PHC Software is one of the most widely used ERPs in Portugal, with an installed base of thousands of companies that rely on the platform for sales management, invoicing, accounting, inventory management and human resources. Automating processes beyond PHC means using integration and artificial intelligence technologies to eliminate the manual tasks the ERP doesn't cover natively: processing incoming documents, integrating with external platforms, cross-system reporting and multi-department approval workflows.
According to data from PHC Software, the company serves more than 38,000 customers in Portugal and Spain. The platform has evolved significantly in recent years with the launch of PHC GO (the cloud version) and the modernization of its APIs, creating new integration and automation opportunities that many companies have yet to explore.
PHC in the Portuguese market
PHC has a strong position in the Portuguese SME market, with a presence in sectors such as:
- Trade and distribution: inventory management, orders, invoicing and logistics.
- Services: project management, timesheets, hourly billing.
- Manufacturing: production, materials management, quality control.
- Construction: budgeting, site management, subcontracting.
Most users operate with PHC CS (the desktop/on-premises version) or PHC GO (the cloud version). Both versions support automation, but with different approaches.
PHC CS vs PHC GO: differences for automation
| Aspect | PHC CS | PHC GO |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Desktop, local SQL Server database | Cloud, multi-tenant |
| APIs | Internal API (Executer), direct SQL access | Modern REST API, webhooks |
| Customization | Extensive via the PHC CS framework | More limited, via API and extensions |
| Integration | Direct SQL, files, internal API | REST API, webhooks, app marketplace |
| Updates | Manual, version by version | Automatic, continuous |
For automation, PHC GO is generally easier to integrate thanks to its modern REST APIs. PHC CS offers deeper access (direct SQL, extensible framework), but requires more technical knowledge.
Processes that can be automated with PHC
Processing supplier invoices:
- AI reads invoices received by email and automatically extracts data (see AI document processing).
- Validation against purchase orders or contracts in PHC.
- Automatic posting via API or SQL.
- Result: from 5-10 minutes per invoice down to less than 1 minute.
Automatic orders from multiple channels:
- Orders received via e-commerce, email or a B2B platform are normalized and automatically created in PHC.
- Real-time stock and customer credit checks.
- Automatic customer notifications about order status (see order automation).
Automatic invoicing and collections:
- Delivery notes automatically generate invoices in PHC.
- Automatic delivery to the customer by email with a PDF.
- Automatic collections process for overdue invoices (see automated collections).
Reports and dashboards:
- PHC data feeds real-time management dashboards.
- Weekly and monthly reports generated and sent automatically.
- Alerts for situations that need attention (minimum stock, budget deviations, at-risk customers).
Integrating PHC with other systems
The most common integration approaches:
- REST API (PHC GO): modern interface for creating, reading and updating data. Documentation available on PHC's developer portal.
- PHC CS Executer: PHC CS's internal framework for executing operations programmatically. Requires knowledge of PHC's data model.
- Direct SQL (PHC CS): access to the SQL Server database for reading and, with care, writing data. Useful for reporting and read-only integrations.
- Import files: CSV and XML formats for bulk data imports. Works in both versions.
- Webhooks (PHC GO): automatic notifications when events occur in PHC (new invoice, new customer, etc.).
AI as an extension of PHC
Artificial intelligence complements PHC in areas the ERP doesn't cover:
- Sales forecasting: models that analyze billing history in PHC and forecast future sales by customer, product and region.
- Intelligent classification: AI that suggests accounting codes, cost centers or categories for postings, based on historical patterns.
- Data assistant: natural-language questions about PHC data ("how much did we bill customer X this quarter?") without needing to know how to write queries (see RAG).
- Profitability analysis: AI that identifies customers, products or projects with lower-than-expected profitability, by cross-referencing billing data with costs.
Automation roadmap for PHC users
- Weeks 1-2: Diagnosis. Map all manual processes involving PHC. Identify the version, active modules and available interfaces.
- Weeks 3-4: Invoicing pilot. Automate invoice generation and delivery. A lower-risk process with immediate returns.
- Month 2: Data integration. Connect PHC with the other systems in use (CRM, e-commerce, project platform).
- Month 3: Document processing. Implement AI for automatic reading of supplier invoices.
- Month 4+: Reporting and AI. Automatic dashboards and intelligent extensions.
If your company uses PHC and wants to automate processes or integrate the ERP with other systems, talk to us for an assessment of the automation potential.