Acumatica is an incredibly robust ERP system—if you know how to use it. The problem is that its robustness can often be too much for the average business owner. This is the ideal time to hire an Acumatica consultant to show you how to use the software to its fullest potential.
Learn how Acumatica consulting can improve your ROI and what to look for in a quality consultant.
Understanding Acumatica Consultants
An Acumatica consultant understands the program inside and out, and carries both the technical and industry skills to show you how best to utilize Acumatica for your business. An Acumatica ERP consultant acts as a partner, guiding you in choosing the best solution for your business.
An Acumatica consultant will do that through:
- Reviewing your business needs
- Implementing the Acumatica system
- Creating custom tools for you to use
- Offering training for you and your team
- Assisting with every update
- Answering any and all questions
The Role of an Acumatica Consultant in Large Businesses
The role of an Acumatica consultant is part partner and part teacher, depending on your experience using ERP software. For example, a consultant can help you choose the right version of Acumatica to use for your business.
Acumatica comes in different editions that are designed to meet specific industry needs such as distribution, manufacturing, and more. While there is a general business version, an Acumatica ERP consultant can improve your business operations by steering you to an edition better suited to your specific industry.
As you learn how to use the program—or as it updates—you’ll need a trusted partner to help you troubleshoot changes and problems before they impact your bottom line. If you have an Acumatica consultant who offers continuous training on how to use the program as it changes, all the better.
They can also make the migration to or from Acumatica much easier and ensure a seamless integration.
How Acumatica Consulting Maximizes Return on Investment
An Acumatica consultant can help you improve business operations by reviewing your needs and uncovering areas of improvement.
Improving Operations
With every improvement to daily operations, a consultant essentially pays for itself. Whether it’s major or minor adjustments, the time and money you save is significant.
Operation improvements can include:
- Inventory management
- Order fulfillment
- Financial reporting
- Data centralization
- Increased productivity
- Collaborative opportunities
Reducing Mistakes
Using an Acumatica consultant ensures you can use the systems as effectively as possible, which means there’s a far lower probability of costly mistakes occurring. Most mistakes start at the beginning as you are learning how to use the program or when transferring information from one system to another.
Unfortunately, some mistakes aren’t noticeable until it’s too late, creating a cascade of incorrect numbers.
An Acumatica consultant can prevent such mistakes and create a plan to prevent going over budget and falling behind schedule.
Supporting You Continuously
Between assisting with the upkeep of the system and training you and your team, an Acumatica consultant will support you as your business grows. They will ensure that as your business and Acumatica evolve, you can effectively take advantage of all the tools at your disposal.
Changing Management Strategy
When implementing an ERP system, many changes occur throughout the entire business structure, which requires a new management strategy. An Acumatica consultant can create a plan that creates a seamless transition for you and your team.
Configuring the System
We’ve already talked about how an Acumatica consultant can make it easy to set up the program for your business, but specifically, being able to tailor the program to your business is a significant source of ROI.
Using customized plugins and workflows, your entire business will run more efficiently than before.
5 Qualities to Look for in an Acumatica Consultant
How do you know you have the right consultant for your business? There are key traits that a professional Acumatica consultant should possess, which should help narrow your search:
1. Experience with Acumatica
This may seem obvious, but it’s still important to mention that your Acumatica consultant should have extensive hands-on experience with the program. They should be able to display their skills in implementing and managing the platform.
Even better is if they have experience implementing Acumatica for businesses within your industry and offer different strategies based on their experience.
2. Positive References
Just as you would check reviews before buying anything, you should check the reviews of potential consultants. If you can speak to other clients the consultant has helped, get their take on what it’s like working with them. You can also ask people within your industry what they think of the consulting firm, as they may have helpful insight.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You want what’s best for your business, after all.
3. Personality Match
A good Acumatica consultant will be someone you want to talk to, so you need to make sure your personalities match (or at least sync). If you need someone a little more patient, a consultant who comes across brusquely isn’t going to work.
You both need to share the same values, communication styles, and work styles—or else the relationship will be strained, which won’t bring effective assistance.
4. Variety of Skills
A good consultant shouldn’t just have good Acumatica skills. They should also possess proven skills in:
- Communication
- Project management
- Creative thinking
5. Ongoing Support
You also want a consultant that offers continuous support. This can be done through troubleshooting, training, and migration. Acumatica is always changing; it can quickly become difficult to use if you aren’t on top of the latest changes.
Let Fourlane Be Your Go-To Acumatica Consultant
Finding a quality Acumatica consultant can be difficult. There’s much to consider in a consultant and how they will fit your business.
When looking for a trusted Acumatica consulting firm, go to Fourlane. Our experts stay up to date with the latest Acumatica trends and will have no problem translating them for you and your colleagues.
Contact our friendly team to learn more about our Acumatica consulting services.
