ERP for Project Management
ERP systems can boost productivity and efficiencies for project management based companies.
At ERP Research we provide independent advice and analysis for top project management ERP systems, helping you find the best software, faster.
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Best ERP for Project Management
Project management ERP software benefits organizations by integration projects with other key business functions such as finance, human resources, billing and more. Here are some of the best project management ERP software solutions:
Microsoft Dynamics Business Central
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an ERP system for projects used by small and medium sized project based businesses such as architecture firms, consultancies and legal firms around the world.
SAP Business ByDesign
SAP Business ByDesign is a Cloud ERP solution that serves as a stable solution with over 30 out of the box processes for project focussed organisations including IT consultancies, managed service providers, engineering companies and more.
Oracle Netsuite
Netsuite is an integrated ERP system for project management focussed companies that need integrated sales, marketing, projects, human resources, finance and more. Netsuite ERP for project management is one of the best Cloud ERP solutions available.
Odoo
Odoo is an open source ERP software for project management, offering a suite of integrated tools.
SAP Business One
SAP Business One has developed many projects specific add-ons for various project management sub-verticals. SAP Business One is a strong ERP for project management if you are running a small business, SMB or SME.
Infor CloudSuite Industrial (Syteline)
Infor CSI is a popular ERP solution for small and medium sized manufacturing companies in discrete and process manufacturing industries. See how Infor compares.
SAP S/4 HANA
SAP S/4 HANA for many is the gold standard ERP solution for project management critical companies across multiple industries including professional services, engineering and more. The ERP solution offers strong project management capabilities.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365 has become extremely popular with project focussed organizations that need a greater degree of flexibility in their ERP system. Microsoft has also heavily invested in AI & ML capabilities to improve automation and efficiencies.
Oracle ERP Cloud
Oracle ERP Cloud is a popular ERP solution amongst engineering and projects focussed businesses owing to their highly successful project management solutions and capabilities that are well suited to large capital expenditure projects.
Cloud-based Project Management ERP
Many organisations need Cloud ERP for project management as they don't want to maintain servers and legacy IT operations. Here are some of the best Cloud-based project management ERP systems:
SAP S/4 HANA
SAP S/4 HANA for many is the gold standard ERP solution for project management critical companies across multiple industries including professional services, engineering and more. The ERP solution offers strong project management capabilities.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365 has become extremely popular with project focussed organizations that need a greater degree of flexibility in their ERP system. Microsoft has also heavily invested in AI & ML capabilities to improve automation and efficiencies.
IFS Applications
IFS is a popular Cloud ERP for companies seeking a cloud based ERP solution for project management and other people and asset based industries.
SAP Business ByDesign
SAP Business ByDesign is a Cloud ERP solution that serves as a stable solution with over 30 out of the box processes for project focussed organisations including IT consultancies, managed service providers, engineering companies and more.
Oracle Netsuite
Netsuite is an integrated ERP system for project management focussed companies that need integrated sales, marketing, projects, human resources, finance and more. Netsuite ERP for project management is one of the best Cloud ERP solutions available.
Oracle ERP Cloud
Oracle ERP Cloud is a popular ERP solution amongst engineering and projects focussed businesses owing to their highly successful project management solutions and capabilities that are well suited to large capital expenditure projects.
SAP Business One
SAP Business One is a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that can be used as a project management tool for businesses of all sizes. Here are some ways SAP Business One can be used for project management:
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Project Planning: SAP Business One can help you create a detailed project plan with timelines, milestones, and deliverables. You can assign tasks to team members and monitor progress against the plan.
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Resource Management: SAP Business One allows you to manage resources such as staff, equipment, and materials. You can assign resources to tasks, monitor resource utilization, and ensure that you have the right resources available at the right time.
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Budgeting and Cost Control: SAP Business One allows you to set project budgets and monitor actual costs against the budget. You can track expenses, project revenue, and manage project finances to ensure that the project stays within budget.
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Collaboration: SAP Business One provides collaboration tools that allow team members to communicate, share files, and work together on tasks. This can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.
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Reporting and Analytics: SAP Business One provides real-time reporting and analytics that can help you monitor project progress, identify issues, and make data-driven decisions. You can create custom reports, dashboards, and visualizations to help you track key project metrics.
Oracle NetSuite
NetSuite can be used as a project management ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) by leveraging its various features that enable organizations to plan, manage, and execute projects efficiently. Some of the key functionalities of NetSuite that make it suitable for project management include:
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Project Management Module: NetSuite's project management module allows organizations to create and manage projects, set budgets, track time and expenses, and monitor project progress in real-time.
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Resource Management: With NetSuite's resource management tools, organizations can allocate resources based on project needs, track availability of resources, and optimize resource utilization to ensure that the right resources are assigned to the right projects at the right time.
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Financial Management: NetSuite's financial management capabilities provide a centralized platform for tracking project costs, billing clients, and managing project budgets. It also helps organizations to streamline financial processes and ensure compliance with financial regulations.
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Reporting and Analytics: NetSuite's reporting and analytics tools provide real-time visibility into project status, resource utilization, and financial performance, enabling organizations to make informed decisions and take corrective actions as needed.
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Collaboration and Communication: NetSuite's collaboration and communication features facilitate team collaboration, stakeholder communication, and project documentation. This includes tools such as team messaging, file sharing, and project documentation management.
SAP S/4 HANA
SAP S/4HANA is a powerful enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that can be used for managing a variety of business processes, including project management. Here are some ways that SAP S/4HANA can be used as a project-based ERP system:
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Project Planning and Budgeting: SAP S/4HANA can be used to create project plans, define project timelines, allocate resources and estimate project costs. This can help project managers to plan and manage their projects more effectively.
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Resource Management: SAP S/4HANA can be used to manage project resources, including personnel, equipment, and materials. This can help project managers to ensure that the right resources are available at the right time, and that project tasks are completed on schedule.
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Financial Management: SAP S/4HANA can be used to manage project finances, including budgeting, expense tracking, and invoicing. This can help project managers to stay on top of project costs, and ensure that projects are completed within budget.
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Collaboration: SAP S/4HANA includes collaboration features that allow project team members to share information, collaborate on tasks, and communicate with each other. This can help to improve project communication and coordination.
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Analytics and Reporting: SAP S/4HANA includes powerful analytics and reporting tools that can be used to track project progress, identify potential issues, and measure project performance. This can help project managers to make informed decisions and take corrective action when necessary.
Acumatica
Acumatica is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that can be used for project management by providing a comprehensive set of tools to plan, execute, and track projects. Here are some of the ways in which Acumatica can be used as a project management ERP:
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Project Budgeting and Cost Management: Acumatica provides a robust budgeting and cost management feature that allows project managers to define budgets for their projects and track actual costs against the budget. The system provides real-time visibility into project costs, helping managers to make informed decisions on project spending.
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Project Scheduling: Acumatica includes a scheduling feature that allows project managers to create and manage project schedules. Managers can define project tasks, assign resources, and set dependencies between tasks. The system also includes a Gantt chart view that provides a visual representation of the project schedule.
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Resource Management: Acumatica enables project managers to manage resources efficiently by assigning tasks to team members and monitoring their workload. The system includes features for resource allocation, time tracking, and capacity planning.
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Document Management: Acumatica includes a document management feature that allows project teams to store and share project documents, such as project plans, specifications, and reports. The system also supports version control and document approval workflows, ensuring that team members have access to the most up-to-date project information.
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Project Reporting and Analytics: Acumatica provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities that allow project managers to track project progress, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven decisions. The system includes customizable dashboards and reports that provide real-time visibility into project performance.
IFS Cloud
IFS ERP is a comprehensive enterprise resource planning software that offers a range of project management capabilities. Some of the key project management features of IFS ERP are:
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Project planning and scheduling: IFS ERP allows users to plan and schedule projects, defining project timelines and milestones, identifying tasks and their dependencies, and allocating resources.
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Resource management: The software enables users to manage project resources, including personnel, equipment, and materials, to ensure that they are utilized effectively and efficiently.
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Budgeting and cost control: IFS ERP provides tools for budgeting and cost control, allowing users to set project budgets, monitor project costs, and control expenditures.
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Risk management: The software includes risk management features, enabling users to identify potential risks, assess their impact on project delivery, and develop risk mitigation strategies.
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Collaboration and communication: IFS ERP facilitates collaboration and communication among project team members, allowing them to share information, track project progress, and resolve issues.
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Reporting and analysis: The software includes reporting and analysis tools, providing users with real-time insights into project performance, enabling them to make informed decisions and take corrective action where necessary.
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Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive business management solution that includes a range of applications, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Project Management capabilities. The ERP capabilities of Dynamics 365 can be utilized to manage various aspects of project management such as budgeting, resource planning, scheduling, and tracking progress.
Here are some of the ways in which Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be used as an ERP for project management:
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Resource Planning: Dynamics 365 allows project managers to manage resource availability, including employee schedules, equipment, and other resources. With real-time visibility into resource availability, project managers can efficiently allocate resources to projects and reduce the risk of resource over- or under-utilization.
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Budgeting and Forecasting: Dynamics 365 allows project managers to create and manage project budgets, including tracking actual vs. budgeted costs. The system can also provide financial forecasting, which helps project managers to predict costs and manage cash flow.
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Project Scheduling: Dynamics 365 includes a robust scheduling module that allows project managers to create project timelines, set milestones, and define task dependencies. The system can also support critical path analysis to identify the most important tasks and ensure timely completion of projects.
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Collaboration: Dynamics 365 includes a range of collaboration tools, including document sharing, task assignments, and team communication. These features enable project managers to create a collaborative environment where team members can work together and stay informed about project progress.
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Reporting and Analytics: Dynamics 365 includes powerful reporting and analytics capabilities that provide real-time visibility into project status and performance. Project managers can use these tools to identify areas of improvement, track project progress, and report project status to stakeholders.
Compare Project Management ERP
SAP Business One | SAP S/4 HANA | Oracle NetSuite | Microsoft Dynamics 365 | IFS | |
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Company Size | 10-500 Employees | 500 - 10,000+ Employees | 50 - 5,000 Employees | 50 - 10,000 Employees | 500 - 10,000 Employees |
Deployment | Cloud, Private Cloud, On-Premise | Cloud, Private Cloud, On-Premise | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
Project planning and scheduling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Resource management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Time and expense tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Budgeting and cost management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Risk management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Collaboration tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Document management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Real-time reporting and analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Mobile access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Integration with other systems | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Customization and scalability | Medium | High | Medium | High | Medium |
FULL GUIDE | FULL GUIDE | FULL GUIDE | FULL GUIDE | FULL GUIDE |
What is the best ERP for manufacturing in 2021?
We review the best ERP software for manufacturing? We compare and rank the best ERP software for manufacturers in 2021 including SAP Business One, Netsuite, Infor & more.
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ERP for Project Management Modules & Functionality
The top ERP software for project based companies can include a variety of modules and functionalities that allow manufacturing companies to scale and be more efficient. We review some of the key functionality for the best project management ERP software below:
Accounting and Financials
Unify financials across your engineering firm to increase the financial control and identify issues proactively using an ERP system.
Purchasing
Ensure spend and budget compliance whilst maximising industries of scale and reducing lead times in your engineering ERP.
Production
Plan your supply chain and manage your manufacturing process in one wholistic ERP system including bill of materials management and kits.
Engineering Management
Modern ERP solutions include engineering or integration with best of breed PLM tools.
Inventory Management
ERP systems for manufacturing allow for real time insights into inventory levels across your organization to drive efficiency.
Asset Management
Manage business assets with ERP for engineering to easily capitalise and monitor your assets.
Reporting and dashboards
Develop a single view of your engineering business in order to increase transparency, decision-making and ultimately drive results.
Expenses Management
Automate expenses requisitions and approvals for your sales team or engineers within your ERP system.
Customer service
Review your customer service history and provide better cross-selling, up-selling and post-sale customer support to help deliver products more accurately.
Sales management
Track & plan sales pipeline, score leads, prospects and forecast opportunities in real-time across territories, accounts and teams.
Customisation
Flexible ERP software that's built on an open and extensible foundation, allowing you to choose the features that suit your business needs.
Mobility
Access your ERP data at any time so you're more available to customers and take advantage of unexpected opportunities as they surface.
Development tools
ERP software for the manufacturing industry features all of the tailored solutions an organization needs to design, build and document their projects faster.
Updates and maintenance
Backed by the consistency of market-leading vendors, ERP software regularly updates to ensure an optimal user experience.
Versatile deployments
Connects customers, partners, and employees through real-time digital relationships to improve the way you do business.
Unlimited support
ERP implementation is a longterm strategic partnership and vendors provide free unlimited technical support for clients.
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ERP for Project Management FAQ
What is project-based ERP?
Project based ERP systems are enterprise resource planning solutions which offer enhanced functionality for the management of projects and programme management.
These ERP softwares therefore typically include capabilities for project management, programme management plus integrated modules for financial management, human resources, sales, customer service and more.
ERP software for project management will typically offer specific project management related functionality such as work breakdown structures (WBS), expenses management, milestone tracking, GANTT charts, workflow management, portfolio management, resource management, milestone tracking, milestone billing, budgeting and tracking, approvals and more.
What is the best project-based ERP?
The best project based ERP systems include SAP S/4 HANA, Oracle Netsuite, Sage Intacct and Oracle ERP Cloud.
However, the best project based ERP for your business needs will largely depend on the size of your organization, your ERP requirements and several other factors.
Key Features of ERP for Project Management
ERP for project management typically delivers the following high-level capabilities:
- Integrated financial management and accounting, sales orders and CRM, project management, resource management and human resources alongside billing.
- Strong resource management with skills management, timesheets, mobile field service applications and human resources and expenses management.
- Project accounting, milestone billing, time and materials billing.
- Profitability and resource utilization analysis and reporting.
How much does ERP for Project Management cost?
ERP for project management can cost anywhere from $20 - 250 USD per user per month to purchase software licensing.
You will also need to implement the ERP solution which can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $2 million or more, depending on the size of your organization.
Other costs you should consider are internal change costs, training and adoption costs, integrations with other business applications and systems and more.
Project Management ERP Implementation
There are various approaches to implementing ERP for project management.
Some organizations choose to implement the solution all at once, also known as a big bang ERP implementation, whereas others while phase the implementation bit by bit.
For example, a phased rollout could operationalize your ERP system country by country, or module by module.
If you rolling out your project management ERP module by module, you may choose to impleme t
Find & Compare ERP Software for Project Management
Use our free tool to find and compare the market leading ERP software and solutions for manufacturing. See how ERP system solutions including Oracle NetSuite, Epicor, Infor & SAP Business One stack up against the competition.