Before you buy an ERP: write the finance brief first

Turn system frustrations into testable requirements

“We need better reporting” is too broad for a quotation. Describe the decision, the current hand-off and the evidence a new system must produce. For example: the finance reviewer needs a traceable branch-margin report that reconciles to the general ledger, explains adjustments and restricts each branch’s access appropriately. Identify the owner who can confirm that the outcome works.

Select a small set of critical end-to-end processes: order to cash, purchasing to payment, inventory movements, period close and management reporting. List business entities, currencies, locations, document volumes, interfaces and required approvals. Record which requirements are mandatory, desirable or genuinely optional. Unknowns should remain explicit questions rather than becoming assumed vendor capability.

Microsoft’s fit-to-standard and fit-gap guidance discusses checking standard functionality before customising. It is product-specific guidance, not an independent ranking of ERP vendors. Our brief below applies a vendor-neutral evidence discipline and does not endorse a product or implementation partner.

Compare the same cost boundary over three years

Consider two fictional offers, neither based on a real vendor quotation. Option A costs OMR 600 monthly, OMR 15,000 to implement, OMR 4,000 for migration and training, OMR 200 monthly for interfaces/support, and OMR 6,000 for estimated internal project effort. Option B has a lower OMR 450 monthly subscription but higher implementation and ongoing interface costs.

At the stated assumptions, A totals OMR 53,800 over 36 months and B totals OMR 59,000. The lower subscription does not produce the lower modelled total. Internal effort is an economic cost and may not be incremental cash; show both views in the approval paper. This comparison excludes taxes, financing, inflation, usage overages and any costs not explicitly listed. Currency, scope and pricing would need current written quotes.

A lower total does not establish that A is suitable. Both options must first pass the mandatory workflow, access, integration and data requirements. Do not let a weighted average score hide a failed non-negotiable requirement.

A: 600×36 + 15,000 + 4,000 + 200×36 + 6,000 = 53,800. B: 450×36 + 22,000 + 6,000 + 300×36 + 4,000 = 59,000. Invented costs, not quotations.

Use a demonstration script and keep the evidence

Give each vendor the same safe, fictional scenario. Ask a normal user to enter an order, apply a controlled price change, record a delivery, handle a partial payment and produce the agreed report. Add an exception: a returned item, a locked period or an approval above the user’s limit. Ask to see who can override the control and how the action appears in the audit trail. Record observed, configured, proposed customisation and not demonstrated separately.

Ask who owns master data, how duplicates will be resolved and how opening balances will be reconciled. Define interfaces, export formats, access roles, backup and recovery responsibilities, support hours and exit assistance. Check local statutory, tax and electronic-invoicing requirements for the relevant entity and jurisdiction with qualified specialists. A generic “GCC compliant” label is not evidence for a particular obligation.

For each proposed customisation, record the business reason, a standard-process alternative, implementation cost, maintenance owner and upgrade impact. Separate one-off work from recurring charges and agree what happens if the integration provider or licensing basis changes. Keep assumptions and quote expiry dates alongside the comparison.

Agree the acceptance gate before the project starts

Turn the selected demonstration tests into agreed acceptance scenarios. Define who prepares data, who tests, who approves and what evidence must exist before launch. Microsoft’s go-live guidance includes testing, migration, training, cutover and support readiness in its Dynamics 365 context. Use the linked source for that context; do not imply Microsoft approval of another system.

A vendor-neutral readiness record should cover reconciled data, signed-off critical workflows, approved access, trained users, a dated cutover plan, a rollback decision and named support. Test the complete business process, including the report and recovery path. “Installed”, “configured” and “accepted by the business” are different milestones. Keep critical unresolved issues visible and let the authorised owner make the go/no-go decision.

Before purchasing, use the free worksheet to assemble the brief. The month-end guide helps define reporting outcomes, and the automation pilot guide helps bound a smaller improvement where a full ERP change may be unnecessary. Mizwala can help structure requirements and decision evidence within an agreed advisory scope.