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Finance director warns current ERP is unreliable; presents $250K'$300K replacement estimate and higher onboarding costs
Summary
The finance director told the committee the town's current ERP produces inconsistent numbers, forced staff to perform extensive manual reconciliation, and that the vendor plans to sunset the product; staff presented an estimated replacement cost range of about $250,000'$300,000, onboarding/transition line items around $286,000, and annual support of $70,000'$90,000.
The committee heard from finance director Jeff that the town's current enterprise-resource-planning (ERP) system produces unreliable budget figures and requires repeated manual checks. Jeff said the system projected $134,000 for a line item in one report but the true amount was $589,000, and that staff spend significant time reconciling and re-entering information.
Jeff described multiple problems: fragmented modules, duplicate entry, manual workarounds, and a vendor message that the product will be sunset. He said the town pays about $90,000 per year in support for a product the finance office does not fully trust, and expressed concern about future cybersecurity patches and data continuity for payroll and personnel records.
On replacement, Jeff outlined cost ranges discussed with vendors and staff: an initial capital/implementation range commonly discussed in the meeting was about $250,000 to $300,000 depending on vendor choice; an implementation/onboarding professional services line was cited in discussion at roughly $286,000; and annual support after implementation was estimated at $70,000 to $90,000 depending on modules and vendor. He said an RFP will be used to seek bids and emphasized the value of integration (HR, payroll, procurement, timekeeping) and accurate forecasting to reduce manual labor.
Committee members underscored that improved forecasting and integration would ease budget work for the committee and reduce staff time spent on year-end and recurring tasks. Jeff said staff will proceed with procurement steps and return with a formal RFP and budget request for consideration.
