Poll: Majority Of Manufacturers Rely On Spreadsheets Instead Of ERP

A new survey suggests that a majority of top manufacturers and distributors still rely on spreadsheets and other manual processes instead of business management software.

According to the 2015 Manufacturing Survey by Illinois-based accounting firm Sikich LLP, 53 percent of those polled used manual processes to measure key performance indicators, compared to just 26 percent that used applications such as enterprise resource systems.

“The persistence of manual processes in the industry is troubling," said Sikich’s Jim Wagner. "Technology can help companies grow more efficient, lower costs and better serve customers. It has the potential to transform the industry and drive success, but companies need to make full use of it to realize gains."

The survey found that companies use technology in greater numbers to improve manufacturing processes, business intelligence, reporting and customer service.

In addition, 54 percent expected their revenue to increase by more than 5 percent in 2015, while 96 percent projected hiring to remain constant or increase this year.

Although about half of respondents were more optimistic about the national economy compared to 2014, Sikich analysts said that many companies remained hesitant to expand product offerings or markets.

Almost 40 percent of those polled expected existing markets to be their top opportunities for growth, while nearly one in three planned to spend less than 1 percent of sales on new product development.

The vast majority of respondents anticipated rising tax, labor and raw materials costs over the next 12 months.

“Many manufacturers continue to adopt a cautious approach to growth,” Wagner said. “But while a focus on existing markets presents less risk, it won’t sustain manufacturers forever."

The 2015 report surveyed 116 manufacturers and distributors; nearly 75 percent of participants reported annual revenue of more than $1 million.

Acumatica Targets Professional Service, Non-Profit and Multi-Location Businesses with the Release of Acumatica 3.0

The latest release of Acumatica’s award-winning financial software includes Project Accounting, Automated Inter-Company Transfers, and many more features.

Acumatica, a provider of Cloud ERP software, has announced general availability of Acumatica 3.0, the latest release of its award winning financial software. The release contains project accounting, automated inter-company transfers, and several features requested by hundreds of customers.  

“Acumatica 3.0 allows us to expand our market offerings both vertically and horizontally”, said Ezequiel Steiner, CEO at Acumatica.  “The project accounting features are a perfect fit for consulting, engineering, marketing, non-profits, and other professional services companies, while the inter-company features are designed for businesses with multiple offices, warehouses, subsidiaries, and complex reporting structures.”

Acumatica’s new Project Accounting suite delivers a complete software package for managing a project lifecycle including budgeting, managing timesheets, tracking materials, billing, accounting, and reporting. The software is delivered via the Cloud to organize projects with multiple locations, many partners, and remote workers.

“Acumatica’s project accounting capabilities are well suited to our consulting business,” said Carolyn Jasiulewicz, President at Progressive System Solutions. “Employees and external contractors can enter timesheets and link line items to specific projects using any device with a browser. This saves us money by keeping consultants at the customer site instead of requiring them to email their hours and expenses for someone else to enter.”

“We receive funding from multiple sources, which we then allocate to several different programs to support our mission in the fight against Cancer,” said David Castaneda Diaz, Director of Finance at the DC Cancer Consortium. “It takes considerable effort and resources to manage, track, monitor, and report the effectiveness of each program. Using Acumatica’s Project Accounting module, we can manage all phases of many different types of programs and easily get real-time reports regarding program effectiveness.”

Acumatica 3.0 automates inter-company accounting for organizations with multiple business entities that require separate financial reporting. The software allows organizations to establish branches and subsidiaries that rely upon centralized operations including purchasing and cash management. Complexities of inventory transfers between branches, allocated expenses, and inter-company transactions are handled automatically for financial and tax reporting.

Key Features in Acumatica 3.0:

·        Project Accounting: Manage billing and budgets for multiple projects involving several people, roles, billing rates, inventory, markups, and allocated costs.

·        Intercompany Accounting: Create multiple branches to centralize bill payment & cash management, allocate expenses, and create automated inventory transfer transactions.

·        Enhanced Dashboards: Users can select from role-based templates or create custom dashboards using an improved graphical interface with expanded chart and layout options.

·        Other features: Hundreds of additional features include additional electronic bank and credit card reconciliation, activity monitoring and notifications, plus Acumatica report writer enhancements.

Acumatica delivers the benefits of Cloud software without sacrificing growth and flexibility. For companies that require integration, Acumatica delivers an advanced application programming interface (API) has been used to connect best-in-breed solutions for ecommerce, payroll, supply chain and EDI, tax calculation, point of sale, as well as customer specific applications. Acumatica also delivers robust reporting tools, integration tools, and the option to switch between an on-premise deployment and a subscription service.

How to Purchase Acumatica 3.0:

Acumatica sells 100% of its software through a vast and knowledgeable network of value added resellers and software experts. Acumatica can be purchased as a license or as a subscription service (SaaS). For a list of resellers, visit www.acumatica.com/varpartners.  

About Acumatica

Acumatica is a leading cloud ERP software vendor that delivers the benefits of Cloud and SaaS without sacrificing customization, control, security, or speed.  Acumatica can be deployed on premise, hosted at a datacenter, or run on a Cloud computing platform.  Learn more about Acumatica’s Cloud ERP solution at www.acumatica.com.

Media Contact:

Douglas Johnson

703-873-7570

djohnson@acumatica.com