Tally and ERP

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning.To elobarate, an enterprise means a business setup, Resources means many like men, machine, money etc, and Planning means a frame work to carry out the tasks. ERP is package software solution that addresses the needs of an organization by tightly integrating the various functions of an organization using a process view of the organization. It is package software and not a custom made software for a specific firm. It understands the needs of any organization within a specific industry segment. Many of the processes implemented in an ERP software are core processes such as sales order processing, Minimum order fulfillment, shipping, invoicing, BOM processing, purchase order processing, preparation of Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss statement etc., that are common to all industry segments. That is the reason why the package software solution works so well. So Generally there are lot of ERP package vendors in the market like SAP, Oracle, etc..Each vendor is specialized in one or many resources. SAP comes under ERP Package which gives business solutions to a business setup in all areas like Finance, Sales, Costing and materials etc. Just you integrate a few functions into a software package, an ERP system it does not become. Tally is simply an accounting package and that too using a very archaic DOS like GUI, meant to be used primarily by the bookkeepers and accountants of an organization. Unlike a real ERP system that cascades across the entire processes of an organization, Tally is purely finance oriented for the most part. Some of us may argue that it can tailored, etc. for other functionality. If any of the other major accounting packages in its class, like Peachtree were customized for India, Tally would go the way of the dodo. Compared to Peachtree or similar windows GUI systems with result oriented dashboards, etc, Tally is overpriced for what you get. People make a big deal out of the fact that Tally is pre-set to use Indian tax forms, etc. Again, if a package like Peachtree had the same capability, it would leave Tally in the dust. Really, it's time that companies like Sage brought their Peachtree package in full force to India to spur the folks at Tally to do a better job. Right now, Tally is still leading in India by not only giving employment opportunities to many of us but changing the accounting picture in Indian society.