ERP Selection Consultant, Australia

How Australian ERP shortlists take shape

The systems worth considering depend on the shape of your operations: how many sites and states hold stock, whether you manufacture or run jobs, whether there is a New Zealand or Asian entity, and how much administration your own people can take on. In practice, Australian conversations tend to start in a few familiar places.

• Growing businesses stretched across MYOB or Xero and add-ons. The comparison often covers a better-integrated app stack, Zoho around Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory, Odoo and ERPNext.
• Established mid-sized wholesalers, manufacturers and contractors. Dynamics 365 Business Central, NetSuite, Acumatica and MYOB's larger products are commonly weighed against Odoo, depending on whether stock, production or project costing leads.
• Trans-Tasman or regional groups. Multi-company consolidation, intercompany trading and reporting in more than one currency become the deciding factors.

These are starting points, not recommendations. Before any product reaches a demo, it answers written knock-out questions. For Australian buyers, a couple of questions remove options early: does the product produce GST and BAS figures your accountant can rely on without spreadsheet adjustments, and does a partner near your time zone have enough depth to support it? For a neutral comparison of options in one common sector, see best ERP for distribution.

Comparing partner proposals in the Australian market

Mid-market ERP products in Australia are typically delivered by partners, from small specialist firms to national consultancies, and some proposals come from New Zealand or offshore teams. Choosing the partner is as consequential as choosing the product, because the same platform can be implemented very differently.

Proposals rarely arrive in a comparable shape. One is fixed-price for a tightly drawn scope, another is a day-rate estimate, a third assumes your team handles data migration and reports. I convert each into one grid:

• Deliverables, phases and estimated days by role, with the named consultants and their seniority.
• Every assumption and exclusion, and the work expected from your staff.
• How variations are priced and who must approve them.
• Support after launch: hours of cover, response times and whether the support desk works across eastern and western time.
• Experience with Australian GST, STP-connected payroll and bank formats, backed by references.

I then run structured reference calls with Australian customers of similar size and sector. Questions about how variations and disagreements were handled usually tell you more than praise for the software. The proposal review page lists the red flags I look for, and a formal tender process is covered by ERP RFP consulting.

Demo scenarios that reflect Australian requirements

Vendors get the script plus extracts of your real records beforehand, and every session follows the same agenda so scores can be compared fairly. For an Australian business, the script typically asks vendors to show:

• GST and BAS. Sales and purchases with different GST treatments, then the figures that feed the BAS and how they reconcile to the ledger. Your accountant or BAS agent confirms which treatments apply.
• Supplier setup and payments. ABN capture on supplier records, a payment batch exported as an ABA file your bank accepts, and bank feed reconciliation.
• E-invoicing. Sending and receiving an invoice through Peppol, if customers or government buyers expect it, including what is standard and what needs an add-on.
• Payroll. Whether payroll runs in the ERP or in a specialist STP-enabled product, and how wages, super and leave liabilities post to the ledger by job or department.
• Distance and stock. A transfer between warehouses in different states and an import with freight, duty and customs charges added to landed cost.

Your staff mark every scenario as handled natively, by setup or by development. Vague answers go on a follow-up list that each vendor answers in writing before scores are finalized.

Hosting, privacy and contract terms

Many Australian buyers ask whether their data can be held onshore. Some have customer contracts, sector rules or board policies that expect it; others simply want to know where it sits. Obligations under the Privacy Act and any sector-specific rules should be confirmed by your own advisor. During selection, I put the same questions to every shortlisted vendor: where data is stored, whether an Australian region is offered, which sub-processors are involved, how backups and disaster recovery work, and who at the partner has administrator access.

Commercial terms get the same scrutiny. Points that often need clarification for Australian buyers include:

• Billing currency. Whether subscriptions are priced in AUD or US dollars, and how renewals are converted.
• User types. Which roles need full licenses and which can use limited or light access, such as approvers or warehouse staff.
• Term and renewal. Minimum periods, automatic renewal and any cap on price increases.
• Add-ons. Payroll, Peppol, EDI or bank connectors charged separately.
• Partner terms. Day rates for variations, support plans and ownership of custom work.
• Exit. Export rights and formats if you leave.

I raise the questions and record the answers; your lawyer reviews the final contract.

Independent advice, run remotely across Australian time zones

The first ERP advice many Australian businesses receive comes from a partner that sells subscriptions as well as services. It is an ordinary route, yet the advisor has a product to sell. I am paid solely by the business I advise, so I can recommend a lighter option, a different partner or staying with your current ledger when that is the better answer.

Everything happens online. Sessions with vendors and your own team are booked inside your business day, which is comfortable for Perth and workable for the eastern states with planning, especially when daylight saving shifts the gap. Recordings let staff in other states review a demo before scoring, and scoring happens in a shared workbook. Visits happen only by arrangement, and a sound decision does not depend on one.

After the decision, the scenarios and scoring evidence become the reference point for delivery, and I can carry on as your ERP implementation consultant in Australia. If the real question is still whether you need an ERP, ERP evaluation is the better start. For background, see my Australian ERP consulting page, the selection method and the Australia hub.