When we hear the word “enterprise” we think of big corporations with multiple departments and offices and thousands of employees which is one reason why small business owners have been slow to come around to thinking about implementing Enterprise Resource Planning systems for their businesses. They equate the meaning of “enterprise” with the size of the business, when in fact their small businesses are also enterprises -- albeit on a smaller scale.
In large companies, ERP systems automate and coordinate many of the complicated business processes (including financial/accounting and human resources) that keep the business operating. ERP systems provide essential capabilities for corporations that may be servicing millions of customer and employing thousands people. It’s natural for the small business owner to look at those systems and think, correctly, that they are overkill if they only have a handful of employees and are limited in terms of what they can invest in IT solutions.
But with the growth and speed in adoption of cloud computing, that typically use multiple, separate systems to handle accounting and operational processes. (Many of Accountnet’s clients were using a combination of QuickBooks, Excel and some sort of project management software, which led to a lot wasted time, duplicate data entry and stifled growth.) With cloud-based subscription pricing, the cost of ERP is now within the reach of SMBs and business owners are starting to think about ERP as an operating expense rather than a capital investment.
Deploying on the Microsoft Cloud provides SMBs with increased flexibility, lower up-front costs, enterprise grade infrastructure and support and increased mobility. Cloud-based ERP makes it easier for businesses to reduce infrastructure, hardware, and IT management costs and easily scale up or down as needed. Cloud ERP is also quicker to implement, so your business can be up and running in hours instead of weeks with staff securely accessing business data from virtually anywhere, on any device.
Research carefully to determine if ERP is right for your business, and then compare a few potential systems and vendors. and can help you with implementation of cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics GP, plus ongoing training and support as your business grows and your needs change. .
