Lessons I've Learned from ERP Implementations

I’ve been involved in two ERP implementations in my career.

Actually 3 to be accurate, but for the 3rd one I was external (consulting/audit), not internal.

Here are a few key lessons I’ve learned:

• The hardest part of the ERP implementation is not the technical work, it is minimizing staff turnover and getting the company and team on board (change management and leadership skills).
  

• Depending on the size of the implementation, it is typically a company wide impact, not just a “Finance team thing”. This goes back to the above on leadership/communication skills to minimize inter-departmental conflict.
  

• On the actual implementation itself, it is critical that Finance leaders have a strong understanding of finance processes at both the micro and macro level

  • Eg. Micro - how is sales tax applied on a specific type of invoice sent to California

  • Eg. Macro - how is the Sales team going to be impacted by 100% automation at the invoice level
    

• Post go-live support is just as critical as the actual implementation, especially if the reporting deadlines are firm (ie. 3-day close or 5-day close). For a private company it probably wouldn’t matter that much.
  

• I am not a fan of running parallel systems and going live “retroactively”. A lot of smaller private companies do this because it is less stressful to coordinate. Of course there are benefits, but also a reconciliation headache if the company is audited externally. The idea of having to reconcile retained earnings in two different systems would give me a mental breakdown (lol). Thankfully I don’t work in accounting anymore.
  

• It is critical to map out the company’s Chart of Accounts accurately, especially if the GL string is complex and it is an Oracle or SAP implementation. Most mid sized companies will opt for Netsuite or Sage.

That’s all for today.

Stay tuned for more of this week’s edition of nerdy accounting stuff with Alice.

Xoxo,
Alice