Pastel, which specialises in accounting software for small and medium-sized enterprises, has developed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that can scale up to 1 000 users and be operational within a month. It is less than half the cost of similar products produced by other software houses.

Pastel Software Zimbabwe managing director Rob Watson explained that, because it provides software for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, Pastel has never had the luxury of being able to supply business solutions  that are complex, take years to implement and require months of intensive user training.

“Often Pastel is able to develop a product that is easier to use and less costly than similar products on the market but just as effective.

“When Pastel’s customers started growing and requesting a system that went beyond accounting and gave them the benefits of ERP, the company knew that such a system would have to be easy to implement and use and also be affordable, which meant minimising consultancy requirements and the total cost of ownership,” he said.

This was achieved by ensuring that the basics that had always worked well in Pastel accounting packages, such as financials, payroll, human resources and purchase and order procurement management, formed the foundation of all additional functions.

“This meant that additional functionality was automatically based on best practice without complicating the use of the software in any way,” he said.

A software development kit (SDK), Mr Watson said, was introduced to enable third party software developers to design customer specific applications that could run on Pastel or Sage Pastel products.

“In this way customers can get exactly what they want without having to pay for functionality in the main system that they would never use,” he said.

Separate pre-integrated modules covering universally applicable disciplines such as business intelligence were developed that customers could acquire when they wanted them.

“In the process of developing an appropriate ERP facility for its SME customers, Sage Pastel has stripped away the mystique attached to ERP and proved that it does not have to be complex, time consuming or expensive,” Mr Watson said.

“SMEs can now have easy access to ERP functions. We can have an ERP system up and running within a month. The expertise and back-up is all available locally from Chips Computing,” he said.