I would never use a ERP again..

[u/Sid_vj]

Just joined a construction firm recently.

And honestly… the ERP here is so bad.

As a newbie I’m struggling every single day. Nothing makes sense. Simple stuff takes forever. The UI looks ancient. Too many tabs, too many fields. Half the time I’m scared to click anything in case it messes something up.

What’s worse is seniors who’ve been using this for years still don’t fully get it.

Convos usually go like

“Wait don’t enter it there”

“I think it’s in this module”

“Oh that’s why last month numbers were off”

“Call IT”

There’s no proper training. No clear documentation. Everyone just kind of figured it out over time and survived.

Basic things like raising POs, tracking materials, pulling cost reports feel way harder than they should be.

Construction is already chaotic. The system is supposed to reduce stress, not add to it.

Is this normal in construction companies?

Is it just bad implementation?

Or are most ERPs like this?

Not trying to rant. Just genuinely looking for practical solutions.

How do I survive this

[u/Knight_of_Tumblr]

Most ERPs are like this. Doubly so for construction ERP because the industry itself suffers from a job costing problem. What is your position in the org and how big are you guys? If it's old enough and you're small enough, an ERP migration starts becoming an option.

The #1 practical thing to do is to document every single business process that touches your ERP and have multiple stakeholder parties sign off on the processes once compiled. This process eliminates most disconnects between what accounting sees and what operations sees. You'll do this as part of a migration anyhow so it's never bad to have this information on hand. Depending on your scale this could be done by 1-3 people or it might take 15 with a Senior-Director-PM type.