ERP integration or manual entry for Zid orders?
Manual entry needs no setup but grows with every order. Integration posts each paid order and return to your ERP and checks it. Point by point.
Every paid order in your Zid store has to reach your ERP or accounting system. The question is how it gets there: someone copies it by hand, or a link posts it for you.
The short answer: manual entry needs no setup and no subscription, but the work grows with every order and checking it is manual too. Integration needs setup and a plan. After that, every paid order and return follows the same steps, and each order is read back from the ERP to confirm it.
Point by point
| Manual entry | Integration | |
|---|---|---|
| Who posts the order | Someone copies the order from Zid into the ERP | The app posts every paid order with the customer, items, tax and shipping |
| Checking it posted | A manual check, if anyone does it | The order is read back from the ERP after posting |
| Duplicate orders | Possible when an order is keyed twice by mistake | The same order is never posted twice |
| Customer | Search for the customer by hand, or create a record | Linked to the customer's record or a new one is created, or one customer account chosen during setup, depending on your ERP |
| Return | The credit note is keyed by hand | One credit note per return, with Odoo, ERPNext and Wafeq |
| Stock in Zid | Zid quantities updated by hand | From your ERP warehouses to each Zid location, from the Growth plan |
| Document number and order status | Copied back to Zid by hand, if at all | The document number as a comment on the Zid order with every system; the order status with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, switched on during setup |
| As orders grow | More work with every extra order | The same steps for every order |
| What it takes to start | Staff time, no setup | A plan and setup with our team, live in about two weeks |
Where manual entry starts to hurt
Manual entry works while orders are few. Every extra order repeats the same work: copy the customer, items, tax and shipping, look the customer up in the ERP, then key the return when one comes in.
Three things usually show first:
- Delay. The order reaches the ERP when someone has time to key it, so the books run behind the store.
- Errors. A wrong quantity, price or tax line goes straight into the books and tends to surface at month-end reconciliation.
- Stock. When Zid quantities are updated by hand, the store can show stock the warehouse no longer has.
What happens to each order with integration
Order arrives
The paid-order notice reaches the app from Zid.
Customer
Depending on your ERP, the customer is linked to their ERP record or a new record is created, or orders post under one customer account chosen during setup.
Posted
The order is posted with the customer, items, tax and shipping, exactly once.
Read back
The order is read back from the ERP to confirm it is there.
These figures are Zid Integrations data:
- within seconds of reaching us
- Each order posted
- orders delivered to ERPs
- Over 14,000
- lost orders
- Zero
When manual entry is enough
Manual entry is usually enough when three things hold: few orders, one warehouse, and books that do not track stock by quantity. Once one of them changes, keying orders gets heavier and a link fits the store better.
Questions merchants ask
Does integration replace the accountant?
No. Integration moves orders and returns into the ERP. The accountant still reviews the books, closes the month and files the VAT returns.
Can I start with orders and add stock later?
Yes. Starter covers orders and returns, and Growth adds stock. Price sync is set up on request.
What if an order notice arrives more than once?
The ERP still holds one order. The same order is never posted twice, even if the order notice arrives more than once or a sync is retried.
Systems in this comparison
- OdooOdoo 18 and 19: orders, returns and stock between Zid and Odoo.
- ERPNextERPNext: orders, returns, and each warehouse's stock at its Zid location.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and OperationsDynamics 365 Finance and Operations: orders and stock between Zid and the ERP.
- WafeqWafeq (accounting): orders, returns and stock between Zid and your books.
Further reading
- ERP or accounting app at 100, 500 and 2,000 orders a monthWhat your books must track decides the system: stock across warehouses, purchasing and branches usually point to an ERP. Monthly orders decide the plan.
- From Zid order to ERP in six stepsA paid Zid order takes six steps: notice, customer, posting, read-back, the document number in Zid, then status with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.