Post-merger ERP integration is where deal plans meet the month-end close. Two companies arrive with two ledgers, two charts of accounts and two ways of reporting, and leadership still wants combined numbers from the first month. Lucentive sequences the work so reporting comes first and the full move follows.
Day-one reporting first
Before any system changes, both companies’ results are mapped to a common reporting structure, so the board sees combined numbers while the integration plan is decided.
One chart of accounts
A shared chart of accounts and set of dimensions is designed for the combined business. Each company moves onto it as an entity, with intercompany rules defined once.
Choosing the surviving system
Sometimes one company’s system becomes the platform. Sometimes neither fits the combined business. The fixed-fee ERP advisory compares both routes on cost, risk and timing.
Migration and cutover
Balances, customers and vendors move onto the surviving structure, and a parallel close proves the combined numbers before anyone relies on them. For serial acquirers, see ERP for private equity portfolio companies.
Common questions
Should both companies move to a new system?
Not always. If one company’s system fits the combined business, moving the other onto it is often simpler. The advisory compares both routes before anything is decided.
How soon can we report combined numbers?
Combined reporting comes first, through a common chart of accounts mapped from both ledgers, before any system is replaced.
What about different fiscal years?
The acquired company usually moves onto the buyer’s calendar during integration, with tax advisers involved and a planned transition period so no month is reported twice or lost.
Can integration start before the deal closes?
Planning can, within whatever the deal allows. Mapping charts of accounts and deciding the surviving system can be prepared so work starts on day one.
Who runs the integration?
Principal consultants plan and run it with your finance team, and stay on for support after the switch.
How we work
- Assess: a fixed-fee advisory, usually two to four weeks, built from your actual close and ending in a recommendation you can act on.
- Implement: chart of accounts, integrations and data migration, proved by a parallel close before go-live.
- Support: the principal consultants who built the system stay on after launch.
Related services: ERP Consultant for Dental Service Organizations, ERP for SaaS Companies and ERP Data Migration Services. Or see all our ERP consulting services.