Top 10 Accounting Modules That Every ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Solution Should Have

ERP Software News writes: The foundation of a modern ERP solution is a combination of the functionality of financial information and accounting. Many business owners are interested in knowing more about how they will manage the wide range of financial processes and what they should be looking out for when it comes to essential accounting features in an ERP solution.

1. Key Performance Indicators

KPIs are metrics which are designed so that business owners can get a good indication of the health of their business quickly and without much effort as frequently as needed. If a business is counting sales at a certain time of day they might be able to predict the volume of sales for the next day and schedule any kind of staff that is required to handle the volume.

2. Payroll

If you have a large business, you probably have a dedicated payroll department. It is the job of the payroll department to keep track of hours of employees, track deductions and remit payments to the appropriate authorities.

3. General Ledger

This is the section of accounting information where balance sheet and income statement details can be found. If inventory is moving, supplier payments, shipped orders and other transactions are all posted to these “books” to produce a summary which you may know as a financial statement.

4. Fixed Assets

Any equipment that is owned by your business including machinery, equipment, land and buildings is called a fixed asset. Fixed assets need to be regularly maintained and the cost of that maintenance is spread out over several years and is posted as a depreciation expense.

5. Control

Control is one of the main aspects of business management. Control is often managed by the accounting department where personnel have the means to compare budget expenses to help control costs. If revenue from customers can be measured it helps to control profitability. The financial return on assets can be measured and this can help to manage the investment in equipment and other fixed assets.

6. Analysis

Accountants have a wide range of skills and one of those skills is analysis. They are very in tune with details and analysis helps them to find every possible way to save money through budgeting and cost cutting.

7. Job Cost

The cost of manufacturing a product for sale is accounted for in a job. A job can include every detail including all of the labor and materials required to complete a customer order. The profit on each job is the difference between sales revenue and job cost.

8. Accounts Payable

Accounts payable is a list of all of the money that is owed to others that is due in the year. Much of this money is due to suppliers who provide the materials which are purchased for inventory. Supplies, rent and payments due are added to accounts payable and all amounts are paid when they come due by employees who work in accounts payable.

9. Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable is money that is owed to you by your customers for any purchases that they have made. Sales are sometimes made on the condition that the customer has a certain amount of time to pay for their purchase. Most often this is net 30, which gives the customer 30 days to pay. If purchases by customers become past due, you want to know that your ERP solution can help you to find and retrieve these funds.

10. Reporting

Do you know how your business is doing? The government wants to be paid taxes based on your profit and banks need to know that their loan is secure. Business owners and managers want to have a good idea of what is going on with the company’s finances too.