ERP Self-Assessment

Is your current software easy to learn and use?

Can you access the system from any device, anytime, anywhere to facilitate associates working in the field, in the office or from home? Easily communicate and collaborate with customers, subcontractors, and suppliers?

Can you establish a single version of the truth? Have you eliminated the need to maintain complex integrations between applications?

Can you work in the language that best fits you? Print documents (like invoices) in the language of your customer?

Can you work in any currency and convert as needed?

Can you automate business processes, approvals, and notifications?

Can you share information and company documents among any combination of teams, departments, and external users?

Can you make critical documents available to all key personnel?

Can you make faster, better decisions with fewer mistakes and eliminate guesswork?

Is all functionality accessible through the internet using a standard browser without the need for any software installation on the user’s device? With no additional software licensing required?

Can you view and interact with every page of the application on any device with a minimum of resizing, panning, or scrolling?

Can you customize screens and dashboards? Gain easy access to business tasks with minimal clicks and an intuitive workflow? Does it have a modern look and feel?

Can you modify and customize business logic to meet your company’s unique requirements?

Can you perform customizations using industry-standard tools and programming languages, avoiding the need to use proprietary languages or compilers?

Can you streamline business processes with built-in machine learning, e.g., automatically entering expense report details from expense receipt photos?

Does it store all system data in a relational SQL database? Can you query data for reporting, BI, financial statements, and audits?

Can you access and export relational versions of all data for reporting, backup, and transfer?

Can you plan upgrades at dates and times that are convenient for you and your company?

Does it support both on premise and cloud deployments, and let you switch deployment models if and when you are ready?

Can you choose between deploying in a public cloud using Amazon Web Services (AWS), in a private cloud of your choice, or on-premises in your facility?

Can you choose between subscription or perpetual licensing (ongoing operating expense versus a depreciable capital expense)?

Does it return a reduction in the total cost of ownership over the foreseeable lifetime of the software (at a minimum of 3-5 years), including licensing, support, hardware, upgrades, and hosting costs?

Can you accommodate heavier volumes, more resources, and more users as your business grows, and pay only for what you use? Can you add more resources when you need them?

Can you deploy in the cloud to reduce the initial cash outlay for hardware and software purchases?

Do you pay only for the resources you use, not for the number of users? Can you make it available to all employees companywide?

Does it use the resources of cloud hosting leaders (such as Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM) to get fast response and uptime?

Can you avoid spikes in IT costs by standardizing on a platform, allowing you to predict your monthly cost?

Can you eliminate time delay and risk of unplanned costs by deploying quickly with a cloud solution?

Can you reduce risk by using a software vendor with the solutions and knowledge for your specific industry?

Have you obtained customer references from peer companies in your industry?

Do they support platform, web, and computer security; leveraging expertise as hosting providers?

Can you eliminate leaving your data on your own servers (where it is more vulnerable to attack)?

Does it offer cloud deployment options to lower backup, failover, and disaster recovery and associated costs?

Can it use web capabilities to integrate with other web-based business applications?

Can you eliminate the risk of missing an upgrade by choosing a cloud solution that’s continually updated?

Does it support multi-company, multi-warehouse, and international companies, including financial consolidations, intercompany eliminations, and reconciliations?

Does it support standard accounting functions, including General Ledger, Payroll, Cash Management and Tax management?

Can you create quotes, convert to sales order, check inventory availability, run capable-to-promise (CTP), perform credit check, pick, pack, ship, invoice, and collect payment?

Can you create requisitions, obtain approvals, convert to purchase order, receive inventory, receive invoice, match and pay?

Does the system include integrated reporting tools that allow data analysis while honoring global security settings? Reporting tools that automatically include custom fields?

Does it offer a variety of support options tailored to your departmental needs?

Does it share a single database between ERP and CRM to eliminate the need to synchronize two or more databases with the same information?

Does it go beyond spreadsheets and use integrated BI and Analytics to understand what the financial and customer data is really telling you, so you can make informed, actionable decisions?

Can you link online orders to your ERP and CRM? Track all sales, manage inventory in real time, collect the correct sales tax for multi-state sales? Does it integrate with major eCommerce platforms, such as BigCommerce, Magento, and Shopify?

Can you access connected applications for extended functionality to meet your unique business needs, such as barcoding, electronic data interchange, shipping, and more?

Can you manage projects end-to-end in a single system with contracts, commitments, subcontracts, purchase orders, change orders, retainage, service management, submittals, and daily field reports? Track the status of your subcontracts and purchase orders, including comparing budgets to actuals and line-item committed costs?

Can you see job costs and budget data from anywhere, with realtime project changes and profitability drill-downs? Enter AP invoices, write checks, and bill customers by stage or quantity directly in jobs, so accounting is always up to date?

Does it modernize compliance management with included AIA billing and reporting, CFMA benchmarking, certified payroll, safety compliance tracking, and WIP and Bonding reports?

Can you track construction projects and compare original to revised budgets? Manage billing with fixed-price, cost-plus, or capped project costs? Bill service orders and appointments through the project instead of Service Management?

Can it split orders across multiple warehouses, allocate inventory, verify credit limits, issue replenishment orders, accept returns, and manage complex pricing/discount policies? Create service appointments directly from sales orders?

Can it automate complex procure-to-pay processes involving multiple products and suppliers? Create requisitions and approvals, obtain bids, convert to purchase orders, receive inventory, input invoices, match and pay? Create purchase orders from appointments in the field?

Can you manage inventory, plan and manage the movement of goods through the distribution network, and control customer and transfer orders? Use multiple locations with lot and serial number tracking? Are expired items automatically removed from available inventory?

Can you track inventory and construction operational costs? Analyze and report actual and expected costs and variances? Update and post costs to the general ledger?

Can you create support contracts and manage support cases with an online customer self-service portal? Create service appointments from opportunities or support cases?

Can you access a robust library of enhancements available to extend the product’s functionality to meet your unique business needs with software such as Procore, Arcoro, Assignar, GoFormz, and ProEst?

Can you manage technician dispatch schedules, and use mobile phones for GPS navigation, voice note dictation, and mobile expense receipt capture?

Can you record the history of customer-owned or company-owned equipment? Establish warranty offers for equipment or components? Keep track of serial numbers, define default vendors, and track sale and installation dates for each component? Manage contracts and billing?

Can you optimize service appointments considering travel time and breaks?

Can you track projects and compare original to revised budgets? Manage billing with fixed-price, cost-plus, or capped project costs? Bill service orders and appointments through the project instead of Service Management?

Can you split orders across multiple warehouses, allocate inventory, verify credit limits, issue replenishment orders, accept returns, and manage complex pricing/discount policies? Create service appointments directly from sales orders?

Can it automate complex procure-to-pay processes involving multiple products and suppliers? Create requisitions and approvals, obtain bids, convert to purchase orders, receive inventory, input invoices, match and pay? Create purchase orders from appointments in the field?

Can you manage inventory, plan and manage the movement of goods through the distribution network, and control customer and transfer orders? Use multiple locations with lot and serial number tracking? Are expired items automatically removed from available inventory?

Can you track inventory and construction operational costs? Analyze and report actual and expected costs and variances? Update and post costs to the general ledger?

Can you create support contracts and manage support cases with an online customer self-service portal? Create service appointments from opportunities or support cases?

Can you access a robust library of enhancements available to extend the product’s functionality to meet your unique business needs with software such as Procore, Arcoro, Assignar, GoFormz, and ProEst?

Can you manage AP workflows, from entering an invoice through approval routing and checks? With seamless customer billing, driven by real-time project costing, including up-to-date labor, material, equipment, and other costs?

Does it provide instant project updates from the field for real-time collaboration? Manage and track all project activities, issues, and changes, including daily field reports, actual costs, and cost projections?

Can you ensure resource availability to allocate staff, equipment, and technology by team, department, and timeframe? Assign tasks and workflows to manage project resources and tie the costs to the project budget?

Can you keep detailed client records of interactions, proposals, contracts, payments, renewals, and compliance documents? Does it have a self-service portal to give clients access to support cases and payment options?

Can you capture time and expense from any device? Does time-entry flow to project accounting for costs and expenses related to projects or specific project tasks? Can billable activities be marked up depending on the project, task, employee, or activity performed?

Is there an integrated payments solution that automates AR processing to reduce back-office workloads and get paid faster?

Does it have flexible progress billing by percentage of completion or by quantity, to reduce project owner risk? Can you access AP cost transactions related to progress billing lines without leaving the current form, for timely vendor payments and increased billing accuracy? Tie revenue recognition to project milestones or deliverables?

Can you control cost overruns by automating project commitments and change order processes? Manage back charges or reduction in vendor commitments through the entry of a negative change order? Streamline change orders for multiple projects with unit rate changes, custom retainage, and cost-only change requests?

Can you automate revenue recognition for billing, payments, and collections? Apply billing and revenue recognition schedules by month, quarter, year, or customized time periods?

Can you access a robust library of available enhancements to extend the product’s functionality to meet your unique business needs?