The short answer
Choose the ERP that lets your management show the board, from live data, who owes what, who holds what and whether the books agree. Everything else, including price, is secondary to that.
What the board is accountable for
The board approves the system that holds the members' money. The risks are not mainly technical. They are a wrong balance, a missing audit trail, a late or wrong regulatory return, and a system the SACCO cannot leave. A board that asks the right four questions has done its part.
Four questions for every shortlisted vendor
- Control: who can create, approve and change a loan, a deposit or a member record, and where is that recorded?
- Truth: do the sub-ledgers and the general ledger always agree, and who proves it each month?
- Regulator: can we produce the returns SASRA expects from live data, on time?
- Exit: can we take our data out in a usable form if we change vendor?
A simple scorecard
| Area | Questions to score 1 to 5 |
|---|---|
| Fit to your operations | Members, loans, checkoff, FOSA, teller, dividends covered without workarounds |
| Controls and audit | Approvals, segregation of duties, audit log, role-based access |
| Regulatory reporting | SASRA returns drawn from the ledgers, with report layouts |
| Delivery risk | Named team, data migration plan, a pilot, training and hypercare |
| Platform and vendor | Roadmap, support model, references and financial standing |
| Total cost | Licences, implementation, support, change and exit over five years |
Ask for a pilot, not a promise
Insist that any vendor runs your own member and loan data through their system before you sign: a sample of members, loans and one month of checkoff. The pilot shows more than any demonstration, and it tells you how the vendor behaves when the data is untidy.
If the system is new, as SaccoFlow 365 is, the pilot matters even more, and you should weigh the lack of a long production history openly. A good vendor will say so before you do.
What to bring to the board paper
- The scorecard, with the evidence behind each score.
- The data migration plan and who signs off the opening balances.
- The five-year cost, including support and licences.
- The exit plan.
SaccoFlow 365 is in preview and is introduced through a pilot with your data. To scope one, book a consultation.
Frequently asked questions
What should a SACCO board ask an ERP vendor?
Who can create, approve and change a loan or deposit, whether the sub-ledgers always agree with the general ledger, whether SASRA returns come from live data, and whether you can take your data with you if you leave.
Should a SACCO run a pilot before buying?
Yes. Run a sample of members, loans and a month of checkoff through the system before signing.
How long does implementation take?
It depends on the size of the SACCO, the quality of the data and the modules in scope. We give a plan after discovery.