What you should measure farm software against
How to use this list
Go through the criteria and cross out what does not apply to your farm – a pure arable operation needs no sow planner. What remains is your requirements profile. Then ask every vendor not "can you do that?" but "show me in the demo". The gap between a tick in a brochure and a usable function is, in our experience, wide.
Why gaps are listed here too
There are two criteria on this list that we do not meet. We could have left them out – but then the list would have become exactly what the first paragraph warns about. If one of them is decisive for your farm, we would rather tell you now than after the trial.
Animals & barn
Livestock records with a complete life history per animal
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Without a continuous history there is no way to prove during an inspection where an animal was when and what happened to it. Separate event lists are not enough for that.
To the moduleTreatments, medication and withdrawal periods per animal
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters The withdrawal period decides whether milk may go into the tank and whether an animal can go to slaughter. Kept in someone's head, food safety depends on their day.
To the moduleOfficial reports generated out of the livestock records
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Livestock traceability reports and antibiotics reporting are mandatory. If they arise from data you have already entered, the second entry disappears – and with it the most common source of error.
To the moduleSow planner with litter and fertility figures
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Farrowing interval, piglets weaned per sow and year, return-to-service rate – without these numbers herd performance is a feeling rather than an evaluation.
To the moduleMilk yield per lactation including transfer from milk recording
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Anyone typing in milk recording values has them too late and with typos. Anyone importing them sees the lactation curve while it can still be influenced.
To the moduleWelfare checks, biosecurity and transports
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Self-checks and biosecurity measures must be provable, not merely carried out. In an outbreak the documentation decides how wide the restriction goes.
To the module
Fields & machinery
Field records with drawn areas rather than a bare hectare figure
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters A number in a field says nothing about shape, slope and neighbours. Only the drawn area makes buffer requirements and part-areas checkable at all.
To the moduleCrop rotation planning that flags rule breaches beforehand
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Cropping intervals and conditionality requirements otherwise only surface at application time – by then the crop is already in the ground.
To the modulePlant protection records including operator certification and sprayer testing
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters It is not only the application that must be documented but also who was allowed to apply it and with which tested equipment.
To the moduleFertiliser requirement calculation with closed periods
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Fertiliser regulation requires the calculation before spreading, not documentation afterwards. Software that only records comes too late.
To the moduleImporting and reconciling the official field block cadastre
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters If your drawn area differs from the official one the authority cuts your payment. You should see the difference before the application, not in the decision letter.
To the moduleMachine telematics without a setup fee per connection
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Telemetry is standard equipment today. If a connection costs four figures, the price decides your digitisation instead of the benefit.
To the moduleMaintenance and inspection deadlines with timely reminders
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters A missed roadworthiness or safety inspection is a liability question when something happens. A calendar in your head does not help there.
To the moduleDirect connection to weighbridge and fuel station hardware
We do not have thisWhy it matters Farms with their own weighbridge or fuel pump want weighings and refuellings taken over automatically instead of reading them off and typing them in.
Office & finance
Storage with batches, expiry dates and FIFO valuation
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Without batches traceability is impossible, and without valuation you do not know how much capital is tied up in silo and tank.
To the moduleE-invoicing in ZUGFeRD and XRechnung
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Public sector clients accept nothing else any more, and the e-invoicing obligation applies to receiving as well. A PDF by email does not meet it.
To the moduleHandover to your tax advisor without rework
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters A posting batch saves the firm the data entry – and saves you the invoice for it.
To the moduleA tamper-evident journal
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Entries that can be changed afterwards without a trace are worthless in a tax audit. Traceability is not a comfort feature.
To the moduleContract work orders with planned versus actual comparison
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Only the comparison between calculated and actual performance shows whether a job paid off – after the invoice it is too late.
To the moduleRunning and billing several farms separately
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Anyone running two holding numbers needs separate data and separate evaluations, not one shared account with a filter.
To the moduleA ready-made import from other field record systems
We do not have thisWhy it matters When switching you want to bring your history along. A vendor who only knows the fresh start makes the switch expensive.
People & organisation
Shift planning that knows working time law
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Rest periods and maximum working hours apply during harvest too. A plan that does not check them shifts the risk onto you.
To the modulePayroll data and social insurance notifications
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Seasonal workers, mini-jobs and posted-worker certificates each have their own reporting route. Done by hand this quickly becomes a back-payment notice.
To the moduleHACCP self-checks and traceability
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters Anyone selling directly or delivering to a dairy must be able to say within hours which batch went where in the event of a recall.
To the moduleRoles and permissions by responsibility
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters The relief driver needs no view of payroll. Without fine-grained rights either too much stays open or too much stays locked.
To the moduleTasks and a calendar for the whole team
Included in FarmManagerWhy it matters If appointments exist only in the farm manager's head, the farm stops the moment they are unavailable.
To the module
Take the list with you
Put these criteria in front of every vendor – us first. The live demo runs without signing up, and if you would like to go through the points together, book a call. Consultation and setup are free.
Book a callConsultation and setup are free and included in every plan – connecting your machines as well.