How to tell when it’s time to move on from your legacy system
Your ERP software is the driving force behind your business. It helps you pay your staff and invoice clients, order stock and track deliveries, meet compliance requirements and manage projects. It’s essential for day-to-day operations – and the long-term success that comes from your hard work.
Because ERP is so crucial, changing systems can feel daunting. However, a best-fit system will unlock huge time and money savings while giving you a competitive advantage. Moving on from your legacy system is definitely worth the effort, so how do you know when it’s time?
You may be comfortable with your current system but ask yourself if it delivers the necessary functionality. Look carefully and you may see your existing system is holding you back.
Here are five signs your business needs to leave its legacy system behind:
1. It's inhibiting the growth
Your ERP system should support your business as it grows – if the opposite is happening, you have a serious problem. When the limitations of your current system start to make it difficult for you to deal with an expanding customer base, bigger team, or increasing sales, it’s time for a change.
A more advanced system should not only keep up with growth, but it should also come with features to help push your business forward – like analytics tools, increased capacity, and sophisticated reporting.
2. System errors are happening too often
A tell-tale sign that your ERP has outstayed its welcome: functionality issues. If you are using an older system that wasn’t designed for the size or scope of your current business, you may start to experience frustrating problems. Response times could be slow, the system may crash or freeze frequently and your team might start finding it difficult to use.
3. You're making ad hoc additions
Integrated functionality is one of the key elements of an effective ERP system. That is, you should be able to do almost everything in one place – without workarounds or add-ons. If you’re using extras like spreadsheets or third-party apps to fill in the gaps in your ERP system, it’s a definite sign that you need an upgrade.
4. Keeping up with the competition
It’s normal for other businesses in your industry to pull ahead sometimes – but if you’re being regularly outpaced by your competitors, your ERP system could be the problem. Examine what your competitors are doing and why you can’t keep up. Are they providing services that your system can’t manage, delivering faster, more accurate services, or simply cutting costs for their customer's thanks to improved efficiency?
5. Time-consuming compliance
Compliance and regulatory requirements tend to become more complex as your business grows. If you’re struggling to keep up, an ERP upgrade could be the answer. Often, older systems make it difficult to access and aggregate key data, making it time-consuming and complicated to provide information as needed.
Newer systems tend to have built-in reporting capability, making it far easier to meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Unlock business benefits – a best-fit ERP is key
Upgrading to a new ERP system may seem like a big step, but it’s a must-do if your current software isn’t up to the task – and the sooner you make the decision, the sooner your business benefits.
With the right system in place, you have the tools you need to speed up back-office functions and improve services. If you’re in the business of selling a product, a better ERP system is invaluable for managing inventory, ordering, and deliveries. If you’re providing a service, it can help you track costs, invoice promptly, and manage long-term projects. It also makes short work of significant compliance requirements – you’ll have fast access to key business data.
Even better, a well-designed system – like MYOB Advanced – will include a raft of tools that help you push your business forward. Analytics and reporting functions offer insight for your management team as they make decisions, cloud access gives you and your team the flexibility to work anywhere, and features like staff tracking and customer management help you spot inefficiencies and reduce lost time.
Seeing signs that it’s time to move on from your existing ERP system? Get in touch today to find out more about our MYOB Advanced platform.
