Which Key Points Should be Covered in Your ERP Contract?

Having an ERP contract is paramount for businesses that want to outline each point of their project. Aside from detailing the resources and business data is important for the relevant parties, there are several key points that should be outlined in it as well. Being able to name these points in a contract will be necessary for the legal aspects of your project.

Using Nuage, an ERP solution provider, can be quite helpful to your business. Nuage has managed several implementations by different companies on NetSuite, Microsoft, Salesforce, and more. Utilizing them in conjunction with working your contracts properly will be quite the aid.

Curious about what should be included in your ERP contract? Continue reading to know what key points should be covered.

1) Project Scope

An ERP project’s scope should already be written down so that each component will be defined. The typical elements that would have to be explicitly included are any standard operating procedures like production, inventory, and warehousing. Client locations and any relevant implementation tools should also be covered in this part of the ERP contract.

2) Project Team Responsibilities

Several parties will be involved in the implementation of an ERP project. The contract should state what certain roles and responsibilities are assigned to each person to manage expectations. It’s ideal to have the contents of this contract, especially this part of the ERP project, streamlined and accessible to everyone involved.

3) Project Methodology

Aside from the responsibilities, it’s important for an ERP project to state the methodology of how the whole process will be carried out. Each stage of the ERP project would ideally be written into an ERP contract, alongside some description of how it would be carried out. For example, how team forming and requirement gathering would ensue is important.

4) Project Timelines

Everything always has a deadline, and ERP projects are no exception to that rule. To make sure that everything is delivered on the right day and time that it’s supposed to be done, a timeline is important. Having this in the contract will ensure that every team is held accountable for whatever they were assigned to fulfill.

5) Project Infrastructure Needs

There will be all kinds of infrastructure needed in order to fulfill the ERP project. Different types of hardware and software solutions will be utilized by various teams to accomplish the ERP project on time, so stating them on the contract can assist with the preparation stage.

6) Testing Criteria

Each ERP project should undergo testing phases in order to check whether the final product is acceptable for users. The parameters that will be used to judge and test should be specified as criteria that the User Acceptance team will utilize as a reference.

7) Post-Implementation Activities

ERP contracts may typically end after the testing stage and the actual implementation, but there should still be clauses of what comes after. Will there be people responsible for maintenance? What about additional features that are needed in the ERP?

Conclusion

In summary, the coverage of an ERP contract should encompass several key points that will be able to hold each party and move accountable. The document also serves as a guide for several team members, so don’t forget to state explicit details in the contract.

If you need the best contract management solutions to go hand in hand with your ERP, use Anapact. This enterprise contract lifecycle management solution is perfect for small and mid-sized businesses. Try this software today!

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- About the Author

Picture of Louis Balla
Louis Balla
Louis is the Co-Founder of Anapact and partner at Nuage, a top rated ERP consulting firm based in Venice Beach, California.