Today, business success relies on having technology that addresses specific company challenges. These challenges often emanate from the particular industry in which the company operates. Acumatica has designed its solution to address specific industry needs and challenges for construction firms, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers and have outlined how we are delivering these new features and capabilities in the latest version of our product: Acumatica 2024 R1.

While delivering tailored features that address specific industry challenges is critical in helping address our customers’ pain points and challenges, businesses still need their ERP system to deliver on the fundamentals. Foundational to an effective ERP solution is the ability to provide the adaptability and flexibility to suit changing business needs while also maintaining excellence in core business fundamentals. As such, Acumatica 2024 R1 is designed to meet cross-industry and general business needs across the board.

Need for Cross-Industry and General Business Capabilities

Acumatica 2024 R1 delivers hundreds of improvements and feature-rich functionality to users, each addition and upgrade is intentionally engineered to improve usability, drive productivity and efficiency, boost sales, and help businesses compete in their markets.  Many of these features are designed to address the needs of businesses operating in specific industries.

However, businesses are rapidly evolving, and more organizations need features that were previously exclusive to a single industry. Take eCommerce capabilities, for example. Once the exclusive domain of retailers, eCommerce capabilities are now fundamental to all firms. The industry-specific updates also enable all Acumatica customers to capitalize on the trend toward cross-industry convergence and capture new market share.

Beyond Cross-Industry Capabilities

Beyond important cross-industry capabilities, what businesses are looking for in their business management system technology is how the solution helps them run their business, which includes making payments, collecting and tracking financials, and making accounting easier and more efficient. In these areas, 2024 R1 delivers by helping small and midsized businesses:

• Utilize Acumatica Payments to streamline point-of-sale (POS) payment transaction processing by using credit card readers to record payments directly from the Acumatica solution without third-party software.
• Payroll users can automate vacation and sick time tracking with new features such as banding rules, anniversary date resets, and simplified adjustments. Enable administrators to manage paid time off during employee probation and plan for future plan changes.
• Tailor approval workflows without coding, now including approval and rejection reasons for financial documents and support for sales order invoices.
• Simplify returns on cash purchases by initiating cash returns directly from orders.
• Canadian customers can easily configure export payment file formats using menu options instead of export scenarios. Canadian construction companies can use the improved T5108 filing process to easily separate product and services payments.
• Simplify Exemption Certificate Management by viewing and managing certificates inside Avalara without leaving Acumatica.
• Improve credit memos with inclusive credit term due dates and discount amounts, enabling organizations to better align with invoice due dates for improved payment accuracy, receivable reporting, and cash flow forecasting.
• Analyze business results using ratios and percentages by using the output of one inquiry within another data inquiry.

Taking Customer Relationship Management to the Next Level

Another key area for every growing business is managing their own customers, building and nurturing these relationships in a way that builds trust and loyalty. Acumatica 2024 R1 delivers new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) features and capabilities that will enable organizations to deliver stellar customer service:

• Improve responsiveness and meet deadlines with improved case commitment tracking with automated updates when case severities change.
• Capture and measure case worker efficiency improved case closure workflow.
• Work efficiently in multi-company environments with branch-specific email templates.
• Streamline returns with automated notifications so support specialists know when your warehouse ships or receives customer items.

Pushing the Envelope

Acumatica is consistently pushing the envelope on what is possible for business management technology. We focus on this mission and commitment by listening to and understanding the problems, needs and interests of our customers.

Acumatica 2024 R1 represents the latest manifestation of this ongoing commitment to customer-driven innovation with many of the new features and capabilities outlined above and in this blog series sparked by the direct feedback and requests from our customers.

We believe that understanding these changing and evolving needs will help us continue to deliver the technologies growing companies need to compete and succeed in today’s digital economy. And in the process, we aim to simplify every aspect of running an organization—something customer Edward Cohen, CEO, Boca Terry, has discovered for himself. “Acumatica made my life so much easier. It’s unbelievable.”

Last week, Acumatica shared the latest features that particularly address the unique needs of finance leaders and accountants at the annual AICPA & CIMA CFO Conference in South Carolina. This engagement marked another significant stride in our commitment to empowering finance professionals with cutting-edge technology. As a leading provider of cloud ERP solutions, Acumatica recognizes the evolving role of CFOs in driving organizational growth and sustainability. By engaging with industry peers and thought leaders at this prestigious event, this enabled our Acumatica team to foster collaborative learning and innovation within the financial community. With a focus on harnessing the power of cloud computing, Acumatica continues to equip CFOs with the tools they need to navigate complexities, streamline operations, and unlock new opportunities for success in today’s dynamic business landscape.

Let us make life easier for you, too. Contact our experts to learn more about Acumatica and Acumatica 2024 R1 and don’t forget to check out how our latest release benefits businesses and developers alike.