When your distribution company starts to grow, gaining local and global customers alike, your accounting department will find it more and more time consuming to prepare invoices.
It’s going to be especially difficult and time consuming if you aren’t using the latest software. If you’re using software that houses information in individual silos – Office, Excel, and/or Outlook, for example – creating invoices that need support documentation will take too long. This is because the information is only available in its silo and not “out” where it’s easily accessible for everyone.
Today, especially for distributors that sell to foreign markets or have offices on foreign soil, an integrated software system is crucial. A good integrated system accommodates accounting, sales, marketing, shipping, inventory, customer service, etc. It will also be able to handle currency conversions, stay up to date on the current exchange rate, and configure tax rate adjustments and customs’ fees.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are a perfect example of the necessary type of software. The Sage ERP platform does all those things and more. With its Sales Order module, each customer has their own data that gets updated in real time, so their orders and customer service requests are instantly available. You can check to confirm that the correct discounts were given, ensure that shipments went out to the correct address, see when the product was delivered, and handle credits all in one place. This means more efficiency for you and better service for your customers.
The Credit Card processing module allows you to have any customer’s payment information on file and then to view credits or debits in relation to that customer’s account at any time. The Multicurrency Management module not only does the aforementioned conversions and configurations but also provides you with the opportunity to manage your pricing and be flexible when appropriate.
Sage’s ERP systems also have automated reporting and alerts. The software comes with already-created reports and alerts but allows you to create your own and save them. You can get an alert when stock supplies are low and then another when the supplies are replenished. You can receive a weekly report on all incoming orders, organized in an alphabetical list, in your email, if that’s how you want it set up. With Sage’s level of customizability, anything is possible. The software will prevent double entries and will be more accurate than having human hands doing the data entry.
Sage has numerous ERPs with these capabilities. Contact Oates & Company and we’ll find the perfect product for you.
