ERP readiness checklist for government

The structure follows the Government Finance Officers Association's 10 Steps to Preparing for Your Next ERP Project, which notes that the hardest parts of these projects are usually organizational change, governance, training, project management and planning rather than technology. We have turned each step into specific, yes or no questions an agency can answer about itself, and added a section on data, where we see projects stall most often.

Keys to success

• Be honest with yourselves. A checklist scored generously is worse than none. If you are unsure, leave it unchecked.
• Fix process and policy first. Much of what makes an ERP project succeed costs nothing and can start now.
• Protect your people. Projects rarely fail for lack of software; they fail when the same staff are asked to run the agency and the project at once.
• Decide how you will decide. Governance written down before the project saves weeks of debate in the middle of it.

1. Vision and goals

Set measurable goals the project must deliver and communicate them.

• We can state in two or three sentences why we are replacing or modernizing the system, in terms of outcomes, not features.
• Each goal has an owner and a way to tell, after go-live, whether we met it.
• Our governing body and department heads have heard the goals and the reasons for them.
• We know which problems a new system will not fix on its own, such as policy, staffing or culture.

2. Leadership and governance

Name an executive sponsor, a steering committee and process owners with clear decision rights.

• An executive sponsor with authority over all affected departments is named and active.
• A steering committee meets on a set schedule and has a written charter.
• Each major process area (budget, procure to pay, payroll, HR, revenue, assets) has a named process owner who can make decisions.
• We have written down who decides on scope, process change, schedule and money, and how disputes escalate.

3. Staffing and capacity

Plan who works on the project and backfill their day jobs.

• We have estimated how much time each functional lead will spend on the project in each phase.
• We have a plan to backfill or defer work for the people who will carry the project.
• A full-time or near full-time internal project manager is identified.
• The project calendar avoids, or plans around, budget season, year-end close and audit.

4. Systems inventory

Capture every system, spreadsheet, manual file and interface the ERP will replace or touch.

• We have a list of core systems with owners, contract end dates and what each one does.
• We have captured the shadow systems: spreadsheets, Access databases, bespoke software and paper processes.
• We have mapped the interfaces between systems, including banks, state agencies and other outside parties.
• We know which systems are in scope to replace, which to integrate and which to leave alone.

5. Business processes

Review current processes with operating departments and fix what does not need software.

• Key processes are documented as they really work today, including workarounds.
• Operating departments, not just finance and IT, joined the process discussions.
• We have a list of policy and process changes we can make now, before any software arrives.
• We have reviewed our chart of accounts and know whether it needs redesign.

6. Data readiness

Know the condition of the data you will convert.

• We have decided how much history to convert and where the rest will live.
• Data owners are named for vendors, employees, utility and permit accounts, assets and the general ledger.
• We have started cleaning duplicate and inactive records.
• We know our records retention obligations for data that will not be converted.

7. Requirements and procurement approach

Define outcome-focused requirements and an evaluation that tests implementation risk.

• Requirements are written as outcomes and business scenarios, not only as a yes or no list.
• We have decided whether to buy software and implementation together or separately, and whether cooperative contracts are allowed.
• Our evaluation plan includes scripted demonstrations on our own scenarios and reference checks with similar agencies.
• We will evaluate the implementation team and approach as seriously as the software.

8. Project plan, testing and training

Plan realistic time for testing, training and cutover.

• We have a realistic phased timeline rather than a date chosen first.
• The plan protects time for testing, including parallel payroll where it applies.
• We have a training approach for end users, not just the core team.
• We have defined what ready for go-live means before the project starts.

9. Contracting

Tie payment to accepted milestones.

• We intend to pay for implementation services against accepted deliverables and milestones.
• Legal and procurement staff are involved before the RFP, not after selection.
• We know the terms we will ask for: named key personnel, acceptance criteria, data ownership and exit rights, and renewal protections.
• Our budget includes internal costs, backfill and contingency, not only the vendor price.

10. Communication and change

Communicate early and often, and invite participation.

• We have a communication plan for staff, leadership and elected officials.
• Staff know how they will be involved and who to ask.
• We have change champions in each department.
• We have a plan to report progress honestly, including bad news, to leadership.

Reading your results

• Mostly checked: you are ready to scope the procurement. Our ERP consultant RFP template gives you a copy-ready scope if you want independent help through selection and implementation.
• Gaps in governance, staffing or vision: close these before anything else. They are the hardest to fix once a vendor is under contract.
• Gaps in processes, data or inventory: this is a readiness project in its own right. Many agencies run it first, then issue the RFP with far better requirements.

Where Avero fits

Avero is an independent, vendor-neutral advisory firm that works only with the public sector. We sell no software, take no referral fees and do not implement. Across more than a hundred engagements, the keys to success have been the same: an honest readiness picture, clear governance, and staff who have the time to do the work.

Written by Abhijit Verekar, Founder and CEO of Avero Advisors. Updated October 22, 2026. Related: ERP consultant RFP template, Is our agency ready for a new ERP?, Cleaning up data before migration, ERP selection and RFP.