If your company buys, sells, and invoices like most businesses, a subscription ERP, SaaS, such as Holded, Odoo, or Sage, costs less upfront and you can start using it sooner. Custom ERP software makes sense when your way of working doesn't fit those systems, when you're paying for many users, or when inventory, your store, and invoices live in systems that don't talk to each other. With us, it starts at €20,000 + VAT, with no per-user fee.
Switching ERPs is one of the decisions that has the biggest impact on a company’s day-to-day operations, for better or worse. Before looking at brands, it helps to know what your ERP needs to do. This article helps you organize that decision.
Before choosing, map out your processes
Most companies start by asking which ERP to buy. The useful question comes first: which processes does the ERP need to handle, and which ones can’t be changed?
Do this exercise on a sheet of paper:
- Write down the five to eight processes that, if they fail, bring invoicing to a stop. For example, receiving an order, preparing a shipment, or collecting an invoice payment.
- For each one, note what information comes in, who works with it, and what needs to come out at the end.
- Mark the rules that are unique to your business: customer-specific pricing, batches, expiration dates, commissions, or shifts.
With the sheet in front of you, try an off-the-shelf ERP. If your processes fit without being distorted, that ERP is your answer. If making them fit requires inventing fields, adding manual steps, or paying for extra modules, you already have a warning sign.
When a subscription ERP makes sense for you
Subscription ERPs charge monthly, almost always per user or by plan. Odoo, for example, publishes its plans with a per-user, per-month price. In return, you don’t pay for development and can get started quickly.
They’re a good fit if most of these conditions apply:
- There are only a few of you using it.
- You sell services or products with simple inventory.
- Your accounting and invoicing work like those of any other business.
- Your accounting firm already works with that program.
- You don’t have custom rules that the program needs to understand.
- You need to get started right away.
In that case, stick with the off-the-shelf option. If you only need to send invoices, a subscription invoicing program is more than enough.
When a custom ERP pays off
It makes sense when two or more of these apply:
- Your way of working doesn’t fit Holded, Odoo, or Sage without workarounds.
- You pay for an ERP per user and only use part of it.
- You manage inventory, sales, and invoices in different places, and nothing adds up.
- Your online store and warehouse need to stay in sync at all times.
- You work with batches, expiration dates, bills of materials, or customer-specific pricing that the off-the-shelf version only handles halfway.
- You already tried an off-the-shelf ERP and still use Excel alongside it for what it can’t do.
The last point is the clearest. If you still use spreadsheets in parallel after implementing an off-the-shelf ERP, switching to another off-the-shelf one will usually repeat the problem.
A custom ERP is built with the modules you use and none you don’t: inventory and warehouse, purchasing, sales, invoices, your team, and a dashboard with your numbers. On the custom ERP page, you’ll find what’s included and how we work.
What modules does an ERP include?
An ERP is made up of modules, and almost no company needs them all. The most common ones are:
- Inventory and warehouse: what you have, where it is, and what’s missing.
- Purchasing: purchase orders and goods receiving.
- Sales: customer orders, delivery notes, and returns.
- Invoicing: invoices generated from an order or delivery note.
- Team: tasks, shifts, or work logs.
- Dashboard: sales, margins, and inventory at a glance.
With a subscription ERP, each extra module usually increases the monthly fee. With a custom ERP, each module increases development costs, but you only pay for the ones you use. That’s why it makes sense to start with the two or three that matter most and add the rest once they’re up and running.
Also ask how the data gets to your accounting firm. With an off-the-shelf ERP, they may already work with it. With a custom one, you need to agree from the start on what it exports and in what format, so your accountant doesn’t have to copy anything.
How to compare the cost
With a subscription ERP, add up what you pay each year for licenses, extra modules, setup, and any customizations it needs. Multiply that by three years and think about what happens if your team grows.
With custom software, add the development, from €20,000 + VAT with us, and maintenance, which is separate. There's no per-user fee: if ten more people join, the price doesn't change because of that.
With few users and standard processes, the subscription option almost always wins. As your team grows or your business becomes more complex, the balance shifts. To see what drives up the cost of custom development, read how much custom software costs.
CRM or ERP: how are they different?
They’re often confused because both store customer information. The difference is what they store it for.
| CRM | ERP | |
|---|---|---|
| What it’s for | Selling: contacts, opportunities, and quotes | Operating: inventory, purchasing, sales, and invoices |
| Who uses it | Sales and customer support | Administration, warehouse, purchasing, and management |
| What does it answer? | Who needs to be called today | What I have, what I owe, and what I'm owed |
Many companies need both, and the question is whether to keep them separate or together. If your sales team is large and handles sales directly, a standalone CRM connected to the ERP usually works better. If your team is small and sales are straightforward, an ERP with a customer module is enough. We explain how two programs connect in CRM integrations.
How to switch ERPs without bringing your business to a stop
The biggest risk with a new ERP is the day you turn it on. To make sure no one notices:
- In stages. Start with what matters most, such as invoicing or inventory, and then move on to the rest. You start using each module when it is ready.
- With clean data. Customers, suppliers, products, and balances must be imported correctly from day one. With us, migration is included.
- With your team involved. The warehouse and administration staff need to test it before it replaces the old system.
- With training. Training your team to use it is also included.
- With a fixed price. You know what you'll pay before the first line of code is written.
Mistakes that get expensive
- Choosing a brand before mapping out your processes.
- Turning everything on the same day.
- Transferring data without cleaning it first.
- Leaving out the people who will use it every day when designing the system.
- Agreeing to a fixed price without a fixed scope: if you don't know what's included, the price means nothing.
Orders come in by phone and through the website, the warehouse works with batches and expiration dates, and invoicing is one day behind.
Every goods receipt is recorded with its batch and expiration date. When preparing an order, the ERP suggests the batch that expires first. The invoice is generated from the delivery note, with no copying.
from€20,000
