Digital Copier Meter

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February 28th, 2010 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Digital Copier Meter

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has undoubtedly become an important software tool for managing business applications across various industries.

Traditionally, the use of ERP was restricted to large enterprises, as the massive investment required to purchase the software was too large for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Missing out on the benefits of the latest technologies, such as ERP, placed SMBs at a large disadvantage in the competitive global market.

Today, ERP software vendors have tailored their product for SMBs. Better still, there is ERP software that is designed specifically for SMBs so they can take advantage of ERP for maximum efficiency in conducting business.

Since the early 1990s, ERP has helped businesses drive down costs and operate more efficiently. It has helped companies manage their data more effectively, and has also streamlined many business processes, including quoting, planning, manufacturing, services, sales and marketing. It also includes activities like stock control, order tracking, customer service, finance and staff.

With proper implementation of these functions through ERP small businesses can do away with laborious and time-consuming processes enabling them to broaden their horizons and enter the market more aggressively.

ERP offers flexible and real-time control over all jobs and stock, and offers concise reporting that is integral for managing businesses of all sizes. In fact, current day ERP vendors have developed applications to be less complex to install and more user friendly, which means that companies are spending even less time and money adopting ERP.

Today, many small businesses are already reaping the benefits from ERP. The returns on investment (ROI) are achieved when the implementation procedures are followed properly, process have been streamlined, and all staff have been trained in the new system. It is not unusual to see ROI within 12 months on implementation. Immediate savings through proper management of stock ensures that small businesses see reductions in stock write-offs of up to 90 per cent through the serial number tracking functionality of ERP systems.

A good ERP system will be able to show you the comparison between the number of hours worked by professionals or service staff versus the actual number of hours that was billed out as paid work.

ERP users have found they have doubled their service revenue simply by being able to measure and analyse actual billing against the number of hours worked. The workflow function - a quality control system - also ensures that jobs are being conducted the right way, using proper process, each and every time.

With an ERP system in place, small businesses are able to keep track of product, time, costs, employee activity and overall company performance, for a fraction of the cost of having separate software applications and manual reporting.

The flexibility of an ERP system is also a huge advantage for smaller businesses. As businesses change processes and procedures to adapt for growth, an ERP system can also change with the company to match its new policies. ERP systems can handle modifications across the business, and are able to add value to the company by providing quick access to all files and records, managing security levels on data for better safekeeping, handling multiple access to the same file without corruption of data, as well as time and date stamping every entry.

More importantly, ERP systems will not slow down with the addition of more users, customers and suppliers, letting small businesses create rules that suit their particular needs.

Small businesses thinking about ERP implementation must first identify their business requirements, set aside a budget for the procurement of ERP software and services, and evaluate various ERP software to suite their objectives.

Let's look an typical small business that is benefiting from using ERP. The company is a large copier dealer specialising in digital document production and management technologies. It was similar to many other copier dealers in that it was looking for a single piece of software to manage a large number of clients under contract.

The software had to have a strong accounting back end, copier-specific reports, as well as an interface and functionality suited to a copier dealer. They had an out-of-date accounting system, combined with multiple spreadsheets and inadequate reporting. The business deployed small business ERP software and found that it met all its needs. The company experienced immediate benefits from implementing an ERP system specifically designed for SMBs. These benefits included:

streamlining of billing for customers, for both simple and complex copier meter setups
centralised handling of multi-party billing (e.g. manufacturer rebates, finance company billing and third-party dealer servicing)
serial number tracking and tight stock control
key copier reports produced in seconds, not hours (unlike the old system)
reduction in errors
reduced leakage of revenue to zero
increased revenue that was previously not captured and/or lost
improved cost control and accuracy of costs recorded and reduced administration
all accounts billed at the correct rates and margins
tightened business processes
increased confidence by management that process is followed
strong audit trail, both financial (e.g. tax) and operational (who did what and when).

With all these improvements to their business from implementing an ERP system designed for small business, they started operating more like a large organisation than a small business. This new level of sophistication also improved the professional image of the company.

So you can see, ERP is no longer just for the large enterprise. SMB's can also dramatically improve business process by moving up from using basic accounting software such as MYOB and Quicken and deploying a real ERP system designed especially for small and medium businesses.

Craig Kirby is the Marketing Director of Happen.Biz an innovative Australian ERP software company. Happen.Biz provides Accounting Software and ERP Solutions for small and medium businesses, offering a complete business solution that manages every aspect of the business workflow cycle.