific nature of the ERP that is being implemented.
Have the entire team on board. Ensure that whoever will be using the live ERP system, is acquainted during the trial phase itself.
Use realistic data within the system. These records will be representative of Spindl's day-to-day transactions.
Take notes. Write down any processes that don't work well for the company, what is efficient and what can be improved. Decide if these workflows and the ERP is actually making the job easier.
Communicate constantly with the Project Champion (or ERP implementer). Saf and Mel will communicate notes, difficulties or bugs that they encounter while trying out the system. This will help them optimise the software per Spindl's exact needs by the end of testing.
Give it time. Do not try to rush through the test phase! This is the time Saf, Mel and the team need to spend to familiarise themselves with everything regarding the ERP and make sure it works the way Spindl needs it to.
No system will be perfect from the get-go. And that is precisely why the test phase (or the “staging” phase) is important. It is where the team will (inevitably) break the system, get frustrated, learn, and reiterate. By the time Spindl is in the Live Phase (or the “production” phase), they will have a smooth and functional system.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Project Profitability
A project is rarely linear. Throughout each project, new developments take place. These can lead to more investment in terms of time, money, material, etc. Based on all the income and expense entries against the project, you can generate a profitability analysis report for a project. The profitability of a project is the difference between the revenue generated from a project, versus the costs associated with it. This helps you stay on track and ensure you don’t overspend.
Tangible Assets
Those who are interested apply for the job (sometimes maybe another employee refers them to you!).
Interviews are conducted.
Once you’ve selected someone, you give them a job offer (this states the offered salary package, designation, grade, department, number of leave days, etc.).
If they accept, then they’re given an appointment letter!
With an ERP, you can keep track of each of these individual steps by creating records in the HRM module for them.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Leave Management
Some Items have Quality Inspection as a criterion before they can be transacted. When enabled, this prompts users of the system to ensure QA takes place before the Item(s) are transacted with. This works for incoming and outgoing products. Details such as the sample size, inspection criteria, remarks, etc. can be entered into the system during Quality Inspection.
A lot of the time, sub-assembly of Items is required before a final product can be made. This is especially applicable to electronics. Here, a multi-level BOM comes into play. Every sub-assembled Item has its own BOM (consisting of raw materials and smaller parts), and the final product is made using a BOM consisting of the sub-assembled Items.
Think of your laptop. It’s a self-contained device, but it functions due to the hardware that goes into the case. The hard disk drive, motherboard, graphics card, RAM sticks, and processor are some of these elements. While manufacturing a laptop, all this hardware is built separately (sub-assemblies), and then put together to make the laptop (i.e. the final output).
It’s essentially the blueprint of the accounts in your organization.
(You’ll be importing this data while setting up your ERP, and it’s also the first step in creating a full-fledged accounting system.) There are different account types, such as balance sheet accounts, profit and loss accounts, and groups and ledger accounts, etc. that are all maintained within this umbrella.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Website Settings
Most websites have their own unique identity. This is enabled by specific elements such as the theme (more on that below), brand logos, favicons, banners, navigation menus, etc. Along with this, Google indexing, analytics, redirects, chats, etc. also must be configured. All of this can be set up under website settings.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Website Theme
Most websites have their own unique identity. This is enabled by specific elements such as the theme (more on that below), brand logos, favicons, banners, navigation menus, etc. Along with this, Google indexing, analytics, redirects, chats, etc. also must be configured. All of this can be set up under website settings.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Website Route Meta
Meta tags are invisible tags that provide data about your web pages to search engines and website visitors. When done well, this can increase your ranking on popular search engines and SEO, which will boost visibility.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Product Page
A dedicated web page for a particular sales item on your website. Usually, the prerequisite here is to have an item (refer to the Sales module for more information!). This includes item specifications, images, price, and other relevant information about your product offering.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Product Listing
A product listing page displays a list of the available sales items on your website. This helps visitors to discover your offerings.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Shopping Cart
The shopping cart lets you sell products on your website to customers. This means that customers can visit the product listing or product page, and add sales items to the cart so they can purchase them.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Social Login Keys
If you want to let people create accounts on your website, an easy way to enable this is to let them use popular social login keys (e.g., Google, Facebook) to easily log into your website. You can allow this directly from your ERP’s website module.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Building a website
Based on Saf and Mel’s goals for Spindl’s future, the brand aesthetic, and their requirements, the team is successful in building a website in the following manner:
The brand font, colors, images, favicons, and other assets are consolidated.
A website theme based on the consolidated assets is created.
The various web pages (home page, contact us, about us, careers, product listing, product pages) are all setup.
A shopping cart is set up to enable e-commerce functionalities.
Meta tags are entered to utilize SEO and bump search engine rankings.
Webforms for all their requirements (job applications, support, etc.) are set up.
Social login keys are enabled for people to create and access their accounts. Customers can use this to view order history, shipping, and tracking. Suppliers can use it to make quotations.
A blog section is created where Saf and Mel both write insightful pieces to connect with their audiences.
Using a page builder like the one in ERPNext made it even easier. In fact, all of the pages you see in this guide were created with it using 0 code!
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Something ends, something begins
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.”
-Conrad Hilton (American Hotelier)
The story of Spindl has not come to an end yet; they have miles to go, but they are more equipped now to deal with the challenges they’ll face than they ever were before. Implementing ERP software was only the first step toward a better future. There still will be ups and downs, but Saf, Mel, and the rest of the team at Spindl know they can deal with these curveballs with a renewed sense of courage and confidence.
With this guide and Spindl’s journey, we aimed to empower you with the foundational knowledge you need to get started with any Enterprise Resource Planning software. It can be an incredibly powerful tool in your arsenal while running your business. If we’ve done our job right, then you now have an understanding of:
What sustainability of your business means and why it is essential.
What Enterprise Resource Planning is.
What the role of ERP is in meeting your business goals.
How you can evaluate and choose the right ERP software for your business.
How to assess your chosen ERP to make sure it meets your requirements.
The most efficient way of ERP implementation and the importance of conducting a thorough gap analysis.
What to keep in mind when configuring your ERP software.
Understanding what ERP modules are and how each one of them can assist your business.
We could either call this an ending or a new beginning. But, frankly, it’s a bit of both. We hope you found this educational and useful for your own purposes. If yes, know that you can treat this as a companion that you can come back to whenever you need its help.
But for now, we bid you good luck in starting your own journey with an ERP.
The main project is created. Details including project name, status, type, completion progress, list of tasks, priorities, assignments, etc. are all entered and maintained here.
Each task is assigned to employees from various departments. This gives each employee a clear direction of their actionable duties, deadlines, etc. It also is used to enter any expense claims for resources spent on completing the task.
Employees can track timesheets against their assigned tasks. Using their timesheets, they can enter details of the type of activity, time spent, any billable activities, other notes, etc.
The project cost and project profitability are both consistently monitored as the project develops. Using these two reports, the administrative employees can ensure that resources are being used most optimally.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Intangible Assets
On the flip side, assets that are not physical in nature are considered intangible assets. They still hold value (based on the characteristics we discussed earlier!) but cannot be touched, felt, or seen. For example, copyrights, patents, trademarks, permits, etc. are intangible assets.
Let’s look at an example.
If you purchase new machinery for your manufacturing business, your company’s assets go up by the value of the machinery. That’s the first account that’s affected. The equal and opposite entry is that your company’s cash goes down (as it was spent in purchasing the asset).
Maintaining your accounting module revolves around billing and invoicing transactions
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Usage
Lastly, assets that are classified based on their resourcefulness or purpose fall under the category of usage. There are operating assets and non-operating assets.
What are the maximum leaves allowed?
How many continuous days of leave are allowed?
Do the leaves carry forward?
Is the leave considered leave-without-pay?
Is the leave optional?
Does the leave allow for negative leave balance?
Does the leave type include holidays within the leave?
Is it compensatory?
Accumulated leaves allow employees to use leave encashment, which is an amount of money received by an employee for leaves that were left unused by them.
All existing customers are entered into the system. This gives the salespeople a comprehensive database of details for each customer. Information such as tax ids, account managers, accounting details, territory, etc. Are all added.
A list of sales partners (along with their commission details) is also uploaded to the system. This eliminates the need to manually enter information for these sales partners in future transactions.
Whenever an opportunity (see: CRM module) comes to fruition, a quotation is sent to the customer. The quotation includes all proposed details of the transaction (i.e. Quantity, pricing, tax details, discounts, fulfillment date, etc.).
Once the quotation is approved by the customer, it is converted into a sales order. This acts as a confirmation from the buyer that they are ready to purchase the clothing from Spindl.
In the case of a blanket order being placed, details about the expectations are entered and saved. This includes the validity period, item quantities, and prices. If there are any other terms & conditions, those are also mentioned. Sales orders are generated using the blanket order based on the delivery cycle.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Operating Assets
Assets that are required for the daily operation of your business to generate revenue are considered operating assets. Examples include machinery, patents, cash, copyrights, building, etc.
What are the maximum leaves allowed?
How many continuous days of leave are allowed?
Do the leaves carry forward?
Is the leave considered leave-without-pay?
Is the leave optional?
Does the leave allow for negative leave balance?
Does the leave type include holidays within the leave?
Is it compensatory?
Accumulated leaves allow employees to use leave encashment, which is an amount of money received by an employee for leaves that were left unused by them.
All existing customers are entered into the system. This gives the salespeople a comprehensive database of details for each customer. Information such as tax ids, account managers, accounting details, territory, etc. Are all added.
A list of sales partners (along with their commission details) is also uploaded to the system. This eliminates the need to manually enter information for these sales partners in future transactions.
Whenever an opportunity (see: CRM module) comes to fruition, a quotation is sent to the customer. The quotation includes all proposed details of the transaction (i.e. Quantity, pricing, tax details, discounts, fulfillment date, etc.).
Once the quotation is approved by the customer, it is converted into a sales order. This acts as a confirmation from the buyer that they are ready to purchase the clothing from Spindl.
In the case of a blanket order being placed, details about the expectations are entered and saved. This includes the validity period, item quantities, and prices. If there are any other terms & conditions, those are also mentioned. Sales orders are generated using the blanket order based on the delivery cycle.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Non-Operating Assets
Assets that are used to generate revenue but do not require daily use are called non-operating assets. These include investments, vacant land, interest income, etc.
What are the maximum leaves allowed?
How many continuous days of leave are allowed?
Do the leaves carry forward?
Is the leave considered leave-without-pay?
Is the leave optional?
Does the leave allow for negative leave balance?
Does the leave type include holidays within the leave?
Is it compensatory?
Accumulated leaves allow employees to use leave encashment, which is an amount of money received by an employee for leaves that were left unused by them.
All existing customers are entered into the system. This gives the salespeople a comprehensive database of details for each customer. Information such as tax ids, account managers, accounting details, territory, etc. Are all added.
A list of sales partners (along with their commission details) is also uploaded to the system. This eliminates the need to manually enter information for these sales partners in future transactions.
Whenever an opportunity (see: CRM module) comes to fruition, a quotation is sent to the customer. The quotation includes all proposed details of the transaction (i.e. Quantity, pricing, tax details, discounts, fulfillment date, etc.).
Once the quotation is approved by the customer, it is converted into a sales order. This acts as a confirmation from the buyer that they are ready to purchase the clothing from Spindl.
In the case of a blanket order being placed, details about the expectations are entered and saved. This includes the validity period, item quantities, and prices. If there are any other terms & conditions, those are also mentioned. Sales orders are generated using the blanket order based on the delivery cycle.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Asset Transactions
Purchasing an asset
The purchase cycle is generally followed for the purchase of any new assets. Once a new asset is purchased, accounting entries are reflected in the accounting module of your ERP. Details of the asset are entered into the system upon purchase.
You can also add additional leaves if your employees have run out of their allotted leaves and are allowed to take more (sometimes unpaid) leaves.
Material Transfer: If the material being requested is to be shifted from one Warehouse to another.
Material Issue: If the material being requested is to be Issued for some purpose like manufacturing.
Manufacture: If the material being requested is to be produced.
Inter-department communication can easily be reduced when all the information is readily available to the responsible parties. This increases the overall productivity and efficiency of any company.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Selling an asset
Selling an asset using your ERP follows the sales cycle (starting by creating a sales invoice). This can also be used to enter the gain/loss account so that it can reflect in the company’s records. As is the case with purchasing, accounting entries are made here as well.
Inter-department communication can easily be reduced when all the information is readily available to the responsible parties. This increases the overall productivity and efficiency of any company.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Asset Value Adjustment
The leave ledger keeps track of all leave-related transactions for an employee. Each such transaction is a leave ledger entry. This includes leave allocations, leave applications, and leave encashments made by each employee.
The Stock Ledger’s information lends itself to an incredibly comprehensive report of the inflow and outflow of material across the Warehouses of your company, called the Stock Ledger Report. It sounds simple enough but is perhaps one of the most useful and knowledge-laden resources available to you. The Stock Ledger’s oceanic information will grant you deep insights into your business.
As is the case with most reports in an ERP, you have the option to filter the report to be as birds-eye-view or as granular as you need it to be.
Inter-department communication can easily be reduced when all the information is readily available to the responsible parties. This increases the overall productivity and efficiency of any company.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Asset Management
CRM Reports
Using standard CRM reports, you can know the desired details or perform necessary analysis:
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Lead Details: This report provides lead name, address, contact details, lead source, territory, and other details.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Sales Funnel: By using the sales funnel report, and by quantifying the number of prospects at each stage of the process, you can get an idea of your potential customers
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Using standard CRM reports, you can know the desired details or perform necessary analysis:
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Setting up a CRM workflow
To streamline and improve their customer interactions, Saf and Mel decide to implement a CRM workflow in their ERP system.
Existing leads along with their source are imported into the system. All web forms, emails, incomplete orders, etc. are tracked for lead collection.
Leads are assigned to various salespeople. This ensures that every lead is followed up on, maximizing the opportunity for a potential sale.
Opportunities are created and categorized when Leads show promise. This segregation allows for clearer data analysis and ensures that the right people are reaching out for each opportunity type. This helps get accurate reports, and also makes sure that all opportunities are being tracked and actively engaged until they reach the sales stage.
Customers are sorted into groups based on various parameters. This allows them to target groups with the right marketing campaigns, price lists, etc.
A list of all salespeople is added to the database. Sales targets are set based on certain parameters like item categories or territories so the actual sales can be monitored against the expected sales for every salesperson.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
Categorizing assets
An asset category classifies different assets of your company. You can usually set what kind of categories you want based on your classification method for assets (some of which we’ve discussed above!).
A central system ensures the team attends to the leads/customers timely and captures the history of the relationship with them.
The purchase and manufacturing team could keep an eye on new opportunities/customers and prepare for the next month's orders.
Auto-generated reports help the team to identify issues and work on course correction. The decision-making becomes much easier with real-time reports right in front of them.
A transparent system helps Saf and Mel keep track of the company and employee growth.
A list of all salespeople is added to the database. Sales targets are set based on certain parameters like item categories or territories so the actual sales can be monitored against the expected sales for every salesperson.
With an ERP assisting your business management, you start spending a significantly less amount of time slogging away. You’re eliminating factors like manual maintenance, data duplication, communication difficulties, and a lot more when using it. When you’re not spending time updating every single spreadsheet, you can invest it in growing your company.
Cue: an ERP!
It consolidates all your business operations in a single, central monolithic application.
This allows you to view, analyze, and manage all your business operations from one place. No jumping from app to spreadsheet to another app to make sure one job gets done. All data that you enter into an ERP speaks to the other—if you’ve just made a sale, you can use that information directly within the system to update your inventory as well. With an ERP, you can:
Focus on innovation and profitability.
Drastically improve employee productivity.
Avoid the slog of redundant work.
Have everyone on the same page. The data updates for every single user in the system, so there are no discrepancies.
*Maintain track of things and remain transparent. *A full history of all processes, available at all times.
You can now set the pigeons free! That said, an ERP is a tool for_ _a business to utilize. It’s only as efficient as its users make it.
An ERP can
1.1. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.2. Visualize your business’ data and records
1.3. Manage all your business processes in one system
1.4. What an ERP will help you accomplish
An ERP cannot
2.1. Automagically enter accurate information for you
Give you insights in plain language (that’s for you to figure out)
2.2. Send them chocolates on their birthday (but it can remind you to)
An ERP cannot
Support for customers
Managing the website
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