From an accounting package to SAP Business One: Who can help you make the switch?
Logres helps you make the switch from accounting software to SAP Business One
If your business has outgrown your accounting software, Logres is one of the companies in the Netherlands that can help you make the transition to SAP Business One. We’ve been doing this since 1993, exclusively for wholesalers and process manufacturers. Logres is also a Multivers partner, so it knows the world you’re coming from just as well as the one you’re heading toward.
That step is bigger than it seems. An accounting package records what has happened. An ERP system controls what will happen: which orders can be shipped, what needs to be ordered, and which batch goes to which customer.
That’s why the question of who will help you is just as important as the software itself. Below, you’ll learn what’s changing, what the work involves, and who you’ll need to help you along the way—with examples from two companies that made the same transition from Multivers.
An accounting package tells you what happened last month. An ERP system tells you what can be shipped tomorrow.
Accounting Software or SAP Business One: What Will Change?
| Topic | In an accounting software package | In SAP Business One |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | Updated upon invoice or shipment | Current, including what has already been reserved for open orders |
| Procurement | Based on experience or using your own Excel spreadsheet | Order proposal based on inventory, orders, and delivery time |
| Pricing Agreements | Often a separate list alongside the software package | Tiered pricing and customer prices directly in the order |
| Batches and Shelf Life | Not at all or hardly at all | Track each batch, from receipt to customer |
| Production | Usually not, or in a standalone package | Bill of Materials and Formulas with Production Orders |
| Report | After the fact, after month-end closing | Daily insight into margins, inventory, and orders |
| Financial administration | The core of the software | It’s all there, powered by everything that happens in the company |
So the difference isn’t in the accounting itself. SAP Business One handles that just as well. It’s in everything that comes before it.
Still not sure if the time is right? These five signs that you’re ready for an ERP system will help you get started.
Note: This is where the work begins if you’re switching from an accounting software package
When you switch from one ERP system to another, you’re mainly transferring data. But when you’re coming from an accounting package, you’re building something from scratch. That usually involves five areas.
- Items don’t really exist yet. In an accounting package, an item is often just a description on an invoice. In SAP Business One, it is assigned a unit, a supplier, a purchase price, a location, and sometimes a batch number. Building up that master data usually accounts for the bulk of the data migration.
- You don’t have to transfer everything. You do need the opening balance, open entries, customer and vendor records, and current inventory. Ten years of invoice history usually isn’t necessary.
- What happens outside the software package is the real process: the Excel spreadsheet with price agreements, the buyer’s database, the note in the warehouse. A good consultant will ask about these things first, because that’s where the siloed automation is that you want to eliminate.
- Your accountant should be involved early on. The chart of accounts, VAT codes, and the submission of annual financial statements will all change as a result. It’s better to address these issues during the planning phase rather than at the first year-end closing.
- Suddenly, the entire company is working in the same system. An accounting package is used by the accounting department. An ERP system is also used by sales, purchasing, and warehousing. Those colleagues need to be on board from the start. Read more about how to get your team on board.
Replacing an ERP system is like moving. Implementing an ERP system for the first time is like building.
Who can help you make the switch?
When implementing an ERP system for the first time, there are usually three parties involved. The first is often an independent consultant who helps define the requirements and create a shortlist. Both Magistor and Timberlab, the two companies listed below, got their start this way.
Next comes the implementation partner. You don’t buy SAP Business One directly from SAP—you buy it from a partner—and in practice, that partner determines whether it works. They set up the system, transfer the data, train your staff, and answer the phone after the system goes live.
The third is your own accountant. They don’t have to choose the system, but they do need to know what’s changing. To learn what sets a partner in the process industry apart, read “Experienced ERP Implementation Partner for the Process Industry.”
Is your business outgrowing your accounting software?
An ERP consultant from Logres would be happy to work with you to determine what’s needed, even if you’re not yet sure which direction you want to go.
Two companies that made the switch from Multivers
Magistor: Starting with a clean slate after twenty years
Magistor is a technical wholesaler of machining tools and blasting equipment, with clients such as VDL and the Ministry of Defense. For twenty years, Multivers served as the foundation of their operations—until inventory levels no longer matched when orders were entered, causing order pickers to make mistakes.
An external consultant mapped out the processes, and SAP Business One made the shortlist, with Logres as the partner. During implementation, the consultant asked tough questions about why things were done a certain way. Several processes were subsequently redesigned. Magistor now runs on SAP Business One in a private cloud on Microsoft Azure.
“Logres is honest and straightforward. They don’t promise the moon, but they do what they say they’ll do.”
Jan Voortman, Operations Manager at Magistor
Timberlab: Live in Six Months
Timberlab manufactures wooden lampposts and path lighting for campgrounds, vacation parks, and municipalities. The company was using Unit4 Multivers and wanted a system that would integrate inventory, purchasing, and administration, ready for further growth.
After soliciting proposals from several vendors, owner Gerben van Dorland chose SAP Business One with Logres. The implementation began in November 2022 and was completed on May 1, 2023. Because Timberlab was able to align its processes with the standard, the process went quickly.
“We were already familiar with Logres from Unit4 Multivers, but now that we’ve started using SAP Business One, we’re really seeing Logres’ strengths.”
Gerben van Dorland, owner of Timberlab
When it’s better to stick with your accounting software for a while longer
Not every growing business needs an ERP system right away. A retail business with a single warehouse, a manageable product range, and fixed prices can often get by just fine with the retail module of its accounting software. To see how SAP Business One compares, check out SAP Business One vs. Exact Online Premium.
If your business revolves primarily around an online store, a package built specifically for e-commerce is often a better fit. And if you don’t manage inventory—such as a service provider—SAP Business One is more than sufficient for your needs.
The breaking point comes when the accounting system can no longer keep up with the business: inventory figures are off, prices are tracked in Excel, and the numbers don’t come in until weeks later. From that point on, the accounting software costs more than it’s worth.
Why Wholesalers and Process Manufacturers Turn to Logres for This
Since 1993, Logres has worked exclusively with wholesalers and manufacturers in the process industry, providing them with SAP Business One and Klipboard Wholesale. As a Multivers partner, Logres also understands the accounting side of things. This makes the transition smoother, because the team already knows how your current accounting system is structured.
The consultants don’t need to be told what a customer-specific pricing agreement, a lot number, or a formula is. They ask the questions relevant to your industry—even if the answer is that something needs to be done differently. You can read more about the software itself at SAP Business One.
Read more: Choosing an ERP system · Cloud ERP vs. on-premise · ERP selection · From AFAS to SAP Business One
Frequently Asked Questions About Switching from Accounting Software to SAP Business One
Is Exact Online an ERP system?
Exact Online started out as an accounting software package and has evolved into an ERP system with modules for retail and manufacturing. For a retail business with simple processes, that’s often enough.
If you work with batches, multiple warehouses, recipes, or multiple locations, you’re more likely to run into limitations. That’s when a full-fledged ERP system like SAP Business One comes into play.
Can I keep using my accounting software alongside SAP Business One?
It’s possible with an integration, but that’s usually not the intended approach. In SAP Business One, financial accounting is handled within the same system as inventory, purchasing, and sales.
Running two systems side by side means there are two places where the numbers might differ.
What data do you transfer from the accounting software?
Usually the opening balance sheet, outstanding accounts receivable and accounts payable, customers and suppliers, items, and current inventory. Old invoice history is often left behind.
You’ll determine exactly which data to transfer together with your implementation partner and your accountant.
How long does it take to switch from an accounting software package to SAP Business One?
At Timberlab, there was about a half-year gap between the start and going live. With production, multiple locations, or many integrations, it takes longer.
The turnaround time depends mainly on how clearly the processes have been defined in advance.
When Is an Accounting Package Too Limited?
When the inventory in the system no longer matches what’s in the warehouse, price agreements are listed in separate files, and you don’t know how things went until after month-end closing.
In that case, working around the software takes more time than the software saves.
Who will guide the transition: SAP or a partner?
SAP Business One is provided and implemented by partners. They set up the system, migrate the data, train employees, and provide support after the system goes live.
For wholesalers and process manufacturers, Logres is that kind of partner.
