We are starting to implement ERPNext, and I have noticed some terms are not applicable to the US.
Is there a US localization project, or is this something that we can help with? Thanks!
This is very true. There are many functions and terms in the latest ERPNext that do not directly apply to US markets. In the past I have gone through and deleted some things for that very reason only to find that a client system would suddenly need access to some European or Asian accounting function in order to sell to those markets and I would be struggling to figure out how to re-implement something I once sought to remove.
I like the idea of a ‘localization project’ but not in the terms of modifying the system by deleting functions, but more on the terms of ‘hiding’ things that are not needed (at least at the moment).
I learned the hard way the brute force localization will come back to haunt you later. It is better to find ways to simply remove them from view and leave them hidden in case you need them later.
As far as ‘terms’ and other ‘naming conventions’ I have found it more helpful to work on ‘adjusting’ the culture of the client, instead of altering the system. The terms and naming that appear in the current version, are actually fairly universal. While they do not always align with some older traditions in the US, they do still fit the purpose.
For example:
The traditional US term “Work Order” in a manufacturing system did not translate very well in parts of Asia and South America. So, the term “Production Order” was adopted by international manufacturing systems because it translated better and still made sense to everyone that might have to interact with the function.
Also the same term “Work Order” had also been used to represent work to be done in response to a service call or maintenance task. The international term that was used instead became “Service Ticket”
So, while there may be a few things that do not make much sense to the US market (like the India only Accounting terms), you will find that not trying to change everything in the system might be a better approach.
As a localization project, I would bet the topic of how best to approach localization would be the first big hurdle.
BKM