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Illustrative demo

An ERP evaluation for a subscription business, step by step

A software and services business sells subscriptions, licenses, hardware and services through several companies. It wants one ERP for all of them, connected to HubSpot. This demo follows its evaluation from the first workshop to the plan it took away. It is based on a real evaluation, anonymized for confidentiality.

How the ERP evaluation works

Business
Software and services with recurring revenue
Companies
Several, in more than one country
CRM
HubSpot, for deals, quotes and customers
Today
Many steps run by hand, and nobody sees the group's figures in real time
Goal
One ERP for every company, connected to HubSpot

Requirements

What the new ERP had to do

The evaluation began with interviews and process workshops in finance, sales and services. These are the requirements that came out of them.

  • Current figures for every company

    All companies work on one set of data, so management sees today's figures without collecting them first.

  • Subscriptions billed and revenue recognized by rule

    Billing follows the terms of each subscription. The system spreads revenue from subscriptions, licenses and services over the right periods.

  • More than one accounting standard, and a group close

    Each company books under its local standard and the group reports under its own. The consolidation runs in the system.

  • The same processes in every company

    One agreed design for order, billing and close replaces the ways each company had developed on its own.

  • Fewer manual steps, and room to grow

    Recurring entries, approvals and billing run on rules. New companies, users and countries fit into the same structure, including companies bought later.

  • HubSpot and the ERP working as one

    A deal won in HubSpot becomes an order in the ERP, without anyone typing it in again.

What made it harder

  • Several revenue streams, often on one contract, from subscriptions and licenses to hardware, maintenance and services
  • Historical data and running contracts to migrate
  • A tight timeline
  • More than one accounting standard

Process

The subscription and order-to-cash process

The workshops mapped the process end to end, from the deal won in HubSpot to the bank and the group figures. Everything after the won deal runs in the ERP. Steps with a question mark only happen in some cases.

From deal to order

  1. Deal wonIn HubSpot
  2. Sales order created
  3. Order approved
  4. Anything to ship?Then the order is fulfilled

From subscription to cash

  1. Subscription starts
  2. Billing rules set the charges
  3. Invoice emailed to the customer
  4. Payment received
  5. Bank reconciliation

From revenue to the group figures

  1. Revenue rules applied
  2. Revenue forecast
  3. Sold by another group company?Then intercompany entries and eliminations
  4. Reports and dashboards

Services delivered as projects

  1. Project set up
  2. People staffed
  3. Tasks assigned
  4. Time and expenses recorded
  5. Approved

Method

How the evaluation ran, and what it was measured against

Each step ended with something the business could check. The criteria came from its own goals.

The steps

  1. Interviews and process workshops

    With finance, sales and services, one process at a time, end to end.

  2. Requirements in writing

    Each requirement tied to the process step it comes from, in one requirements document.

  3. Show and tell

    The process played through in a demo system with the people who run it, and corrected round by round.

  4. Phases and priorities

    What has to work at go-live, what follows later and what stays outside the ERP.

  5. Risks and their answers

    Each risk named, with the step that keeps it small.

The criteria

  • Efficiency and leaner processes

  • Room to grow

  • Better data for better decisions

  • Local rules in every country

  • Compliance and security

Result

What the business took away

The evaluation ended with a plan in stages and the documents behind it.

First go-live

Finance first

  • Financial management
  • Consolidation
  • Reporting
  • Expenses
  • Procure-to-pay
  • Inventory
  • Customer invoicing
  • Revenue recognition

Second go-live

Projects next

  • Project management
  • Project accounting

Runs before the HubSpot connection is in place.

Third go-live

The target picture

  • Contract management
  • Billing automation
  • HubSpot connection for pricing and quoting

Outside the ERP

Stays as it is

  • Payroll
  • Software development, in its own tool
  • Pricing and quoting, in HubSpot

The concept behind the plan

Rules
Chart of accounts, revenue rules, cost dimensions and the calendar of closing deadlines
Processes
Recurring entries and approvals, through to the control of subscription margins and utilization
People
A key user for every process, and a plan for training and support
Technology
The reporting data model, workflows, migration and interfaces, each with a plan for its upkeep

The documents

  • The process map, from the deal in HubSpot to the group figures

  • The requirements document, each requirement tied to its step

  • Dashboards by role, for management, controlling, purchasing and payables, sales and receivables

  • Options for the HubSpot connection, with a recommendation

  • Templates for the data migration, with help filling them in

  • The implementation plan, from the project start to support after go-live

  • A risk list with an answer to each risk

The risks, and the answer to each

RiskAnswer
Requirements stay unclear and the scope keeps growingThorough requirements, people involved early, show and tell in rounds
Departments disagreeTeams across departments, clear channels and an agreed way to settle conflicts
Too few people on the projectCareful resource planning and backing from management
Users hold backClear communication, training, and users in design and testing
Go-live slipsRealistic planning with buffer time
Weak project managementClear governance, regular status reports and issue tracking

This demo is based on a real evaluation, anonymized for confidentiality. No client is named.

Fares Khattab Head of Consulting Services

The same steps, for your business

In your own evaluation the requirements, the process and the plan come from your teams. You keep every document produced within the agreed scope.

How the ERP evaluation works

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