The Power of ERP Integrations

Integrations are vital to an ERP’s usefulness for a business. The whole purpose of an ERP is to connect systems together so your business data is easily accessible.

This process should be cohesive and seamless. Unfortunately, integrations are usually not seamless at all—they can be “clunky” or even inaccurate, which could cause harmful business mistakes.

When another application is integrated with an ERP, its data should be updated in real-time or at least automatically and frequently. It’s not productive or efficient to do the “export, save, import” drill we’re all too familiar with.

Integrations are difficult due to the wide variety of applications and tech stacks in use, even in the same company. However, that challenge doesn’t make them any less necessary or important.

ERP Integration Use Cases

Let’s consider a few examples of ERP integrations.

Your ERP manages most of your financial data, but you have a separate application for sourcing. Your ERP and sourcing application should be integrated so your business financial data is always accurate and current—and so no one wastes their time doing “double entry,” which also introduces the possibility for mistakes. This integration would result in seamless accounts payable and financial reports.

Consider the same ERP with financial data, which your business also uses for payroll. Many businesses have separate time tracking applications. These applications should integrate with your ERP to make payroll a quick, nearly automated process (and again, avoid errors).

Can Your ERP Integrate?

Ashwood’s ForeMost has integrated with numerous technologies, including (but not limited to): ADP, Paycor, FedEx, USPS, UPS, SAGE, QuickBooks, and ACH. Imagine the time your business could save by integrating these systems and processes together. We’ve even worked with PCI compliant third-party systems (leveraging Python database connectors to do so).

Want to learn more? Check us out at the 2019 International Spectrum Conference in Phoenix on April 8-11 at the Wigwam. Also feel free to reach out by email—we’d love to discuss your business needs with you.