MMany companies buy software the way they buy furniture: they look at what is on offer and pick what looks good. Then a year later staff are back on spreadsheets and paper, and the system sits half used. The problem is rarely the software. It is that the choice started with the product instead of the business.
This is the order we recommend to directors who are about to invest in an ERP, a CRM or a custom internal tool.
Map how the work really flows
Before you compare any product, write down how an order, a payment or a report moves through your organization today. Include the workarounds. Ask the people who do the work, not only their managers. You will usually find three or four points where information is copied by hand or waits for someone's approval. Those are the places a system should fix first.
A simple way to start is a one-page process sketch per department: who starts the task, what they receive, what they produce, and who approves. Mark every place where someone retypes information or waits on a signature. In our experience these steps hide most of the delay, and they are what a good system should remove first.
Decide: buy, configure or build
There is no universal answer, only trade-offs.
Packaged ERP or CRM. Faster to start and well understood, but you adapt your process to the tool, and licenses can be priced in dollars with ongoing fees.- Configured platform. A flexible base adjusted to your rules. A good middle path for standard needs with a few local twists.
- Custom software. Built around your process, including things packaged tools handle badly, such as cash handling in several currencies, offline work or unusual approval chains.
If your process is the thing that makes you competitive, build it. If it is the same as everyone else's, buy it.
When you evaluate vendors, ask for a demonstration using your own scenario, not their sample data. Ask what happens to a transaction entered without a connection, how permissions are set, and what the exit plan is if you change provider. Be wary of long feature lists. Ten features used daily beat a hundred nobody opens.
Check the Haitian realities
Ask hard questions that vendor brochures skip. Does it work when the connection drops? Can a basic Android phone run the field app? What happens to your data if the vendor stops supporting the product? Can the system be hosted on your own server if you prefer? Local servers with backups and secure remote access are a legitimate choice for organizations that want control over their data.
Pricing in foreign currency, import of hardware, power cuts and limited bandwidth are not side issues. They affect total cost. Ask for a plan covering backup power for the server, daily backups stored off site, and a procedure for restoring service after an outage.
Plan for integration and data
A new system rarely lives alone. List what it must talk to: accounting, payroll, mobile money, existing spreadsheets. Decide early how current records will be cleaned and moved. Dirty data imported into a new system just gives you the same problems in a nicer interface.
- 01
Map the work first
Document how work really flows before comparing any software.
- 02
Buy or build
Packaged tools suit standard needs, custom software suits your edge.
- 03
Plan for people
A system fails when staff are not trained to use it.
Invest in adoption
Budget time for training and for a short period of support after launch. Name one internal owner who understands the system and can answer colleagues' questions. A modest system that everyone uses beats an excellent one that half the team avoids.
Start small: pick one process, deliver it well, and let the results justify the next phase. That approach lowers risk and builds confidence inside your team.
A common mistake is switching everything on one day. Run the old and new process side by side for a short period, fix issues with a pilot group, then extend. Write a one-page guide in plain language for each role, and agree who approves changes to the system.
Ask the vendor how data can be exported if you leave, in an open format such as CSV. Also agree who is allowed to change prices, approve payments or delete records. Defining roles and permissions in writing at the start prevents costly mistakes and internal disputes later.
Next Step
The right system is the one your team actually uses, and that starts with a clear picture of your own process. If you would like a second opinion before you commit budget, the Atrax team is happy to talk it through. You can reach us through the contact page.
Atrax Team
The Atrax Team is a six-person group of engineers, GIS and data specialists, and designers based in Delmas, Haiti. Atrax has built digital products and field-data systems for Haitian organizations since 2015.
