How to Build an ERP Requirements Checklist For a Successful Project
- Kwixand Team
- Jun 11
- 8 min read
Here are some crucial factors to consider when gathering requirements for your first or new ERP solution.
If your organization is in the process of selecting an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, creating a thorough ERP requirements checklist is critical for long-term success. Keep in mind that an ERP solution is the backbone of your entire operations – you want to select one with the capabilities and functionality to address your company’s specific challenges.
The best way to approach this critical task is to map out your business requirements beforehand and make a custom checklist. To help you get started, this article includes vital steps on how to establish an ERP requirements checklist and gives you some questions you should be thinking about during the gathering process.
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What is an ERP Requirements Checklist?
An ERP requirements checklist is a document that outlines all the features, functions, and technical needs your business must have in its new ERP solution. More than just a wish list of functions and features you need, your requirements checklist is a collaboration between key stakeholders across all departments, from Finance, IT, Operations, HR, and Sales. When done right, this becomes your guide for evaluating ERP vendors and making an informed decision that actually supports your business goals.
The Importance of Establishing a ERP Requirement Checklist
Obtaining and prioritizing ERP requirements ahead of time helps companies make a better choice and greatly decreases the chances of a failed project. Companies can use their ERP requirements checklist throughout the process, right from software selection to implementation. This checklist makes the complex process of investing in a new ERP system much easier.
Simpler collection of business requirements from department stakeholders, access to the entire list of ERP software requirements and features on the market, more productive collaboration during software evaluation and selection, and easier tracking of ERP functions during the system implementation – all these benefits highlight the importance of creating a requirements checklist.
Defining Your ERP Requirements: Questions to Get You Started
There are a couple of factors you should consider when defining your ERP requirements. An excellent way to begin is to define your mindset and strategy. Here are a few questions you can consider as a starting point.
🔎 What Do You Want Your New ERP Solution to Achieve?
Before you even glance at features or pricing sheets, ask yourself this: What do we want our ERP software to help us achieve? The first step here is to assess your current business goals and objectives. Your goals might include:
Scaling your operations
Reducing manual data entry
Gaining real-time financial visibility
Improving compliance
Whatever your business goals are, you should start by interviewing key stakeholders and gathering feedback from different teams about pain points and aspirations. Make sure the goals are measurable and specific.
Also, do think about what your organization may look like in the future. Are you anticipating growth? What future challenges might crop up? The ERP solution you select will be one you’re working with for the next couple of years, so you want it to be able to scale and adapt to meet your needs as they evolve.
🔎 What Do Your Current Business Processes Look Like?
ERP solutions interact with every part of your organization, so identifying and mapping out your current business processes is essential. Start by listing your core functions. For example:
Finance and Accounting
Procurement and Inventory Management
Sales and CRM
Reporting and Compliance
For each area, document your workflows. What tools do you currently use? Where are the bottlenecks? What’s being done manually that could be automated?
Let’s say your inventory team still tracks stock in spreadsheets. That’s a red flag and a clear requirement for inventory management automation in your checklist. Figuring out the gaps in your current system and processes is a good way to start thinking about some of the capabilities that your new solution should offer you.
🔎 Do You Need an On-Premises or Cloud Solution?
On-premises ERP solutions are hosted on your internal servers and managed internally, while cloud ERP is hosted and managed by your vendor. While there are many benefits of cloud ERP, including lower costs, greater data security, and the ability to access data on the go, you need to consider which option is a better fit for your company. Here’s what to consider when you’re thinking about your technical requirements:
Deployment model: Do you want cloud-based, on-premise, or hybrid?
Security & Compliance: Can it meet your industry’s data regulations?
Scalability: Will it grow with your business?
Also, think about user experience. Is it mobile-friendly? Is the interface intuitive? Your technical checklist will help your IT team narrow down options that meet your infrastructure and security requirements.
🔎 How Important is Integration to Your Organization?
Your company already has processes and solutions in place. Ask yourself:
Is it necessary for your new ERP software to integrate with your existing third-party solutions such as your CRM, payroll software, etc?
Will your new ERP solution replace those systems entirely? Will it replace some of them?
If you know you will need to keep using specific solutions, finding an ERP solution that can easily integrate with it will go a long way in saving time and money in the long run. While forming your checklist, make sure it has the software mentioned which will need to integrate with your new software. Also, consider extensibility: will your new ERP solution allow custom integrations or third-party plug-ins?
🔎 What Are Your Functional Requirements?
Functional requirements are the specific features your ERP system must have. This is an important part of your checklist and it’s time to get detailed here. It is essential to determine what functions and modules you require and don’t need in your new ERP solution. A typical ERP solution will offer several core modules such as:
Financial management and accounting
Purchasing
Inventory and order management
Project management
Supply chain management
Customer relationship management
Human resources management
Business intelligence and reporting
Your requirements will depend on your business type, so you must work out exactly what features you’ll need right away. It helps to classify each requirement as:
Must-Have: Absolutely essential for daily operations
Nice-to-Have: Would improve productivity but isn’t mission-critical
Remember to be specific. Instead of saying “good reporting,” say “real-time financial dashboards with drill-down capability.” The clearer you are, the easier it will be to compare vendors.
Another factor that will determine your list is your industry. Certain industries may require specific functionality or customizations. In those cases, it might be best to consider an ERP solution that has proven reliable and has features specific to your industry.
Another helpful way to determine functionality is to communicate with your employees, especially end-users of your business management solution. Some may even have recommendations of systems they’ve used in previous roles – and often, choosing a system that some of the team members are already familiar with helps cut down on training costs later and get their full support.
🔎 What is Your Budget?
ERP pricing can be tricky. A solution might seem affordable upfront but come with hidden costs like customizations, maintenance, or additional user fees.When building your checklist, consider the following points:
Upfront costs: Licensing, implementation, consulting
Recurring costs: Subscriptions, support, upgrades
Indirect costs: Training, downtime, change management
This is where Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) comes in. It’s a broader view of what the ERP will cost you over, say, five years. It’s a good idea to include a target budget range in your checklist and weigh features against long-term value, not just sticker price.
🔎 What are Your Criteria for Vendors?
It’s helpful to cut down your list of ERP software vendors to 2-3 options as that makes evaluation much easier and keeps you from focusing on irrelevant criteria. Think about the following questions – how long they’ve been in business, what experience they have in your industry, how their support for their products is, and how often the product is updated.
Building Your ERP Requirements Checklist: 5 Steps To Follow
Now that you have an idea of key requirements and what you should be thinking about, here’s how to begin building that ERP requirement checklist for your organization.
1. Consult Employees to Define Business Requirements
Build a comprehensive list of your business requirements for the ERP solution by asking for input from your team to ensure your ERP works at all levels. Begin by mapping out your core business processes and survey the end-users who will be impacted by the new ERP solution the most. Ask them what functionalities they require and if there are any pain points or inefficiency in the current process. Consult business leaders and decision-makers about the changes they’d like to see in reporting and analytics. Working with your team will help you get a clearer picture of your key requirements.
2. Get Executive Buy-In
Getting upper management involved in this process is critical. Engaging them right from the requirements gathering phase will help them better understand the value and benefits the right solution can offer. Getting buy-in and support from upper management will help move the entire project along, making the budget approval process smoother.
3. Decide on a Realistic Budget and Timeframe
It is crucial to decide how much your company is willing to spend on the ERP solution and the associated costs such as implementation, training, support, etc. The prices will vary depending on many factors, such as the size of your company, the industry you’re in, whether you’re after an on-premises or cloud ERP solution, and the number of integrations or customizations you require. Having a clear understanding of your budget and timeframe will make the process easier in the long run.
4. Set SMART Requirements to Evaluate ROI
When building your list of key requirements, aim to follow the SMART rule and make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. This will help you measure the value the requirement will eventually produce. If you can measure it from the start, you’ll be able to evaluate this measured benefit against your ERP costs, which will help you calculate your return on investment. Similarly, ensure your requirements are attainable and relevant – and remember that not everything needs to be an essential requirement. Focus on your critical processes and challenges. Finally, they should be time-based, which means you’ll see the value within a couple of years.
5. Identify the Type of ERP Partner You’d Like to Work With
Unless you plan to implement in-house, your ERP implementation partner will be a critical factor in the success of your ERP project. While gathering requirements, also consider the kind of partner you’d like to work with. This is important because any ERP software you select will likely not be able to do everything you require – there might be process vs. functionality challenges. This is where a good partner will work with you to address these gaps to get to the required result.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Let’s save you some trouble. Here are a few pitfalls we’ve seen:
Not involving stakeholders early enough: This leads to buy-in problems later.
Skipping process documentation: If you don’t know your current workflows, how will you improve them?
Getting distracted by flashy features: Focus on business fit, not bells and whistles.
Underestimating training and change management: Even the best system fails without proper onboarding.
Key Takeaway
Creating an ERP requirements checklist isn’t just a bureaucratic exercise - it’s your roadmap to choosing a system that fits your business like a glove. When done right, it reduces risk, aligns your teams, and makes sure your ERP investment pays off for years to come.
Start with a discovery meeting. Talk to your teams. Use this guide to build a checklist that reflects your unique goals. And when you’re ready, compare vendors with clarity and confidence.
About Kwixand Solutions
As a trusted Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner, we work with companies across North America to help achieve their business goals and scale with ease. As your ERP implementation partner, we dive deep to understand your business inside out and develop creative solutions to make the software work for your company, and not the other way around. To learn more about our service and how we could help you, book a free consultation with our team.
