Choosing a system
Twelve questions to ask an ERP vendor, and the answers to worry about
A demo is a performance. These questions are the ones that are hard to perform, with a note on what a deflection usually means.
The Rocket ERP team
Rocket ERP3 min read
A demo shows you the paths the vendor chose to show. That is not dishonest, it is just how demos work - and it means the useful questions are the ones that cannot be rehearsed. Twelve below, with what a vague answer usually indicates.
About the numbers
Show me the stock valuation report and the inventory account balance, on the same date. A deflection here is the most expensive one on the list: it usually means operations and accounting are separate systems reconciled by a person.
When a purchase cost changes, what happens to items already in stock, and to the ledger? If the report updates and the ledger does not, your margins are not auditable.
Can a posted invoice be edited? The answer should be no, with a credit note as the correction. Yes means your reported figures can change after you report them.
Show me a customer statement and the receivables balance. Same test as the first question, from the other side.
About change
Add a second price list for wholesale customers, now, in this demo. If it needs a developer, every future pricing change needs one too.
Add an approval step to purchase orders. Approvals change as a company grows; if this is a custom build, approvals will leave the system.
How do I add a branch, and what does it cost? A new installation per branch means you will reconcile between systems forever.
Who can change a report? If every report change is a support ticket, you will stop asking for reports and start exporting to spreadsheets - which is where you came from.
About the relationship
Export all my data, now, during the trial. Hesitation here tells you about year three. Ask specifically whether a full database export is available.
What happens to my data if I stop paying? You want a clear answer about access during the notice period and after it.
Which of these features exist today and which are planned? An honest answer is a good sign. A vendor who says everything exists is a vendor you will discover the roadmap from later.
What do you not do well? The answer is informative whatever it is. Every system has a weak area; a vendor who names theirs is telling you they know their own product.
Two questions about support that matter more than they sound
Ask who answers the phone, and in what language. And ask what happens when the answer requires a change to the software rather than a configuration - who decides, and how long does it typically take?
Support quality is mostly invisible during a sale and dominates the experience afterwards. The second question is the one that distinguishes a vendor who can fix a problem from one who can only explain it.
How to weigh what you hear
Prefer shown over told, specific over general, and an honest no over a confident yes. Write down every answer that was a deflection rather than an answer - not because deflection proves the worst, but because that list is where the surprises will come from, and you will want to have asked again before you sign.