Switching over to a new ERP system comes with a lot of moving parts. Especially in the beginning, it can feel overwhelming. You start asking yourself things like, “Who manages what?” or “When will it actually be ready?” The good news is you don’t have to figure everything out yourself. That’s where custom ERP specialists come in.
We don’t just build systems. We look closely at how your business runs and work with you to help the tech match up. This early phase isn’t just about plugging in a few forms or tweaking dashboards. It’s more about listening, planning, testing, and getting people ready for change. Here’s what to expect from us during setup, start to finish.
Understanding Your Business First
Before any software decisions are made, we take time to learn how things work for you right now. Tools and screens come later. The first thing we focus on is everyday work, what your team does well, what feels clunky, and where errors slip through.
We’ll probably begin with a few discovery calls or planning sessions. From there, we may start laying out process maps and gathering examples of how tasks actually flow through your departments. The goal here isn’t to design anything yet. It’s to understand how your people use tools, pass along work, and get stuck along the way.
- Expect to walk through your full process, not just the steps showing problems
- Talk honestly about workarounds, like spreadsheets or sticky notes people rely on
- Share where delays happen, especially during handoffs or approvals
Understanding how the business runs helps avoid building features nobody uses. Instead, we focus on making tools that click with how people already work.
Planning the Setup Process
Once we have a solid grasp of your workflows, we can start figuring out the setup plan. We don’t try to do everything at once. Instead, we usually break the project into parts, starting with the areas people use most. Finance, purchasing, or sales may come first. Less frequent tasks can come later.
This stage is about creating a plan you can follow without feeling rushed. We try not to overload your team during their busiest times either, especially around December when everything speeds up.
- We’ll confirm which processes to start with
- You’ll see sample layouts before anything is final
- Changes get reviewed for how they affect workers in different roles
This step often involves a few rounds of feedback. We’ll adjust where needed and check that screens make sense before coding begins.
Behind-the-Scenes Technical Work
While you might not see visible progress right away, there’s a lot going on in the background. Connections get built between different parts of the system. Small bugs get cleaned up before they cause problems on launch day. We may even test how the data flows through daily tasks to make sure nothing gets stuck.
This phase is sometimes quiet from your side, but it’s where the foundation gets built. Without it, flashy features don’t hold up during real use. We keep checking back with you during this stage to confirm we’re still on the right track.
- We build what’s needed behind forms, buttons, and menus
- Testing happens often so we catch issues early
- Cleanup includes checking how one change affects the rest of the system
Even if the screens still look rough, this technical layer is what will make everything smoother later on.
Getting Your Team Ready to Use the System
As we start shaping the real tools, your team gets involved again. We’ll walk people through the new setup using the tasks they already do each day. Instead of giving examples that don’t apply, we fill in your actual processes. That makes it easier to spot what feels strange or forced.
This is where feedback really counts. If a screen is confusing or a step’s missing, we adjust it. Training begins naturally during this stage. People try things out, ask about what they don’t understand, and learn without pressure.
- Users test their own tasks in the system early
- Feedback from those sessions leads to layout fixes or step changes
- Some people may shift roles slightly based on how the system now works
This part of setup lets us catch small hiccups while still making adjustments before things are fully live.
When It’s Time to Go Live
Final prep is often more about cleanup than building. That means double-checking reports for missing info, making sure permission setups match job roles, and fixing any rough spots from earlier tests.
The launch itself is usually soft. Rather than making a big announcement, we let some users switch over gradually. This quiet start makes it easier to handle questions or small bugs without pressure. We stick close during this time so we can catch things early if something goes sideways.
- Reports and user roles get one last review
- Remaining errors or loading issues are cleaned up
- Launch feels like a steady switch rather than a big event
Our goal here is to keep the team focused, not worried. A calm transition makes it easier for everyone to feel steady using the new tools.
Why a Good Start Builds a Better System Later
Setting up an ERP system isn’t just a task list. It works better when goals are clear, users stay involved, and plans can shift a bit along the way. We find that when real work is our starting line, the system feels more natural to use once it’s live.
Custom ERP specialists bring more than technical builds. We focus on how people actually move through their tasks every day. That real effort upfront pays off long after the setup ends. When systems begin with smart planning, they don’t just launch smoothly, they stay useful over time.
At Kodershop, we make every step of ERP setup organized and manageable, whether you’re working through major process changes or simply fine-tuning existing workflows. Our team keeps your staff involved so the solutions truly fit how your business operates. Discover what working with custom ERP specialists can look like right from the start, and reach out when you’re ready to have a conversation.