Selecting An ERP/Accounting System – Part III: The Promise

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 III 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.”

Part II provided some useful insight into the pitfalls to avoid when selecting an ERP/accounting system for your company.   If you missed it, you can click here to read “Selecting an ERP/Accounting System – Part II:  The Pitfalls.”

Part III is all about maximizing the benefits of an organized and thoughtful selection process.  The key points to keep in mind are:

• Thorough documentation
• Set realistic expectations
• Leave it to the experts
• Be flexible, allow for course corrections
• Obtain company-wide buy-in
• Comfort level with your chosen solution provider
• Intensive training and testing

In order to get it right the first time, you should:

• Periodically re-visit your criteria for success
• Choose a system that’s the right size
• Plan ahead
• Allocate sufficient time and resources
• Establish an internal team with participation from every department
• Assign an internal project manager
•  Give that person decision-making authority
• Schedule regular progress reviews internally and with your solution provider
• Keep all channels of communication open
• Put everything in writing

And here are a few pointers for establishing a competitive edge:

• Know your competition (What will set you apart?)
• Set tactical (short-term) goals
  • Eliminating duplicate data entry
  • Global view of key business data
  • Accurate inventory levels
  • Increased efficiency
• Set strategic (long-term) goals
  • Increased efficiency/productivity
  • Better profit margins
  • Faster time to market
  • Faster turnaround on orders
  • Improved customer service

Use these guidelines to help ensure a successful selection process.  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 comparison 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)