As fractional CFOs and Controllers our team engages with organizations in either a short-term or part-time capacity. One area where we often lend our expertise is in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and MRP (Material Requirements Planning) installations. Properly implementing and managing the accounting and finance elements of these systems requires a depth of financial acumen that is best suited for an experienced CFO to handle because there are wide reaching business implications to consider with this type of strategic execution.

In the many years that we have been helping clients with accounting systems conversions, we have noticed the same pitfalls tend to trip up organizations time and again. We are sharing those with you today in the hopes that calling them out can serve as cautionary lessons to help you avoid moving forward with an accounting system conversion that you will end up regretting later.

The last decade has seen an unparalleled push for greater efficiency. Increased automation across all business sectors has ushered in a focus on “faster” and “cheaper.” And while these are certainly important pursuits amidst rising labor and materials costs, they certainly should not be a company’s only focus. Chasing faster and cheaper almost always comes at the expense of “better,” which is a shame because “better” can actually go a long way in achieving both.

All organizations, both for-profit and nonprofit, use accounting software. All have varying degrees of complexity and features. Regardless of the available features, most of us still rely on exporting data into a spreadsheet to improve adjustability. In fact, most of us over-rely on this process. There are better ways to improve your accounting software capabilities.