If you are looking for an ERP system built in Romania and 100% aligned with local tax legislation and the Romanian way of doing business, you have surely considered WinMENTOR. It is probably the most widely used ERP system in Romania, with more than 45,000 users in over 12,000 private companies, NGOs and public institutions.
WinMENTOR, however, comes in two editions: Classic WinMENTOR (WMC) and WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE (WME), which naturally raises the question: which of the two is the better ERP system? Which one is the right fit for my business?
But you shouldn't look for the best ERP solution; look for the one that suits your business best.
If your company is just starting out, Classic WinMENTOR can be a good choice. But if your operations are more complex and you want maximum performance, we recommend **WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE (WME)**, the newest and most powerful application in the MENTOR range, designed specifically for medium and large companies. WME is in fact a complete rewrite of Classic WinMENTOR (WMC), and the result is a mature, stable and extremely capable ERP suite.
Although both WME and WMC bring important benefits to companies, WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE comes with several extra advantages. Read on to find out how WME gives you an edge in your company's day-to-day work.
Classic WinMENTOR: suited to companies with simple processes
Classic WinMENTOR is a standard ERP solution, designed for quick implementation and ease of use, and suited to companies with relatively simple operations.
Main characteristics of WMC:
- A standard solution that covers the essential features of financial accounting and inventory management, payroll, stock records and day-to-day operations, ensuring compliance with Romanian tax and accounting legislation;
- It uses a file-server database (Paradox). Each user accesses the database files directly, so it is not designed for heavy concurrent use;
- Fewer modules in the base version. Compared with WME, Classic WinMENTOR offers fewer modules at installation, and even the shared modules (for example, the Commercial module) have more limited features;
- It offers a set of predefined reports, useful for tracking the financial and operational situation, without complex configuration or customization;
- It suits small and medium-sized companies with simple, relatively stable processes, where there are no advanced automation or integration needs;
- It keeps costs affordable for licensing, implementation and maintenance alike, making it a budget-friendly option;
- It works mainly in a local environment and is well suited to organizations that do not depend on integration with multiple external systems or on complex analytical reporting.
Classic WinMENTOR remains a good fit for small and medium-sized companies with simple processes and few users, but it shows its limits as the business grows.
Want more? WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE is the right choice
As we said at the start, WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE is superior to the classic edition: not just an evolution, but a complete rewrite. Here are a few strengths that make a difference in day-to-day work.
- High performance and scalability
WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE (WME) uses client/server technology on an Oracle database, separating the application from the database. The result: fast access to information, even with large data volumes or hundreds of simultaneous users, and even over a slow internet connection.
- Unified access to data from any period
WME uses "data validity intervals", keeping all information in a single database. You can quickly look up historical data without switching between separate files for each month or year.
- Data integrity, with no compromises
The Oracle structure and transactional mechanisms eliminate the risk of negative stock and of documents with broken links. A transaction is either saved completely and consistently or not saved at all, which keeps information consistent.
- Efficient management for groups of companies
You can manage several companies in a holding with shared catalogs, charts of accounts and accounting settings. You can generate reports or the D394 tax return at company or group level, quickly and easily.
- Full document traceability
With the "Document Navigator" option, you can follow a document's path from order to payment or collection: stock, deliveries, contracts and the related payments and receipts.
- Tasks built right into the ERP
You can create tasks and assign them to users, with a clear view of your own tasks and those assigned to you. Responses are available directly from the Data and Lists modules.
- Advanced item catalog
You can manage complex items with multiple units of measure, multipliers, packaging and parcels. You control visibility, billability, catalog codes and translations, as well as the status of products manufactured in-house.
- Built-in CRM features
You can track customers, leads and the history of every partner: opportunities, quotes, orders, invoices, tasks and emails. You can run marketing campaigns, analyze costs and generate quotes or orders directly from opportunities.
- Accounting control and cost centers
The accounting journal cannot be distorted: calculated values are kept exactly and are only recalculated explicitly. Entries can be allocated to cost centers, including at the level of documents, payment terms and treasury operations.
- Advanced inventory management
The stock blocking function lets you change an item's status from "Free" to "Blocked", manually or automatically, based on expiry date or seasonal restrictions. The "Stock info" option gives a complete picture of stock, reservations and forecasts.
- Fixed assets and assets under construction
You can link assets-under-construction services to fixed assets, including retroactively. When the work is accepted, the values are automatically added to the fixed asset's cost, keeping records accurate and complete.
If you already use Classic WinMENTOR, you should know that moving to WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE is simpler than you might think. In terms of use, the interface and menus are almost identical, so any operator can adapt quickly, usually within a few days. Migrating data and records between the two systems, on the other hand, is not an easy operation, but it can be done.
For Next iSolutions clients, the biggest advantage of WinMENTOR ENTERPRISE remains its flexibility: it comes with many features in the standard version and can be easily adapted, both by the vendor and by us as implementers, to fit the requirements of any business perfectly.
There are several hundred differences in features and operations between WME and WMC, so they are hard to cover in a single article. Send us a message and let's talk about how an ERP system can transform your business!
