ERP selection criteria are the requirements a business uses to compare systems and decide which one can support its operations. For finance, those requirements need evidence: a demonstration, a documented capability or a delivery commitment.
A feature grid provides a useful starting point. It becomes more useful when “supports consolidation” turns into “produce our group result, explain the eliminations and trace one balance to its source”.
If NetSuite is on the shortlist, use the NetSuite alternatives, pricing and implementation cost guide to compare the proposed scope before scoring the options.
Which ERP requirements are non-negotiable?
Separate the requirements that disqualify a product from the preferences that improve its score. Country coverage, accounting treatment, access controls and a critical integration may be mandatory. A preferred dashboard layout probably is not.
Ask each process owner to describe the required outcome and an acceptance test. Resolve disagreements before vendor demonstrations. Otherwise, the shortlist can change depending on who attended the most recent meeting.
For ledger requirements, use the general ledger software guide. For group structure, include the scenarios in the multi-entity accounting guide.
Should you keep, replace or connect each system?
Before scoring vendors, give each existing system a proposed role. Keep a working process when it meets the requirement; replace it when the evidence supports the change; connect it when another system should continue to own the work.
| Buying job | Options to compare | Boundary to agree |
|---|---|---|
| Improve invoice capture and approvals | An AP application or the current ledger's workflow | Which system owns suppliers, approvals and payment status? |
| Produce consistent group reports | A consolidation layer or shared multi-entity accounting | Who owns mappings, late adjustments and entity sign-off? |
| Connect revenue operations to accounting | CRM and billing integrations or a wider platform change | Which system owns contract terms, invoices and recognition? |
| Replace finance and operational processes together | A broader ERP programme | Which inventory, project or service processes must work on day one? |
A specialist AP project and a full ERP replacement have different scopes. Compare them only after agreeing which problems each proposal must solve. For existing ledgers, the Xero alternatives and NetSuite alternatives guides explain the retain-or-replace decision.
How can you score the evidence?
The following is an illustrative scorecard. Change the weights to reflect your priorities before evaluating vendors.
| Criterion | Example weight | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting and entity fit | 30% | Your transactions and group reports in the proposed setup |
| Workflow and control fit | 20% | Approval, exception and correction demonstrations |
| Implementation and migration | 20% | Scoped plan, customer effort and reconciliation approach |
| Integrations and data access | 15% | Required connections, exports and failure handling |
| Ongoing cost and administration | 15% | Scoped quote and examples of later changes |
Score each category consistently and record the evidence beside the number. An unproven requirement should remain unproven, rather than gaining full marks because a salesperson says the roadmap will cover it.
Your working scorecard
Compare the evidence, then take it with you
Name up to three options, set your priorities and score what each vendor has demonstrated. Leave anything unproven as “Not assessed”. No vendor is preselected.
Download a blank scorecard (CSV)
Download your work before leaving this page; it is not saved here. No email required.
Rate each criterion from 0 (does not meet requirements) to 5 (strongly exceeds them). A rating of 3 means it meets your requirements. Set a weight to 0% to exclude a criterion.
Weights must total 100%. Each contribution is the rating divided by 5, multiplied by its weight. Unassessed criteria prevent a final score; failed essential requirements override the score.
Scores help structure the discussion. They do not replace reference checks, a scoped quote or a review of essential requirements. Unused options remain incomplete in your download.
CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets. For PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in your browser’s print dialogue.
What should every vendor demonstrate?
Give vendors the same small set of representative cases. Include a foreign currency transaction, an intercompany recharge, a changed contract and an approval exception where those apply to your business.
Follow the result into the ledger and reporting. Then ask an administrator to change a dimension or approval threshold. Establish who can make the change, how finance tests it and what it costs.
For AI functionality, inspect the action history and authority granted to the system. The AI agents for finance guide explains why a proposed entry and an authorised posting need separate tests.
How do you test the close itself?
Run an accrual, a prepaid cost release and an asset depreciation entry through the proposed setup. Check the calculation, accounting period, reviewer and report effect. Add an intercompany difference, lock a period and attempt a late posting. The vendor should explain which tasks the product performs, which need configuration and which remain with finance.
For costs, request a base case and a growth case with the same assumptions: entities, users, transaction volume and integrations. Ask whether AI usage, storage, support or additional environments change the quote. Unpriced requirements remain open questions, not assumed inclusions.
How should hosting, integrations and cost affect the shortlist?
Describe the operating setup you need before comparing hosting options. Ask who manages upgrades, backups and access, how the team tests changes and what happens when a critical connection fails. Include any requirements for data location or export in the evaluation rather than assuming a hosting label answers them.
For each integration, identify the records it exchanges, the system that owns them and the person who resolves a failed transfer. Ask the vendor to demonstrate a correction and a retry, as well as the first successful transfer.
Compare costs over the same planning period and for the same scope. Include subscription or licence fees, implementation, migration, integrations, training, support and the internal work needed to maintain the system. Ask how additional entities, users and later changes affect the quote.
An industry label also needs evidence. If inventory, projects or another operational process matters to the decision, add a representative case to the demonstration. Do not infer coverage from a vendor's sector page.
How should implementation affect the decision?
Compare proposals for the same scope. State the entities, historical data, integrations and reporting requirements, then ask each vendor to estimate effort by role.
A short ERP implementation timeline has little meaning without those assumptions. Include training, the first close, support arrangements and the treatment of issues found during testing.
For a reference call, ask which tasks the customer stopped doing, what still needs manual work and how much effort their team contributed to implementation. A comparable customer is more useful than a large logo with a different operating model.
What should the final recommendation contain?
Present the preferred option, the evidence supporting it and the tradeoffs the business accepts. Include total scoped cost, remaining gaps and the conditions that must be met before signing or going live.
Light should pass the same tests as any other candidate. Bring the scorecard to a product demonstration and ask the team to work through the accounting and operational cases that decide the purchase.
