What is ERP?

ERP (enterprise resource planning) is business software that runs a company’s operations on a shared database: sales and purchasing, inventory and manufacturing, accounting and finance, human resources, and more.

Departments don’t keep separate programs and separate lists. Everyone works from the same customer and vendor records, the same product records, and the same chain of documents. Data is entered once and shows the same value wherever it’s needed.

What does ERP do?

ERP’s main job is to connect the documents in a workflow. An accepted quote becomes an order, the order becomes a shipment and an invoice, and the invoice leads to a collection and an accounting entry.

In a company running separate programs, each step is retyped, amounts are carried over by hand, and errors often surface only at the month-end reconciliation. On a shared database, a change in sales shows up in inventory, finance, and accounting through the same record.

ERP usually means a package of modules: a company starts with the modules it needs and adds the rest later.

What to look for when choosing an ERP

• Scope: are the processes specific to your business (field service, lab work, tenders, projects) available as ready-made modules, or will you need extra software?
• Deployment: will it run in the provider’s cloud or on your own server?
• Permissions: who sees which records and which fields, and can you set approval workflows by amount and by person?
• Local regulations: does the product handle e-documents, statutory books, and the deadlines set by the Social Security Institution (SGK) and the Labor Law, or do you need an outside tool?
• Data: can you export your data, and how do you move data over from your old system?

ERP and e-documents in Turkey

In Turkey, invoicing is closely tied to the electronic document systems run by the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB), such as the e-Invoice (e-Fatura), the e-Archive invoice (e-Arşiv fatura), and the e-Waybill (e-İrsaliye). According to GİB, the e-Invoice isn’t a new type of document and has the same standing as a paper invoice. When both parties are registered with the system, invoices between them must be sent and received as e-Invoices.

A buyer who isn’t registered gets a paper invoice, or an e-Archive invoice if the seller uses the e-Archive system. So an ERP used in Turkey has to pick the right document type based on the buyer’s status.

IWB as your ERP

IWB is a web-based ERP that runs in the browser, with more than 25 modules, from sales and accounting to field service and lab work. You can use it in the cloud or install it on your own server, and it’s the same IWB either way.

All modules run on a single database. A quote becomes an order, the order becomes an invoice, and the invoice reaches your accountant’s posting queue to become a journal entry. Sales, purchasing, finance, and e-documents all use the same customer and vendor records.

You start with the modules you need and turn on the others later. Group companies are set up as separate companies in the same IWB workspace, and each company keeps its own books.

IWB prepares e-documents itself, in the format GİB sets. For e-Invoices and e-Archive invoices, the financial seal (mali mühür) and transmission to GİB go through the GİB-licensed e-invoicing integrator (özel entegratör) you choose.

Payroll is calculated in your payroll program, not in IWB. Human Resources exports attendance as a CSV file for that program to import.