Transitioning to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is a big decision for any company. With so many options it’s important to make sure your new system will provide your company with the tools to handle your current business needs and offer the scalability to manage future growth. If you are looking to make the move to a new ERP system, you likely should consider the following 3 items: cloud-based architecture, chart of accounts and reporting in dashboards.
Cloud-Based Architecture
Most ERP systems on the market today are client-server applications, which means they need to be installed on a server as well as a workstation. This can be costly from a maintenance standpoint as well as in terms of upgrades. Oftentimes, when you do perform an upgrade, it can break third-party applications and requires down-time to complete.
. Upgrades are released on a quarterly basis and are guaranteed not to break any integrations already in place with third-party applications.
In addition, cloud-based architecture offers ease of access. You can access Intacct on any browser and on any mobile device, whether it's an iOS-based system, an Android-based system or a Windows-based system.
Chart of Accounts
Most ERP systems use a linear , which means that the GL account string is comprised of several segments. The segments usually have a natural GL account and then they might have other segments that represent your cost center, your project, your programs, your funds or your grants.
Intacct offers a GL account with eight out-of-the-box dimensions that allow you to track items like projects, cost centers, programs, grants, customers and vendors. This leans out your chart of accounts, and allows you to create great reports with the ability to dice and slice very easily.
Reporting in Dashboards
Intacct offers an easy-to-use, intuitive report writer, which makes reporting in dashboards easy to create. Since the dashboards don't require IT intervention, you simply point and click.
Conditional formatting is built into both the reports and the dashboards. This is great for CXOs who require a dashboard full of information. In addition, it’s very easy to add KPIs – or performance cards – and other components, such as charts, graphs and reports to dashboards.
Learn more about accounting software solutions by the 2016 Buyers Guide. For more information, like The Resource Group.
by Todd Bowlsby, The Resource Group
