Navigating 2024: My Avalara Conference Takeaways This past week, I had the pleasure of attending FUSE, Avalara’s first-ever partner conference. It was three days of discussing the future of finance and tax compliance and honing into what 2024 holds for us in terms of tax management and sales tax compliance. I’m excited to share insights … Read more
Posts by smccolly
Achieve Seamless GP Migrations and Minimize On-Premise Downtime: An In-Depth Guide
As we prepare to embark on the enlightening transition from conventional on-premise systems to the expansive realm of cloud technology, Great Plains (GP) migrations play a pivotal role. The benefits of this transition are profound: increased operational efficiency, cost reductions, and unparalleled flexibility. However, this journey can present potential challenges, including the much-feared on-premise downtime. … Read more
How to Find the Best Construction ERP Software
How To Find the Best Construction ERP Software A successful construction project requires many tools, but one of the most important of these possesses is neither bit nor blade. The right ERP system can mean the difference between a project that runs smoothly, without wasting materials or staff hours, and one that comes in past … Read more
How to Find the Best Manufacturing ERP Software
Many manufacturing ERP software systems are as embedded within organizations as the production equipment that powers them. Just like machinery that doesn’t evolve with the times, an ERP system can become outdated and painfully inefficient. And just as outdated equipment can slow down your whole production line, an outdated ERP system can keep your entire … Read more
Latest Release: Collections Management for Acumatica
What’s New in the Latest Release of Our Collections Management Add-On Offered as an add-on product to Acumatica users, our Collections Management tool has proven to be a game-changer for collections activities. Businesses can easily visualize all their collections activities from a convenient dashboard, while also automating timed steps in collection plans, the closing … Read more
Accelerate Business Success with Data Integration & Transformation
Wearable devices track how much we sleep, how many steps we walk, our heart rate, and more. Social media sites track what we click on and how much time we spend looking at a given story. Suffice it to say that data is big business. It’s also big for business, as companies have access to … Read more
Acumatica 2023 R1 | Features & Improvements in Latest Update
Top Features & Improvements in the Latest Acumatica 2023 R1 Update Acumatica, the cloud-based ERP system, has released its latest version, Acumatica 2023 R1, with several new features and improvements. This new version is designed to make business management more efficient and effective, and to help users streamline their processes and improve their bottom line. … Read more
Which ERP Industry Category Benefits the Most | Crestwood
ERP Industry Categories: A Look at Who Benefits Most There’s a board game from the ’90s in which players advance by guessing the commonality between three seemingly disparate things – a shark, a saw and a gear, for example (answer: they all have teeth). If you were playing the business edition of this game, you … Read more
What’s New and Planned for Dynamics 365 Business Central
Crestwood Associates is looking forward to delivering the latest solutions to our clients from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Wave 1. The latest features will add immediate value to your ERP functionality. Upgrades include: Improved Business Central integration with Power Platform to increase productivity. Application features are added to increase productivity, create better overviews and … Read more
What is an ERP system? [Infographic]
ERP systems enable businesses to manage day-to-day activities through centralized and secure data. Think of it as bringing all users of the software under one roof so that everyone from the CFO to the human resources team are is unified through common processes, connectivity and insight into centralized information. We broke it out into a … Read more
How do I Budget for an ERP Implementation?
When researching any business purchase, price is an important factor. But some investments are difficult to quantify with an exact dollar amount. More importantly, in the business world, cost is not directly related to value. Think of some high-priced executive salaries or inflated costs of luxury cars. Are they worth it? Maybe, maybe not. When … Read more
Qualities to Look for When Hiring an ERP Consultant
Congratulations! Your business has made the choice to implement an ERP system. Now comes the most important element of that massive undertaking: selecting the right ERP consultants to help you bring the system to life. ERP consultants are critical for your business, especially when the goal is to scale your organization to the next level. … Read more
Three ERP Success Stories
Sometimes when starting the journey of planning an ERP implementation, it helps to read about how other companies found success working with consultants to execute the project. How do we measure success? Each project will have specific KPIs of course, but overall, a successful ERP implementation demonstrates that we’ve gone ‘live’ on time, on budget … Read more
Futureproof your ERP system with eCommerce integration
If you do not have an existing eCommerce platform, or you have an eCommerce platform that does not interact with products, operational or accounting systems, you might be stuck in a time loop circa the 1990s. But not in the good, grunge rock Nirvana way. No, if your B2B company does not have eCommerce systems … Read more
How Long Does it Take to Implement an ERP System?
The words ‘ERP implementation’ can give even the most experienced IT leaders, CEOs and CFOs a headache, as they consider the variables to balance: budget, training, testing, leaving old ways behind and, above all, time. This is a major undertaking and often involves a degree of change management. Many people in your business will be … Read more
Wholesale Distribution ERP: Five Essential Applications
In a competitive and unpredictable market, wholesale distributors must ensure their ERP systems can handle complex demands. B2B products and services are expected to meet shrinking delivery timeframes thanks to automated supply chains. It should come as no surprise that changes in distribution and supply chain models are happening industry-wide. Customer expectations are influenced by … Read more
Demand Forecasting is Changing. Can Your ERP System Keep Up?
Demand forecasting is the process of making future estimations in relation to customer demand over a specific period. Generally, demand forecasting will consider historical data and other analytical information generated through machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to produce accurate predictions. The right ERP system gathers data through these applications and generates precise demand … Read more
Our ERP System’s Superhero: Business Intelligence
We know the power of ERP systems is multifaceted, providing your business with greater efficiency because your people are seamlessly connected and automation of essential functions. Business Intelligence (BI) propels this a step further when integrated with your ERP, providing real-time data analysis and insights. As your ERP works hard to tie together business processes … Read more
Your Customers Are Telling You Exactly What They Want. Are You Listening?
Technological advances in ERP and CRM systems have nearly eliminated guesswork and provided unprecedented muscle to operations. But one thing technology can’t do is read customers’ minds. The good news, though, is that if you know where to look, there’s no magic needed. You can use voice of the customer (VoC) analytics within the right … Read more
3 Product Distribution Processes You Should Be Automating
Since 2020, product distribution companies have faced rolling waves of worker shortages and supply chain disruptions, all amid a global economy that can best be described in one word: unpredictable. It should come as no surprise, then, that product distribution companies would increasingly look to ERP capabilities such as process automation to bridge gaps and … Read more