5 Ways to Get More from Pegasus Opera 3 SQL SE

If you’re already using Pegasus Opera 3 SQL SE, the question isn’t necessarily whether you need a different ERP system.

It may simply be whether you’re getting as much value as you can from the one you already have.

Opera 3 SQL SE includes a range of tools and capabilities designed to help businesses improve visibility, reduce manual processes and connect information more effectively across the organisation. Pegasus itself highlights areas such as third-party integrations, Data Connector, AP Automation and Online Buying as ways businesses can unlock more value from the platform.

You may already be using some of these features, while others might not be relevant to your setup at all.

But if you’ve been using SQL SE for a while, these five areas are worth a quick sense check.

1. Look at Where Opera Could Connect Better with the Rest of Your Systems

Opera 3 SQL SE doesn’t necessarily need to operate in isolation.

Pegasus highlights integration with third-party applications as one of the platform’s strengths, including systems such as CRM, supply chain tools and other industry-specific software.

The real benefit isn’t simply “having an integration”.

It’s reducing the number of times the same information needs to be entered into different systems.

Where systems can exchange information more effectively, businesses may be able to reduce manual re-keying, minimise the risk of errors and make information available to different teams more quickly. Pegasus also points to integration as a way of reducing data silos and creating a more joined-up view of the business.

So a useful question to ask is:

Are there areas where your team is still manually moving information between Opera and another system?

If the answer is yes, it may be worth exploring whether those systems could work together more closely.

2. Get More from Your Data with Pegasus Data Connector

Your Opera system is likely holding a huge amount of useful business information.

The challenge is making that data accessible in a way that helps people actually use it.

Pegasus Data Connector provides access to Opera 3 SE business data and can feed that information into tools including Microsoft Excel, Power BI, SharePoint and Copilot.

That opens up opportunities to look at Opera data in different ways.

For example, you might want to analyse:

• financial performance;
• stock and inventory levels;
• customer trends;
• operational information; or
• management KPIs.

Rather than relying only on standard reports, Data Connector can help make that information available within familiar reporting and analysis tools.

Pegasus also highlights the ability to use alerts around business-critical information, giving the example of notifying users when a customer exceeds a credit limit.

The useful sense check here is:

Are you using Opera mainly as somewhere to enter and process information, or are you also making full use of the data it contains?

3. Take Manual Work Out of Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable is one of those areas where repetitive administration can quickly add up.

Opera 3 SE's AP Automation capability is designed to streamline parts of that process by reducing manual work around areas such as invoice entry, approvals and payment processing.

For finance teams handling large numbers of supplier invoices, that can potentially mean less time spent keying information, chasing approvals and carrying out repetitive administrative tasks.

Pegasus also positions AP Automation around reducing the risk of human error and invoice fraud, while helping improve the speed and consistency of the AP process.

That doesn’t mean every business needs to automate its entire AP function.

But if invoice processing is still particularly manual, it could be worth asking:

Where does your team spend the most time handling supplier invoices, and could some of that work be automated?

4. Make Sure Your Team Is Getting the Most from the SQL SE Interface

Sometimes getting more from an ERP system isn’t about adding another module.

It can simply be about making it easier for people to use the functionality already available.

Pegasus highlights the enhanced Opera 3 SE user interface as an important part of improving usability and helping more people across the business work confidently within the system.

That can be particularly relevant when:

• new employees are joining the finance team;
• more departments are beginning to use Opera;
• existing users have continued working in the same way for years; or
• functionality has been added since the system was originally implemented.

If your team has been using SQL SE for some time, it may be worth periodically reviewing whether people are taking advantage of the way the system now works rather than simply following processes inherited from the previous Opera setup.

Sometimes a relatively small improvement in how users interact with the system can make everyday processes noticeably easier.

5. Review How You Manage Online and Indirect Purchasing

Purchasing can become difficult to control when employees buy from different online suppliers outside the normal procurement process.

Opera 3 SE’s Online Buying functionality is designed to bring more of that activity into a controlled purchasing process.

Pegasus describes Online Buying as part of its wider AP Automation capability, allowing businesses to connect online suppliers into Opera and manage orders, purchasing activity and supplier relationships more centrally.

The aim is to provide greater visibility and control over purchasing before costs simply appear within Accounts Payable.

Pegasus also positions the functionality around improved visibility of supply-chain activity and helping teams make purchasing decisions using information held within the system.

So if different teams regularly purchase goods or services online, it may be worth considering:

How much visibility does finance have over that spending before the invoice arrives?

Greater control earlier in the process can often be more useful than simply managing the cost once it reaches the Purchase Ledger.

When Did You Last Review How You're Using Opera 3 SQL SE?

ERP systems have a habit of becoming part of the furniture.

Once a process works, businesses often continue doing it the same way for years — even while the software itself develops and new capabilities become available.

That’s why it can be useful to periodically step back and ask:

• Could Opera integrate more closely with any of our other systems?
• Are we making enough use of the data we already hold?
• Are there AP processes we could automate?
• Are users making the most of the current SQL SE experience?
• Could we bring more of our purchasing activity under control?

Not every area will be relevant to every business, and some functionality may depend on the modules, licences and configuration you already have in place.

But even identifying one process that could be made easier may help you get more value from your existing Opera investment.

 Want to Explore These Areas in More Detail? 

Pegasus has also produced a dedicated whitepaper, “5 Steps to Getting More from Opera 3 SE”, which looks at how businesses can unlock more value from the platform across areas including integrations, Data Connector, AP Automation, the user interface and Online Buying.

If you’d like a deeper look at the functionality covered in this article, it’s a useful follow-on read.

Download Pegasus’s 5 Steps to Getting More from Opera 3 SE Whitepaper >

If you’d like to review how you’re currently using Opera 3 SQL SE, speak to your Account Manager or The HBP Group Pegasus team. We can help you understand what functionality is available within your current setup and whether there are opportunities to make better use of it.