ERP
What it is
The ERP is the backbone of large organisations: one base, modules per function (accounting, sales, purchasing, stock, projects, payroll), automated flows between them. An issued invoice updates the accounting, the stock and the client follow-up at the same time. Its setup is a project in itself: process scoping, configuration, data migration, training, with a budget and a calendar of several months.
For an association
Most non-profits do not need an ERP. An invoicing tool, simplified accounting kept by the accountant, a CRM for members and donors, document sharing, well connected, cover their needs for a fraction of the cost and setup time. Large federations, structures with several departments, many employees, stock or several sites are another case: there, the ERP avoids re-entry and parallel spreadsheets.
The signs that an ERP is justified
- Two departments re-enter the same data in two tools, every week
- Accounting, invoicing and project management live in tools that do not talk to each other, and reconciliation takes days
- Stock, purchasing or payroll to manage in-house, with volumes
- Several sites or entities that must consolidate their figures
If none of these signs is present, two or three light tools connected by exports or connectors are enough, and they are set up in days rather than months.
The light tools that do the job
- Invoicing: an online tool that issues, sends and tracks invoices, linked to the bank
- Accounting: kept by the accountant in their tool, fed by clean exports
- The CRM: members, donors, volunteers, with fees and consents
- Documents: a shared space with permissions per folder, and a naming rule
- Forms: registrations and requests linked to the CRM, without re-entry
In Kern4Good
The programme does not install ERPs. It helps, as at-cost consulting, to choose the light tools that fit (invoicing, CRM, documents, forms) and to connect them; that is the Management tools for non-profits theme. If an ERP makes sense, KERN-IT handles it in its main activity, outside the programme, at the agency rate: an ERP setup is not part of the at-cost price reserved for associations' websites and consulting.
Further reading
Is Odoo an ERP for associations?
Odoo is a modular ERP used by medium-sized associations. It requires serious scoping and a setup budget. For a small non-profit it is often too much; for a federation with employees and stock, it is an option.
Does an ERP replace the CRM?
It often contains one. But if the only need is to follow members and donors, a CRM alone is simpler, cheaper and kept up to date faster.
How long does an ERP setup take?
Several months for a medium-sized structure: process scoping, configuration, migration, training, then a quarter of running-in. That is what reserves it to organisations that get a real gain from it.
What to do while waiting to be big enough for an ERP?
Choose light tools that export their data cleanly. The day an ERP is justified, the migration starts from sound data rather than from mismatched spreadsheets.