Which non-HR software should your HRMS integrate with?

The benefits of integrating your various enterprise business systems are clear. On a mundane level, you spend less time inputting data to multiple systems. On a more strategic front, combined information gives you potential opportunities for smarter analytics and reports, allowing you to use your people data to fuller effect. When it comes to integrating your HRMS with non-HR systems, two clear candidates stand out.

ERP

Enterprise resource planning software is designed to do what it says on the label: plan your resources. People are a key resource (if not the key resource) so there’s a logic to integrating HRMS and ERP, and given that most ERP systems include an HR database, there’s already some overlap.

As mentioned above, the first obvious benefit of HRMS-ERP integration is the time saved by not having to engage in multiple data entry. But single input carries another benefit: fewer errors, which in turn leads to fewer complaints and more accurate outputs (such as payroll).

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Furthermore, running reports and analytics should be and easier and smoother experience, if only for the fact that the interface doesn’t have to draw the information from a patchwork of disparate databases, files and Excel spreadsheets.

Another benefit relates to security and access. It’s just easier to have a secure single sign-on (SSO) for users with a fully integrated setup. It’s not a work-around, it’s effectively a single system. A similar point can be made about employee self-service access too. With an integrated ‘suite’ of functions, your users can access everything through a single portal and as we all know, the easier self-service is to use, the more people use it.

Accounting

The other key organizational software candidate for integration is accounting. The main benefits here accrue when you’re running payroll through your HRMS. There’s no doubt that the efficient running of any business relies on having the numbers add up and if only from that perspective, joining your two key pieces of financial software makes sense.

The benefits here include quicker and easier data exchange between your payroll and accounts teams. Again, similar to the HRMS-ERP point about single entry, if the two systems are drawing on the same pool of data, the likelihood of error can be significantly reduced (always a plus when considering money and salaries!) You also avoid potential mismatches between your payroll and general ledger data.

Finally, the consolidation of information allows for a greater transparency for payroll transactions and with a database that can be accessed from ‘both ends’ (HR or Accounts) if an error does occur, tracking and resolving it should be an easier process.