The ERP Effect

Kiara Walker • August 24, 2022

ERP Effect on Small Businesses...

Often, we believe that ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) are meant only for large-scale businesses. Enterprise is right there in the name; however, ERPs can also help small businesses.

In this edition of
Fisher Findings, we focus on ERPs impact on small business and what that could mean for your organization. So, what is the point of an ERP?  Why is it critical to have this as part of your business?


ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning refers to software designed to gather and organize daily business data through one system. They help manage a multitude of business aspects from planning (resources and financials), accounting, distribution, and everything in between.

Not So Small Challenges

For a small business, an ERP can be used as a management tool to handle internal inventory practices, and maintain employee productivity. ERPs can help organize core processes of a business into one system. Changes in business strategy grant small businesses access to resources in order to keep up with big enterprises. Without an ERP, small businesses can face many challenges.


What makes a business with no accounting software switch to a full-fledged ERP system? Typically, operations are spread across multiple programs instead of one central location, leading to a disconnect between front and back-end systems. Lack of communication between employees, inconsistency of information shared, and losing time focused on manual entry also contribute to a decline in company productivity without an ERP.

But what's the alternative to an ERP for small businesses? Some companies currently use singular accounting products like QuickBooks to manage sales, conduct payroll, or get ready for tax season. ERP systems allow you to manage all your company’s assets beyond finances.


Organizations might also consider manually revamping existing business processes and mitigating pain points in accounting, finance, and other departments before making the switch to an ERP. If your business is continually slowed down by broken or outdated processes that are causing inefficiencies and keeping your business from progressing, then it’s time to think about investing in an ERP system.


Timing is Everything



Because each business has their own set of processes and difficulties, it can vary on the right time to move toward an ERP. Typically, when you notice that challenges begin to accumulate into an inability to meet, or even streamline processes like eliminate purchasing errors and lowering operational costs.

Have you considered preemptively determining when your business should switch to an ERP before challenges begin to overwhelm daily processes or employee workflow? For example, if you find it hard to meet customer demands, ERPs can help  the manufacturing process by collecting data from accounting, order management, and sharing information amongst other departments.


Businesses that lack an ERP typically suffer from inefficient, outdated and costly operations. If a small business resonates with any of these challenges for a prolonged period of time- it’s time to start planning the next steps.


Here’s a few scenarios to consider when deciding when to get an ERP system:
• Your data isn’t organized and is spread between various systems that don’t talk to one another
• Your data is on excel spreadsheets and not backed up anywhere securely!
• Your business lacks flexibility or scalability to grow
• Struggling to manage inventory
• Limited customer base you can work with
• Spending more time fixing issues than being proactive about future business goals


Is an ERP best for all business types? 

Now that your business has decided that it's the right time to get an ERP, a small business should also assess if the ERP fits into their particular vertical.


Do you ever wonder where ERPs thrive the most? Manufacturing, healthcare, construction, real estate, and a few other sectors have the most traction when it comes to using ERP software in their respective industries. Because ERPs make business operations easier to maintain, modernizing business models and resources also become more manageable. It’s important to note that any organization that needs a management system would benefit from ERP software, including small businesses.


No business is too small for an ERP.


“Are you looking for an ERP integration solution to reduce the time and costs of bespoke development? Or are you looking to reduce employee administration and operational costs to drive company performance and revenue by extending the capabilities of your existing ERP software through application extensions? - Penny Process

Remember, with an ERP you can add integration functionality even if your are a small businesses.


It's important to take into consideration specific business goals when deciding to move to an ERP. If you think your business is too small for an ERP, you might want to reconsider!


FACT:  About 75% of small businesses actually use ERPs for their business operations! ⑴


The Fisher Difference 

For small businesses, there’s many benefits to switching to an ERP. Fisher Technology can help connect you to partners that specialize in ERP's who can share the benefits, and what it would look like for  your day-to-day business operations. In addition once your ERP is in place (or even during the planning phases) we can work with you to define any automation and integration that will ultimately deliver the best solutions for your challenges.


An ERP integration solution allows you to reduce the time and cost of bespoke development. With BPA (Business Process Automation) Platform you can aim to reduce employee administration and operational costs to drive company performance and revenue. How? Simply extend the capabilities of your existing ERP software through application extensions such as WMS (Warehouse Management Systems), CRM (Customer Relations Management) or ECommerce.


That is where BPA Platform comes in. More than just offering a piece of software, Fisher Technology and our Partners provide unparalleled service, and consulting that not only gets your automation started, but optimizes and enhances your existing processes.


Our next blog in the Fisher Findings series will focus on managing your supply chain, stay tuned for updates!


P.S. Are you following us on LinkedIn yet? That is the best way to stay connected with us on a daily basis! Like, comment and share all of our posts!

https://www.geniuserp.com/blog/why-small-businesses-need-an-erp-system

By Nicole Laurier March 22, 2025
When your business uses different tools and softwares that don't communicate, critical information can get lost and workflows can break down. This blog explores how Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solves this problem by connecting your essential business applications. We'll cover why iPaaS is the best choice to help businesses overcome common challenges, the key benefits of implementing an integration platform, and a look at BPA Platform's specific iPaaS capabilities. Keep on reading to discover how the right integration strategy can transform scattered data into a powerful, unified business resource. Why iPaaS? Data visibility across an organization is crucial for improving efficiency, seizing new opportunities, and identifying potential threats. In the past, businesses operated within a single system, but today, the vast array of available software has led different departments to adopt applications tailored to their specific needs. While these tools enhance departmental efficiency, they also contribute to data silos, where critical information is stored in separate locations. This fragmentation can disrupt sales and accounting processes, hinder collaboration, create inefficiencies, and increase the risk of data errors. Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) provides a cloud-based solution that seamlessly connects, automates, and manages applications, systems, and data across business environments. By replacing traditional middleware with a standardized approach, iPaaS delivers cost-effective integration capabilities. How does iPaaS work? iPaaS is a cloud integration platform that creates a centralized ecosystem for managing data workflows. The platform offers pre-built connectors and automation tools that seamlessly link applications, services, and databases. With iPaaS, businesses gain a unified view of their integration landscape, allowing them to control and modify data flows across their infrastructure. As organisations grow, iPaaS scales effortlessly; new systems and services can be connected without significant cost, and custom functionality can be implemented to meet evolving business needs. The Advantages of iPaaS Reduced costs: Saves costs by automating integrations, reducing manual processes, and improving operational efficiency, which minimizes IT expenses and resource allocation. Reduced resources: Reduce the amount of time and number of personnel concentrating on system integration and data migration. Improved scalability: Easily add new applications and tweak business processes as the business grows. Centralised management: Once central ecosystem to manage data, integrations, processes, and workflows. Improved decision making: With access to real-time data across an organisation, employees and management can make better decisions to help improve efficiencies. ROI: iPaaS can help businesses drive company revenue and go to market quicker. BPA Platform’s iPaaS Solution BPA Platform’s iPaaS tool capabilities include: Drag and drop integration between cloud-based and on-premises systems and applications so that system integration steps are visually represented within a wider automated process. Innovative transformation functions that can be dragged onto the mapping area to change the data between inputs and outputs. RESTful web service integration by removing the need for bespoke development. SOAP web services integration Support OData and SData services Transform Your Business Integration Strategy with iPaaS As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of digital transformation, iPaaS solutions stand out as essential tools for maintaining competitive advantage. By breaking down data silos and creating seamless connections between applications, iPaaS empowers organizations to harness the full potential of their data. The result is not just improved operational efficiency, but also enhanced agility to respond to market changes, better customer experiences through integrated data flows, and ultimately, accelerated business growth.  Ready to eliminate data silos in your business? Contact Fisher Technology today to learn more about how BPA Platform's powerful iPaaS capabilities can transform your integration challenges into competitive advantages. Don't let disconnected data hold your business back!
By Nicole Laurier March 6, 2025
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By Nicole Laurier January 28, 2025
From managing inventory to processing sales data, repetitive manual tasks can drain employee time and increase the risk of costly errors. Whether you operate a brick-and-mortar store or an eCommerce platform, these challenges can impact productivity and profitability long before your product reaches the shelves. Business Process Automation (BPA) offers a game-changing solution by eliminating the need for manual data processing. BPA Platform automates essential retail tasks such as updating product information, generating sales reports, and handling returns, allowing employees to focus on more strategic responsibilities. By reducing operational costs, minimizing human error, and streamlining workflows, automation empowers retail businesses to process sales and manage critical data more efficiently—all without employee intervention. Keep on reading for more details! What is a Business Process? Business processes refer to a series of interrelated tasks or activities performed within an organization to achieve a specific goal or deliver a desired outcome. They represent the systematic way in which work is organized, executed, and monitored to ensure smooth operations and efficient resource utilization. Business processes can encompass various functional areas such as sales, marketing, finance, human resources, operations, customer service, and much more. These processes often involve the flow of information, materials, or services across different departments or individuals, following predefined rules or guidelines. They can range from simple tasks to complex workflows, and their optimization is crucial for enhancing productivity, quality, and overall organizational performance. Automated Business Process Examples So what types of business processes can be automated? Well, the list is endless and is dependent on the type of business or company structure that it is going to be applied to, and the specific needs, goals and challenges of the organization. Business process automation provides the ability to carry out and fulfill business processes without human intervention. These processes can cover a wide variety of business activities, tasks or workflows, ranging from order management and financial reporting, to data monitoring and critical notifications. Likewise, automated workflows can be used across a variety of industries and functions, from customer service and marketing, to finance and HR. Here are some common examples of business processes that can be automated: Invoice processing: Automating the invoice processing workflow involves capturing invoice data, validating it against predefined rules, routing it for approvals, and generating payment notifications. This automation can streamline the accounts payable process, reduce manual data entry, and improve accuracy. Order fulfillment: Automating order fulfillment involves integrating systems for order capture, inventory management, order processing and shipping. Automated workflows can help track orders, update inventory levels, generate shipping labels and send order status notifications to customers. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Automating CRM processes involves capturing and managing customer data, tracking interactions and automating communication workflows. This automation can help in lead generation, sales pipeline management, customer segmentation and personalized marketing campaigns. Performance reporting: Automating performance reporting involves collecting data from various sources, aggregating it, and generating reports for analysis. Automated reporting can save time, provide real-time insights and enable data-driven decision-making. Expense management: Automated systems can capture expense data, validate it against policies, route it for approval and streamline reimbursement processes, saving time and reducing errors. Why BPA Platform is the Right Choice BPA Platform provides the tools needed to quickly and easily build automated processes that are unique to the way a business works. It allows for changing business environments by providing the flexibility for automated processes to be adapted or completely re-written to meet new conditions. BPA Platform also provides a powerful and flexible workflow automation solution for managing and monitoring the flow of work within an organization, ensuring that business rules are adhered to and administration is removed. It permits users to receive and authorize multi-level workflow jobs, regardless of the device and business system the workflow starts or ends within, and creates an audit trail for complete peace of mind. 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By automating essential workflows—from inventory management to performance reporting—retail businesses can save time, improve accuracy, and focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences. With the flexibility and robust functionality of BPA Platform, your business can adapt to changing demands and achieve greater efficiency. Ready to unlock the potential of automation for your retail operations? Contact Fisher Technology today to learn how BPA can elevate your business processes and drive lasting success.
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