The All-Time Best Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)

Looking for the best enterprise resource planning software?

These tools can help you optimize your core business processes with a range of useful capabilities. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best options currently available, with key features, benefits, and downsides based on user reviews.

To learn about the ERP process, read our complete Guide to Resource Planning.

According to research by Software Connect, some of the top motivations for purchasing new ERP software include improving functionality (43%), replacing dated systems (29%), and improving usability (17%).

This is why we’ve focused on this criteria in creating our comparisons:

ERP systems can support various features for business processes. These can vary between industries, but some of the most important core functionalities include:

Other features may include billable hours tracking, project and task management, various collaboration and communication features, and additional industry-specific capabilities such as inventory and supply chain management.

You can also consider enterprise project management software, which combines project management and collaboration with advanced business planning features.

Productive provides a comprehensive platform tailored to professional services workflows. You can use it to monitor your financial health, support your agency’s customer relationship management, ensure projects stay on budget and timeline, and much more.

One of the biggest benefits of using Productive is getting a central database for all your agency activities. Instead of using one tool for resource scheduling, another for time tracking, and a separate one for your financial management and invoicing, you get all this in one. This comprehensive solution includes time tracking software for agencies, making it easier to manage all aspects of your operations seamlessly.

Let’s explore some of Productive’s key features in more detail.

Productive supports various aspects of your business financial management. This includes:

 Get the most out of your agency’s resources with Productive’s responsive resource plan, allocation, utilization insights, and more.

Allocate your employees according to their working hours. Productive lets you import holiday calendars from various countries and manage time off categories and requests to get the full picture of your availability.

Additional features include placeholders for scheduling time for external and future staff and tentative bookings for unconfirmed projects.

Based on your billable hours data and scheduling, you can gain in-depth insights into your workforce. How are workloads balanced, which teams are overutilized, and which employees are available to support them? Productive provides you with the answer to these questions across all projects.

To drive alignment between your sales, marketing, and project development teams, Productive offers a lightweight agency CRM. You can customize the stages in your sales pipeline and track deals down the funnel. The sales feed helps you track updates and communicate more easily with other team members to minimize the risk of information gaps or miscommunication.

You can also:

Learn more about the best agency CRMs, their features and benefits.

Productive offers all the features you would expect from the top project management tools. This includes visibility into project progress with various layouts, including Gantt, Kanban, List, and more.

You can streamline phases with simple dependences and hierarchies, from milestones, to subtasks and to-dos.

Use custom fields for tasks to define their progress or importance. Estimate task completion and track time, attach files, chat in the comments, and get automatic notifications for status updates.

Productive also offers client access to help improve transparency and the feedback/approval process.

With Productive, you can get streamlined reporting by using one of the 50+ agency-focused templates or by building your own report from scratch.

You can add specific parameters to customize your data with custom fields, group data according to different metrics, and turn it into a range of visualizations with one click. Then, you can arrange your reports on a dashboard or schedule them to be automatically sent to email and Slack.

Additional features include: Docs, Automations, Permission Builder

Integrations include: Xero, QuickBooks, HubSpot, BambooHR, Zapier, Slack, Jira, Google Calendar, and more.

Productive offers a 14-day free trial, so you can check what the software can do for your business.

The Dynamics 365 suite from Microsoft offers applications for finance, resource management tools, supply chains, project operations, and more.

Key features:

The biggest draw of the Microsoft Dynamics suite is that it contains various modules to improve operational performance, including ERP, CRM, and Accounting. Businesses can choose which software solutions they need and customize their tech stack accordingly. However, a review states that these modules “don’t necessarily talk to each other the way you would expect” (Capterra). Other reviews mention issues with the user interface, system performance, and complex pricing tiers.

You can also check how Microsoft Project performs as one of the best Avaza alternative options.

SAP is a leading provider of software solutions with a cloud-based ERP tool called SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

Key features:

Regarding the benefits of SAP, users on Capterra report state it offers powerful business apps with a lot of room for customization. However, there are some notable downsides. Many reviews mention that the tool is not as user-friendly or visually appealing as they might prefer:

Source: Capterra

If you’re looking for a more straightforward but comprehensive agency software, you might want to consider other alternatives from this list.

Oracle Netsuite ERP is a business management platform with a wide variety of modules for complex agency processes.

Key features:

While it’s a great option for financial reporting and oversight, agency professionals might want to consider an alternative to Netsuite with more extensive collaboration and communication features. Otherwise, users usually enjoy the range of modules Netsuite offers but find that the costs might be too steep for small and medium-sized businesses.

Epicor is a leading ERP company that offers customizable modules for customer relationship management, business intelligence, and more.

Key features:

Similarly to SAP and Oracle, Epicor is an extensive software solution that can be especially good for manufacturing and production companies. It offers various supply chain and inventory management modules and other suitable features. However, due to its complexity and industry-specific features, it might not be the optimal choice as a professional services business tool.

SYSPRO is an ERP solution tailored to businesses in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

Key features:

Compared to other ERP solutions, users frequently praise SYSPRO for being more user-friendly and affordable. Although reviews are generally positive, some mention issues with the reporting feature, including limited reports, issues with customization and adding parameters, and problems with downloading data.

Sage Group is a leading provider of solutions for business management, with products for project-based accounting and finance management tools such as Sage Intacct and ERP with Sage X3.

Key features:

Sage X3 has a 3.9 star rating on Capterra. User experiences are mixed, with some calling it a good cost-to-benefit choice with a visually appealing UI. Other, more negative reviews mention that the CRM module is limited and that customization can be lengthy and expensive and usually requires third-party help.

Infor offers cloud-based ERP systems for distribution, manufacturing, and service industries.

Key features:

Users on Capterra comment that Infor M3 is extremely customizable, which can make it quite complex to configure and implement. Some reviews also comment that it might require a lot of workarounds and iteration to tailor it to your business needs.

Source: Capterra

According to research by Panorama Consulting, organizations that quantify expected benefits from ERP software experienced:

How exactly do ERP systems make this possible?

Like most types of software, such as agency project management software, ERP helps automate manual workflows. This can include financial automation, such as collating reports and streamlining the accounting process. It can also include project and collaboration features like notifications, documentation, and task updates.

Comprehensive tools can serve as a centralized database for agency data, workflows, and project updates. This helps eliminate silos and improve customer relationships by providing all project stakeholders with a single source of truth for their business operations.

These tools empower human resource planning by providing detailed analytics and insights, enabling tailored strategic human resource planning strategies that enhance employee satisfaction and reduce turnover.

Learn how Productive supports clarity across cross-functional teams and processes.

The ERP solutions reviewed in this article have useful financial management tools for business insights. Most are sold in modules and offer a range of features for various businesses and industries. While these tools can be powerful, they can also require a lot of time investment and be pricey for SMEs.

As one of the best ERP for service companies, consider an integrated solution like Productive. With its suite of tools for agency workflows, Productive enables simpler implementation and adoption for teams with varying tech experiences and preferences.

If you want to support your daily and strategic business operations with streamlined software, consider booking a demo with Productive today.
 

The number 1 ERP system usually depends on your specific business needs and context. For agencies, one of the top ERP software is Productive, as it offers support with various agency operations and day-to-day workflows. For the manufacturing industry, you might want to consider other options, such as Sage or Epicor.

The type of software that is usually utilized for ERP is a suite of applications or a comprehensive platform that can integrate your business processes. Some popular ERP examples include Productive for agencies, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, Sage, Netsuite, and others for businesses across all industries.

The best ERP system depends on your industry, resources, and goals. For professional services, Productive is an intuitive and comprehensive solution for agencies of all sizes. Businesses interested in robust financial management might want to consider Netsuite while manufacturing companies can consider SYSPRO or Infor as their top picks.

The three common types of ERP systems are on-premise, cloud-based, and hybrid. On-premise systems provide increased security as they’re managed locally but usually incur higher license costs. Cloud-based ERP tools are usually more affordable and easier to implement but are more prone to security concerns since data is stored off-site. Hybrid software combines features of both.