ERP systems are complex, and it is not always easy to test these systems. In order to conduct robust testing, you need the testing staff to not only know the system, but also to know the business process. Manual ERP testing consumes a lot of implementation time and budget. Test automation helps to improve the quality of the product, and reduces the cost and time spent on the process.

Here are the advantages of ERP test automation:

• First and foremost, the main advantage of an automated testing tool is reduced testing time, and as you all know, time is money.
• Automation removes human error from the equation, which means more reliability and accuracy of test results.
• Automated testing makes it easier to uptake future updates, bug fixes, and enhancements, as you can test and be confident that your core business processes will not break with the new enhancements in the product.

Going through the advantages, you will say that automation is best; so why do you even need manual testing? But, it is not as rosy as it sounds. Testing automation, especially for an ERP system, is not an easy task. It is complex and requires experienced staff, time, and hence, money to write an automation script. You will also need to carry out continuous maintenance of test scripts as and when changes are introduced to the features.

Automated testing has clear benefits, but it is important to find the right balance as to what processes or features you should automate, and what is not important. It is also important to consider the type of framework that your ERP system has available for test automation, and how easy it is to write these automation scripts.