Welcome to the Sunartha Blog on Acumatica Cloud ERP
Thank you for your interest in Acumatica and the intricacies of Cloud ERP. You’ve come to the right place if you’re searching for an ERP solution for your organization or business. In this post, we’ll delve deeper into what Acumatica is and the future developments of Cloud ERP.
We have numerous articles that can assist you in making an informed decision about the right ERP choice and the processes we typically share with our prospects.
Let’s get started.
Acumatica: A Fresh Perspective Among ERP Vendors
As you may know, numerous ERP vendors are out there, from multinational companies to domestic vendors with a significant user base within the country.
Which vendors have you looked into? Let’s discuss that here.
SAP: The Established Giant
SAP is well-known among business professionals. According to market research, without going into too much detail, it stands at the top of its class in terms of functionality and pricing.
You can maximize what you want with this brand with a substantial budget.
Oracle: The Database Pioneer with ERP Solutions
Initially a database company, Oracle also offers business solutions for ERP. It’s widely used by tier 1 companies where the budget allocation is comparable to its competitors in the same class.
Microsoft Dynamics AX: The Renowned Contender
The third vendor, Microsoft, needs no introduction. Its ERP line, formerly known as Axapta, has now transformed into AX.
AX’s product and implementation budget is similar to SAP and Oracle’s.
We won’t delve into these three vendors in detail in this discussion.
Looking at their functionality and the level of companies currently using them, we see that they are generally medium—to large enterprises, especially in Indonesia.
So, what about Acumatica?
Let’s explore further.
Acumatica Cloud ERP: The Rising Star
Acumatica, an ERP vendor, is a product and a brand name for a company developing cloud-based technology solutions.
As of the writing of this article, Acumatica is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, and has become part of a major global Hedge Fund group, EQT.
Although relatively new compared to the “seniors” mentioned above, Acumatica’s functionality and features are already sufficient for mid-size companies.
Why is that? Acumatica targets the mid-tier market segment, which requires solutions with default functionalities that can be modified for further development.
Acumatica claims to be used by over 2000+ companies worldwide.
Now, the question arises: why choose Acumatica?
Especially when you have the funds to purchase well-developed ERP products with established features.
That’s an excellent question.
Here are our answers as an Acumatica partner and active ERP industry observer.
Why Acumatica? Let’s Break It Down
Cutting-Edge Technology
When evaluating IT products, it’s essential to consider the technology and programming languages adopted.
Born in the .Net era, Acumatica almost certainly uses technology currently being developed by Microsoft.
Interestingly, Acumatica utilizes Microsoft’s technology, investing heavily in technologies that will eventually be cross-platform, not limited to Microsoft OS and technologies alone.
So, if Microsoft develops a .Net Framework for .Net Core, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence, Acumatica users will enjoy these technological advancements.
This differs from mature technologies with limited capabilities moving forward.
In simple terms, we’re investing in technology that will provide us with options for future use.
Customization in Acumatica Cloud ERP
This is the second topic we want to discuss further.
Why do you buy ERP? You’re purchasing a framework that can be developed in the future.
Whether by the ERP vendor, the appointed partner, or even by you as the customer, Acumatica has thoroughly considered its end customers.
From the beginning, Acumatica’s developers thought about how partners, customers, and the Acumatica ecosystem could modify functions to suit their needs.
This concept might remind you of Open Source.
However, Acumatica is not an Open Source product where Acumatica maintains every function and code for future bug fixing.
So, how flexible is customization on the Acumatica framework?
You can start with reports, forms, screens, and integration with other applications. Quite a lot, right?
What about the developer skillset needed to modify Acumatica?
You can make the necessary modifications with an understanding of C# and .Net technology.
Features of Acumatica Cloud ERP
Before continuing, you might want to read about the current trendy Business Intelligence tool, Tableau.
As you may know, most ERPs typically price their offerings based on the number of end-users.
It’s different from Acumatica. You can use Acumatica without user count limitations, based instead on the modules you will use and the resource-based options you choose or have in your business.
Let’s discuss this in more detail below.
Financial Suite
The Financial Suite is the core and primary module of Acumatica Cloud ERP.
Features include Journal Transactions, General Ledger, Financial Statements, and Banking related to financial activities such as receipts, disbursements, cash and bank reconciliations, and Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR) recording.
You will also get a Tax module, which Sunartha, an Acumatica partner, has developed for the Indonesian market.
Is the Financial Suite suitable for service companies? Absolutely.
The financial suite is sufficient if your company or organization is a service company or startup that needs to create financial reports that can be linked to your operational application or web application.
Can it be modified?
Of course, the most common modifications are financial-related reports and integrations with other applications as data sources for the finance department to work with.
Distribution Suite
The Distribution Suite doesn’t mean it’s only for distributor companies. It’s more about a collection of features that non-distributor companies might need.
What are the features?
Imagine this module is suitable for companies with a procurement team, with modules like Request, Requisition, Purchase Order, Purchase Receipt, and AP billing or invoicing from vendors.
All these modules have several features that can implement system approvals, so you and your team no longer need to print on paper for manual processes.
You can use approvals through a web browser or through mobile apps that Acumatica has provided for Android and Apple iOS.
What about the sales process?
Patience, we’ll get there soon.
The sales process in Acumatica Cloud ERP is also quite good.
It starts with Quotations, Sales Orders, and shipments and goes up to sales invoices for billing customers.
Just like purchasing activities, sales activities in Acumatica can also activate features like approval if you need to validate a certain discount level before sending it to the end customer.
There are quite a few features of Acumatica if we list them individually.
But this isn’t all. We will share more in the next series, where we will help prospective Acumatica users based on their current industry.
By starting your journey with Acumatica, you’re unlocking a world of potential for your growing business. Embrace the power of cloud technology, streamline your operations, and catalyze sustainable growth with Acumatica Cloud ERP.