What is an ERP system, and does your organisation need one?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It is one system that holds the main records of an organisation, such as finance, billing, HR and payroll, stock and assets, in one place, so every department works from the same information.

The problem it solves

Most organisations start with spreadsheets and separate programs: one for accounts, one for payroll, a few shared Excel files for everything else. It works until it does not. The same figures are typed in several places, totals do not agree, and month-end reports take days.

An ERP replaces that patchwork with one system. A payment captured once updates the client's statement, the cash book and the management report at the same time.

Signs you may need one

• The same data is captured more than once
• Month-end or year-end reports take days to put together
• Nobody is sure which spreadsheet has the latest figures
• Clients call to ask for statements you should be able to send in seconds
• Staff cannot see what another department has done

Start small, grow it

An ERP does not have to be one big project. We usually start with the area that hurts most, often billing and payments, get it running with your own data, then add HR, assets or other modules as you are ready.

Built for how you work

Off-the-shelf systems often force you to change how you work. We build ERP systems around your own rules, rates and reports, with ZiG and USD, Paynow and local bank payments built in, and we stay on to support it.

If you are wondering whether an ERP makes sense for your organisation, talk to us. We will look at how you work today and tell you honestly where a system would help.