ERP System Upgrades in Rwanda

What is ERP upgrade management, and who needs it

It’s the planning, testing and execution of version upgrades and significant updates to your ERP, together with any customisations and integrations they affect. It suits organisations whose ERP vendor has released a new version, those running a version near the end of its support, and those that have postponed upgrades for years and now face a large jump.

The problem it solves

Upgrades applied directly to live systems can break customisations, integrations such as EBM electronic invoicing, or reports, and the damage is found during invoicing or payroll. The opposite problem is just as common: upgrades put off so long that the system runs on an unsupported version without security fixes, and catching up becomes a project in itself. Planned, tested upgrades on a regular rhythm avoid both.

How we upgrade safely

Assess. Read the release notes, check support dates, and list what’s affected: modules, customisations, integrations and reports.

Copy. Create a test environment from a recent copy of your live system.

Upgrade the copy and fix what breaks.

Test. Key users run their main tasks: invoicing through EBM, purchasing, stock movements, a payroll run and month-end reports. Integrations with banks and mobile money are checked.

Plan the live upgrade: timing, freeze period, backup, rollback steps and decision point.

Upgrade live, check, and support users in the following days.

The customisation register

Every customisation and integration should be listed with what it does, how it was built and how to test it. That register turns upgrade planning from guesswork into a checklist. Customisations built through configuration or supported extensions are usually low risk; those that change core code need the most testing. Where one keeps breaking at each upgrade, replacing it with a standard feature is often worth considering.

Falling behind is the expensive option

Postponing upgrades feels cheaper until the version reaches the end of its support. Then security fixes stop, integrations with banks or payment providers may stop working as they update their own systems, and the jump to a supported version can cross several releases at once, multiplying the testing and rework. Upgrading regularly, in smaller steps, keeps each upgrade routine and predictable, and keeps the system eligible for vendor support when you need it.

What the work involves

1. Review the new version and your current setup.
2. Build a test copy and upgrade it.
3. Fix and retest customisations, integrations and reports.
4. User acceptance testing with key users.
5. Schedule the live upgrade with backup and rollback.
6. Upgrade, verify and support through the next closing.

After each upgrade, a short summary records what changed, what was tested, any issues found and how they were resolved, which makes the next upgrade faster to plan and gives auditors a clear record.

What’s included and what’s not

Typical timelines and what drives cost

A minor update can be tested and applied within days; a major version upgrade typically takes several weeks, mostly testing. Cost is driven by how far behind the current version is, the number of customisations and integrations, the extent of user testing and how much rework is needed.

Equipment typically used

A separate test environment, backup and restore tools, the customisation register, test scripts built from real transactions, and the vendor’s upgrade documentation and tools.

Common mistakes we see

Upgrading live without testing. Postponing for years until the version is unsupported. No customisation register. Upgrading in the week of month-end. Backups never test-restored. Key users not involved in testing. And no rollback plan.