Trending ERP Solutions for Small Business

If there's a software concept that encapsulates the need for business to integrate its various resources, it's ERP, an acronym for enterprise resource planning. ERP software helps owners and managers by integrating and managing a company's financials, manufacturing, reporting, operations, supply chain, and HR activities.

Most companies have software that helps to manage each of these functions, but almost none have more than the capability of day-to-day business processes that help to achieve sustained growth. Technology Evaluation Centers can help a business select the appropriate type of software for ERP. What follows are a few of the current trends of ERP solutions for small business.

ERP, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Ever since computers became commonplace in the world of small business, popular software packages have flooded the marketing that assisted owners and managers in keeping better tabs on the various elements of their enterprise. Owners and managers eagerly bought into the idea that software packages that assisted in finance, accounting, HR, and other business phases could help them to manage their business more effectively and efficiently. Unfortunately, as good as these programs often were, they didn't work or talk with each other.

ERP software is made to be different. ERP software brings each of these different processes together in order to collaborate and create one system that allows owners and managers to see the entire picture, not just separate entities. ERP software allows departments to see what others are doing resulting, for example, in accounting and HR functions to more easily collaborate with customer and sales relationships.  

Why ERP Software?

There is no current software product that is perfect for every business process, but ERP software is the best yet developed that allows individual departments to see their effects on others. Further, ERP software allows owners and managers to get a better overall picture of their business operations in order to better manage them.

ERP software can help with many business functions, but some of the primary processes include:

Accounting and Finance

ERP software gives owners and managers a general overall dashboard picture of the financial aspects of their business. It also gives responsible parties the ability to have a total picture of their finances without having to input data from other sources.

Manufacturing

ERP software facilitates better communications between departments as well as with clients, their needs, and resources by giving them real-time information to act on. ERP software also allows owners and managers better information to make decisions on cost and project management.

Human Resources

Any business that is still managing tasks such as payroll, hiring and other HR duties by hand could accomplish those tasks more quickly and efficiently by using ERP software. Tracking employee performance and working with HR problems before they happen is also a benefit of ERP software.

Supply Chain

Despite the evidence computers have given of better ways to manage supply chain information, many companies are still working with this data by hand. With ERP software, businesses can save time and money by automating these processes and giving owners and managers the ability to get a better understanding of these processes and how they impact their enterprise.

Owners and managers who are reading this and still struggling with their legacy system should work with Technology Evaluation Centers to develop better and more efficient ways to maximize the capabilities of their computer systems.