Five signs your systems aren't talking to each other

Most companies have plenty of systems. The trouble is that they don't know about each other. An order comes in through the online shop and gets typed into the ERP, the customer is added to the CRM, and someone pastes the same details into a spreadsheet so the report adds up at the end of the month.

Each step is small. Together they cost hours every week, and they create errors nobody finds until a customer gets in touch.

1. The same information is entered in two places

If a salesperson registers a new customer in the CRM and finance then sets up the same customer in the ERP, you have two versions of the truth. Sooner or later the address changes in one place but not the other.

2. Someone exports to Excel every week

A recurring export is a sign that two systems need the same data. The export works until the person doing it is ill, leaves or makes a small mistake in a column.

It is often also a sign that the company is outgrowing Excel as a customer database.

3. The reports show different numbers

When the same metric produces different results for the same period, check both the definitions and the data sources. Order value, amounts invoiced and recognised revenue can relate to different events and dates. First agree what the report should measure, then check that it draws on the right data.

4. Customers get asked things you should already know

When customer service has to ask for an order number that already exists in another system, the customer notices that you don't have things under control. It's a small thing that affects how the whole company is perceived.

5. Nobody knows what happens if a system is replaced

If the answer to the question "what breaks if we change finance systems?" is silence, there are connections nobody has documented. That makes every future change more expensive.

Where do you start?

Don't start with the tool. List the flows where data is moved by hand and estimate how much time each flow takes per month. Then pick the flow that both takes the most time and causes the most errors.

• Draw the flow: which system owns the information, and which ones need to read it?

• Decide on a single source of truth: one system owns each piece of information, and the others read from it.

• Build one connection at a time and measure the time you save before you move on.

A good integration goes unnoticed day to day. You only notice it when it stops working, which is why it should have an owner and an alert from day one.