How to standardize reporting & KPI systems before implementing ERP

In the digital transformation journey, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a powerful tool that helps businesses manage operations centrally, save time, and improve efficiency.
However, for an ERP system to work effectively, businesses must standardize their reporting and KPI systems before implementation.

1.Define Clear Reporting Goals & KPI Management Objectives

Before anything else, a business needs to answer these questions:

• Which activities do you want to monitor: sales, finance, inventory, or HR?
• What information does management need to make faster decisions?
• Who will use the reports – directors, department heads, or staff?

Once the objectives are clear, the company will know which metrics need to be measured — forming the foundation for building an effective and practical KPI system.

2.Standardize Input Data – The Foundation of Every Report

A great report only comes from clean and standardized data.
Therefore, before thinking about ERP, your business should:

• Unify coding systems: customer codes, product codes, cost codes, employee IDs…
• Check and remove duplicate or incorrectly formatted data.
• Define data entry rules: date formats, units of measure, product categories.

When everyone speaks the same “data language,” reports will become automatically more accurate and easier to understand.

3. Standardize the Company’s Reporting Structure

Your reporting system should be clearly categorized into levels:

Tips: Standardize the format of all reports — same layout, same update cycle (weekly, monthly, quarterly).
This will make it much easier to automate within your ERP system later on.

4. Build Realistic KPIs Aligned with Business Strategy

Don’t create KPIs just for the sake of having them.
Each indicator should reflect the company’s real strategic goals.

Examples:

• Sales: Revenue, conversion rate, new customers.
• Marketing: Cost per lead, number of qualified leads, campaign ROI.
• Accounting: Receivable turnover, reporting accuracy.
• HR: Employee turnover rate, average performance score.

Each KPI should include:

• A clear calculation formula
• A defined target value
• An assigned owner and review period

Once ERP is implemented, these KPIs will be automatically updated — allowing leaders to monitor performance in real time.

5. Standardize Reporting Processes & Data Control

A good system needs not only clean data but also a clear reporting process:

1. Data collection: who enters data, when, and from which source.
2. Verification & reconciliation: handled by accounting or QA departments.
3. Approval & publishing: on a fixed schedule (e.g., the 5th of each month).
4. Feedback & improvement: periodic review meetings to adjust KPIs.

This process helps businesses maintain transparency, minimize errors, and build a data-driven working culture.

6. Prepare for ERP Implementation

Once the reporting and KPI systems are standardized, only a few steps remain before deploying ERP:

• Create a list of reports to migrate into ERP.
• Prepare input data (customers, products, documents, inventory, accounting...).
• Design ERP-ready report templates with your implementation partner.

With this foundation, your ERP rollout will be faster, smoother, and more effective from day one.

Conclusion

Standardizing reporting and KPI systems not only helps businesses operate more efficiently but also lays a solid foundation for a successful ERP implementation.

If you’re an SME looking for the right direction to implement ERP —
let ENGMA accompany you from data standardization and KPI design to full ERP deployment.

 ENGMA – Empowering Businesses on the Digital Transformation Journey