Businesses start generating data from the moment they come into existence. And, in a lot of cases, even before that. Moreover, businesses continue to generate data for as long as they operate. This data can be about sales, inventory, vendors, customers, employees, and, so much more.

The thing is, today’s data-driven businesses generate more data than ever before. And, while startups and small companies can somewhat keep track of all their data through a combination of services like Dropbox and Microsoft Excel, it becomes really difficult to do so once the business starts growing rapidly.

You see, once the sales start rolling in at a fast pace, it becomes difficult to track everything and the company starts losing control over the data. And, this can lead to all sorts of mishaps and disasters.

So, what’s the solution? The answer to this problem is quite simple. All you need is a reliable ERP Solution.

What is an ERP system?

For those of our readers who aren’t aware, ERP, short for Enterprise Resource Planning, is a solution that allows businesses to manage core business processes through the use of technology. The main idea behind this solution is to help make business processes fast and error-free.

What’s really amazing about ERP solutions is that they can handle a lot of activities. For example, ERP apps are fully capable of managing the company calendar and generating financial reports. Moreover, as ERP systems were built to help businesses handle customers efficiently, a lot of modern-day ERP systems come with a built-in customer relationship management system as well.

When to upgrade your ERP software?

Upgrading to a newer ERP system is not an easy process. It requires time, money and effort. This is why a lot of companies try putting off this process for as long as possible. But, if companies aren’t careful, this delay can easily become too long and once your ERP software becomes outdated, it becomes even more expensive and time-consuming to move to a newer system.

So, how to decide when to upgrade? Well, there are some really obvious signs you can look for, and if your current ERP system starts showing some of them, you’ll know it’s time to upgrade.

First and probably the biggest sign is limited mobile support. In this day and age, people should be able to access most of the important features of their ERP software from just about anywhere. If your ERP system doesn’t offer this functionality, it’s time to upgrade.

Another important red flag is when your ERP software starts showing signs of poor integration. As aforementioned, ERP systems should be able to handle all core business processes smoothly and seamlessly. For example, the software’s accounting information system should work just as well as its CRM solutions. Without seamless integration, what’s even the point of having an ERP system?

Lastly, another important sign is when your ERP system doesn’t offer features that offer a lot of value Software providers keep adding more features to their ERP apps and while most of them aren’t really important, some of them offer great value. Not having important features can start hurting your company’s productivity.

Building your own ERP software vs. buying one

There are lots of pros and cons to both sides of this argument but when you boil things down, only two things remain; money and expertise. Quite a few companies offer ERP solutions in Pakistan, but the thing is, when buying an ERP system, you’ll need to spend big.

Whereas, when you’re trying to make your own ERP solution, you’ll need a lot of expertise in the field. If you ask us, we’ll recommend that you build your own software but only if you can handle such a task. That’s because, if you can’t, the whole process will be a huge waste of time and resources.