Implementing a new hospitality ERP solution is an exciting move to unify your data, streamline reporting, and get efficiencies to free up your team’s time for more high-value activities. However, even with the right software and support from your software provider, a successful system transition requires upfront planning and buy-in from your team to stay on track.
Over the years, we’ve seen some recurring friction points pop up during software implementations from hotel companies. Knowing what these are (and planning for them) can make all the difference. Here are the top five best practices you can use to set your team up for success and crush your ERP implementation.
Best Practice #1: Appoint a Dedicated Internal Project Lead
This might sound like a no-brainer. But you’d be surprised how often teams try to share the workload. While that might work for smaller projects, this is one of those times when you want fewer cooks in the kitchen, not more. Because without clear ownership, things slip through the cracks.
One team member assumes another colleague is coordinating with vendors.
Another thinks someone else already validated the legacy data.
Everyone believes someone sent the latest Chart of Accounts (COA) until it’s time to import, and no one actually did.
And it’s not really anyone’s fault. It’s just that when no one truly owns the process, it’s easy for confusion to set in, communication to break down, and deadlines to slide.
The Solution: One Clear Owner Keeps Your Hospitality ERP Implementation on Track
Having one person on your team (at least for the duration of onboarding) whose primary job is to drive the implementation forward sets you up for success. Ideally, it’s someone who helped vet the solution in the first place and can take the lead in providing deliverables.
Here’s the kicker: they need the bandwidth. In the most successful rollouts we’ve seen, the project lead had at least 50–60% of their time cleared to focus on implementation for that set time period. That dedicated time was critical for them to:
- Eliminate bottlenecks between departments, properties, vendors, and HIA
- Oversee data migration, COA handoff, and validation
- Keep deliverables moving and stakeholders aligned
- Make quick, informed decisions
- Catch and correct issues early
If you don’t have the bandwidth in-house, no problem. A consultant, contract service, or even white glove Implementation can be good options.
Best Practice #2: Get Your Timing Right
Everyone tends to think January 1st is the best time to go live in a new system. New year, new books. It sounds like the perfect reset. But in reality, it can be one of the most challenging times of year due to external factors. December is often a mess with PTO, holidays, and year-end prep. By January, your team’s buried in year-end close, audits, and tax filings. They might not have time to onboard, test, or train. And half-done projects can cause bigger problems down the road.
You’ll also want to take your peak seasons into consideration, as you’re not going to want to worry about major changes to your financial systems when your hotels are packed with guests.
The Solution: Plan implementation during quieter seasons when your team has more bandwidth.
Implementing a new system takes time. There’s no getting around it. So you need to know how long it’s actually going to take.
Once you’ve got your go-live window for the software, pull up your calendar and work backward to see if it’s realistic. Make sure you’re checking:
- Are your key people around for that whole stretch?
- Are there conflicting projects, renovations, or upgrades during that period?
- Are there large events, conferences, or ownership meetings that will pull leaders away?
There might never be a “perfect” time to implement a new back office software. But if you can pick a window with the least friction (where your team can be present and engaged), that will go a long way toward making the transition smoother and more successful.
Best Practice #3: Get a Head Start on the Chart of Accounts (COA) Conversion
Many teams put off COA cleanup, thinking it can happen alongside other setup tasks. But teams that delay the COA almost always delay the go-live. Nothing else can really move forward without it.
Not the data import.
Not the PMS mapping.
Not the reporting configuration.
The COA is the foundation of your entire financial structure—and if it’s not clean, complete, and consistent, everything else starts on shaky ground.
The Solution: Start COA cleanup early.
The most successful hospitality companies treat it like a project within the project and start cleaning up the COA as soon as implementation kicks off. That means assigning internal ownership, creating a timeline, and getting buy-in from regional controllers and department heads.
Some best practices we’ve seen work well:
- Audit what you’ve got. Identify duplicates, outdated entries, and inconsistencies across properties.
- Consolidate accounts where possible to streamline reporting.
- Follow USALI guidelines for account structure and classification.
- Don’t try to fix everything at once. Focus on what’s essential for the new system—don’t let unrelated cleanup derail the project.
- Consider using a proven global COA as a starting point if you need structure.
If cleanup’s been on your wishlist for a while, this is the moment to tackle it—right before the switch, with a dedicated internal lead to own it and get it done right.
Best Practice #4: Roll Out the ERP Portfolio-Wide
Some hotel management companies want to roll out a new ERP one property at a time, to “start small” and see how it goes. On paper, it can feel safer. In reality? It’s a sure way to drag out the transition and create extra work for you and your team.
Every time you add a property to the system, it requires you do the same heavy lift again (importing history, migrating the chart of accounts, training users, coordinating with vendors). Meanwhile, hotels are stuck running two accounting systems, splitting payables, and closing books in different ways across the portfolio.
The PMS feeds get messy. Teams get burnt out. Reporting becomes fragmented. And when the data isn’t unified, there’s no way to get a clean, portfolio-wide performance snapshot.
The Solution: One Implementation, Unified Data, and Faster Adoption
When you roll out a portfolio-wide implementation, you get:
One configuration.
One round of training.
One set of integrations.
Everyone gets up to speed together, you create a built-in support network, and you get consistent data from day one. Plus, the leadership team will have full visibility across the portfolio right out of the gate—no waiting months for the last property to catch up.
Best Practice #5: Communicate the Value of ERP to End Users
Change fatigue is real. Most hotel teams are already stretched thin, and when a new software system is thrown at them without context, it can feel like “just one more thing” on top of an already full plate.
When teams don’t understand why a new ERP and accounting system matters, you can get pushback, burnout, or people quietly falling back on the old systems and workarounds they’re comfortable with.
The Solution: Show Benefits & Involve Users Early.
Bring your key users into the process from the start. Show them exactly how the system will make their jobs easier:
- Fewer manual entries
- Faster close processes
- More accurate reporting
- Less time chasing down information
Show them exactly how the system solves the daily pain points they’ve been living with. Then, back it up with role-specific training.
A general manager doesn’t need the same deep dive as a regional controller – the more relevant the training, the faster adoption sticks.
When people see the value for themselves (and have the skills to use it), the transition moves faster, the data gets cleaner, and the benefits start sooner.
A Strong Start Sets the Tone for Long-Term Success
A new hotel accounting and ERP solution can be transformational and the implementation doesn’t have to be painful. With best practices like having the right internal project lead, thoughtful timelines, and full team buy-in, your organization will be set up for a smooth rollout and lasting, powerful results.
At HIA, our hospitality-specific ERP is built to simplify and streamline your financial management, and our team is focused on making the onboarding process smooth and manageable. We are invested in your success and don’t just deliver superior software; we become your strategic partner, working closely with you and your team to coordinate every step to deliver a smarter, more efficient solution that conforms to your business.
To learn more about our award-winning software and tailored implementation process, speak with one of our experts.
Jaime Goss has over a decade of marketing experience in the hospitality industry. At Hotel Investor Apps, Jaime heads up marketing initiatives including brand strategy, website design, content, email marketing, advertising and press relations.
