5 Signs that you have outgrown your erp

Small to medium companies are struggling everyday with their accounting system and this is an impediment to their growth. Changing ERP is a scary phase (mainly because you already know the current one and are use it to already), but it is a necessary step for your business to thrive. Below are 5 signs that tells you that your current system has reached the end of its journey and is doing you more harm than you realise.

1. Multiple disconnected systems.
Many organisations are using multiple disparate systems that cannot talk to one another. This results into double (and manual) entry where users must key in the same data in different systems. You could save hours of work by just having your systems integrated into your ERP so that the relevant data flows between the system seamlessly with minimal human interaction (and errors). A fully integrated ERP means that all the areas of your business can work together through one central solution. This way, you are reducing the cost of your staff manually keying in redundant information and at the same time increase visibility over your entire business.

2. Your business process relies on a few key personnel.
If you see bottlenecks in your business process where a pile of work is waiting on one or a few key personnel, it is a good sign that your business is too reliant on some of the staff. This can be alleviated by automating your workflow and adding rules or approvals through the right tools.

3 Taking days to compile reports on spreadsheets.
Many companies are still running mountains of reports and compiling them into spreadsheets in order to derive their sales reports or management reports. Reporting is essential to any business as it allows you to analyse your performance and consequently take the right decision. Modern ERPs offer real-time dynamic reports or business intelligence to present your company's performance live with only a couple of seconds to generate complex reports or dashboards so that you can turn days of report generating to just a few seconds.

4. You are creating "workarounds".
Often you are restricted by what your software allows you to do, every business is different, and for that reason, your ERP must embrace customisation and offer basic functions out-of-the-box instead of using "band-aid" solutions to get around it. If you are constantly letting your system dictate how you run your business by working around the problem, it is a sign that the software is not suitable for your business model and that you need a new system which can be moulded to YOUR business.

5. Too hard to scale up.
Scaling up in older systems is quasi-impossible, this is both in terms of business growth and financial implications. As your business requirements are changing, you need new features - multi currency, multi warehouse, multi companies and so on. These features may not be available in your current software or requires a big investment to setup. If your expansion is hindered in terms of maintenance or licence fees, it is a good sign that your ERP does not support your growth properly.


​For more information about choosing an ERP, contact us on sales@wmssoft.com.au to arrange a FREE webinar on how our ERP solution can suit your business needs.