What is ERP? Enterprise Resource Planning
What is ERP? What is ERP software? Why do I need an ERP system? ERP is the acronym for Enterprise Resource Planning. 
The key to understanding ERP is INTEGRATION. If your business is running with an ERP system, then your data would flow in an integrated way to the key stakeholders in the business. The accounting system would connect with the manufacturing system, the sales system and any other critical software system you use to run your business. The primary objective and justification for investing in an ERP system is an increase in operational excellence and profitability by lowering operating costs and running more efficiently.
Before you consider any ERP software system, it's critical that you perform a business process assessment to fully understand what your business requires from an ERP system. Some examples are; the ERP system would help your business outperform the competition because real-time executive dashboards and improved reporting gives you clear vision to run your business more strategically. You can now prioritize and plan according to information that is measured on a day-to-day basis. Your business processes will run more efficiently There would be no more duplicate and error prone data entry because information now automatically flows where it needs to go.
We help match business with ERP consultants and ERP VARs (value-added-resellers) who can help with implementation, training and support. Contact us if you would like to set up a free needs assessment with an ERP consultant. Popular ERP systems for small and mid-sized businesses often start with a foundation with a best of breed systems like QuickBooks Enterprise, Sage 100 ERP (MAS 90), Sage 300 ERP, Sage ERP X3, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, AX, or GP, Intacct, etc. You will also most likely need to consider the quality of the 3rd party enhancements that will most likely need to be added as part of your ERP system to make sure you have all the pieces of the puzzle.