The ABCs of ERP & Beyond

Send us a message about this episode! At some point in every ERP project, someone says "we'll pick that up in phase two" — and the room nods, because it's the sentence that lets everyone stop arguing. Then you go live, orders go out, invoices go out, and that list quietly becomes something nobody talks about. This week Pete, Nirav and Emily try to work out what phase two actual...

Send us a message about this episode! The demos are done, the contract's signed, and a calendar invite has landed that just says "discovery". This week Pete, Nirav and Emily take on the first real phase of an ERP implementation — the week where the business has to explain how it actually operates, and where projects are quietly won or lost. Emily opens with the definition worth pinn...

Send us a message about this episode! Eighty-odd episodes of this show and every one of them has pointed the same way: up. Outgrow the spreadsheets, upgrade, migrate to the cloud, choose your first ERP. This week Pete, Nirav and Emily go the other way and ask the question nobody puts on a slide — should you downgrade? In this episode: What tier 1, upper tier 2 and lower tier 2 actually mean, strai...

Send us a message about this episode! Pete opens the show with a fourth guest in the room: a live AI, talking back in real time, interruptible mid-sentence. It gives a perfectly competent answer about AI in ERP — augment, don't blindly automate — sings an unsolicited song about master data, and gets thrown off the show twice. Emily's verdict: it takes being told to shut up far better tha...

Send us a message about this episode! Think back to your first ERP go-live. If you just winced, this episode's for you. Every prospect meeting has that one person — arms folded, thousand-yard stare, still processing something that happened fifteen years ago. They know the current system is failing. Everyone hates it. And they've quietly decided they are not going through that again. Here...

Send us a message about this episode! Most mornings, someone in your business opens the same screen, sets the same filter and clicks the same button. Tomorrow they'll do it again. Acumatica will do all of it for you — on a timer, in the background, with no code, no integration and no consultant. It's called an automation schedule, it's already baked into the system you pay for, and...

Send us a message about this episode! A small business owner posted on r/ERP that they'd outgrown their patchwork of spreadsheets and SaaS apps — and had heard they'd need an ERP "once they hit a certain size." They just couldn't work out where that line was. The post sat unanswered. So Pete, Nirav and Emily took the question on. No top fives, no checklists this week — jus...

Send us a message about this episode! Choosing the wrong ERP is one of the most expensive mistakes a business can make — and it rarely happens because the software was bad. It happens because the company never worked out what it actually needed before it fell for a slick demo. The tech demo always works. That's the entire point of the tech demo. In this episode Pete, Emily, and Nirav walk thr...

Send us a message about this episode! Every ERP project starts with someone saying "we need to do something about our systems". The two real options on the table are usually upgrade or migrate — and most teams treat them as if they're the same kind of project at different scales. They aren't. They're different operating models, with different costs, different risks, and di...

Send us a message about this episode! Six-month ERP implementations get a bad name because most "six-month" projects are really twelve-month projects with a six-month deadline glued onto the front. The software is rarely the problem. The problem is everything around it — decisions, data, scope creep, and the unwillingness to go standard. In this episode, Pete, Emily, and Nirav walk throu...

Send us a message about this episode! Acumatica 2026 R1 is live — 460 pages of release notes, and we've read them so you don't have to. Pete, Nirav, and Emily walk through what actually stood out, what's genuinely useful, and why this particular release deserves your attention sooner rather than later. In this episode, we cover: Acumatica Payments on Shopify — how closing the refund...

Send us a message about this episode! Most businesses have an inventory problem. The question is how big. In this episode, we're joined by Ben Hussey, Co-CEO of Katana Cloud Inventory, to talk about why so many growing businesses struggle with inventory visibility — and what they can do about it. Ben shares how Katana was founded after its creator realised he had no real-time view of demand a...

Send us a message about this episode! There comes a point in every e-commerce business where the patchwork of Shopify, spreadsheets, ShipStation, and QuickBooks stops working. Orders are flowing in, but nobody has a single view of what's happening — and you're managing three screens just to fulfil one order. In this episode, Peter and Nirav break down the five essential steps every e-com...

Send us a message about this episode! You selected the right ERP. You signed the deal. Everyone's buzzing. So why does it start going wrong three months in? This week, Pete and Nirav welcome Emily Browning back to the show to tackle one of the most underrated topics in ERP: project management. Not the software. Not the consultants. The actual discipline of running the project well. Together,...

Send us a message about this episode! Why does your team forget everything they learned in ERP training? You invested serious time and money. Everyone attended. And three months after go-live, half the team is still confused, making errors, and asking the same questions. The problem isn't your people — it's how the training was structured. The timing's off, the focus is wrong, and n...

Send us a message about this episode! Parallel running sounds like a safety net. In reality, it's one of the most common and most expensive mistakes in ERP implementation. In this episode, Pete and Nirav are joined by Emily Browning — an IT leader in manufacturing — to break down exactly why running your old system alongside your new ERP almost always backfires. We talk through: Why data dupl...

Send us a message about this episode! What happens when ERP stops being software… and starts becoming a digital replica of your entire business ? In this episode, Peter Nicholson and Nirav Shah unpack the biggest moments from Acumatica Summit 2026 — from the buzz of the new venue to the bold product announcements shaping the future of cloud ERP. They dive into how Acumatica is embedding AI directl...

Send us a message about this episode! We were so impressed with the news and updates from Acumatica Summit 2026 in Seattle, we had to grab a few minutes to document our initial impressions.  Apologies in advance for Pete's slurring of words, he must've been too excited about the updates... or the free beer at the after party. Support the show 👋 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Have you experience...

Send us a message about this episode! Thinking about connecting Shopify to Business Central? Before you flip that switch, you need to know what you're getting into. In this episode of The ABCs of ERP & Beyond, Pete and Nirav dig into the Shopify-to-Business Central integration — what it does well, where it falls short, and why your data quality matters more than any connector ever will. W...

Send us a message about this episode! Why does manufacturing feel so chaotic for so many businesses? In the first episode of 2026 , recorded in person back in November, we explore one of the most misunderstood areas of ERP: planning and scheduling — and why getting it wrong creates constant firefighting. We talk through: Why planning and scheduling are often confused — and why that matters How pro...

Send us a message about this episode! Didn't listen to ANY episodes but want to know what we spoke about? Listen to what we picked out as our top events, episodes, and life moments from 2025. Support the show 👋 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Have you experienced an ERP data migration, or are you planning one? Share your thoughts, experiences, or ask questions in the comments section below. We’d love...

Send us a message about this episode! This week on The ABCs of ERP & Beyond , we’re talking all things production orders and WIP (Work in Progress). If you’re in manufacturing, you know how critical it is to keep your BOMs, routings, and shop floor data accurate—and to make sure WIP is recorded properly, both financially and physically. Whether you’re implementing a new ERP or just trying to k...

Send us a message about this episode! In this episode of The ABCs of ERP & Beyond , Pete and Nirav break down the top five reasons ERP go-lives go off the rails, and what you can do to steer your project back on track. Whether you're preparing for your first implementation or guiding your organization through a major upgrade, this episode highlights the hidden pitfalls that most companies...

Send us a message about this episode! After an extended break where Pete was busy getting married, we're now BACK with a look at what caught our eye in Acumatica's latest major release, 2025 R2.  Year, this does feature AI talk but this is a game changer in the ERP space so come check it out! Support the show 👋 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Have you experienced an ERP data migration, or are yo...

Send us a message about this episode! Are you thinking about ERP but not sure if your business is ready? In this episode of The ABCs of ERP & Beyond, we break down the Top 5 signs you’re not ready for ERP — and more importantly, what you should do about it. 👉 Topics covered: ERP isn’t QuickBooks (process mapping matters) Time dedication — why ERP slows you down before speeding you up Why you...