Most organisations invest heavily in CRM and ERP platforms with a clear business case: operational efficiency, better data, improved decision-making. Yet once the core implementation is complete, these systems are often left under-optimised.
Enhancement work is perceived as expensive, disruptive, or something to defer until the next major upgrade. But in reality, there are a number of low value projects – modest in cost, low in risk, and quick to deliver – that can materially improve the performance, usability, and return on investment of your CRM or ERP system.
At a time when many systems managers are at the ‘use it or lose it’ phase of budgeting, we outline five practical, low-value projects that can deliver disproportionate gains:
1. Data Hygiene And Deduplication Rules
Poor data quality is one of the most common reasons CRM and ERP systems fail to deliver on their promise. Duplicate accounts, inconsistent naming conventions, missing mandatory fields, and outdated records undermine user confidence and skew reporting.
The cost of fixing this is often assumed to be high, but targeted data hygiene work is one of the simplest enhancements available.
A low-value project here focuses on defining and enforcing basic data standards. This typically includes deduplication rules, mandatory field validation, simple automated cleansing, and clear ownership of key records.
In a CRM context, this might mean enforcing unique email addresses, standardising company names, or automatically merging duplicate leads. In an ERP, it could involve tightening master data controls around suppliers, customers, or items.
The commercial impact is immediate. Sales teams waste less time reconciling records, finance gains confidence in reports, and leadership can rely on dashboards without caveats. Crucially, improving data hygiene also increases user trust in the system, which drives adoption without any additional change management spend.
2. Role-Based Dashboards And Views
Most CRM and ERP platforms ship with generic dashboards that try to cater to everyone and satisfy no one. Users are forced to navigate multiple screens to find the information relevant to their role, leading to workarounds in spreadsheets and email.
A low-value enhancement project can focus on creating a small number of role-based dashboards and views. This is not about advanced analytics or complex visualisation. It is about surfacing the right information, at the right time, for the right audience.
For example, a sales manager dashboard showing pipeline health, stalled opportunities, and forecast risk; or an operations dashboard highlighting overdue purchase orders, stock exceptions, and supplier performance.
Because this work leverages existing data and native dashboard functionality, it is typically quick to deliver.
The return comes from reduced friction in daily workflows and faster decision-making. When users can open the system and immediately see what requires attention, productivity improves without changing underlying processes.
3. Light-Touch Automation Of Repetitive Tasks
Many organisations assume automation requires complex workflows, integrations, or third-party tools. In practice, most CRM and ERP platforms include native automation features that are underused (Microsoft Power Automate can do significant heavy lifting in Dynamics 365, for example).
A low-value automation project targets one or two high-volume, low-complexity tasks. In a CRM, this might be automatic task creation when an opportunity reaches a certain stage, auto-assignment of leads based on geography, or simple email notifications when records go untouched. In an ERP, it could involve approval workflows for low-value purchases, automated reminders for overdue invoices, or basic alerts for stock thresholds.
The key is restraint. The objective is not to automate everything, but to remove obvious manual steps that consume time and introduce inconsistency. These changes typically take days rather than weeks to implement, yet they free up valuable capacity across sales, finance, and operations. Over time, they also standardise behaviour, making reporting and forecasting more reliable.
4. User Interface And Form Simplification
One of the most frequent complaints about CRM and ERP systems is that they feel cluttered. Users are presented with too many fields, tabs, and options, many of which are irrelevant to their role. This complexity slows data entry and increases resistance to system use.
A low-value project can focus on simplifying forms and user interfaces. This might involve hiding unused fields, reordering sections to reflect real workflows, renaming fields to match business language, or creating simplified forms for specific teams. In many cases, this work can be delivered using configuration rather than custom development.
The business benefit is subtle but powerful. Faster data entry improves data quality. Reduced cognitive load improves user satisfaction. Most importantly, the system begins to feel like it supports the business rather than obstructing it. This is often the difference between a system that is tolerated and one that is actively used.
5. Basic Reporting And Insight Alignment
Many organisations either underuse reporting or over-engineer it. They commission complex reports that few people understand, while everyday questions remain unanswered. A low value project here focuses on aligning reporting with actual decision-making needs.
This typically starts with a short discovery exercise: what questions do managers ask weekly, monthly, and quarterly? From there, a small set of standard reports or views can be created using existing data. In a CRM, this might include win/loss analysis, lead source performance, or sales cycle duration. In an ERP, it could cover cash flow visibility, margin by product, or aged receivables.
Because the data already exists, the cost lies mainly in configuration and validation. The value comes from replacing anecdotal decision-making with consistent insight. When reporting aligns with how the business actually runs, leadership engagement with the system increases, reinforcing its strategic importance.
Why Low-Value Projects Matter
The CRM and ERP projects described here are described as low-value not because they are unimportant, but because they require relatively little investment compared to their impact. They sit in the gap between day-one implementation and large-scale transformation initiatives. Too often, organisations overlook this space, waiting for a perfect moment that never arrives.
Incremental enhancement delivers three strategic advantages. First, it improves return on investment by extracting more value from existing licences and data. Second, it reduces risk by avoiding large, disruptive change programmes. Third, it builds a culture of continuous improvement, where the system evolves alongside the business rather than lagging behind it.
Taken together, these small initiatives can significantly improve user adoption, data confidence, and operational efficiency. They also provide a pragmatic foundation for more ambitious transformation work in the future.
Before embarking on any major CRM or ERP overhaul, it is worth asking whether a series of targeted, low-value projects could deliver the outcomes you need faster, cheaper, and with far less disruption.
What everyday frustrations do your users encounter that could be resolved through configuration rather than redevelopment? Which roles in your organisation would benefit most from clearer, more focused system insight? How could incremental system improvements support wider commercial or digital transformation objectives over the next 12 months?
Considering enhancements to your Microsoft CRM or ERP system? Speak with our consultants for guidance:
