In the previous article, we explored how operational data is important for business management and the problems when not done correctly. In this article, we will focus on another type of data that ERPs need to track: Change log.
Changing a product or order is just normal in any business, it may not happen all the time, but when it happens you want to be able to track what changed. If you make your own product or just make products to customers' order, it doesn't matter, products are meant to evolve over time. After a few iterations of the product change your team will not remember why it's done in a certain way, who changed the version, or why details are no longer there. The power of a change log is to be able to tell the story of how this product or record evolved over time.
Sometimes, you have a sales order that changed the due date, or the customer requested an update for some item quantity. If the system doesn’t track changes properly, it usually results in questions that can only be answered by searching for specific emails in someone’s mailbox. Another common case is when you have a sales order that was updated after being exported to your accounting system or after a partial invoice. As a result, people spend hours trying to identify why the sales order and that initial invoice have mismatched information.
Tracking changes is not very common in smaller ERPs, but is extremely important and helpful for identifying who made changes to records and when. Software dedicated to product development will have a very detailed change log, while more generic software usually tracks only the latest date of the change and who did it, losing visibility of the historical changes.
While change logs may seem overkill for small systems, we believe they should not be ignored. That's why, at Nengatu, we include a history of changes for all records from the beginning. It is the type of feature that you think you may not need, but once you try it, you can no longer remember how your life was before that. It is just that good and helpful.
While Nengatu isn't the only ERP solution available, we focus on usability, integration, and automation to help you manage your business without headache.