Your stock lives in one system, your invoices in another and your planning in a spreadsheet. Every week someone types the same data in twice. That is usually when the word ERP comes up. On this page you will read what an ERP implementation is, how to choose a package, which steps it takes, what integrations and custom software solve and where it often goes wrong. At the bottom you will find what we can do for you, from the first choice to the support afterwards.
What is an ERP implementation?
An ERP system is software that brings the core of your business together: purchasing, stock, sales, planning and finance. An ERP implementation is the project in which you choose such a system, set it up, fill it with your data and start using it.
The hardest part is rarely the software. It is deciding how you will work from now on, getting your data in order and bringing your people along.
Does a small business need an ERP?
Not always. Ask yourself these questions first:
- 1How many systems do you keep side by side now, and how often do you retype something?
- 2Do you know at any moment what is in stock, what has been ordered and what still needs to be invoiced?
- 3Is the problem a missing system, or systems that do not talk to each other?
- 4Is your business growing in a way that the current way of working will no longer fit in a year?
If two good packages do not talk to each other, an API integration between those packages is often enough and you do not have to replace anything. If the whole setup is holding you back, an ERP is worth considering.
Choosing an ERP package: what to look for
A demo shows what a package does at its best. You want to know what it does on an ordinary Tuesday in your business. Look at these points when you choose:
- Does it fit the way you work, or do you have to turn your way of working upside down? Ask the vendor to show your own cases, including the exceptions.
- What does the package expose for integrations? Ask whether there is an API, what you can read and write with it and which subscription it comes with.
- How does the package handle updates? Every change to the package itself makes an update heavier.
- What does it cost on top of the licence? Setup, moving data, integrations, training and the upkeep afterwards belong in the comparison.
- How do you get your data out if you ever switch?
- Who helps when something does not work, and how do you reach them?
Put the packages that remain side by side on the same list, with the same cases. That way you compare packages, not presentations.
The step-by-step plan
1. Write down your processes
Write down how an order moves through your business now, from request to payment, including the exceptions. Without that picture you choose a package on the feeling a demo gives you.
2. Set requirements and choose a package
Make a short list of what the system must do and what would be nice to have. Then compare the packages on the points above, using your own cases.
3. Clean up and move your data
Duplicate customers, products without a price, old suppliers: whatever you take into the new system stays there. Clean up your data before you move it, and move a test set first that you check against the old system.
4. Set up and connect
The package is configured to your way of working and connected to what stays, such as your online store, your payment provider or your accounting. For each integration, record which data goes which way and which system holds the truth.
5. Test with real cases
Have the people who do the work replay an ordinary week in the new system, including the difficult cases. What they run into is not in any plan.
6. Switch over and adjust
Pick a quiet moment to switch and agree where people can go with questions. Expect to adjust things in the first weeks.
7. Support after go-live
An ERP is not finished after the switch. There will be updates, new staff, new products and sometimes a system that needs to connect. Agree who keeps an eye on the integrations, who makes changes and where questions go.
Moving your data: the underestimated part
Moving data looks like a technical chore, but it touches your whole business. Customers, products, prices, open orders and invoices have to be right in the new system, or everyone starts the new package with distrust.
- Decide what needs to move. Not every old order or former supplier belongs in the new system.
- Clean up in the old system, before the move and not after.
- Move a test set and have the people who do the work check it.
- Agree on a moment from which the old system is read only, so nobody works in two systems at the same time.
Integrations: what it comes down to in practice
An ERP never stands alone. Orders come in through your online store, payments through your payment provider, appointments through your calendar. Without integrations you still retype, only now into a more expensive system.
Ask three things for each integration: what does the package expose, how often is data updated, and what happens when an integration stalls. You can read more on the page about having an API integration built.
Custom ERP: when custom software alongside it makes sense
An ERP package does a lot, but not everything your way. Then you have three routes. You adapt your way of working to the package. You have the package itself rebuilt, which makes every update harder. Or you leave the package as it is and put custom software next to it for the one process in which you differ from the rest: a planning tool, a portal for your customers or a screen that brings data from several systems together.
That third route keeps the package standard and the custom work small. You can read more on the page about having custom software built.
Six pitfalls
- Choosing the package before the processes are on paper.
- Trying to introduce everything at once instead of one part at a time.
- Taking polluted data into the new system.
- Treating the integrations as an afterthought.
- Not naming anyone in the business to lead the project.
- Not agreeing after go-live who looks after the system and the integrations.
Where Automatevia helps
Automatevia builds custom software for the web and integrations between systems. Around an ERP we help you with the whole project, or with the part you want help with:
- Advice and choosing a package: we map your processes, set the requirements together with you and compare the packages on your own cases.
- Implementation: we set up the chosen package to your way of working and guide the switch.
- Moving data: we clean up your data, move it and check together with your people that everything is right.
- Integrations: we connect the ERP to your online store, your payment provider, your accounting or the other systems you keep.
- Custom software alongside: for the process no package does well, we make software next to the ERP, so the package stays standard.
- Support: after go-live we keep an eye on the integrations, make changes and remain your point of contact.
We also build AI teams that take over work that does not fit fixed rules. You can read more on the page about AI automation for small businesses.
Frequently asked questions about ERP implementation
What is an ERP implementation?
The project in which you choose an ERP system, set it up, fill it with your data and start using it. It consists of writing down processes, choosing a package, cleaning up and moving data, setting up and connecting, testing, switching over and support.
How long does an ERP implementation take?
That depends on how many parts you introduce at once, on the state of your data and on the number of integrations. Introducing one part at a time makes the project easier to oversee.
What does an ERP implementation cost?
On top of the licence you pay for setup, moving data, the integrations and the time of your own people. Also ask up front what the upkeep costs afterwards.
Can an ERP connect to my online store?
Usually, if the ERP and the online store both have an API. What is possible depends on what both systems expose; check that before you choose a package.
Is it wise to have a custom ERP built?
For most small businesses a standard package with good integrations is the better start. Custom software makes sense for the one process no package does well and that makes the difference for you.
Can Automatevia help with choosing an ERP package?
Yes. We first map your processes and set the requirements together with you. Then we compare the packages that remain on your own cases, including what they expose for integrations.
Start with the free scan
Want to know which workaround you can drop? Send us your weekly tasks and you get back what a system can take over. Go to the free scan. Already have an ERP in mind or in the middle of a project? Email info@automatevia.com.
