ERP Implementation2 min read
ERP Implementation Team: Roles and Responsibilities
Who you need on an ERP implementation team: sponsor, project lead, key users, data owner, consultants and developers, with realistic time commitments.
Industry · Services
ERP for financial services firms that run on trust and audit trails
Advisory firms, brokers, accountancies, payment and lending operations share a common problem: client data, fees, documents and compliance evidence live in separate systems, and auditors want a clean trail across all of them.
- M01CRM
- M02Accounting
- M03Subscriptions
- M04Projects
- M05Timesheets
- M06Documents
Context
ERP in financial services
An ERP does not replace core banking, trading or portfolio systems. It runs the business around them: clients, contracts, billing, multi-entity accounting, expenses, documents and the approvals regulators expect to see.
Free Odoo setup
Free open-source financial services ERP, set up for free
We install and set up Odoo Community, the free open-source edition of Odoo, at no cost. There is no licence fee for the software and no charge for the setup.
01
Free open-source software
Odoo Community is licensed under LGPLv3: no licence fee, no user limit and no expiry.
02
Free setup
We install Odoo Community on your server and set up the core apps your business needs.
03
Hosting is yours
Hosting is not included. You run Odoo on your own server or cloud account and pay your hosting provider directly. We can recommend options.
04
Paid work is quoted first
Data migration, customisation, integrations and training go beyond setup. We quote them up front, so nothing is billed without your agreement.
01Operational challenges
What usually breaks before the ERP project starts
01
Fee billing complexity
Retainers, percentage-based fees, hourly work and commissions billed by hand.
02
Multi-entity accounting
Group companies, intercompany charges and consolidation in spreadsheets.
03
Audit trail gaps
Approvals and changes not recorded consistently.
04
Document control
KYC and client documents scattered across drives and inboxes.
02Core flows
How the ERP should handle each part of the business
- Sales flow
- Client onboarding, engagement letters, fee agreements and renewals.
- Procurement
- Vendor contracts, subscriptions and approvals with spending limits.
- Inventory
- Not applicable.
- Warehouse
- Not applicable.
- Accounting
- Multi-entity, multi-currency accounting with intercompany rules, consolidation and strict period locks.
- CRM
- Client relationships, referral sources, pipeline and service history.
03Industry workflows
Workflows specific to financial services
01
Onboarding
Client records, documents and approvals collected before work starts.
02
Fee billing
Recurring, percentage-based and time-based fees invoiced automatically.
03
Commission tracking
Commissions calculated and reconciled against statements.
04
Month-end close
Multi-entity close with intercompany eliminations and locks.
04 — Reporting
Reports that should come out of the system, not a spreadsheet
- Revenue by client, service line and adviser
- Work in progress and unbilled fees
- Entity and consolidated financial statements
- Commission reconciliation
- Expense and budget control
- Audit logs of approvals and changes
05 — Compliance
Compliance considerations
Requirements depend on the regulator and activity: record retention, client money rules, KYC/AML evidence, segregation of duties and data protection. The ERP supports these with access controls, audit trails and document retention; regulated calculations usually stay in specialist systems.
Regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction. We configure the system to support your obligations; confirm specific rules with your auditor or compliance advisor.
06 — Integrations
Systems the ERP needs to talk to
Core platforms (portfolio, lending or payment systems), banks, e-signature, document management, identity verification and BI tools are typical integrations.
07AI opportunities
Where AI is genuinely useful here
Practical uses that sit on top of clean ERP data. None of them replace getting the core transactions right first.
01
Document extraction
Pull data from statements and forms for review.
02
Anomaly flags
Highlight unusual journals or expenses for review.
03
Client summaries
Summarise client history before reviews.
08ERP modules
Modules a typical deployment includes
- M01CRM
- M02Accounting
- M03Subscriptions
- M04Projects
- M05Timesheets
- M06Documents
- M07Sign
- M08Expenses
09Roadmap
Implementation roadmap
- 01
Entity and chart design
Entities, chart of accounts and controls.
- 02
Clients and billing
Onboarding and fee billing.
- 03
Controls
Approvals, access rights and audit trails.
- 04
Integrations and reporting
Core systems, banks and management reporting.
10Common mistakes
Mistakes we see repeatedly
01
Expecting the ERP to be the core system
Keep regulated calculations in specialist platforms and integrate.
02
Weak access controls
Segregation of duties must be designed, not added later.
03
Ignoring retention rules
Documents and records need retention policies from the start.
Explore further
Related services, solutions and platforms
Insights
Related reading
ERP Implementation2 min read
ERP User Adoption: Training That Actually Works
Why ERP adoption fails and how to fix it: role-based training, key users, floor-level sessions, quick reference guides, and measuring adoption after go-live.
ERP Implementation3 min read
How to Choose an ERP Consultant (and Avoid a Bad One)
How to compare ERP consultants and implementation partners: references, delivery model, pricing, contract terms and questions that expose weak firms.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can an ERP replace our core banking or portfolio system?
No. It runs the business around them — clients, billing, accounting and controls — and integrates with them.
Can we keep a full audit trail?
Yes. Changes, approvals and posted entries are logged, and period locks prevent changes after close.
Can we bill percentage-based fees?
Yes, by calculating fees from imported values on each billing cycle.
Is there a free ERP for financial services?
Yes. Odoo Community is free, open-source ERP that covers sales, purchasing, inventory, invoicing and more for financial services businesses. ERP Builders sets it up for free; you pay only for your own hosting and any extra work you choose to add.
Is hosting included in the free Odoo setup?
No. The setup is free, but hosting is not included. You run Odoo on your own server or cloud account and pay the hosting provider directly. We can recommend hosting that suits your size.
Similar industries
Industries with related workflows
Professional ServicesProjects, timesheets, utilisation, billing and resource planning for consultancies and agencies.Field ServiceWork orders, technician scheduling, mobile job completion, parts, contracts and service billing.Equipment RentalRental ERP for availability, contracts, check-out and returns, damage charges, maintenance and utilisation.
Next step
Need cleaner billing and audit trails?
We will map your entities, fees and controls onto one system.