What Is ERP Testing and Why Does It Matter for Your Business?

What is ERP?

The full form of ERP is an Enterprise Resource Planning. It is a software that helps manage the core operations in a company such as Payroll, HR, manufacturing, finance, etc. ERP software allows us to integrate all types of subsystems in one place and manage the smooth flow of data and information from one system to another.

Today, small to large companies use ERP (Enterprise resource planning) systems to reduce manual data entry work and switch to automated functions. With an ERP system, you can encourage your employees to avoid manual work as it consumes a lot of time and gives a monotonous feel to everyone.

For instance, companies create new records whenever any new employee joins them. Thus, based on his salary, ERP software allows organizations to maintain automatic leave records in the HR system. Its respective sub-systems can calculate employees' wages in the payroll and are also useful for profile creation of managers and all other teams.

What is ERP Testing?

As discussed in the full form of ERP system as above, so hope you are clear with that. Now you need to know the meaning of “ERP testing” is the process that is used to verify the functions of your ERP software solution while implementing.

ERP testing is the process of quality assurance (QA) designed to make sure that your ERP system is installed correctly and runs smoothly. It is a type of manual and automation testing performed on the ERP software to let you know that it is working as expected.

ERP testing service covers multiple phases of the implementation process to prevent program crashes during go-live. It eliminates a huge number of bugs that could appear after the launch.

If you are assuming that your software has bugs and crash issues because it was not designed well, here you are wrong. The cloud-based ERP applications require configuration during deployment. Like, you get the custom dashboard in your ERP, and later you modify some features from it. Similarly, report generation in ERP also needs configuration settings, so that can be the issue of bugs in your software.

When it comes to customizing the rules in ERP software as per the company policies, many professionals prefer to go with the leading ERP testing service provider due to the vast domain knowledge and testing techniques. Extensive integration testing is another best way to verify that the ERP system is designed so well and can fulfill the company’s needs.

Also, read the reasons why stress testing is important for the ERP system.

What are the Various Types of ERP Testing?

The ERP testing service provider implements various types of testing in the ERP system. The purpose of performing different kinds of ERP testing is to ensure that the software is working as expected.

Functional Testing

Getting a functional test is necessary to ensure each module and each function performs as per the expectation of the organization. The various types of ERP modules are inventory, finance & accounting, supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), human resource (HR), engineering, sales & marketing.

Performance Testing

Performance testing aims to check how well the ERP solutions run while communicating and integrating with two or more systems (e.g., sales order, inventory, sales order processing, etc.).

Security Testing

ERP software contains employer and end-to-end employee data. It is essential to get a security test in your ERP system as it helps you give access to confidential data to trustworthy employees. It can even minimize the risk of data theft.

Integration Testing

Integration testing is the critical stage of any ERP testing that needs domain knowledge and in-depth functional techniques to keep an eye on the data accuracy. Integration tests allow testers to focus on the data and information flow while managing the different modules of the ERP system.

Difference Between Manual and Automated ERP Testing?

Manual Testing

● Test cases are done manually without any support of scripts and tools.

● Manual testing is less reliable due to human error and time-consuming.

● Investment is needed for human resources.

Automated ERP Testing

● With automated ERP testing, test cases are executed using scripts, tools, and software.

● Automated ERP testing is highly reliable because the ERP testing service provider has a wide variety of tools.

● Investment is needed for testing tools.

What are the Challenges in ERP Testing?

Not all functional testers can be ERP testers because it is a quality assurance process in which performance and functionality tests are done during the early stages of implementation. Integrating testing can execute during implementation and be tested on the way to go live. Here are some challenges in ERP testing that you should check below:

Complex Business Rules

Customization in the ERP program is driven by business rules that help transfer the information and data from one application to another. Testing complex business rules can be challenging for ERP testing service providers, so always choose the right one.

Performance Issues

Addressing performance standards and SLAs of big-sized organizations can become challenging if sufficient load and performance monitoring is not carried out.

Integration with Other Systems

You can assume an ERP solution as a single store includes a large variety of data and information. Transferring data from the ERP software to other third-party applications can be challenging during evaluation and maintenance.

ERP Testing Solutions

Getting the right ERP testing service provider can be hard because many companies offer numerous software testing services, including ERP testing services. The company that has vast ERP domain knowledge and is comfortable working with ERP packages, like SAP, Oracle Fusion, Salesforce, Oracle Peoplesoft, PEGA, can become the best vendor for your business.