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Certinia · ERP and CRM integration · Case study

Certinia Financial Implementation, Support and Upgrade

One of the five largest global event services companies needed its finance and sales operations on one system. This case study shows how Certinia and Salesforce were brought together to automate invoicing and streamline financial processes end to end.

  • Certinia ERP
  • Salesforce CRM
  • Order-to-Pay
  • Procure-to-Pay
  • Adobe Sign
  • Financial automation
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Professional services team reviewing project and financial data on laptops
Industry
Event services
Location
Dubai, UAE
Timeline
6 months
Platforms
Certinia + Salesforce
Company size
Over 5,000 employees

Results and business outcomes

Measurable Results

  • 100%CRM and ERP integrationOne unified system, with no data silos or cross-system reconciliation.
  • 65%Less manual finance processingAutomated invoicing and AR/AP flows replaced manual steps.
  • 80%Faster support turnaroundDaily ticket-based support cut finance team downtime substantially.
  • 100%Real-time financial visibilityAudit-ready dashboards drill down to transactions across every region.

Client and industry context

About the Client

The client is one of the top five exhibition and event organisers in its sector. Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, it also operates offices in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Singapore, South Africa and Egypt, and runs trade exhibitions and conferences across key international markets.

Its events involve hundreds of exhibitors, sponsors and attendees, so the finance and sales teams process large numbers of contracts, invoices and signed agreements. Accuracy, speed and traceability are essential.

With its international presence and transaction volumes growing, the company chose to move from manual, paper-based processes to a fully digital Order-to-Pay workflow running natively in its Salesforce and Certinia environment.

Overview

Project Overview

This multi-regional enterprise wanted to modernise its finance operations by implementing Certinia (formerly FinancialForce) natively on Salesforce CRM. The scope spanned the full financial lifecycle, Order-to-Pay (O2P) and Procure-to-Pay (P2P), giving the business one integrated system for CRM and ERP.

The work covered Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), General Ledger (GL) and Cash Entry flows. The team also delivered a Cash Entry upgrade together with the client's finance team, provided daily ticket-based support, and built audit-ready dashboards for real-time financial reporting.

Requirements

What the Client Needed

  • CRM and ERP on one platform, with no system silos
  • An automated, end-to-end Order-to-Pay (O2P) process
  • An automated, end-to-end Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process
  • Invoices generated automatically from sales order terms and conditions
  • AR, AP, GL and Cash Entry flows managed in Certinia
  • No manual reconciliation between CRM and ERP
  • A Cash Entry upgrade with minimal disruption to the business
  • Daily ticket-based support for the finance team
  • Real-time, audit-ready dashboards with drill-down

Technologies used

Technology Stack

  • Certinia (FinancialForce) ERP
  • Salesforce CRM
  • Adobe Sign
  • Custom Reports
  • Validation Rules
  • Salesforce Dashboards

Business challenges and the Salesforce solution

Challenges and How They Were Solved

  1. Separate CRM and ERP systems

    Challenge

    Finance and sales worked in systems that were not fully connected. Data was duplicated, records had to be reconciled by hand and financial reporting was delayed.

    Solution

    Because Certinia and Salesforce run natively on the same platform, they were fully integrated into one system for all CRM and ERP processes. Data silos and reconciliation work disappeared.

  2. Manual invoice creation

    Challenge

    Finance staff produced invoices one by one, which slowed billing and increased the chance of errors.

    Solution

    Invoices are now generated automatically in Certinia from sales order terms and conditions, cutting manual work and speeding up billing in every region.

  3. Manual reconciliation between systems

    Challenge

    Matching records between ERP and CRM took up significant finance team time and risked discrepancies.

    Solution

    With both systems on one platform, inter-system reconciliation was no longer needed. Transactions now process faster, financial records are cleaner and the finance team's workload is lighter.

  4. No central financial reporting

    Challenge

    Finance managers had no real-time view of transactions, cash positions or performance across regions.

    Solution

    Real-time, audit-ready dashboards in Salesforce now let managers drill down from AR, AP, GL and Cash Entry summaries to individual transactions, supporting better decisions and audit readiness.

Implementation details

Implementation Highlights

  1. Salesforce CRM and Certinia ERP integrated on a single platform
  2. Order-to-Pay and Procure-to-Pay automated end to end
  3. Invoices generated automatically from sales order terms and conditions
  4. AR, AP, GL and Cash Entry flows managed in Certinia
  5. Cash Entry upgrade delivered with the client's finance team
  6. Daily ticket-based support for the finance team
  7. Real-time, audit-ready dashboards with drill-down

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Certinia, and what was it called before?

Certinia is a cloud ERP and Professional Services Automation platform built natively on Salesforce. It was known as FinancialForce until its 2023 rebrand, which reflected its wider scope across financial management, PSA and customer success.

How is Certinia ERP different from Salesforce CRM?

Salesforce CRM handles customer relationships: leads, opportunities and sales pipelines. Certinia ERP handles finance: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, billing and revenue recognition. Because both run natively on Salesforce, they share one data model, with no middleware or manual reconciliation.

What is Certinia (FinancialForce) used for?

It manages financial operations, project billing and professional services delivery on Salesforce, including Order-to-Pay, Procure-to-Pay, revenue recognition, cash management and financial reporting, alongside Salesforce CRM.

Can Certinia replace our existing accounting system?

It can. Certinia covers Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, billing and financial reporting natively on Salesforce, which removes manual reconciliation between separate accounting software and your CRM.

How long does a Certinia ERP implementation take?

Core financial modules typically take eight to sixteen weeks. Larger ERP, PSA or custom integration projects can take longer. A phased approach keeps disruption low and supports adoption.

How much does a Certinia implementation cost?

It depends on your financial modules, users and integrations. See IT Offshore's engagement pricing and contact the team for a quote based on your scope.

Related services

Certinia implementation servicesOngoing Salesforce supportAll case studies

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