ERP & Finance Systems Aren't Asset Management

Government enterprise resource planning (ERP) and finance systems are built to handle the intricacies of fund accounting, procurement rules, and other GAAP requirements. What they are not meant to do is serve as an asset registry managing detailed records on thousands of assets.

Asset Management systems, on the other hand, are designed to focus on understanding asset lifecycles and streamline daily maintenance activities. In today’s world, having the right tools can make all the difference.

A one-size-fits-all approach is never the right fit

ERPs are powerful, world-class financial tools designed to manage the finances and accounting of government agencies. As part of their ERP suite, they often offer basic, add-on modules for a variety of other related public services including work order management.

And while this might seem like an easy all-in-one answer to maintaining your assets, there are numerous limitations:

Difficulty of use: Since ERP systems are designed to be used by finance professionals, they often do not meet the needs of maintenance teams in the field. The interfaces can be difficult to navigate, do not operate “offline,” and do not collect the data needed to help maintenance leaders make better decisions.
Limited functionality: Asset management is an afterthought for ERP systems, as they are designed to focus on what finance leaders need to know – not asset managers. Generally, they do not track asset lifecycles or contain advanced tools to help improve capital planning and optimize maintenance activity. Their basic limitations can hinder maintenance teams, forcing them to conduct mostly reactive maintenance and limiting insights that could help conduct more proactive repairs that extend the life of the asset and prevent unexpected breakdowns.
No asset-centric view: Simple work order systems can track work being completed – a work order is generated, assigned, completed and closed. This largely functions as an organizational and accountability purpose. It does not provide any insight into the health of the asset, its cost to maintain it, its lifecycle stage, or strategy for replacement. To get that information, you need an asset registry that ties to a work order system to get asset-centric information that actually helps organizations “get ahead” of their infrastructure maintenance needs. In some cases, cities can predict the maintenance required, estimate the timing of that maintenance, and show how it can extend the life of the asset.

Because of these limitations, integrating an Asset Management system with an ERP is a much more effective and complete option for nearly every government agency to oversee their assets and infrastructure.

Brightly Software: A complete asset management solution

At Brightly, we’re different. We focus on asset management and our software is purposely built for government. Our goal is to empower governments to understand the state of their infrastructure and what is needed (manpower and dollars) to deliver the appropriate level of service for their community.

By creating a solid foundation of data that is flexible and easily accessible, governments can make smarter, data-driven decisions about their assets. This helps with:

Operational planning

How do you know if you have enough resources to maintain an appropriate service level. You need data on what asset maintenance needs to be done and match that to resources available. Often, needs will outstrip resources and priorities will have to be determined.

The foundational data provides critical information on how to stack projects to reduce unexpected asset downtime.

Capital Planning

Without asset-centric information, capital planning is more of a guess than a plan. Creating a prioritized list that considers criticality, asset health, age, and maintenance activity can clearly show where investments should be made.

This also helps create longer-term plans (5-30 years) for major replacements, especially those that will require bond funding so communities can properly plan debt load.

Creating business cases with data supporting project proposals

Asset-centric data can show the cost and benefit of infrastructure projects. Moreover, it can show the risk of not completing the project and the potential service impacts to the community.

Compliance

With a one-stop shop for all asset data, reports can easily show different areas of infrastructure compliance that are required to receive federal or state dollars. This can also be used to support grant requests and inspections.

The Benefits of the Brightly Asset Management for government

By combining Brightly with your current ERP system, you can track work orders and asset health, while effectively overseeing your finances. Not only do we seamlessly integrate with most ERPs, but we offer a bevy of other benefits to our users as well. That includes features designed to:

Be used by managers and field personnel with a user-friendly interface
Quickly update work order status (1-2 mins)
Use QR codes to easily tag assets in the field
Work with hierarchies to see how assets are tied together
Automate inventory and procurement so everything is there when you need it
Integrate with GIS and 311 systems to create efficiencies and work with common BI tools to create visualizations for constituent communications
Accelerate workflows by streamlining work order assignments to the right teams.
Capture costs that include labor, material, and equipment costs effortlessly.
Produce dashboards and analytics that turn raw data into actionable insights for city leadership.

Conclusion

A purpose-built asset management system isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s essential for governments looking to optimize infrastructure investments, improve maintenance efficiency, and make smarter financial decisions.

While ERPs excel at managing budgets and financials, they fall short in providing the asset-centric insights needed to extend asset lifecycles, plan capital projects, and ensure long-term service reliability. By integrating a dedicated asset management system like Brightly with your ERP, you get the best of both worlds, allowing your agency to work smarter, reduce costs, and deliver better outcomes for your community.

Learn more about Brightly Asset Management for Government or check out this recent blog covering 5 reasons to use asset management to drive your community’s capital plans.