Why a Cloud ERP System Is The Go To Solution For Startups

Startups operate in a highly competitive and disruptive business environment. The quantum leap in technology has made disruption the norm, creating a “survival of the fittest” business environment where agile companies that can quickly respond to change, survive and thrive.

At the heart of most successful startups lie cloud solutions that facilitate automation of critical processes, and simplify workflows, enabling business owners to focus on growing their businesses. In a digital age business world that has taken further beatings from the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, companies have the privilege of being blessed with a variety of cloud solutions to choose from that can introduce operational efficiencies. 

The cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a leading solution that helps businesses automate manual processes, integrate data from disparate sources to provide a single source of truth. 

Below we look at some of the challenges that startups face and how a cloud ERP system helps these startups overcome them.

1. Address Financial Reporting Issues Before IPO 

Hardly a day goes by without regulatory authorities around the world pondering on imposing new requirements on how companies report their finances. As businesses come under heavy scrutiny from regulatory authorities, manually handling tedious financial processes can result in costly fines if errors are found. 

Initial public offerings (IPO) are the sort of endeavours that require stringent oversight of the financial reporting processes. A cloud ERP system helps businesses automate these processes and ensure businesses are IPO-ready through its robust financial reporting standards that include compliance with IFRS, and GAAP, to name a few.

2. Data Silos Due to Lack of Integration

It is common for most startups to have a stack consisting of different best-in-class solutions to address different pain points. However, as your business grows, you will quickly realise that having data from multiple sources strips away the power of data. To make well-informed decisions and unlock critical insights, you need a solution that integrates the different solutions in your operations, and offer you a 360-degree, unified view of all your business processes. 

A cloud ERP system is equipped with solid API capabilities that allow you to integrate other solutions, have one single source of truth, and also prevent you from having data silos. What’s more, cloud ERP systems also provide startup businesses with a real-time view of all their customers and business processes. This ensures business owners have their fingers on the pulse, to respond swiftly to changing market conditions and consumer demands.

3. Unable to Get a Consolidated View of Subsidiaries

Companies who expand and have a presence in other countries often find it difficult to standardise business processes, in addition to manually managing data from subsidiaries. This process causes data duplication and human errors.

Intercompany financial consolidation is a crucial element of managing companies with subsidiaries. Having a unified view of the business processes and financial health of your various subsidiaries helps you make well-informed decisions. A cloud ERP system offers robust intercompany consolidation functions that not just help you run your company effectively, but also help you unlock critical insights to aid your strategic decision-making.

4. Unable to Scale When Workforce Grows 

Startups on a high-growth trajectory often realise the difference between accommodating a workforce of 10 staff and a workforce of 100 staff quickly. As your headcount increases, ensuring all your staff comply with your business processes becomes increasingly tedious. 

By virtue of its architecture, cloud ERPs are built for growth as they are highly scalable and allow you to quickly accommodate your increasing workforce while ensuring total compliance with your time-honoured business processes.

Conclusion

Startups today operate in volatile times. Being agile allows startups to respond quickly to changing market demands. Integration helps startups unlock new insights. Automation of manual accounting processes and robust financial reporting solutions ensure startups are more than adequately prepared for an IPO. 

Predictive analytics has emerged as one of the key components of efficient management of the supply chain. If you are a startup involved in retail, or other areas that require warehousing, chances are you may have experienced a deeply troubled time of late. 

A cloud ERP system is one that caters to a wide-array of industries. It is now more important than ever for startup businesses on the high-growth trajectory to implement a robust business management solution such as a cloud ERP system.