In today’s rapidly changing business environment, finance leaders need agile, reliable systems to improve the efficiency and productivity of their workflows. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have become standard solutions in the tech-stack of every Finance or Accounting team, as they help manage internal accounting, bookkeeping, and reporting needs. Implementing an ERP system can seem like a daunting and time-consuming process, but with the right framework and guidance, it'll bring significant benefits to your business.
However, according to Gartner analysis, approximately 55% to 75% of ERP projects fail to meet their original objectives. Many companies find themselves having to plan for an ERP implementation, so I thought I'd share our best practices.
What is an ERP Implementation?
An ERP implementation is the process of planning, integrating, testing, and customizing an ERP system to your organization. The goal of the implementation needs to be integrating several business functions such as finance, HR, and procurement into a single platform so you can access performance, revenue, or costs across your entire business operation.
The ERP implementation process for each business will be different, with most system implementations taking between six to nine months on average.
When to Implement an ERP and How to Choose the Right System
Every company is different, so the decision of which ERP system to implement will depend on several factors. It’s always best to ask the right questions ahead of time to make sure you’re making the correct decisions before starting a multi-month implementation process.
If you’re using an accounting solution like QBO or Xero, and you’re starting to face the limitations of those systems, you may be thinking about moving to an ERP.
If your business doesn't have high volumes of data, requires consolidating multiple countries with different FX rates, or has compliance requirements, starting out with a lightweight accounting solution can be good enough.
Solutions like Abacum can easily integrate with your accounting provider, enabling the Finance function with management reporting templates, operational KPIs, and forecasting and budgeting capabilities. More importantly, it enables your organization to postpone the decision of migrating to an ERP and allocate resources to high-impact activities. Discover all Abacum's ERP integrations!
However, if you’re ready to implement an ERP to handle multiple subsidiaries, multi-currency reporting, or accounting consolidations read our CFO 2025 Tech Stack guide for a side-by-side ERP comparison.
How to Work with an ERP Implementation Partner
For many Finance teams, working with an ERP implementation or consulting partner is necessary for the project's success. This will depend on the complexity of your business operations, in-house experience with ERP projects, and available resources to support the process.
Partnering with an implementation consultant can help your business reduce the time-to-value of your implementation and ensure your project timelines are met. A good implementation partner will also share advice, their processes, timelines, and best practices from the very beginning.
If you’re considering a mid-market ERP solution such as Netsuite or Sage, involving an implementation partner from the beginning's always a good idea!
Here are some key factors you can take into consideration when evaluating different ERP implementation consultants:
Industry experience: Choose a consultant with a strong track record of implementing ERP systems in your specific industry (e.g. SaaS or e-commerce). This ensures they understand the unique challenges of your business as you set up and scale.
Technical and data migration expertise: Migrating your data's a critical aspect of any ERP implementation. Choose a consultant that can configure and customize your system, and integrate your different finance platforms together.
Project management skills: Implementing an ERP is a lengthy process. Your implementation partner needs strong management skills to guide you effectively through the several months of the implementation.
Once you’ve decided on the ERP system you’ll be implementing, you need to start preparing the right project plan to ensure the success of your decision. Successful ERP implementations can generate ROI between 120% and 600%, with typical payback periods ranging from two to five years.
How to Prepare for an ERP Migration
Once you’ve decided on the ERP system you’ll be implementing, you need to start preparing the right project plan to ensure the success of your decision.
Deploying an ERP is something that'll impact company-wide processes, which is why I like to make sure of the following:
Ensure full executive support: An ERP implementation can be compared to rolling out Salesforce. It'll require significant resources and expenses, so make sure business leaders understand why this project's critical.
Establish realistic expectations and timelines: Given how long this project can take, it’s important to set clear milestones to ensure accountability and provide visibility. A good tip's to keep your fiscal calendar in mind. Often, starting the implementation process after your annual close is a great idea.
Allocate the right team and resources to the project: I’ve found that involving your accounting manager and IT team can be helpful. The accounting manager provides the accounting knowledge, while the IT team handles permissions, access, and security compliance.
4 Best Practices of an ERP Implementation
Align on clear goals and objectives so the ERP addresses your specific business needs.
Set realistic deadlines and milestones to track progress effectively.
Encourage thorough testing at each stage to identify and fix issues early.
Provide ongoing training and resources so users feel confident with new processes.
Our Step-by-Step Implementation Guideline
Finally, it’s time to cascade all of this into an operational execution plan, and a step-by-step implementation guideline. I’ve included rough timelines of how long these stages can last, but it may be different for your business.
Step 1: Project Initiation (1–2 months)
Define your project objectives, scope, budget, and timeline for your implementation. Assemble the team responsible for the project, and if necessary, select an ERP implementation partner to support during the process.
Step 2: Business Process Analysis (2–3 months)
Map and document your existing business processes. Identify gaps or inefficiencies you want to address during the implementation.
Step 3: System Selection (1–2 months)
Evaluate different ERP systems based on your requirements and choose the one that best fits your needs.
Step 4: Configuration and Customization (3–6 months)
Work with your consultant and project team to configure and customize the ERP according to your specific requirements.
Step 5: Data Migration (2–4 months)
Transfer data from any legacy systems to the new ERP. Manually review and clean data to ensure integrity and accuracy.
Step 6: Testing (1–3 months)
Test at each stage of the implementation to verify the system meets your organization’s needs. Stress-test the system to uncover potential issues before going live.
Step 7: Deployment (1–2 months)
Roll out the ERP across your organization. Choose a phased deployment or a big-bang approach, depending on your company's needs.
Step 8: Training and Support (ongoing)
Provide comprehensive training to users and offer continuous support to ensure a smooth transition.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Hopefully, the step-by-step implementation guide helps you have a smooth implementation. However, as with anything, making mistakes or overcoming hurdles is part of any process implementation.
Let me share a few pitfalls your team might face and how to navigate them successfully.
Cost: Implementing any ERP involves vendor fees, external support, and integration expenses. You'll also need to consider ongoing maintenance and total cost of ownership.
Data volumes: More data means a longer implementation. Your team will spend extra time cleaning and reviewing to ensure accuracy.
Unrealistic expectations: Setting unrealistic expectations can lead to disappointment and frustration. Be realistic about the ERP system's capabilities, and manage expectations accordingly.
Future-proof your ERP
Lastly, one of the most important considerations you can make when choosing an ERP system is whether it can integrate with other finance systems and multiply the workflows your business needs to execute and drive decisions.
Abacum seamlessly integrates with leading ERPs such as Netsuite or Sage Intacct, being an official partner.
Why does this matter? ERPs are essential for accounting teams to manage historical actuals across the business. Yet, they fall short of the most value-adding finance workflows.
With Abacum FP&A teams:
Can integrate all financial and operational data for real-time management and BvA reporting, ensuring configurations, mappings, and data are automatically cleaned.
Easily share performance reports with off-the-shelf templates across the business to provide stakeholders with context that drives accountability.
Deliver insights faster with multi-dimensional modeling to build bottom-up or top-down forecasts and scenario analyses.
Reduce OPEX costs with vendor-level budgeting, and manage headcount planning with permissioned workflows.
Ultimately, Abacum provides complete FP&A automation and serves as the perfect ERP complement for your business.
Measuring the ROI and cost of an ERP implementation
When implementing an ERP, you'll need to consider both direct and indirect costs: licensing, consulting, data migration, and training. It’s also critical to assess ROI by tracking efficiency improvements, error reduction, and time savings across finance workflows.
A thorough cost-benefit analysis compares these gains against the total cost of ownership, helping you determine if the ERP aligns with your business goals.
Final Thoughts on ERP Implementation
ERP implementation is a major undertaking that can transform your finance processes and overall operations. By planning carefully, managing costs and ROI, and making sure your team is fully trained and supported, you’ll set the stage for ongoing success.
