5 signs it’s time to move from spreadsheets to an ERP

Spreadsheets are a great tool - until your business outgrows them. Here are five signs they’ve started to slow you down, and how to make the move painless.

Same stock, three different numbers

If the warehouse sheet says one thing, the store panel another and accounting something else entirely, the problem isn’t discipline - it’s the system. As long as every channel keeps its own copy, the numbers drift apart and “real stock” has to be counted again every day.

A spreadsheet stores data; an ERP runs it from a single source. The difference is that nobody copy-pastes.

In an ERP, every sale, return and purchase updates the same record. An order from ikas deducts stock on its own, the invoice is issued, and a reorder suggestion appears for products that hit the critical level.

The other four signs

• Orders and purchasing are tracked over email and messages.
• Seeing real profitability takes days of report-building.
• The file lives with one person - when they’re on leave, work stops.
• Every new branch or channel means yet another spreadsheet.

Where should the switch start?

If three of these signs sound familiar, the first step is to map your current workflow and the spreadsheets you rely on. When moving to ERP, your existing spreadsheets, exports from your old software and your product and customer data on ikas can be cleaned up and migrated, so you don't start from scratch.