ERP Selection Consultant, New Zealand

New Zealand shortlists at different company sizes

Which products deserve a look depends on how your business trades: whether you hold stock in more than one location, manufacture or process food, run jobs, export, or own an Australian company. Size matters mainly because it decides how much system administration your own people can carry.

• Smaller firms built around Xero or MYOB and apps. The comparison usually includes a tidier app stack with better integration, Zoho, Odoo and sometimes ERPNext where technical help is available.
• Mid-sized distributors, food producers and manufacturers. Odoo is often weighed against Dynamics 365 Business Central, NetSuite, Acumatica or a larger MYOB product, depending on whether inventory, production or finance leads the requirements.
• Trans-Tasman groups. Running both countries in one environment, with separate GST setups and NZD and AUD reporting, becomes the deciding test.

None of this is a recommendation. Each product passes written knock-out questions before it gets demo time. In New Zealand, one question removes options faster than most: is there an implementer with enough people to support this product here for the life of the system? A strong product with a thin local bench can be a weaker choice than a modest product with dependable support. For a neutral comparison of small-business options, see best ERP for small businesses.

Judging implementers in a small market

With few implementers per platform, the usual advice to invite many bidders does not always apply. Sometimes you will compare a local firm, an Australian firm that serves New Zealand and an offshore team with a local contact. Each can work, but the risks differ.

I bring every proposal into one grid and add questions that matter more in a small market:

• Bench depth. How many consultants know the platform, who is named on your project and who covers if that person leaves or is unavailable.
• Support hours. Whether help is available during the New Zealand business day, given that New Zealand is ahead of Australia.
• Local knowledge. Experience with New Zealand GST settings, Peppol, local bank payment formats and payroll products, supported by references.
• Scope clarity. Hours by role, assumptions, exclusions, client responsibilities and how variations are priced.
• After launch. Support contract terms, response times and what happens at renewal.

Reference calls follow the same script for each implementer, with particular attention to how they handled staff changes and disagreements. In a market where everyone knows everyone, references can be polite, so I ask specific questions about scope changes, missed dates and support response. Common red flags in implementer offers are collected under proposal review, while a full tender process sits under ERP RFP consulting.

Demo scenarios for New Zealand requirements

Vendors receive a script and sample records ahead of time, and every demo follows the same agenda so scores mean the same thing. For a New Zealand business, the script usually asks each vendor to show:

• GST. Local sales, zero-rated exports and an import with GST collected at the border, then the figures that feed the GST return and how they reconcile. Treatments are confirmed by your accountant, not by the vendor.
• Peppol. Sending an invoice to a customer and receiving a supplier invoice through the network, showing what is built in and what needs an access point or add-on.
• Payments. Paying a batch of suppliers through a file your bank will accept, then matching the bank feed.
• Payroll. Many New Zealand businesses keep payroll in a specialist product that handles payday filing. The demo should show the wage journal posting by department or job, not just mention an integration.
• Trans-Tasman, if relevant. An intercompany sale from the New Zealand company to the Australian one, with each GST setup kept separate.
• Inventory and production. Batch or expiry tracking for food and beverage, or a simple production order for manufacturers.

Process owners rate each scenario as built in, configured or custom, and gaps are followed up in writing.

Hosting location, privacy and commercial terms

Cloud ERP products are often hosted outside New Zealand, for example in Australia, and for many buyers that is acceptable. Some organizations, particularly those serving public bodies or holding sensitive personal information, prefer to know exactly where data sits and who can reach it. Your obligations under New Zealand privacy law and any customer contracts are for your own advisor to confirm. My part is to put identical questions to every vendor: hosting region, sub-processors, backup and recovery arrangements, and who at the implementer will hold administrator access.

The commercial terms get equal attention. Points that New Zealand buyers often need to clarify include:

• Billing currency. Subscriptions are frequently priced in US or Australian dollars, so exchange movements affect the real cost at each renewal.
• User types. Whether approvers, pickers and occasional users can work on a cheaper license tier.
• Term and renewal. How long you are locked in, whether the plan renews itself and how far the price can rise.
• Add-ons. Peppol access points, payroll connectors and inventory extensions with their own fees.
• Exit. How and in what form your data can be exported if you change systems.

I record each answer in the decision file. Your lawyer reviews the contract itself.

Independent, remote and ready for the next step

Implementers and app developers in New Zealand often give useful early advice, but each naturally leans toward what they sell or support. I take no commission or referral fee from anyone, which leaves me free to suggest a smaller change, a different implementer or no new system at all if that serves the business better.

The selection runs remotely. Live sessions, including vendor demos, sit in the New Zealand afternoon when overlap is easiest, and the rest of the work moves through shared documents and recorded walkthroughs. Staff who could not attend a demo watch the recording before scoring, so every score is based on the same evidence. A visit can be agreed by arrangement, though most selections do not need one.

When the decision is made, the scenarios and scoring become the reference for delivery, and the same person can oversee the rollout as your New Zealand ERP implementation consultant. If you are not yet sure an ERP is warranted, ERP evaluation is the better place to start. For more background, see my New Zealand ERP consulting page, the vendor selection method and the New Zealand hub.