by Hrayr Galoyan

“What on earth is Coupa?" I asked myself this when I heard about Coupa for a recent project. I quickly learned Coupa is a procurement system designed for businesses to simplify purchasing and ensure the users’ interaction is easy and enjoyable, as if you are shopping on Amazon.com. Technology supposedly makes our lives easier and more enjoyable. However, if you do not have the right technology in place, it can make your life harder.  

Coupa’s main application manages the purchasing process. However, there's no point using the greatest purchasing application in the world, if it does not talk to your Sage 300 ERP (AccPac) system. My goal always is to reduce manual order entry errors while not creating duplicate work.

Coupa is equipped with an external application interface, creating a smooth transition to send/receive information with a client's purchasing system.  Once Coupa is loaded with your supplier list and GL accounts, the system begins processing purchases. Coupa sends the AP invoice to Sage 300 ERP for every approved purchase. Finally, once the invoice is paid, Coupa receives the payment information.

Here is a glance at the process.

If my diagram appears overly simplified, it is!  Software should work. However, software development is more complicated as programmers work through exceptions, error reporting, and manage many additional details daily.  Nevertheless, our clients simply want the software to work. A CEO told me he wants the software to be like his car:  with one turn of a key, everything works. Creating easy-to-use software is no longer an option it is a requirement.