Business owners are always looking for ways to manage their daily operations more efficiently. You want to provide the right resources for patients to make their visits easier. If you’re searching for new tools to implement, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is an excellent investment.
This article will cover:
What ERP software is
How it benefits growing businesses
Examples of how to utilize ERP software
Resources that can help provide a better customer experience
There’s quite a bit to cover here with each of these topics. If you’re wondering if ERP software is right for your business, you’ll have all the answers you need to decide by the end of this article. Read on to get all the information.
What Is ERP Software?
ERP software is a resource to help your business manage everyday tasks. It integrates your main business practices into one streamlined system. Any modern organization will use several digital tools to track data and improve the customer experience. Common tools include:
Accounting software
Data-tracking software
Customer relationship management (CRM) software
Scheduling systems
All of these and more are critical aspects of an organization’s system. However, they are often accessed through separate software and systems. You may use QuickBooks for accounting, Salesforce for CRM, Microsoft Excel for manually tracking key data, and so on.
Managing all of these different programs in different places can create disorganization and frustration. An ERP helps by eliminating the need for separate software to manage certain everyday tasks. Instead, you can manage all these functions through one system that tracks everything. In doing so, your employees, patients, and bottom line will all benefit.
How Can ERP Software Benefit Your Business?
If you still aren’t convinced, there are several other ways ERP software benefits businesses. Here are some of the main benefits:
1. Track key performance indicators (KPIs)
Every organization wants to get the best results for patients. Valuable key performance indicators like customer lifetime value, revenue growth, and employee productivity can show you how you’re performing. ERP software can track all that data in an organized system.
2. More efficient customer service
If ever an organization needed to offer quick, efficient service, it’s small and growing businesses. Emergencies are frequent, and you need to be able to process information through your systems fast to get patients the care they need. An ERP will provide you with information in a single place to speed up systems drastically.
3. Increase information security
Cybersecurity is a major concern for every business. It’s especially important for every business that handles transactions, where sensitive information can be vulnerable to malicious actors. If you store information across numerous software programs, this increases the chances of a data breach—intentional or otherwise. Putting everything on an ERP makes storage more efficient and helps you focus security measures in one place.
4. Reduce physical and digital storage needs
Having a vast amount of information spread across paper hard copies and digital files creates a storage nightmare. That’s a big problem for businesses that have to be timely and organized. You can reduce your storage and free up physical and digital space by using ERP software for everything.
As you can tell, an ERP can be a valuable resource. The next section will provide some additional examples to show how these benefits can come into play.
How ERP Software Can Help Streamline Processes
If you’re looking for an ERP to help manage your growing business, here are some key results to look for in the software that you choose:
Streamline the customer experience while keeping everything organized and secure
Manage billing, documents, scheduling, and more all in one place
Create digital customer and vendor portals that make setting appointments and organizing schedules easy
Use tried and true accounting practices to manage your financials appropriately
All these features and more will help your business provide better and more efficient service.
Conclusion
There you have it. You should now have the information you need to decide if implementing an ERP will be right for your organization.
Using one will benefit your bottom line by organizing your financials, customer portals, document management, and more all in one place.
The world of construction and contracting contains a lot of moving parts, literally and figuratively. Tools, materials, and machines need to be transported, assembled, and installed at every job site.
Beyond the physical labor lies the real headache of contracting—legal documents, compliance measures, appraisals, estimates, budget reports…the list is seemingly endless.
Every business that handles construction and contractor management does things a bit differently. Some have completely integrated business management software solutions while others still rely on manual, analog business practices.
The reality is that most businesses find themselves somewhere in between when it comes to technological integration.
Benefits Of Contractor Management Software
Construction and contracting companies (and businesses in other industries that rely on various types of contract work) share a common goal, no matter the specifics of the project, customer, or client—that common goal is creating value and increasing revenue.
Experts on construction and contracting productivity estimate that 35% of construction time is spent on non-productive activities. It’s not necessarily the activities, objectives, or the people themselves that are inefficient—it’s the methods and processes that cause stagnation.
Contractor management software helps businesses streamline the processes that their business already accomplishes on a daily basis. Job costing, equipment tracking, and estimating are just some of the processes that contractor management software helps your business improve upon.
Have you experienced the pitfalls of tracking equipment with pencil and paper? Have you had to repeatedly run the same numbers to make sure you’re still under budget? Have you had to pause your labor to call your office staff numerous times from the same job site on the same day to acquire crucial information?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to consider exploring the use of contractor management software within your organization.
On the other hand, if you haven’t experienced any of these headaches yet, consider yourself lucky. You have the chance to proactively build better processes before any of these hurdles arise.
Better Communication, Better Bottom Line
Communication is important in every line of work. However, when it comes to working with a variety of subcontractors and contracted parties, communication takes on an increased importance.
Quality communication—or lack thereof—has a tangible impact on job sites. In construction and engineering projects, 52% of rework is caused by poor project data and miscommunication. This translates to nearly $31.3 billion in rework in the U.S. alone in 2022.
By utilizing the tools that contractor management software offers, you won’t have any ambiguity about budgets, schedules, or the status of work.
Imagine this: many businesses use emails to send documents, isolated hard drives to store files, text messages to share images and status updates, paper and pencil to sign out equipment and materials, and expensive third parties to craft contracts.
Using so many disconnected software systems (not to mention some entirely paper-based systems) leaves the door open for errors, delays, and miscommunication of all kinds. Contractor management software puts everything you need in one place, able to be accessed anywhere, anytime, without the high risk of errors and faulty data.
Reduced Risk Exposure
The task of maintaining full legal and regulatory compliance is a multifaceted, challenging endeavor. Businesses deal with complex and oft-changing tax codes, strict OSHA regulations, and countless types of insurance guidelines.
It’s easy for disorganization to run rampant if your systems and processes are not efficient and in unison. Though it may be tempting to safe keep all pertinent company documents in your private, isolated filing cabinet, it’s important to understand that there is a better, safer, more effective way.
One of the biggest benefits of contractor management software is that you’ll be able to set parameters for your organization’s specific compliance requirements. From there, you can upload documents and let automation handle the rest.
With a quick search query you’ll be able to:
Make sure that all of your contingency workers have their certifications up to date
Verify specific tax considerations for each job site
Manage documents relating to incident reports and insurance claims
Beyond the increased level of organization and speed of access, your documents will be safer, too—a cloud-based, cryptographically protected, backed-up document storage solution will make sure that your data is never lost or damaged.
Compared to the single, lock-and-key filing cabinet, contractor management software is a much better solution for making sure that you and your employees are fully protected, both physically and legally.
Better Talent Acquisition and Onboarding
Your employees are the lifeblood of your business—making sure that your pool of prospective talent stays warm should be of the utmost priority.
The hiring and onboarding processes are never without hiccups and a substantial time commitment. This becomes even more true when your business relies on the services of subcontractors and freelancers.
Building a better and more efficient hiring process takes time, energy, and yes, money. Investing in your employees and their well-being begins before they officially sign on—it starts with the hiring process itself.
The good news is that your talent acquisition solution doesn’t have to break the bank. Instead of relying on costly sites such as Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and LinkedIn to manage your hiring processes, you can (easily and cost-efficiently) handle it internally. Better yet—most of the process can be automated.
Beyond cost savings, you’ll be able to find candidates that truly match your organization’s needs.
The best contractor management software solutions offer an integrated HR portal that handles everything you need to attract, hire, onboard, and retain top talent. Create job postings, store background checks, resumes, and other documents, and automate recruiting workflows by position.
Operational Overview
While delegation and trust are important qualities of being a business leader, it’s still just as important to maintain an accurate, informed overview of all of your business operations.
Though you may not be directly involved in certain aspects of a project lifecycle, it’s still crucial to be able to access all of that information at a glance.
Let’s take a look at this example:
A customer drastically changes their mind about the direction of a project. In the beginning, they were looking for something “simplistic”, but things have changed—new decision-makers have been appointed, and they have their own vision of how things should look. They’re signing the checks, after all, so you do your best to accommodate.
Your project manager comes to you for input about the client’s requested changes.
“We’re going to need a bigger daily budget, more highly-specialized contractors, new materials that need to be shipped from halfway across the world…”
As you’ve probably witnessed firsthand, the list of variables that change during the lifecycle of a project is seldom only three items long. If your processes are disconnected and disorganized, the logistics of making these changes a reality will be a major headache.
Double-checking figures, searching for missing documents, scouring through old text messages and emails, manually taking inventory—in all reality, these few hang-ups only scratch the surface of what you’ll need to account for.
Contractor management software keeps the small details neatly organized while never losing sight of the big picture. Create interactive workflows, organize tasks for each employee with smart labeling technology, and easily adjust job scopes and timelines.
Not only will this make you and your workers’ lives easier, but it’ll also provide your client with up-to-the-minute, fully transparent information.
Even after the contractors are done, it’s important to remember that they’re not the only people involved in the business surrounding buying, selling, and maintaining it. It’s important to make sure that the software you choose to help increase efficiency and boost profits also acts as software for real estate development teams that are affiliated with this property.
Contractor Management Software Keeps Your Business Moving
Contracting is never a one-size-fits-all industry. No matter the project, there will always be changes, updates, and hurdles. This will never change. As a leader, your job is to navigate these choppy waters with planned precision and professionalism.
Contractor management software helps immensely—it allows you to plan ahead while being able to make adjustments with ease. It allows you to intuitively remove inefficiencies in order to cut costs. It also allows you to plan for the future by ensuring that your pipeline of contractors and subcontractors is skilled and plentiful.
If you find yourself consistently looking for a better, less stressful path to completed jobs and sustained success, contractor management software will allow you to accomplish just that.
Every business has a lot of moving parts. Whether your business manufactures goods in a factory or provides in-home services to customers, it is equally important to have a unified and clear picture of all of the components of your operation.
As you work towards attaining a more all-encompassing view of your operations, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of projects and tasks. In other words, sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.
One skill that can be useful in tackling an abundant and overflowing to-do list? Delegation.
When you hear the term “delegation” you are probably imagining handing off work to your employees. While this will still be true, some of the most powerful delegations are not ones you task to your employees—it’s the work you hand off to your integrated business management software.
Delegating tasks to your integrated business software provides some of the same benefits as traditional delegation. You (and your employees) will have time to focus on higher-level tasks, it will open up time to learn new skills and conduct market research, and it will improve efficiency across the board.
Even for tasks that still require a deft human touch, integrated business software provides a tangible procedural advantage that improves operational success and efficiency across the board.
What Is Integrated Business Software?
Integrated business software is a seamless collection of solutions, processes, and data. Accounting modules, customer records, and smart calendars are just some of the previously isolated functionalities and features that integrated business software unifies.
Notably, business needs vary by size, industry, and even season of the year. One key element of integrated business software is that it’s adaptive and elastic to the nuances of industry needs—while one business is looking for an alternative to their existing accounting software, another will focus on generating automated sales reports.
Integrated business software handles it all, providing connectivity and clarity throughout every facet of your business.
On the highest level, it ensures that you, your customers, and your employees have immediate, accurate, and complete access to all pertinent information. It detangles and connects previously disconnected silos within your business so that processes can run smoother and more efficiently than before.
Challenges Caused By Disconnected Software Systems
Without an integrated business management software system, businesses typically rely on a handful of disconnected software suites to get the job done.
Even if you’re primarily using standard, powerful spreadsheet and storage software systems, there are still issues that arise. The tricky part? Many of these issues often don’t come to light until it’s too late.
Let’s take a look at some of the operational issues and inefficiencies caused by disconnected software systems:
Delayed Data and Reporting
Having accurate data is good—but having accurate, real-time, and easily accessible data is great.
Without accurate, timely, and complete information, businesses suffer each year—it’s estimated that businesses lose 20% of their potential revenue due to poor-quality data. From marketing to sales to inventory management, bad data can have a profoundly negative impact on your bottom line.
Wasted Productivity
Every minute spent having to correct an error or reiterate a piece of information’s authenticity is a minute wasted. Businesses that are aiming for rapid growth can’t afford to waste this much time.
If your business is using software systems that don’t communicate with each other, it sets into motion a cascade of worsening problems—extra time spent accessing and parsing data sets leads to errors in data entry, which delays reporting time and adds unnecessary hours to your payroll. In turn, it takes time away from more important tasks.
When your employees are entering data in multiple locations, manually sifting through invoices to address a single customer’s issue, or constantly having to check back in from the field, progress suffers. Processes like these can be automated by integrated business software.
Increased Cost
As business owners know all too well, unexpected costs always have a way of dipping into—or breaking—your budget.
Some costs of having disconnected software systems are obvious and upfront. As in, paying for numerous software solutions and the corresponding upgrades, repairs, and support.
Other costs are more indirect—multiple software systems mean multiple interfaces, which typically require additional employee training and time spent learning the nuances of each. This leads to more time spent learning how to transfer data between each and time spent correcting errors that occur during this process.
This wasted time eats into productivity which could be spent on more productive and profitable tasks.
Benefits of Having Integrated Business Management Software
All businesses have growing pains. It’s natural. But as a business owner, it’s important to recognize the difference between when you’re simply adjusting to a learning curve rather than when it’s time to rethink and reshape inefficient processes and procedures.
These are the main ways that integrated business software will help alleviate ongoing procedural woes:
Increased Visibility
Your data needs to be universally accessible—one person on a certain device in a particular location shouldn’t be the sole arbiter of your data. Sure, not everyone in your organization will need access to the same information, but it’s important that people have access to what they need, anywhere and anytime.
Informed decisions are great— but those that can be made quickly without sacrificing accuracy are the best decisions. When most employees are required to get data to make a business decision, only 3% are able to do it in seconds. For 60%, it takes hours or days.
Process Efficiency
Inventory management, accounting, project management, and the hiring process—while these processes all seem separate and different in nature, they actually have a lot in common.
Namely, they are all common business processes that can eat up valuable time during the workday. In other words, your business can benefit from automating these processes using integrated business software.
Currently, CEOs spend 20% of their time on tasks that could be automated—imagine the innovation and growth you could achieve with 20% more time to put towards work that requires that critical human touch.
Cost Savings
According to a McKinsey report, 45% of current paid activities can be automated by today’s technology, an equivalent of $2 trillion in total annual wages.
Automation capabilities aside, integrated business software is a cheaper alternative than procuring, installing, and maintaining multiple software—and possibly hardware—systems.
Integrated Business Software: The Bottom Line
Integrated business software isn’t only for large businesses or even businesses in certain industries. Sure, there will always be nuances, but at the end of the day, every business needs to put an emphasis on efficiency and cost-cutting.
It’s not always easy to abandon the way you’ve done things in the past. After all, your success has gotten you this far. The good news is that you don’t have to abandon anything really—utilizing integrated business software is about changing how certain processes are completed, not changing the processes themselves.
Increased operational visibility, process efficiency, and reduced costs are just a few of the benefits that integrated business software can offer. Every business is unique—talking with an expert can help you figure out how your business can put integrated business software to work for you.
No business is alike. Products, customers, strategies, and everything in between all vary to certain extents depending on your industry-specific needs and business ethos.
What all businesses have in common, however, is the environment in which they operate. The world is becoming increasingly digital, synchronized, and competitive. Enlisting the right all-in-one business management software for your business will help you stay ahead of the curve.
Here are the most crucial and consequential ways that all-in-one business management software can provide a tangible benefit to your business operations.
1. Automated Workflows
The benefits of workflow automation are wide-reaching. Not only will the processes that you’re automating be improved, but your productivity in other areas will increase as well.
If you’re spending less time manually entering, checking, and duplicating data sets because your all-in-one business management software is capable of automating that process, you’ll be able to focus more on creative, high-level tasks that require more human attention.
2. Eliminate The Need For Internal IT Expertise
Safeguarding your business against technical malfunctions and cyber threats starts with investing in the proper technology.
No business is unique—true cybersecurity and individual business success can’t be achieved with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. This is why you’ll require software that can mold to the contour of your business’s specific needs.
All of your employees should be operating, communicating, and sharing documents under the same umbrella of security. With a dedicated software support team ready to work toward your business’s specific goals and needs, you’ll be prepared for any technical malaise that comes your way.
3. Save Money (Not Just On Software)
One of the biggest benefits of all-in-one business software is the cost savings. The software savings are apparent—paying a predetermined monthly rate for a single software solution allows you to spend less on various other disconnected software solutions.
Outside of the actual software savings, you’ll save money via increased financial visibility, smarter data insights, and more streamlined supply chain management.
4. Scalability
Growth arrives quickly—it pays to be prepared ahead of time. Though your business may not be bringing in billions of dollars annually, your all-in-one business management software can function the same as the solutions that those companies use.
Over time, your customers, inventory, employees, revenue, and almost all other facets of your business grow. Developing the right processes from the beginning will pay dividends down the line—playing operational catchup as growth continues upward will inhibit financial progress.
All-in-one business management software provides SMEs with top-notch, industrial-grade security features: data redundancy, dual-factor authentication, testing environments, and cryptographic privacy. Look for a software solution that provides a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
6. Better Document Management
For businesses of all sizes, keeping paper records means something is going to get misplaced. And loss is only the tip of the iceberg: a typical office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year—it’s wasteful, time-consuming, and unnecessary.
Keep a centralized, unified document management system that can be accessed from anywhere. You’ll be able to find documents faster, secure them more easily, and generate custom reports about the data within your system. Not to mention, you’ll save plenty of money on ink and printer-related costs.
7. Smarter Business Decisions
The best business decisions are made from comprehensive, data-driven metrics. Gut instincts are valuable, but data-driven decisions reign supreme. By allowing technology to guide and assist you along your decision-making process, your business will reap tangible benefits.
You’ll be able to reduce spending costs, make faster decisions, and generate on-the-fly improvements based on real-time, accurate data. The best data comes in the form of custom dashboard reporting generated regarding up-to-date inventory levels, real-time customer/vendor transaction history, and the current job status of employees dispatched in the field.
Your employees are the lifeblood of your organization—it’s crucial to establish a pipeline of qualified talent no matter the industry you service. By incorporating this process into the software that handles the rest of your business’s processes, you’ll be able to make the most profitable hiring decisions.
Within your all-in-one business management software platform, you’ll be able to have a streamlined application tracking system by creating new job postings, adding interview notes, designing personality assessments, and storing all pertinent candidate documents.
9. Continuous and Custom Software Development
No business is unique—one of the most crucial tools that all-in-one business management software offers is the ability for businesses to tailor the software to their specific needs. Not only is it important for businesses to have customizable interfaces based on specific industry needs, but it’s also just as important to incorporate a software solution that allows for custom, personalized development.
The best software solutions have active development teams that are constantly improving their product. Customers should be able to influence and provide feedback as to what improvements in functionality need to occur. Software personalization is becoming more and more commonplace these days.
10. Build Better Relationships with Customers/Vendors
Getting the most out of customer (and vendor) relationships requires a comprehensive system that supports your sales team to make sure they never miss an opportunity, all while assessing productivity and profitability.
All-in-one business management software offers features that can boost the effectiveness of your sales team such as sales funnel and marketing automation, full spectrum sales pipeline visibility dashboards, and feedback-garnering tools such as surveys.
Wrapping Up
No matter the industry that your business operates in—manufacturing, field services, or any other—your business can advance from incorporating these 10 benefits of all-in-one business management software.
Every business has a different number of employees, different products, and different methods at which they go about the core principles of business. But for all of the differences that businesses share, they share much more in common.
In fact, most businesses share commonalities throughout their maturation process in terms of the warning signs that it might be time for them to adopt an all-in-one software solution.
All-in-one business management software is developed to make your business better, in whatever way that you see fit.
More often than not, the terms all-in-one business management software and ERP (enterprise resource planning) software are used interchangeably. On the surface, they’re very similar. Both are used to help businesses:
Increase workplace efficiency
Grow profit margins
Facilitate employee connectivity and collaboration
Enhance organizational transparency
However, all-in-one and ERP software are not the same thing—and the difference really matters.
Odds are, your business has considered adopting an ERP or an all-in-one business management software. From manufacturers to field service technicians to contractors, both types of software solutions allow businesses to accomplish more.
Industries change, but the questions that you and other business owners have about software solutions stay mostly the same.
“Will I be able to virtually connect with my employees, subcontractors, customers, and vendors?”
“Will I have a system of record with access to all of the data I need?“
“Will I be able to customize and automate workflows and other processes?”
“Will I have a clear and all-encompassing picture of my finances?”
Let’s explore the ways that both ERPs and all-in-one software can help you answer these questions, and where the differences can really impact your business.
All-In-One Business Management vs. ERP Software
Looking at the big picture of any business, the goals are almost always the same—increasing profit via increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
Choosing the right software solution will require a more granular approach to addressing what your goals are.
Is your business focusing on pushing a singular, uber-successful product or an abundance of moderately profitable items? Do you work with a large number of small vendors or a small number of large vendors? Does your business have multiple locations—or more importantly, is your business planning to expand?
You may not have all of these answers yet, and that’s ok. Choosing the right software solution isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about knowing what you don’t know and charting a course to seek out these answers accordingly.
Business Size
One of the most common misconceptions about ERPs is that they are only practical—or affordable—for large enterprises. While it’s true that ERPs were first developed for large-scale organizations, the operability, usability, and affordability of these systems have since trickled down into the small business world.
There exist ERPs that are best suited for large, multi-continental enterprises. You may not need a software service that can power 500 factories or handle 10,000 employees. What you do need, however, is the power and consistency that this type of software offers.
ERPs host and transmit all of a business’s data, but they often require additional modular integrations to reach their full potential. For a massive, Fortune 500 enterprise, adding additional software systems on top of an ERP isn’t necessarily a deal breaker.
For an SME, however, budgets are a bit tighter. It’s important to seek out a solution that provides the same level of quality data management as an ERP while taking the entirety of your business into consideration, not just a portion of it. After all, there’s more to your business than just silos of data.
All-in-one software solutions are tailored to both the fiscal and human needs of SMEs.
Customization Capabilities
Similar to most aspects of life, “fit” is one of the most important variables to consider—the software solution that is best suited for your business needs may not be the best solution for another business.
For example, let’s say your company is a mid-sized perishable foods packager and distributor. Some of your needs are no different than most other companies—you need to make smart hires, handle complex process scheduling, and reliably track financial records.
But when it comes to finding the right ERP or all-in-one solution, the most important variables are the ones that set your business apart.
When it comes to inventory management and transportation, you’ll need to allocate additional resources to account for the shelf life of your products. Are you able to easily create, scan, and implement barcode labels? When food packaging goes wrong, what additional health and safety protocols need to be enacted that wouldn’t be relevant to a traditional discrete manufacturer?
ERPs are often constrained to a particular niche. While a single ERP may be able to handle supply chain management or project management-related tasks, what happens when those functionalities need to be integrated with the other facets of your business? Is ERP software built for this kind of interconnectivity or will you be forced into adapting additional, time-consuming, and often expensive integrations?
All-in-one business management solutions, on the other hand, are more tractable. Offering the same transparency and data management capabilities as a larger ERP, they are equipped for customization that isn’t limited to a single business silo—they are backed by a team of professionals who see to it that their product fits all of your business’s specific needs, not just a select one or few.
Implementation
Getting your new software off the ground is always a multifaceted process. A big chunk that leads to successful implementation is simply choosing the right software solution, but an equally large portion falls in the hands of the rest of the people involved. Namely, three distinct parties are in play—your management team, your employees, and your software’s implementation team.
Migrating to any new system takes time. Moving the entirety of your business’s data can come with varying degrees of hiccups and speed bumps. Whether you choose an ERP or an all-in-one, the support team behind your new software will play a critical role in its successful adoption.
While implementing an ERP will often cover most of your traditional business processes, it’s possible that you’d need to integrate additional software modules. Common integrations would include online banking portals, e-commerce platforms, or something within Google Workspace.
In terms of the logistics and ramifications of integration, what is the main differentiating factor between all-in-one business management software and ERP software? All-in-one business management software solutions take the entirety of your company into consideration, not just the industry specialty that the ERP focuses on.
Because of this, all-in-one solutions are much easier to get off the ground. The need for secondary integration is minimal. For example, the need to externally integrate accounting software or document storage protocols will not be necessary—those features are routinely included in the best all-in-one business management software.
Day-To-Day Usage
Who will be using your software solution on a day-to-day basis? Will it be exclusively used by your C-Suite? Will your accountant be involved? Or is this software that everyone in your company can benefit from?
No matter your answers to these questions, it’s important to find a software provider that will be able to onboard all relevant employees to complete the tasks they need for their roles.
All-in-one business management systems are ideal for handling the human processes of your business—tracking productivity, handling HR-related issues, and managing customer relationships. Visibility and transparency are key. Most, if not all of your employees, will need access to these types of functions. But don’t worry, you can set permissions for various roles.
As far as ERPs are concerned, they’ll be able to handle most of the same processes. While all-in-one business management software is excellent at managing and automating human processes, ERPs handle large amounts of data. Think inventory management, data entry, and financial reporting.
Both ERPs and all-in-one solutions provide immense value for your business. Which begs the question: which type of software has more overall value? While an ERP might present value to a few specialized employees with crucial roles within your business (i.e., a plant manager or company executive) an all-in-one solution benefits every employee, regardless of job description.
Often, the best and most actionable data your business has to offer comes from the employees on the front lines. All employees work better with better tools at their disposal—not only will upgraded technology allow them to be more productive, but they’ll also feel more included in company operations and workplace culture. After all, your business functions best with happy people.
Finding The Best Software For Your Business
What does your business need to succeed? The answer is different for every ongoing concern. Maybe your claim-to-fame as a business is your product or service, but you need a better way to find new talent. Or, perhaps, you have all the talent in the world, but you need a better way to stay organized.
The true answer to “What is the difference between all-in-one business management and ERP software” isn’t just about the technology behind the software—it’s about what your business and your employees can do with it.
With an ERP, the solutions it offers are clear—a “manufacturing ERP” will tackle inventory needs, supply chain management, and handling custom building requirements. A “construction ERP” will handle meeting OSHA requirements, gathering project materials, and facilitating subcontractor management.
Those are great, necessary features that are a key component of success. But with an all-in-one business management solution, you’ll be able to utilize those features while connecting to the other various pillars that your business runs upon—accounting, HR, project management, remote work, and so much more.
In essence, think of an all-in-one business management solution as an “ERP+”.
Focus less on the final outcome, and start focusing more on the systems and solutions that will enable you to get there. Because the truth is that both all-in-one and ERP solutions can help your business reach its full potential, it’s a matter of how well they are connected and how well you utilize them.
When choosing an ERP for your organization, don’t make the decision based on another business’s experience. Often, the same system could be both super-efficient and non-efficient depending on the specific needs of the business.
The best way to thoroughly implement an ERP? Involve your employees in the process.
Where To Start
As you assess the requirements that an ERP will need to functionally support your business, you should evaluate the status quo.
Every organization has bogged down, bottlenecked processes that hinder progress—
analyzing your organization’s bottlenecks is the first step in determining the reasons your business will benefit from implementing an ERP. As you do this, define the main goals that you’re hoping to achieve by implementing a new software solution.
Invite your team to collaborate—you’ll need as many insights as you can to develop a clear picture of what your business needs in terms of an ERP solution. Don’t limit your collaboration to the C-suite. Everyone in your organization—from the CEO to the newest intern—will be able to give you valuable insight into the different requirements different members of your organization require. You can also include a third-party ERP consultant to get an outside perspective.
Prioritize The Processes You Need
The selection of ERP software mainly depends on your business’s specific areas of need. For example, if you’re looking to manage your projects more efficiently, you should enlist the services of a software system focusing on project & portfolio management.
Together with your team, understand which processes your business places a priority on.
Your first task: gather feedback from as many members of your organization as possible. A good way to optimize the process is to send each employee a questionnaire to collect as many independent opinions as you can.
The next step: sit down with your employees that deal with the most frustrating bottlenecks your business has. They deal with them directly, so they’ll be able to give you the clearest picture in terms of what part of the process needs to be adjusted.
Brainstorm with your team to define the specific pain points that your employees identified. This list of needed features and improvements will guide you in choosing an ERP.
List Your Requirements
After you have collected enough data to analyze, it’s time to make a list of the specific ERP functionalities that your organization needs.
Your Requirements Should Be:
Avoid high-level descriptions and turn the pain points that your employees voiced into specific requirements.
For example: Your employees spend too much time manually tracking financial flows → The Erp software you choose should have extended automation functionality for financial management, including keeping detailed financial records on all of your projects, should allow you to check their status anywhere, any time, and should generate financial reports at time intervals of your choosing.
You should be able to clearly determine the value that certain upgraded features will add to your business.
For example: track how many hours are saved by ERP automation. If your employees are manually entering data in Excel, track how many hours were saved as a result of automation. In this way, you should be able to easily calculate the return on investment of your chosen ERP.
Don’t fall victim to unrealistic expectations—a software is only a software. There is no magical solution that will mend your business ailments overnight. The right ERP will act as a catalyst for your business—make sure that your employees are working diligently to make the most of the powerful new tools at their disposal.
Making The Decision
After you’ve formulated your requirements list, it’s time to choose the ERP software you want to use. Most ERP vendors offer a free demo of their product. These demos are custom-tailored to give you a preview of what specific functionalities the ERP can offer—make sure you choose an ERP that is deft in handling all of the delicate intricacies that only your business needs.
Make the most of the ERP providers’ experience. Utilize their team of software experts to ensure that their solution is able to be a comfortable fit for what your business needs.
Technical implementation is a major factor to consider. If you have an in-house team of developers, consult with them before making a decision. They will be able to provide insights that someone less tech-savvy may have glanced over.
If you don’t have a team like this on your payroll, enlist an ERP that is able to walk you through and assist you with the oft-complex process of data migration and implementation.
Training Your Employees
The successful implementation of your new ERP isn’t the end of the journey, it’s really just the start. Your employees need to learn how to use the system.
Although your enterprise resource planning software was designed and developed to digitize your organization’s processes and increase employee efficiency, many of them may be reluctant to learn how to use a new software. Your task here will be to communicate the value of the system and to teach your employees to build new and better professional habits.
This is an arduous task at first glance, but there’s good news—most ERP vendors offer personalized support & employee onboarding. Not only will a team of experts develop a software tailored to your businesses specific needs, but they’ll show you the ropes and train everyone in your organization on how to get the most of the software.
Wrapping Up
The prospect of shifting the entirety of your business’s operations to a new ERP can be daunting on the surface. But like most things in life, breaking down this large undertaking into digestible chunks will help you through the process.
The Best Steps To Follow In This Process:
Gather as many insights from as many employees as you can
Determine the main objectives of ERP implementation
Make a list of the specific ERP functionalities you need
Prioritize them in order of importance
Talk to your ERP vendor
Implement the ERP
Utilize the ERP’s vendors expertise in teaching your employees how to use the software
ERPs contain a wide-ranging set of functionalities across an even wider range of industries. Not every ERP will be perfect for your business, but don’t fret—the perfect ERP for business is out there.
