GST Should Not The ONLY Factor Impacting Your ERP Implementation Decision

Not much time has passed since India witnessed the biggest tax reform since independence i.e. the roll out of a unified tax scheme called Goods and Services Tax (GST). GST although seems to be very simple has enough complexities under the hood. Many businesses came to a halt since they were clueless about how to comply with the new tax regime. In these times of indefinites, some companies looked towards their ERP vendors to come up with GST upgrades to let them sail through the process.

But for those businesses relying on OTC(Over-The-Counter) Accounting Software like Tally, the road had to be nothing but bumpy.  Some of such companies decided to get a GST Ready ERP at the 11th hour and address the situation. It may seem like a nice idea in the beginning but getting an ERP to just comply with GST can turn suicidal since an ERP may disrupt even the finest of processes and push the organization into chaos.

ERP implementation is one of those tasks where you need to go by the book to make sure that yourimplementation is a success. Every ERP implementation has to have some basic phases like Requirement Gathering, Planning, Evaluation, Selection, Implementation and Testing. Selecting an ERP just because it is GST-Ready broadly skips the first three processes. ERP Implementations already have meagre success rates and getting an ERP without deep evaluation may further lower the chances of success.

Therefore every company deciding to get an ERP should carefully study its processes and requirements and conclude whether they really need an ERP. If an ERP seems like a necessity, then they should carefully evaluate the ERP Software from various vendors and select the one which best aligns with their requirements. They should make sure that the ERP they select is future ready and is flexible enough to meet their future requirements and acts as a partner in growth in times to come.

Businesses may also follow our 10-point Approach for ERP Selection which lists key factors to be considered while selecting an ERP. Following these points can certainly reduce chances of failure and help any business to become GST Ready in the least possible time. This process might be time consuming but it’s worth the cost and effort involved in implementing an ERP.

About the author:

Harshit is a PGDM in Marketing and a B. Tech. in Information Technology. He started his carrier with Eastern Software Systems as a Marketing & Communications Executive and has over the years evolved into a seasoned marketing professional with expertise in Digital Marketing, Conventional Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Harshit loves cooking and is always eager to create unique culinary for his friends.