Almost 8 out of 10 prospective customers will assume that SAP brand name software requires large amount of investment. This is not totally correct as investment starts from SGD 3,800* and above. And again, it also depends on what you are comparing with and whether the comparison is apple to apple. We discuss the points which help companies to make decision on their SAP Business One Investment.
Doing your own reports
Reporting requirements are often dynamic as over time, organisations will require more reports to satisfy their data analysis demand. SAP Business One empowers users to create their own reports using SAP query wizard or crystal reports. Crystal Report is a report writing tool provided by SAP to their customers when they purchase SAP Business One software and up to 70% of SMEs in Singapore is using crystal report software to generate their reporting.
Create your own fields and tables
Most software does not allow for additional fields or tables to be created. If users want to create additional fields or tables, that will be customisation and it costs money.
SAP Business One software allows users to rename existing fields (for example, you can rename “item code” field to “SKU” if you are in retail), create new fields such as drop down, attachment, picture, free text fields which are searchable. Furthermore, these new fields can be pulled out into reports for analysis.
Multi Language
SAP Business One allows users to enter and see SAP screens in different languages such as simplied Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean and etc at the click of a button. Such functions allow SAP software to be operated across boundaries especially so if you are a overseas office of an MNC.
Multi Currencies
Many prospective customers are still asking the question on whether software can handle multi currencies to our surprise. We realised that the smaller software (mostly cloud based) cannot handle multi currencies. SAP Business One is a multi-currency software which means it can transact in many different currencies and you can create more if you want. In addition, it can have 1 functional currency and 1 reporting currency in the books.
Multi Users, Multi Screens
SAP Business One can be operated by 1 user for all modules and slowly add users 1 by 1 as your organisation grows. This counters the myth that SAP can only be used by large corporation. In addition, user can open multiple screens of SAP on their monitor and perform posting. Some other software cannot do that.
Month End and Year End Process
There is no month end closing required in SAP and only year end processing needs to be done. For year end closing, financial people can close the year which is posting PL figures to Balance Sheet Retained Earnings more than one time. This is necessary for accounts to report figures at year end and to close again when audit adjustments are passed. During year end process, all users can proceed transactions as normal and no one needs to exit for the year end process.
Customisations and Addon
Some software off the shelf or cloud based has explicitly stated that they cannot be customised. In this digital age with economy changing rapidly, business like software cannot stay constant. We may not know what may come in future and hence it is important that software can be customised or enhanced to suit current and future needs. For example, if you decide to deploy ecommerce in future or decides to have a mobile delivery app with digital signing in future or with mobile sales ordering app so orders can send back to HQ for processing in future. All of these will be possible under SAP Business One as it supports integration and customisation.
Cloud or Hardware Server
Many people may be confused on the above deployment options. The truth is SAP Business One can be on vendor’s cloud or otherwise you can host your own private cloud or you can get the hardware server and we will configure the cloud option for you from your office. As long as you have internet in that location, you will be able to open for cloud option.
Annual Upgrades for Software
SAP Business One has been consistently rolling out new versions (new functions and technology release) every 18 months. This has been encouraging as the software keeps updating to the latest business trends and environment. This means your investment is also protected and you will be able to update your technology as time passes. The software updates are available free of charge as long as you are under software maintenance.
Industries or Businesses using SAP Business One
SAP Business One software is used in many different industries such as chemical, building materials, engineering projects, food and beverage outlets, electronics trading, pharmaceutical, commodities, marine, logistic, technology software, safety equipment/ accessories, auto repairs, interior design, aircon serving, dried provisions and many more. The reason for its wide use is its ability to handle all the above.
Conclusion: It may be wise if companies consider the above factors when making a long term investment especially on the tools and technology required to run your business. It is disruptive if you discover that you need to change software when you have a few years data in your current software as the data cannot be brought over to new software. Customers who use SAP Business One are keeping data more than 10 years and they are using these valuable data for their sales and purchase analysis.
*Price after PSG Grant if eligible for 2 users