ERP System Use this checklist to compare the features and benefits
of ERP vendors across these five categories:
Evaluation Checklist PRODUCTIVITY
What can the product do to make you and your staff
more productive?
Selecting an ERP system to run your
business is a daunting decision that FUNCTIONALITY
will affect your company for many What features and functions does the product have that
actually perform the daily accounting and business
management functions?
years. Many products offer the same
or similar features, and it can be
TECHNOLOGY
confusing to sort out what’s essential Does the product leverage technology for mobility,
usability, customizability, and maintainability?
and what’s not. This checklist can help.
VALUE
How does the product maximize features and functions
vs. cost for the usable lifetime of the product?
Acumatica Cloud ERP provides the best business management solution RISK
for transforming your company to thrive in the new digital economy. Built
How does the product minimize risk and facilitate
on a future-proof platform with open architecture for rapid integrations,
scalability, and ease of use, Acumatica delivers unparalleled value to small security (both network and financial security)?
and mid-market organizations. Connected Business. Delivered.
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Category 1: Productivity
Feature Benefit Priority
Intuitive Easy to learn and use.
Work from anywhere Access to system from any device, anytime, anywhere to
facilitate staff working from home, late/weekend shifts, and
field personnel.
Multi-language Work in the language that best fits you. Print documents
(like invoices) in the language of your customer.
Multi-currency Work in any currency and convert as needed.
Workflow Automate business processes, approvals, and notifications.
Wiki’s Share information and company documents among any
combination of teams, departments, and external users.
Document Make documents accessible to all key personnel.
management
Single database Single version of the truth. No need to maintain
integrations between applications.
Better, quicker Comprehensive reporting to make informed decisions
decisions and fewer without the guesswork.
mistakes
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Category 2: Functionality
Feature Benefit Priority
Multi-site Support multi-company, multi-warehouse, and international
companies, including financial consolidations, intercompany
eliminations, and reconciliations.
Financial management Support standard accounting functions, including General
Ledger, Payroll, Cash Management, Tax management,
Project Accounting, and more.
Quote-to-cash Create quotes, convert to sales order, check inventory
availability, run capable-to-promise (CTP), perform credit
check, pick, pack, ship, invoice, and collect payment.
Procure-to-pay Create requisitions, obtain approvals, convert to purchase
order, receive inventory, receive invoice, match and pay.
Reporting The system includes integrated reporting tools that allow
data analysis while honoring global security settings.
Reporting tools automatically include custom fields.
Industry support Support specific industries including Services (Business and
Field), Wholesale Distribution (Durable and Nondurable),
Discrete Manufacturing (MTS, MTO, ETO, and Batch),
eCommerce, Retail, and Construction.
Strong third-party Access to library of enhancements available to extend the
software support functionality of the product to meet your unique business
to extend product needs.
functions
CRM combined with Share a single database between ERP and CRM – no need to
ERP synchronize two databases with the same information.
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Category 2: Functionality
Feature Benefit Priority
Integrated Business Go beyond spreadsheets and use integrated BI and
Intelligence Analytics to understand what the financial and customer
data is really telling you so you can make informed,
actionable decisions.
Integrated eCommerce 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, and more. Integrates with major
eCommerce platforms, such as BigCommerce, Magento,
and Shopify.
Category 3: Technology
Feature Benefit Priority
True cloud All functionality is accessible through the internet using
a standard browser without the need for any software
installation on the user’s device. No additional software
licensing required.
Responsive design View and interact with every page of the application on any
device with a minimum of resizing, panning, or scrolling.
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Category 3: Technology
Feature Benefit Priority
User interface Modern look and feel. Customize screens and dashboards.
Easy access to tasks with minimal clicks and intuitive
workflow.
Mobile app Equip office and field staff with easy-to-use functions on
phones and tablets for routine transactions with barcode
scanning for warehouse management, manufacturing, and
field service.
Customizable and Ability to modify and customize business logic to meet your
flexible company’s unique requirements.
Customization using Perform customizations using industry standard tools
industry standard tools and programming languages without requiring the use of
proprietary languages or compilers.
Full relational database All system data stored in a relational SQL database. Query
data for reporting, BI, financial statements, audits, and more.
Database export Access and export relational versions of all data for
reporting, backup, and transfer.
Upgrade on your Ability to plan upgrades at dates and times that are
schedule convenient to you and your company – not the ERP vendor.
Artificial Intelligence Streamline business processes with built-in machine
learning, e.g., automatically entering expense report details
from expense receipt photos.
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Category 4: Value
Feature Benefit Priority
Low Total Cost of Reduce the total cost of ownership over the foreseeable
Ownership (TCO) lifetime of the product (at a minimum 3-5 years), including
licensing, support, hardware, upgrade, and hosting costs.
Be sure to add the cost of additional products required to
run the system (web server, eCommerce platform, database
server, collaboration tools, CRM, etc.), which includes all
required hardware, licensing, and support costs.
Scale as you grow Ability to accommodate heavier volumes, more resources,
and more users as your business grows. Pay only for what
you use. Add more resources when you need them.
Flexible licensing Offers perpetual or subscription licensing (depreciable
options capital expense versus an ongoing operating expense).
Multiple deployment Deployment methods allow on premises in your facility,
options private cloud of your choice, or our public cloud using
Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure.
Preserve capital Cloud deployments reduce the need for initial cash outlay
for other business for hardware and software purchases. Cloud deployments
initiatives reduce the amount of internal IT staff required for hardware
and software support and maintenance.
Charged by resources The value of an ERP system is directly related to the
used, not by user number of people who use it. By involving everybody
(including customers and vendors), businesses can digitally
transform.
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Category 5: Risk
Feature Benefit Priority
Predictable monthly Not vulnerable to spikes in IT costs. Standardizing on a
costs platform allows you to predict your monthly cost for the
system.
Deploy quickly Eliminate time delay and risk of unplanned costs by
deploying quickly with a cloud solution.
Leverage global Ability to utilize the resources of cloud hosting leaders
technology leaders (Amazon and Microsoft) for their fast response and uptime.
Knowledge of your Reduce risk by using a software vendor with the solutions
industry and knowledge for your specific industry.
Customer references Cites customer successes using their software in your
industry, including independent customer satisfaction
metrics.
Best-in-class security at Support platform, web, and computer security leveraging
no additional cost expertise at hosting providers.
Data in the cloud System leverages data security from AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Data kept on your servers are more vulnerable to attack.
Backup and disaster Prepared for the worst – cloud deployment lowers costs for
recovery backup, failover, and disaster recovery.
Simpler integration Utilize web capabilities to integrate with other web-based
with other web apps business applications.
Vendor handles Eliminate risk of missing an upgrade with a cloud solution.
updates and upgrades
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