By Marcia Nita Doron, Altico Advisors
Selecting new ERP/accounting software to run your business is a big decision and can be a daunting task. To help you successfully navigate a software selection initiative, Altico Advisors has developed a step by step approach.
This is Part I of a 3-part series entitled “The 3 Ps of Software Selection – The Process, the Pitfalls, the Promise.” Part I is a high level view of the basic questions you need to be asking and the basic elements you need to budget for as you work through the software selection process. Please stay tuned for Parts II and III.
SOME of the questions you should be asking
– Do I need to work with a software selection advisor and prepare an RFP?
– How much internal staff time will be required?
– What are my 3-5 year corporate goals?
– Do I have an overall vision of my technology requirements across the entire enterprise?
– How will I define a successful implementation?
– Can I quantify the ROI of a new system?
– Have I documented our processes and requirements across all departments?
– Is new technology going to make my business more successful, profitable, efficient, competitive?
– Have I obtained executive and end user buy in?
– Have I budgeted adequately?
Basic budget elements for a new software system
– Business process planning and needs analysis
– Software
– Hardware
– Implementation and training
– Out of scope incidentals
– Infrastructure
– Maintenance
– Support
– Recruiting
Here’s a great software selection aid that you can download called a Software Evaluation Checklist. It provides a rating scale and a way to rank any 3 products in a side-by-side comparative format (for example comparing Microsoft Dynamics GP with Macola). Use it well!
By Altico Advisors, Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner for Manufacturing and Distribution serving New Hampshire (NH)
Related Posts
- Selecting An ERP/Accounting System – Part II: The Pitfalls
- One…Two..Three Strikes against the RFP process for selecting ERP software
- Ten Lessons Learned from Healthcare Organizations on Selecting and Implementing Financial Management and Accounting Software for Their Needs
- Top Sites, White Papers, and On Demand Webcast for Evaluating ERP/Accounting Software
- Free Buyers Guide Proves that Selecting Business Software Doesn’t Have to be Painful
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by 4 ERP, Tweet ERP. Tweet ERP said: Selecting an ERP/Accounting System – Part I: The Process | ERP … http://bit.ly/9uMhQz #erp [...]
[...] This is Part II of a 3-part series entitled “The 3 Ps of Software Selection – The Process, the Pitfalls, the Promise.” Part I was a high level view of the basic questions you need to be asking and the basic elements you need to budget for as you work through the software selection process. If you missed it, you can click here to read “Selecting an ERP/Accounting System – Part I: The Process.” [...]
[...] This is Part II of a 3-part series entitled “The 3 Ps of Software Selection – The Process, the Pitfalls, the Promise.” Part I was a high level view of the basic questions you need to be asking and the basic elements you need to budget for as you work through the software selection process. If you missed it, you can click here to read “Selecting an ERP/Accounting System – Part I: The Process.” [...]