Case Study: ERPNext Implementation for Everything Cacao GH Ltd
Everything Cacao GH Ltd (ECGL) is a Ghanaian chocolate producer. Powersoft System implemented ERPNext across five modules over seventeen months, starting with sales operations and ending with a fully live payroll. This case study documents that journey from first configuration to handover.
Client at a Glance
Company: Everything Cacao GH Ltd (ECG), Ghana
Industry: Chocolate manufacturing and production
Platform: ERPNext 15 with Frappe HR, hosted at cacao.powersoftsystem.com
Modules implemented: Accounting, Selling, Stock (Inventory), Manufacturing, HR and Payroll
Go-live date: 2 May 2025 (sales operations)
Base currency: Ghana Cedi (GHS), with USD export price list also configured
Background
Everything Cacao GH Ltd produces chocolate in Ghana, selling to both local customers and export markets. As the business grew, it needed a system that could bring its sales, stock, manufacturing, finance and payroll operations under one roof. ECGL engaged Powersoft Systems to implement ERPNext as that single platform.
System preparation began in February 2025. Rather than go live with everything at once, the rollout was structured in phases, each adding a new layer of operational coverage until all five purchased modules were live.
Phase 1: Foundations and Sales Go-Live (February to May 2025)
Powersoft started by building the core company structure in ERPNext. This included setting up the chart of accounts using ERPNext's standard numbered template, creating a calendar fiscal year with the Ghana Cedi as base currency, and configuring user accounts for the ECGL team.
Warehouses were laid out to mirror ECGL's physical site, with separate rooms for raw materials, finished product, packaging, and additional storage areas including an off-site partner warehouse. Branded document templates were designed for sales invoices, waybills, pro-forma invoices, payment receipts and payment vouchers.
A payment approval workflow was configured so that every payment is raised by an initiator and approved before it posts. A Customer Branch record was introduced to handle the reality that many of ECGL's customers buy through multiple outlets, allowing every sale to be traced to the specific branch it serves.
ECGL went live on 2 May 2025. The sales team raised its first live sales orders and invoices that day. The team also entered the sales made since mid-February, so ECGL's sales and receipt records run continuously from the start of the year.
Phase 2: Inventory Goes Live (July 2025)
Until July 2025, ECGL tracked stock outside the system while using ERPNext only for sales and receipts. In July, the stock side was switched on.
Opening stock was loaded warehouse by warehouse. Opening accounting balances were posted. Delivery notes, printed as the ECG Waybill, went live with a custom field linking each waybill directly to the sales invoice it fulfils.
Stock movements between rooms and warehouses began, along with dedicated entry types for wastage, manual consumption and stock adjustments.
New warehouses were added as the business needed them: Production, Samples, Returns and Damaged Goods, Replacement for Damaged Goods, and a customer-site warehouse. The first working reports were also built at this stage, including a Daily Sales Report, a Payment Receipt Report and a Stock Ledger report.
Powersoft also delivered full training on ERPNext's manufacturing flow, covering production plans, work orders and material transfer entries driven by ECGL's bills of materials. ECGL's team chose to record production using Material Issue and Material Receipt entries, which keeps stock accurate and is the approach the team finds most practical. The full work-order route remains configured and available whenever ECGL decides to adopt it.
Phase 3: Finance Team On-Boards (September 2025 to April 2026)
As the system's usage deepened, more of ECGL's paperwork and more of its people moved onto ERPNext. Quotations, printed as Pro-Forma Invoices, became the standard first step for every new order. A Customer Statement of Accounts report was built for sending statements to customers.
In December 2025, the finance team came on board. They took over raising waybills, recording customer receipts and managing dispatch documents. A Sales Invoice List with VAT report was added to support VAT return preparation.
By early 2026, the finance team was posting the company's journal entries in the system, covering the full year from January. A withholding tax payment mode was added to record tax deducted by customers, and custom stock ledger reports were built to support periodic stock reviews.
Phase 4: HR and Payroll Go Live (May to September 2026)
The final module to go live was HR and Payroll, rolled out across five months.
Employee records were created and the HR team given access. Five departments were set up: Accounts and Finance, HR and Admin, Production, Quality, and Sales. Each employee was assigned a payroll cost centre so salary costs land in the correct department.
ECGL's monthly salary structure was built with Ghana-specific components.
Earnings include Basic, Housing Allowance, Transport Allowance, Overtime Allowance and employer contributions covering SSNIT and pension tiers. Deductions cover PAYE, pension contributions, overtime tax, provident fund, welfare, staff loans, salary advances and other standard deductions.
Branded payslips were designed alongside a full set of statutory payroll reports: PAYE Report, two SSNIT reports covering different tier configurations, Other Payroll Deductions, Annual Payroll Summary, Payroll Management Summary and a Headcount and Staff Movement report.
The first payroll was processed in August 2026, covering July. August and September followed. ECGL now runs its payroll monthly on ERPNext.
What Was Built
Branded Document Templates
Pro-Forma Invoice (Quotation)
Sales Order
Sales Invoice (with VAT Invoice number field)
Waybill (Delivery Note, linked to the sales invoice it fulfils)
Payment Receipt and Payment Voucher
Custom Journal Entry format
Branded Salary Slip
Custom Reports
Daily Sales Report
Payment Receipt Report
Customer Statement of Accounts
Sales Invoice List with VAT (for VAT return support)
Stock Ledger with Opening Quantities by cost centre
PAYE Report, SSNIT Reports (two tier configurations), Other Payroll Deductions
Annual Payroll Summary, Payroll Management Summary, Headcount and Staff Movement Report
Workflow and Access Controls
A Payment Entry approval workflow ensures every payment passes through a two-step process: raised by an initiator, approved by a designated approver before it posts. Email alerts are active on the workflow. Employee Self Service access is also configured for the HR module.
Where Things Stand Today
Seventeen months after go-live, ECGL runs its core operations on ERPNext. The daily cycle starts with pro-forma invoices and sales orders. It moves through invoicing, waybills and approved customer receipts, alongside stock movements between production rooms.
The finance team posts journals in the system. Payroll runs monthly. Every purchased module is configured, and every team has been trained.
All customisations are built from configuration rather than custom code, which keeps the system straightforward to maintain and upgrade.
About Powersoft System
Powersoft Systems is a Ghana-based ERP implementation partner specialising in ERPNext for manufacturing, trading, hospitality and professional services businesses. We handle implementation, customisation, training and ongoing support.
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