Differences between an ERP and a CRM

Management software is becoming increasingly prevalent in companies, as they allow for reducing management costs and saving time.

Investing in technological solutions to automate processes and interactions with suppliers and customers of your company can be very beneficial. There are softwares that allow constant and immediate online communication with your suppliers and customers, where dates and rates are updated automatically. These softwares also provide order, which is essential if you want to speed up certain processes (and consequently minimize the time invested), as well as providing less room for errors and misunderstandings.

Next, we will discuss the well-known ERP and CRM, what they are, and what their differences are.

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What is an ERP?

Enterprise Resource Planning, better known by its acronym ERP, stands for Enterprise Resource Planning system. This is a software that enables any company to centralize and manage the information from all its operational areas on a single platform.

The main goal of ERP systems is to automate and digitize the daily processes of companies. Therefore, this tool allows for unifying the management and control of all departments of an organization on the same platform. Thus, where we previously had numerous specialized programs in each area, now we have a single database to manage all the information of our company in real time.

In this way, ERPs are made up of different modules that correspond to each department of the company. This way, on a single platform, you can control purchasing, sales, accounting, billing, marketing, human resources, and the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) of your business.

We can say that an ERP is a technological tool that integrates and automates the information and key processes of the company on a single platform, thus facilitating data management and company organization.

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What is a CRM?

The acronym CRM for Customer Relationship Management refers to a set of marketing strategies, technologies, and practices focused on customers.

CRM is software that companies use to oversee, organize, and carry out all interactions with their customers. This means that a CRM allows managing all customer communications, organizing documentation, and other related aspects of customer relationships, ensuring that everything is organized in one place and accessible to any team member who may need it.

Therefore, a CRM software is an application that not only serves as a bridge between the company and the customer but also gathers all information about them. Consequently, it allows centralizing all customer-related information and avoiding the use of multiple different tools.

In a CRM, each customer has a profile accessible to all team members, so employees can attend to the client more efficiently.

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What are the differences between an ERP and a CRM?

First and foremost, as we explained earlier, both CRM and ERP are enterprise management and information systems that cover different areas within the same organization.

An ERP is a system for planning and organizing enterprise resources. Therefore, it helps the company to monitor and automate primarily its production, inventory, logistics, distribution, and accounting, allowing for budget and invoice control as well.

A CRM focuses mainly on customer relationship management. It enables having all information about any customer at any time and being able to communicate, manage, and meet all their needs, as well as providing access to market studies that make possible the design of improved and personalized commercial strategies.

ERP can help in minimizing company costs to the maximum through improved logistics organization, production, accounting, and inventory management, as well as supporting us by automating accounting and budgeting sections, which in turn reduces the operational risk that manual tasks in these areas can entail. On the other hand, a CRM will allow us to capture new customers, who are our sources of income, and can also help us manage our existing customers better, resulting in increased revenue from them.

By combining both systems, a company can optimize its resources and maximize profitability.

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CRM and ERP management software

As we mentioned in the previous section, there are enterprise management software, known as ERP, that enables the management of suppliers, employees, and company services. Additionally, many of these softwares allow for controlling all company budgets and invoices. These types of software can be very beneficial for controlling and managing the company's accounting. There are other softwares called CRM that allow for managing customer relationships. On the other hand, there are softwares that allow for both functions.

Now that we have all this information, we may ask: So, what is the best enterprise management software for my company? Do I need ERP software, CRM software, or both? The answer is simple, the best enterprise management software will be the one that best suits the needs of the user company, providing the greatest control and management of its processes and services. The need for CRM or ERP software will also depend on the company's needs, although a combination of both is always recommended.

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taclia as CRM and ERP management software

taclia is an example of the different CRM and ERP management software for companies that we can find in the market.

taclia allows you to facilitate and carry out a proper management of your invoices and budgets, as well as control the services, employees, customers, and suppliers of your company. This software enables customization of the system to the needs of your company, as well as having your customers, suppliers, and employees connected in one place.

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taclia manages all your daily tasks and services, enabling you to monitor employees and suppliers, create, manage, and send budgets and invoices, access automatic reports that centralize all your service data so you can make decisions and know what is happening in your business every day, and many other functionalities.

Like taclia, there are many other management software options that allow you to make decisions based on customized data. For this reason, it is necessary to conduct a research process to find the one that best suits the needs of your company.

taclia also allows for centralized control of all business finances. You can create, send, and receive budgets and invoices in a minute. The app simplifies invoice and payment management by providing the ability to create invoices quickly and easily with customized templates adapted to your company's needs. Additionally, taclia automates all calculations, creating automatic invoices without the need for calculators.

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With taclia, you will have continuous tracking of all your invoices, customers, suppliers and team members, thanks to the centralized data offered by the platform, and you can access invoices for all your services and check which ones are pending or processed.

You also have the possibility of deciding which members of your team can access certain information or oversee procedures, create and approve invoices and budgets, and communicate with customers and suppliers.

Furthermore, you can access a list of all the expenses and income of your team.

And much more!