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What do companies want? They want profit maximization with the least amount of hassle. And they want a lean and efficient organization to realize that goal. This goal is particularly troublesome for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Such businesses are set to grow in number with so many new enterprises taking birth every day. As the size of an organization grows, all the accounting and record keeping can be really tedious. This is where modern technology comes into the picture and promises to remove your headache.
Additionally, businesses these days—particularly, the small and medium ones—are getting affected by transformation on several fronts: disruptive technologies, changes in the regulatory environment, changes in consumer demands and competition from unforeseen quarters. To stay competitive, companies are forced to evaluate and grow businesses at a rapid pace. Much of this change stems from the explosion of new technologies such as Cloud, with connectivity and digitalization bringing disruption to several industries. Businesses, thus, need to adapt and evolve at the pace that the new circumstances demand. One of the ways to streamline business processes for optimization is the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP).
Related Read: 5 Reasons Why Your Startup Needs An ERP Software !
A Gartner (leading global research firm) report says that by 2018 at least 25% of new core financial application deployments in large enterprises will be public Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). Similarly, according to a survey conducted by Deskera, a leading Cloud-based ERP provider in the South East Asia region, 67% SMEs think that problems of inventory management and invoicing can be tackled more efficiently with the help of an ERP.
1. Bid adieu to your CA
Cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning technology (ERP) is a software tool, generally an application, through which processes such as accounting, financials, and inventories can be managed and automated. ERP gives enterprises a competitive advantage by increasing their operational efficiency and streamlining their processes. From Financials, Inventory and Customer Service to Payroll, Recruitment and Projects, the ERP takes the hassle out of the day-to-day business functions. It can take care of all aspects in the lifecycle of a large, small or medium enterprise, giving companies an edge, especially those still trying to find their feet, since all the register- and book-keeping can be a drain on resources.
2. Save data on the Cloud
The twenty-first century has brought the boon of data capture. The cloud of bits and bytes will help you store your data safely and for eternity. You can access all data at the click of a mouse, no matter where you are, without you having to stretch your purse strings. This will take an enormous burden off your shoulders and mitigate risk. Security of data is a sensitive issue, particularly for businesses, to protect their databases from manipulation and misuse and also to ensure the integrity of customer information.
Related Read: 10 Game Changing Startups That Indians Should Know About !
3. No chance of human error
ERP brings you at par with the biggest of your field as far as resource management and customer relationship management are concerned. Now you can match up to the financial muscle of big businesses and have an as-good if not better business and organization plan. And since, you would have a software do all that for you, there is no room for human error.
4. You will grow; you will hire
As a start-up grows revenues will increase, more employees would need to be hired, and new departments will have to get created and extra resources will have to be allocated. Generally, in such a scenario, the accounting department takes the hardest hit with having to take care of new employees, their compensation, taxation, etc. All this and much more can be taken care of by ERP. Every sale gets recorded immediately; the details of every invoice is made available to the accounting department; every item can be tracked from the warehouse to the distributors to the eventual customers. Generally, all ERP modules can be integrated, obviating any external migration of data. The seamless integration will keep you up and running 24×7.
5. Fight corruption and fraud
ERP removes any chance of oversight or miscommunication. The accounts get updated the second data is entered, reducing leakages and chances of fraud. According to a survey conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) in the USA, a typical organization loses 5% of its annual revenues to fraud and abuse. In today’s age, fraud has become more complicated and increasingly difficult to detect, especially when it is collusive in nature and committed by mid- and upper-management who are capable of concealing it. The survey further says that such frauds cause loss running in billions of dollars. Apart from the revenue loss, such activities can lead to audit problems, sullying the reputation of an organization. For all such reasons, paper-based accounting or invoice generation is fast becoming a thing of the past.
Also Read: How Technology Can Help In The Fight Against Corruption !
6. Easy-to-use and maintenance-free software
You may be tempted to think that all this will require the maintenance services of specialized software personnel. You can tick this box as well. All maintenance issues will be handled by the ERP provider, leaving you hassle-free. Moreover, to use the ERP, you don’t need any infrastructure, except for a computer and an Internet connection.
7. It’s value for money
But the biggest surprise is that Cloud-based ERP is affordable and is offered by several vendors in the market. It comes at a fraction of the expenses that would occur in the normal course, making this technology ideal for a start-up or a medium-sized enterprise. Simply put, it’s money well spent.
(Disclaimer: This is a guest post submitted on Techstory by the mentioned authors.All the contents and images in the article have been provided to Techstory by the authors of the article. Techstory is not responsible or liable for any content in this article.)
Image Credits: effiasoft.com
About The Author:
With more than 10 years of experience in the field of journalism, Muqbil Ahmar, is a Technology Evangelist atDeskera, the leading business software company in the Asia-Pacific region. Armed with an M.Phil in Science Policy Studies, he looks at technology from the prism of society.
He believes technology has to add meaning to the lives of people for whom it was created in the first place. He wants to bring about better understanding between the two worlds so that they do not act against each other but in mutually beneficial ways so that the world becomes a better place to live in and to leave for future generations.