Projects ERP Requirements
Project accounting, resource planning, time tracking, and billing. Review our comprehensive checklist to ensure your ERP covers every critical projects capability.
32
Requirements
4
Categories
6
Industries
6
Leading Vendors
Projects Requirements Checklist
Planning(7 requirements)
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Project Planning & Scheduling | Defines project scope, tasks, dependencies, and timelines with work breakdown structures. |
| Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) | Decomposes projects into hierarchical deliverables and work packages for detailed planning. |
| Resource Allocation | Assigns people, equipment, and materials to project tasks based on availability and skill requirements. |
| Dependency & Critical Path | Identifies task dependencies and calculates the critical path to determine minimum project duration. |
| Project Templates & Cloning | Creates reusable project templates to standardize planning and accelerate setup for recurring project types. |
| Skills-Based Resource Matching | Matches project resource needs against employee skills, certifications, and availability for optimal staffing. |
| Project Budgeting & Cost Estimation | Builds detailed project budgets with labor, material, and overhead cost estimates for bid preparation. |
Execution & Tracking(7 requirements)
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Time & Expense Tracking | Captures time worked and expenses incurred against projects for billing, payroll, and cost analysis. |
| Budget vs. Actual Monitoring | Compares planned project budgets against actual costs in real time to identify variances early. |
| Milestone Tracking | Defines and monitors key project milestones to measure progress and trigger deliverable reviews. |
| Change Order Management | Tracks scope changes with cost and schedule impact analysis and formal approval workflows. |
| Progress Billing & % Complete | Invoices clients based on percentage-of-completion or milestone-based progress for long-duration projects. |
| Subcontractor Management | Manages subcontractor assignments, purchase orders, progress tracking, and payment certification. |
| Task Collaboration & Comments | Enables team members to communicate within project tasks with comments, attachments, and status updates. |
Reporting & Billing(8 requirements)
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Gantt Charts & Dashboards | Visualizes project timelines, dependencies, and progress through interactive charts and dashboards. |
| Multi-Project Portfolio View | Provides an overview of all active projects to balance priorities, resources, and organizational capacity. |
| Project Billing & Invoicing | Generates client invoices based on time, milestones, or percentage-of-completion billing methods. |
| Earned Value Management | Measures project performance by comparing planned value, earned value, and actual cost. |
| Risk & Issue Tracking | Logs and monitors project risks and issues with probability, impact, and mitigation plans. |
| Project Profitability Analysis | Analyzes project margins by comparing revenue against all direct and allocated costs in real time. |
| Utilization & Capacity Reporting | Reports on resource utilization rates and available capacity across teams and time periods. |
| Timesheet Approval Workflows | Routes submitted timesheets through manager approval with configurable escalation and correction rules. |
Industry-Specific Projects(10 requirements)
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Construction Job Costing & AIA Billing | Tracks costs by construction job with AIA-formatted progress billing, schedule of values, and change order management. |
| Research Grant Management | Manages research grants with fund tracking, effort certification, indirect cost recovery, and sponsor reporting requirements. |
| Government Contract Compliance (FAR / DFARS) | Ensures project execution complies with Federal Acquisition Regulation including cost accounting standards and DCAA audit readiness. |
| Client Engagement & Matter Management | Manages professional services engagements with conflict checks, engagement letters, and matter-level time and billing. |
| Capital Project & Shutdown Management | Plans and tracks large capital projects and plant shutdowns with outage scheduling, turnaround management, and cost controls. |
| Healthcare Program & Clinical Trial Management | Manages clinical research projects with protocol tracking, patient enrollment milestones, and regulatory submission timelines. |
| Educational Program & Accreditation Tracking | Tracks educational program outcomes, accreditation requirements, and self-study milestones with evidence documentation. |
| Real Estate Development Project Tracking | Manages property development projects with land acquisition, permitting, construction phases, and tenant improvement tracking. |
| Retail Store Rollout & Remodel Management | Coordinates multi-site retail store openings and remodels with vendor scheduling, fixture procurement, and launch checklists. |
| Infrastructure & Civil Works Project Controls | Manages civil infrastructure projects with earthwork tracking, environmental compliance, and public agency reporting. |
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Industries That Need Projects
These industries typically require strong projects capabilities in their ERP system:
How to Prioritise Projects Requirements
Not every requirement is equally important. Use this phased approach to prioritise:
Phase 1 — Must-Have
Core capabilities required for go-live. These are non-negotiable requirements that your business cannot operate without.
Phase 2 — Should-Have
Important capabilities needed within the first 12 months. Plan to implement these in a second rollout wave.
Future Phase — Nice-to-Have
Advanced capabilities for your long-term roadmap. Ensure the vendor supports these even if you don't need them now.
ERP Vendors with Projects Capabilities
Explore Other ERP Requirement Areas
Related Resources
Construction ERP Requirements: Complete Checklist (2026)
ERP requirements for construction companies. Covers job costing, project management, subcontractor management, equipment tracking, and 7 critical modules.
GuideDistribution & Wholesale ERP Requirements: Complete Checklist (2026)
ERP requirements for distribution and wholesale companies. Covers warehouse management, order fulfilment, supply chain logistics, and 6 critical modules.
GuideEducation ERP Requirements: Complete Checklist (2026)
ERP requirements for educational institutions. Covers fund accounting, grant management, FERPA compliance, faculty management, and 6 critical modules.
GuideFinancial Services ERP Requirements: Complete Checklist (2026)
ERP requirements for financial services firms. Covers regulatory compliance, risk management, client engagement tracking, and 7 critical modules.
GuideFood & Beverage ERP Requirements: Complete Checklist (2026)
ERP requirements for food and beverage companies. Covers recipe management, batch processing, food safety compliance, traceability, and 8 critical modules.
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