ERP Business Analyst in Lebanon

Turning multi-currency bookkeeping into requirements

Lebanese companies commonly keep records in Lebanese pounds and US dollars, and some track more than one rate for different purposes. Whatever arrangement your finance team uses, the analyst's job is to describe it so precisely that a vendor can configure it and a tester can prove it.

I do that through a currency rule register. Each row is one transaction type: a customer invoice, a supplier payment, a cash sale at an outlet, a payroll journal, an intercompany recharge. For each, the register records the currency the document is issued in, the currency it settles in, the rate type used for conversion, where that rate comes from and who enters it. A second section describes reporting: which currency management views, which one the statutory books use, and how differences are presented.

Your accountant and finance lead approve the register; I do not decide which rate is correct. Once approved, every row becomes a requirement and a test. During demonstrations, vendors process the same set of transactions, and I compare the resulting balances against figures your team calculated independently. The ERP requirements gathering page explains how registers like this fit into the wider requirements pack, and the configuration side is covered on the Lebanon ERP consultant page.

VAT scenarios and documents in three languages

Because Lebanon applies VAT, sales and purchase documents carry tax data that feeds your returns. Instead of asking vendors whether they support VAT, which every platform will confirm, I list the specific situations your business produces and ask how each one is handled.

A typical list includes domestic sales at standard treatment, exempt or zero-rated lines where your accountant confirms they apply, exports, supplier invoices from abroad, credit notes, advance receipts and recharges between group companies. The accountant confirms each treatment. I do not provide tax advice, and current rules should always be checked with them.

Language sits alongside tax in the same document register. A Lebanese company might send an Arabic invoice to one customer, a French statement to another and an English quotation to a client abroad. For every output the register notes the language, whether text runs right to left, which wording is fixed, which fields come from the system and who approves the result. Since the engagement runs in English, bilingual staff on your side review the Arabic and French wording, and that review is tracked as a requirement like any other. The BRD consulting page shows where the register sits in the final document.

Mapping trading, hospitality and services processes

Process diagrams are where hidden complexity becomes visible. I draw them as swimlanes, one lane per role, so each handover between people or departments is explicit.

• Import and trading companies. The diagram runs from supplier order through shipping documents, clearing, warehouse receipt and landed cost to sale and collection. Requirements note who records each cost and when stock value is final.
• Restaurant and hospitality groups. Here the focus is central purchasing, recipe and portion definitions, transfers to outlets, wastage and the daily point-of-sale summary that reaches finance. Each outlet's practice is compared so differences are either standardized or deliberately kept.
• Professional and engineering services. The map follows an engagement from proposal to staffing, time recording, billing in the agreed currency and margin review by client.

On every diagram I mark rework, double entry and approvals that happen in messages rather than in a system. Each mark links to a numbered requirement, which keeps the BRD grounded in real problems rather than a generic feature wish list. Details of the technique are on the ERP process mapping page.

Group structure, hosting and access requirements

Many Lebanese businesses are part of a group with companies in other countries. The BRD therefore needs a section on structure: which legal entities exist, which currency each reports in, which master records they share and how intercompany sales, loans or management charges are recorded. Owners usually want a consolidated view, so I specify the reports, their currency and how eliminations are expected to work, leaving accounting judgments to your auditors.

Technical requirements are written in business language too. Where should the system and its backups be hosted, and does any entity have data protection expectations from customers or regulators abroad? How do outlets or branches connect, and what should happen at a till or warehouse if the internet connection drops for a while? Which roles can change prices, approve discounts or edit a customer's tax details?

Each answer becomes a requirement that vendors respond to in writing. Hosting options vary by platform, and the Lebanon pages on Odoo, Zoho, ERPNext and Dynamics 365 discuss what to check for each one. The gap analysis then records how every vendor responded.

Running the analysis with Lebanese teams online

The whole engagement runs over video and shared documents. India is a few hours ahead of Lebanon, which leaves the Lebanese morning and early afternoon open for live workshops, with written follow-up arriving before your next working day begins.

Each session covers a single process and lasts no longer than it needs to, using real invoices, delivery notes and spreadsheets as the starting point. People who rarely join meetings, such as outlet managers or storekeepers, can answer a brief questionnaire or record a short screen walkthrough of their routine. All open questions sit in a shared tracker with a named owner.

Sign-off happens section by section, so finance approves the currency register, operations approves the process diagrams and management approves the group reporting section. Only then is the BRD frozen and shared with vendors. The ERP business analysis page describes the method in general terms, and the Lebanon overview lists everything else I offer in this market.