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Integrating Robust Budgeting Tools With Your ERP System
The power of BP&F tools lies in their ability to deliver seamless integration with ERP systems.
ERP Systems are powerful tools that no organiza on can do without.
They are designed to manage the flow of data between the various
business units within an organiza on. While ERP systems are built as
“Jack-of-all-trades” encompassing mul ple applica ons in a common
interface, their budge ng modules o en don’t provide the level of
func onality required by public sector budge ng.
Recognizing this solu on gap, highly func onal and integrated
database driven BP&F (Budget Planning & Forecas ng) solu ons
have been created. This document takes a look at how they work
within the framework of an exis ng ERP system, and the benefits
they provide.
ERP Systems
As budge ng requirements in the public sector become increasingly
complex, the gaps between what is required and what an ERP budge ng module can provide con nue to expand. Leveraging out of the
box budge ng from your exis ng ERP system won’t likely suit your
needs as requirements con nue to evolve. The ques on becomes
“Do you have the tools necessary to effec vely meet your budge ng
objec ves?”
The ability to handle forecas ng, scenario budge ng, alloca ons,
priority-based budge ng, and other func ons key to public sector
budge ng, are severely limited in most ERP systems.
ERP systems are inherently expensive, so introducing a new one in
the hopes of it having a be er suited budge ng module is o en not
an op on. Contracts can be difficult and costly to cancel. New
so ware and maintenance agreements need to be nego ated.
Add to this the cost to provide licensing and training for all employees using the ERP system and a realis c budget can very quickly be
exceeded.
While ERP systems house data in a format specific to accoun ng,
budge ng o en requires a very different data structure. Organizaons o en develop ad-hoc methods for dealing with this, such as
Excel spreadsheets or homegrown Access databases, but these can
be very inefficient, and provide only a par al fix. This approach also
places a dependency on a few key individuals responsible for managing the complex spreadsheets.
Although spreadsheets may be easy and familiar, they require a
great deal of manual work, opening the door to inaccuracies through
incorrectly entered data, missing links, and version control. Data
sharing is severely limited, resul ng in an overwhelming volume of
spreadsheets, and a constant reliance on Finance to provide budget
updates.
TURNING OBJECTIVES INTO OUTCOMES
Access databases offer an alterna ve to spreadsheets, but also come
with inherent limita ons. The amount of manual work required to
setup the applica on, including forma ng, mapping, repor ng,
security, and so on, results in a tremendous commitment of me and
resources. They frequently don’t result in any cost savings, and the
reliance is solely on the proprietor of that applica on to perform
maintenance and upgrades.
Access databases are simply not as scale-able, and are really only
suited for a limited number of users, and minimal data. As the volume of data increases, the performance of the applica on deteriorates. These solu ons simply don’t match the robustness of a true
database applica on.
Given the generic nature of ERP budge ng modules, and the limitaons of spreadsheets and homegrown database solu ons, specialized BP&F solu ons are becoming increasingly recognized as the
answer to filling the gap between what is needed and what is delivered in budge ng.
The Benefit of BP&F Tools
BP&F tools are “Bolt-on” applica ons that exist outside the domain
of the ERP system. They have been developed by companies focused
solely on this piece of the puzzle. This is their primary objec ve and
they are experts at it. They know the process, the limita ons, and
are constantly evolving their tool in response to the changing needs
of the industry.
BP&F tools are significantly less expensive when compared to an ERP
replacement. The investment in so ware, licenses, and maintenance is much more easily managed. Since these are bolt-on applica ons, the ERP system can remain intact. Training costs are lower
as only people involved in the budget process require training and
licensing. Addi onally, many BP&F companies offer SaaS (So ware
as a Service), which allows you access to the so ware, but with a
significantly lowered upfront investment.
Training is only required for budge ng staff, not the en re staff as
would be the case in an ERP replacement. The so ware solu ons
are o en built using an interface already familiar to end users.
The cost of a BP&F tool is typically more efficient, as the so ware,
development, support, and all related a er sales services are provided by one company.
As scru ny over public sector budgets increases, budge ng solu ons
are responding with flexible op ons including Performance Measurement, Priority Based Budge ng, Zero-Based Budge ng, and Allocaons. Designed to process data with a focus on budge ng, they
handle the mapping of financial data to the appropriate budget target (Division, Department/Cost Centre/Project, etc.).
The costs and complexi es of salaries budge ng demand a solu on
with the ability to handle salary costs, benefits, union nego a ons,
scenarios, and forecas ng. Features such as Alloca ons allow managers to split salary/benefits & other personnel costs across mul ple
units, based on any number of weigh ng calcula ons. This provides
an accurate account of each department’s true labor costs.
BP&F tools come with a number of predesigned reports and the
ability for users to create their own ad-hoc reports Make sure the
reports exist or can be created, that present the informa on in a
manner that is relevant to your par cular business.
Integrating BP&F Tools with Your ERP System
BP&F tools are powerful solu ons designed to deliver seamless integra on with the ERP system. The two way transfer of data to and
from the general ledger, and payroll and HR, provides an easy flow of
informa on throughout the system. Although most organiza ons
choose to run updates on an automa c nightly schedule so actual
costs are available for staff each morning, on demand updates are
also available.
As most BP&F companies have experience with many of the ERP
systems on the market, they have a thorough understanding of both
the workflow within each ERP system, as well as the customer’s business process. This has enabled them to develop proven methodologies for full integra on between the systems, which not only mi gates the risk to the customer, but also ensures minimal impact to
end users. From the outset, a clear path is established, ensuring all
aspects of integra on are defined, including accoun ng terminology,
GL Account Structure, and Custom Fields. The integra on follows a
clearly
defined path. Everyone understands their role and the success is
measurable.
Experienced BP&F companies have developed integra on interfaces
to handle the process seamlessly. These tools are designed to automate the import of actuals from the ERP system, from any number of
data sources including flat file, spreadsheet, web services, or directly
from the ERP database. Li le to no involvement is required of the
customer, and no technical resources are needed on the customer’s
end. The new budge ng func onality becomes available to users
without any interrup on in service.
A good BP&F tool provides safeguards such as Excep on Repor ng,
which no fies users of any errors that occur during the import of
data from the ERP system into the budge ng solu on. These reports
are automa cally generated and iden fy the specific issues, such as
missing posi ons, incorrectly entered data, or data that doesn’t
meet forma ng requirements. Users can quickly resolve the issue,
resend the data, and get back to business.
With salaries accoun ng for such a large percentage of any opera ng
budget, the ability to integrate salary data provides immediate impact to the func onality of budge ng. Typical features include unlimited forecas ng, and unlimited “what-if” scenarios which can
handle anything from budge ng for future posi ons, to changes to
COLA, to alloca ng a resource across numerous cost centers.
BP&F tools are created to be more user-friendly and accessible than
the in-house tools that are developed to extend ERP func onality.
BP&F tools makes tasks such as accessing salaries data (budget and
actual), and naviga ng the complexi es of variance repor ng easy,
thereby bridging the gap between the casual and super users.
Integra ng a powerful BP&F tool with the exis ng ERP system delivers a powerful two-way transfer of data and harmony within the
finance and budge ng environment and eliminates the need for any
“double entry”.
The Impact to You the Customer
The impact to the customer is immediate and measurable.
Having the ability to import historical data and current actuals, as
well as to capture variance repor ng provides staff with the tools
necessary to make informed budget decisions.
BP&F tools make it easy to set and track strategic ini a ves, by associa ng KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to formulas in the budget,
and by a aching cost-drivers to a budget.
BP&F tools are designed to provide mul -year forecas ng, simulaon, and scenario capabili es, something few ERP systems can do.
This enables managers and finance to formulate and develop the
For More Information
The Ques ca Budget Suite is a secure web-based solu on structured on a proven capital and opera ng budge ng model.
Working in conjunc on with the public sector, Ques ca Budget Capital and Opera ng were designed to solve the cumbersome process of assembling, tracking, analyzing and repor ng of capital and opera ng budgets.
Further informa on on the Ques ca Budget Suite can be obtained at ques ca.com.
TURNING OBJECTIVES INTO OUTCOMES
budget best suited to meet their business objec ves, both short and
long term.
Change management is easily handled within BP&F tools. Transfer
requests (transferring funds from one budget to another) can include
suppor ng documenta on, and can be tracked throughout the approval process.
Providing department managers with the tools necessary to create,
track, and control their budgets, shi s the ownership off of Finance
back to the managers. BP&F tools provide management with realme budget data and an inclusive view of their budget vs. actual
costs. Elimina ng the reliance on Finance to compile updated budget data, and provide the informa on behind specific business decisions, allows end users to focus their efforts more immediately on
value added analysis.
Enhanced budget func onality is becoming a basic requirement for
effec ve public sector budge ng. Robust, highly func onal, and cost
-effec ve, BP&F tools provide a seamless integra on with ERP
systems and open the door to be er, more accurate and mely
budge ng.
For More Information
The Ques ca Budget Suite is a secure web-based solu on structured on a proven capital and opera ng budge ng model.
Working in conjunc on with the public sector, Ques ca Budget Capital and Opera ng were designed to solve the cumbersome process of assembling, tracking, analyzing and repor ng of capital and opera ng budgets.
Further informa on on the Ques ca Budget Suite can be obtained at ques ca.com.
TURNING OBJECTIVES INTO OUTCOMES