Small solutions for large enterprise resource planning software applications

Source: Äri-IT, autumn 2022

Author: Olga Saddarov, Project Manager at BCS Itera

How to upgrade and develop your main solution with the help of smaller apps?

In the business and IT world, there is increasingly more talk about a wide range of software solutions that cover large business-critical processes. The main focus of BCS Itera has always been complex and multifunctional complete systems ERP, HRM, CRM, and BI. But additional functionalities, ie small apps, are also very important, greatly influencing the user experience.

Smaller functionalities that solve more specific needs are often overlooked compared to complete systems. At the same time, these functionalities can seriously affect the daily experience of users of large systems, and also determine how easy it is to use the complete systems. It is useful to be familiar with these small apps, because it is sometimes more convenient and cheaper to install these instead of a complicated specialised development.

• What are these additions that may be small, but determine user satisfaction?
• How can you search for and find these solutions?
• What opportunities did the users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central recently get to develop their core solution?
• Which apps have helped the customers of BCS Itera to improve their business in 2022?

These questions are answered by the BCS Itera team.

IF A COMPANY HAS A STATE-OF-THE-ART ERP, CRM, OR HRM SOLUTION, WHY SHOULD WE CONSIDER APPS IN ADDITION TO THAT? AT WHAT POINT DO THEY COME INTO PLAY?

Usually, solutions that make something easier to use are considered after the software has gone live. Once the complete systems have been selected and implemented and the customer has gained an actual user experience, we can focus on honing the system. It is important to be aware that while the selection and implementation of the main solution is done in the course of a single project, its development and improvement is an ongoing process. Even in the case of a carefully selected and professionally implemented complete solution, users may have additional requests.

The adopted solution is usually not analysed and upgraded in companies, decreasing the efficiency of using the software. Or the existing capabilities are not used sufficiently. What makes the problem more complicated is that users themselves may not notice unnecessary clicks or pointless manual labour, as these seem to be part of everyday operations. Therefore, they cannot ask for anything more.

HOW TO MAP THE NEEDS FOR UPGRADING?

As a rule, identifying areas of inefficiency and development opportunities is done in two ways: by defining current needs or by exploring additional Business Central apps on the market. In the first case, either alone or together with an IT partner, you will regularly analyse your software experience in order to identify bottlenecks and to carry out the necessary configurations and upgrades in a timely manner. When the needs are clearly formulated, out-of-the-box apps are searched for on the market or the required developments are ordered.

The second option is solution-based. Users make their processes more efficient by familiarising themselves with existing or new capabilities. This is similar to a situation where a person develops an appetite while reading the menu. From (web) seminars, IT news, articles, and training courses, users learn more about the potential of their software solution and start to look for additions they did not even know they needed.

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES CAN CUSTOMERS OF MICROSOFT PRODUCTS USE TO FIND AND ACQUIRE OUT-OF-THE-BOX APPS?

Customers of Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform products can use the AppSource Marketplace to find and deploy reusable developments. This is where apps from all Microsoft partners end up.

AppSource offers thousands of more basic or complex applications that enable you to upgrade and enrich a basic solution. This is certainly a great resource, but also requires a certain competence from the subscribers of the apps and knowledge of the background and specifics of the applications.

To help our customers, BCS Itera has compiled a list of apps tested by our IT specialists. This way, customers of newer versions of Business Central have received the new BCS Itera app, which allows users to access the recommended set of apps. These are not only developments made by the BCS Itera team, but also apps from the best international partners that have been tested, installed, and approved.

COULD YOU GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES?

Here are some apps that BCS Itera recommends and that many customers successfully use.

CostPocket (Expense Reports) – an application for digitising and processing cost statements, which allows you to digitise paper receipts and invoices using a smartphone and automatically transfer them to accounting together with the related report. CostPocket is conveniently integrated with Business Central, so all scanned cost statements are automatically sent to the enterprise resource planning software.

Realtime Bank – an app integrated with the ERP solution, which allows you to send an overview of your bank transactions with the desired frequency. The bank account tab in Business Central records the bank account balance and transactions independently of the transactions of the recorded bank account.

PDF viewer – an app that allows you to preview invoices without opening them. Allows you to quickly check invoices and thus saves time.

Payment link to sales invoice – helps to avoid unpleasant situations where customers cannot automatically pay PDF invoices and have to copy bank account details manually.

Automatic Emailing of Invoices – this app also shows the statuses and dates of sending PDF invoices in Microsoft Business Central.

WHAT’S WHAT

• ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning – enterprise resource planning software covering all the main processes of the company
• HRM – Human Resource Management – strategic management of HR-related processes (hiring, training, performance evaluation, etc.)
• CRM – Customer Relationship Management – management of customer communication and contacts
• BI – Business Intelligence