The 12-point Singapore SME systems checklist
Twelve yes/no checks on data, process, ownership and money. Tick what is true today. Eight or more and a system project will probably work; under five and the system is not the first fix. Takes about ten minutes, prints on one page, nothing leaves your browser.
Short answer
Most ERP and inventory projects in 10 to 200 person firms fail on data and ownership, not on the software. Before buying anything, you need one product list, one customer list, a stock figure you would act on, cost per job or product, and a named owner per process. The rest can be fixed during the project.
Checked 28 October 2026. Written from 30+ systems projects across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia.
How to use the score
8 to 12: your data and ownership can carry a system project. The remaining points become the project's first milestones. 5 to 7: fix the data points first (1 to 4); they take weeks, not months, and the system will only amplify whatever state they are in. 0 to 4: the system is not the first fix. Start with one named owner per process and one product list; the ERP readiness scorecard goes deeper on the same question.
Why these twelve
They are the points that decided the outcome of the projects I have delivered or rescued. A manufacturer with 16,000 SKUs and 13,000 bills of materials went live on time because the product list was structured before the software was touched. An apparel group across three countries had a project stall for three years because nobody owned the accounts, the opening balances or the link between systems; the rescue started with ownership, not features. The pattern repeats in trading, F&B, construction and services.
What to do with a low score
- Pick the two points that cost the most today (usually 3, 4 or 5) and give each one an owner and a four-week deadline.
- Put the product and customer lists into one place, even a single spreadsheet, and stop every other copy.
- Measure the before: hours of retyping, DSO, days to close. The free calculators on this site give you the numbers in a few minutes.
- Only then look at systems, with the problem sentence from point 12 as the brief.
Questions
Is this checklist only for ERP projects? No. The same twelve points decide whether an inventory app, a job-costing tool or an accounting migration will work. The system changes; the data and ownership checks do not.
How long does it take to go from 4 to 8? Typically six to twelve weeks of part-time effort for a 20 to 50 person firm, mostly on the product list, the customer list and naming owners. It is unglamorous work and it is where projects are won.
Does the EDGE grant cover the clean-up? Data preparation inside a supported ERP project can be part of the qualifying implementation cost; stand-alone clean-up usually is not. Check the Enterprise Singapore FAQ and ask before you plan around it.
