As a suggestion from associate, I tried some of the other options in the software field related to our industry. Some of them suitable, despite very major sacrifices, but most lacked either typical modules (project accounting, or timekeeping), lacked linking between documents, or were completely sandboxed to the point where data extrapolation was impossible (no reporting, customization).
One aspect where these other systems win to the common user is visual reporting. Dashboards. It’s been mentioned by the founder that dashboards give false, unrealistic, or dramatic representations of information. However, where the erpnext ecosystem is lacking is having that option through selectable fields using a few of the chart forms of C3. MS excel achieves this quite well.
Document List View:
Since the addition of Kanban view, it’s inspiring to think that this could be achievable, though sacrificing some mobile view (using kanban on a touch device doesn’t fully meet the requirements of the mobile-first, but there are still traditional ways to use the system, so as not to relinquish capabilities through feature-additions). Chart data (currency/currency, integer/integer, etc.), formula (or predefined mathematical operation) and chart type, maybe a limit of two after the doc name could be selected in the same way that “show in list view” columns are, through customize form.
Document view:
A custom field type utilizing C3 would be amazing. Again, it would have to be thought out for chart types and calculations (of course, let the user decide what works, and what actually just doesn’t calculate properly, just like the openness for trial and error with other custom fields). I was excited to see the representation of activity hours within the project document. I’ll probably start taking jabs at server side modifications in the same way just for personal use.
“Dashboard”:
Above is the realistic scenario I imagine for any charting to be integrated into the erpnext layout. Going back to the idea of a dashboard though, I don’t see this being possible, unless it were integrated into the desktop with a lot of consideration, and document options to cater to different industries needs. For a project manager, seeing unbilled revenue, over-budget projects, or change order approvals could be great, but might not work for a production manager.
The puzzle piece that I feel ERPNext is missing. Consolidation.
Edit: while I’m at it. Has anybody integrated charting from c3 into a doctype using the document fields? Or been able to use the html custom field to show data based off of document fields?
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