Cost vs value: Why future-focused businesses choose the right ERP system, not the cheapest option

Rahana Vally, Director at Brilliant Link. (Image: Supplied)

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As organisations enter a new financial year in March, many finance and operational leaders are reviewing their technology landscape, weighing up whether their current systems can support growth, automation and smarter decision-making. For those considering a new ERP platform, the same pattern plays out repeatedly: the product impresses, the price raises hesitation and the search begins for a cheaper option. But as many soon discover, the moment they shop around, the trade-off between price and functionality becomes clear – and the cheaper alternative rarely delivers what the business actually needs.

Rahana Vally, director at Brilliant Link, says: “In an environment where competitiveness relies on speed, accuracy and informed planning, the question organisations should be asking is not ‘What is the cheapest system?’ but ‘What system will support us for the next 10 to 15 years?’”

The most common mistake businesses make is evaluating ERP investment solely on visible costs: the subscription fee, the implementation hours, the user licences. But these are only the tip of the iceberg.

Below the surface lies a far greater mass of hidden, long-term cost:

• Inefficient month-end processes
• Manual Excel workarounds
• Lack of real-time visibility
• Inability to scale
• Reimplementation projects when the first system fails

This is the iceberg cost of choosing a system based on price instead of value, says Vally. “What may seem like a larger upfront investment is often the more cost-effective option over a decade, especially when automation, accuracy and efficiency gains are measurable and sustained.” 

Modern financial teams cannot afford bottlenecks during critical reporting periods. ERP solutions like Sage Intacct are continuously enhancing workflow automation, approval routes, alerts and real-time consolidation, all aimed at eliminating the heavy administrative burden that slows finance teams down.

Case studies consistently show month-end cycles being reduced by up to five days when finance teams move from manual processes to automated flows. The compound effect of this time saving across a year represents substantial value, freeing teams to focus on strategy, forecasting and insight rather than data wrangling.

Improved reporting remains one of the most tangible returns on ERP investment.

Businesses need:

• Instant access to key metrics
• Dashboards and operational KPIs
• Budget-versus-actual reporting on demand
• The ability to build management and board packs in specific formats

Previously, many organisations were exporting raw data into Excel, manually refactoring and rebuilding financial packs every month. Not only was this time-consuming, but it increased the risk of errors.

Today, these reporting packs can be generated automatically, in the exact format and structure required by the management team. Brilliant Link supports this with dedicated analytics and reporting team that builds bespoke dashboards and financial views aligned to each client's metrics, industry context and decision-making needs.

One of the strongest value propositions for a modern cloud ERP is modular growth. Businesses can implement the fundamentals and add functionality over time, rather than attempting a complex, high-risk “big bang” transformation.

This approach supports:

• Smaller initial projects
• Faster onboarding
• Reduced change management burden
• Expansion only when the organisation is ready

It allows companies to start where they are today, while ensuring the system can scale with them as processes mature, volumes grow and reporting requirements evolve.

“A major reason businesses become unhappy with ERP systems is not the software itself, but how it was implemented. Brilliant Link is often called in as a rescue partner when organisations feel they are ‘paying all this money and are no better off’,” says Vally.

In most cases, the system was never configured to match how the business operates. The ERP engine is powerful, but without the right implementation partner, organisations fail to tap into its capabilities.

A well-implemented system should, from day one:

• Deliver the insights expected
• Provide the metrics leadership needs
• Automate critical processes
• Reflect the organisation’s structure and workflows
• Support strategic planning and operational control

This is where true value is realised, not in the licence cost.

“Brilliant Link’s approach focuses on identifying the organisation’s specific pain points and demonstrating how ERP transformation will solve them. This often includes a proof of concept built using the client’s own data, making the value tangible and relevant,” Vally points out.

While each business has unique reporting preferences or specific operational metrics, the underlying accounting and control principles remain consistent. Brilliant Link leverages experience gained across multiple industries to configure best-practice processes while customising the way data is presented, analysed and consumed.

The result is a platform that not only works on day one, but continues to deliver ROI as the business evolves.

In an increasingly competitive environment, the capacity to make quick, data-driven decisions is a strategic differentiator. ERP should be viewed as a long-term investment in business resilience and agility.

Choosing a system based on price alone limits future competitiveness. Choosing a system based on long-term value positions the business to grow, scale and adapt for years to come.

She concludes: “With a new financial year under way, there has never been a more important time for organisations to reassess whether their systems are enabling or hindering growth – and whether their ERP platform is setting them up for the next 10 to 15 years of strategic evolution.”