Updated: May 11, 2023
Certinia was formerly FinancialForce.
Whether you run a medium-sized business or a Fortune 500, you have a lot on your plate. Between hiring employees, acquiring clients, and keeping everyone happy, you probably end up using quite a few different types of technology and software in your everyday operations. As you grow, you add more and more until you realize that what used to work for you is no longer efficient. Maybe you’re running too many applications that aren’t offering any value to your business. Or perhaps all of your teams are working off different data sets and software programs, so they can’t efficiently collaborate and make decisions.
When looking for solutions, you might come across ERP but not know if it is the right solution for your business. So, what is an ERP, and how does it work?
ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, and it refers to applications or systems that collect, organize and analyze business data. ERP software integrates all of the functions of a business. Rather than using separate applications for resource planning, customer relationship management (CRM), project management, accounting, marketing, and sales, ERP is a central database that compiles all of this information in one place.
Such a powerful program can seem complicated, so the question for many business owners isn’t just what is an ERP, but how does it work? At its most basic, ERP is a software program. It pulls data from each of your individual applications into a single database that everyone can access, using real-time inputs and edge computing to make that data readily available to those who need it.
What are the Benefits of ERP?
The benefits of ERP include better visibility between departments, the ability to make decisions more quickly, and increased efficiency through automated processes. These are the benefits that many leaders expect when they integrate new software into their organizations, but complicated, piecemeal tech stacks can actually cause an organization to become more siloed rather than less. A single ERP solution helps businesses realize the full potential of digital transformation: true collaboration.
ERP allows businesses to make better, faster decisions. It can also increase your operational efficiency by aligning every department around your shared goals and allowing them to get the data they need faster. When your sales team doesn’t have to spend hours getting product or customer information, they can focus on their core function: selling. Finally, ERP can improve and standardize your reporting, ensuring everyone is speaking the same language when it comes to KPIs and financials.
But not all ERP software is the same. Let’s review one of the most popular options: Certinia (FinancialForce).
What is Certinia?
Certinia (FinancialForce) is a cloud-based ERP built on the Salesforce platform. It’s a financial management software that aligns your customer service, marketing, sales, and finance departments in one holistic view of your company. Certinia (FinancialForce) aims to bring all departments together with similar workflows, standardized reporting tools, automated billing and collections, simplified auditing and compliance, and more.
Certinia (FinancialForce) is built on real-time data and financial analysis models to help your team make accurate decisions day-to-day and in the long term. It connects your operations to one another and relates everything back to your bottom line, so you can review your KPIs, monitor your cash flow, and track your assets.
What are the Benefits of Certinia?
Certinia (FinancialForce) can help you manage your revenue from the initial sales opportunity through payment and beyond. All departments can see the company’s financial health and how they impact it, so they can use resources more efficiently.
Another benefit of Certinia (FinancialForce) for many companies is that as a part of Salesforce, it’s more customer-focused than other ERPs. Salesforce prides itself on bringing people together and building strong relationships between companies and their clients, and Certinia (FinancialForce) leverages the same data to help ensure not only customer success but business success, too.
Certinia (FinancialForce) offers a relatively easy way to implement ERP in your organization, but you may need help integrating it into your organization to experience its fullest potential. If that’s the case, we can help.
At 5P, we’ll analyze your business and create a customized ERP solution that best suits your needs and goals. Contact us today for a free consultation to transform your business and start experiencing the benefits of ERP.