Are you among the small percentage of QuickBooks users who are reaching the limits of its capabilities?
QuickBooks is hands-down the most widely used accounting platform for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a great solution when a company is starting out, but as entrepreneurship comes to fruition, sometimes the accounting software solution just does not provide real-time insight to allow managers to make key decisions that lead to profits and exponential growth. Running QuickBooks, adding users and add-on software tools will ultimately grow a business. However, the volume and complexity of their sales reach a transition point, when the needs of business can no longer be served well by an accounting platform that’s built for small businesses.
Typical changes that prompt the evaluation of higher-capacity platforms:
- The company’s inventory management is growing in complexity and there is a need to optimize the cost and amount of inventory more closely on hand.
- The company is crossing threshold that requires compliance with more industry and governmental regulations.
- New investors or new management is setting growth targets that require significant new efficiencies to facilitate scaling up.
- QuickBooks functionalities are not meeting the production expectations set from new business partners or customer.
A functioning ERP system works for you and could potentially bring a 10x return; we have seen our clients grow 10x and far more
ERP, Enterprise Resource Planning, is an integrated technology system that manages all functions to automate and provide real-time analysis. It should be introduced when an organization is experiencing rapid expansion, constraints on the ability to communicate accurate data and status quickly, bottlenecks and slow workflow processes, or an inability to accurately determine profit margins.
Here are a few examples of day-today events that would lead to ERP conversion:
- Your CEO is asking whether your system will struggle to handle the planned labor expansion for next quarter.
- You noticed a new 1-star review online from one of your best customers saying their orders are no longer being delivered in a timely manner.
- You asked the accounting departments to come up with the financial consolidation report on a Monday. It is a Friday, and you still have not received the report.
- You have learned that you now must manage GAAP compliance or product traceability, or other regulatory requirements.
ERP solutions should be considered when clients, management, and warehouse personnel are noticeably frustrated with the current workflow. The idea of ERP is to give you the tools to address issues like these and allow for automation to streamline best business practices while not over-taxing your staff. This switch can bring time efficiency that lets your existing staff do more with ease and engage in higher-value work.
Overall Thoughts
It is common for a successful company that’s approaching $10 million dollars in annual revenue to be ready for a change in their financial reporting system. This change brings new functionality and complexity with a new automated project management system. You will now be able to handle more customers, train more employees, and manage your inventory efficiently with less errors.
AIS have moved many companies from QuickBooks and other accounting systems to flexible Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, with integrity and experience. If these notations speak to you, it may be time to take “New ERP System” off your to do list and make it happen. Let’s have a conversation to address your questions about this type of change; please reach out to us.
