6 Reasons to implement ERP for small business

If you're a small business, you probably assumed that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software isn’t a good fit for you. After all, it says "Enterprise" right in the title... and you have a small business. But don’t judge a book by its cover - or its name, in this case. There are plenty of reasons your small business needs ERP.

Reason #1: Reducing cost and minimizing waste

You are almost certainly using software that performs some of the functions of an ERP already. In some cases, you may be using two or three different systems to handle all operations for your business, such as Excel spreadsheets, accounting systems, and CRMs. 

You are also probably paying for a variety of software licenses to cover functions such as inventory management, shipping & logistics, and reporting, so why not consolidate them into one cohesive system?

Moving to a consolidated ERP system like ParagonERP can save you money as you’ll be using one unified system, rather than investing in different software platforms with different functionalities.

Reason #2: Implementation doesn’t have to be complicated

Let’s face it, ERP has a bit of a bad reputation, mostly due to the complexity of its functionality. But ERP software doesn't have to be complicated. We designed ParagonERP with a fully customizable platform so that you can get up and running pretty quickly and then make changes easily as you need them.

That means you can now have it all: comprehensive functionality along with ease of use and implementation. While many traditional ERP systems require Herculean IT efforts, ParagonERP has completely revolutionized the way ERP systems are used, requiring only 10 minutes for installation.

Reason #3: Maximizing insight and control

If you are not currently using an ERP system, chances are that you are pulling insights about your business from a variety of platforms and a multitude of disconnected reports. Then, you are bending yourself backward and forwards to intertwine and manipulate these insights into actual strategies that can help you improve your operational and financial efficiency.

Whether you are manufacturing, bundling, or using drop-shipping, an ERP system will help you keep things under control. It will allow real-time insights into your operations and enable you to create a viable operations strategy to help your business grow. 

Your ERP system should include a variety of reports: cash flow, forecasting, material requirements, sales performance, customer reporting, and more. An all-in-one ERP system like ParagonERP eliminates the need to hypothesize and provides the ability to create data-driven decisions. 

The UI (user interface) is also crucial in providing clear insights. ParagonERP’s UI takes away the unnecessary complications, allowing you to easily find exactly what you’re looking for through list views, statuses per order and filters. Let’s say, you're looking for an open order from Mr. Smith: you can search for his name, filter 'open orders' and get exactly what you need within seconds.

Getting these insights into your business doesn't just help you understand what is happening now, it also allows you to improve on future operations. You can make faster decisions, resolve problems in real-time, and improve overall operations. Knowing what is happening in every area of your business is the key to constant improvement.

Reason #4: Ability to boost productivity and efficiency

The right ERP system will help make operational processes work more seamlessly, ultimately boosting productivity and efficiency. Using a customizable and easy-to-use ERP system makes it easy to understand the current state of every department. 

ParagonERP was designed to make workflow processes more efficient by offering multiple solutions to everyday challenges in your business. For example, Paragon has the ability to create transactions from other transactions, letting you transfer information from different parts of your business, avoiding manual data entry errors and saving you time.

Our ERP also offers automation like remembering shipping addresses, billing terms and currencies. So every time you create an invoice for a specific customer in the future, these fields will be automatically populated.

For small businesses, where one person often plays multiple roles, this is a huge time-saver. Having a unified interface with intelligent automation will ultimately result in cost reduction and increased productivity.

Reason #5: Ease of business growth

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that struggling with outdated IT systems can negatively impact the growth of your business. 

As a small company, you probably started with the tools and technologies that fit you best at the time, but then quickly outgrew those tools. If you are using an outdated system, you can’t reach your full business potential, even with the best intentions. ParagonERP, however, allows for exponential growth. 

For example, if you buy and sell finished products, you would probably be fine with simple software. But, what if you decide to start manufacturing? You’ll need to switch to an ERP, causing you time delays and a lot of extra work. If your ERP already has the required functionality in place for future growth, progression is easy. As your company requirements change and grow, your system can be easily configured to match them.

Reason #6: Improving customer satisfaction 

With the right system in place, you can be ready to respond to customer needs much faster. With the click of a mouse, your service department will know where every order is. Your sales force has visibility into inventory, allowing them to meet customer expectations, and can also understand the buying trends of each client.

Reporting allows you to predict peaks in demand and handle them before they become operations and production problems. 

What’s more, invoicing and collections ensure not just that you get payments when needed, but that the clients aren't exposed to any internal errors.

On time collections are crucial to customer satisfaction because when you are cash flow positive, the funds are in place to fulfill orders and ship on time. Through accurate forecasting for purchasing and demand planning, you won’t be stuck spending money on inventory if there is no cash coming in. On the other hand, you won’t be short of cash when orders need to be fulfilled, which can negatively impact the reputation of your company.

Summary

In order to guarantee the success of your business, it's important to have the right systems in place. Whether it results in better decision-making or improved inter-departmental transparency, an ERP system can prove to be a great investment for business growth and operations.

You may have been hesitating to go down the ERP road because of your perception that ERP systems suck. The truth is, most ERP systems do - they have traditionally been overly-complex, difficult to use and exorbitantly expensive. But ParagonERP offers a system that is fully customizable, easy to use, and easy to set up, all while not breaking the bank. So, maybe now is the time to take a closer look at an ERP system for your business? 

Learn more about ParagonERP today!