As a small business owner, you always think about new solutions to increase revenues and boost your company’s growth. ERP software is definitely one of those things that can help improve your business’ efficiency but, as everything in life, it can have some pitfalls. What are the pros and cons of ERP for small businesses? We examine them below:
ERP Pros
- Increased productivity - By storing all the data in one place, it makes it much easier and faster for your employees to get the necessary information and focus on working towards the business’ goals for success rather than spending time contacting other employees from different departments.
- Improved collaboration – A robust ERP system will help improve collaboration between teams by providing easy access to data to help make decisions quicker.
- Lower operating costs - With one ERP system, you don’t need to spend money on separate software for each department.
- Generate business insights – An ERP software performs analysis on different processes, so it makes the process of a decision-making smoother and more comfortable with accurate data.
- Improved security - ERP systems provide advanced security settings, so you can rest easy knowing that your data is well-secured.
ERP Cons
- High price - It’s no surprise that ERP implementation and its further use are followed by significant expenses. But the modern market of ERP software can provide you different price options for any budget. As an example, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, starts from only $48.60 per user/month.
- Staff training - Usually, it takes a significant amount of time and effort for employees to learn new software. But thanks to WebSan University, you can make this process faster and more efficient.
- High risk – The ERP implementation process can become a problem for a small company because of challenges of data migration from an old system to a new one. Our advice: Have patience and read about 3 Biggest Failure Cases of ERP Implementation and How You Can Avoid the Same Mistakes for some tips.
Alina Hura, Digital Content Creator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a 2014 Ontario Business Achievement Award Winner for Service Excellence