Share what you know with millions of people
Focus is the best place to turn what you know into remarkable content
0
What are good erp solutions for small business?
I have a small 15 person company and we want to implement a back end ERP system. We’ve briefly looked into NetSuite, but they’re far out of our budget. What other ERP systems would you recommend for a small company? In terms of needs, we’re probably going to need it to tie into our CRM and have order processing, procurement, and inventory control at the very least.
Events
- Dos and Don'ts of Small Business Marketing May 29 @ 11 am PT
- Lead Nurturing 202: The Next Generation May 31 @ 11 am PT
- The Tricks to Paid Media June 6 @ 11 am PT
- Display Advertising for Brand Awareness June 20 @ 11 am PT
Related Activity
10 Answers
Hi David,
It's tough to say without knowing a little more about your business. For example, what type of business does your company operate? Is it generally sophisticated when it comes to IT? How many languages/currencies/regulatory environments do you deal with? What is rate of growth? Strategic goals? etc...
Answers to these types of questions will help you determine the right technology platform (incl. on-premise and SaaS) as well as product. It will also help you figure out whether your company is better off going with a best-of-breed or more generic-type ERP system.
Many on-premise ERP systems are priced based on a per-user license fee model, so the cost of acquisition varies. Some SaaS vendors charge on a subscription model. In addition, you'll want to pay close attention to maintenance and support obligations, since the quality of service varies. Also, these costs can be significant (around 20% of license fees annually).
I'm happy to have a no-obligations chat with you. Feel free to send me an email (jonathang@pemeco.com) or give me a shout at 416-558-0076.
Happy ERP hunting!
Jon
Look at Openbravo ERP, it is open-source and available to download for free....
Hi David,
For a 15 person company that requires order processing and inventory management; and if you desire integrated accounting, purchasing and CRM as well, you are in the sweet spot of SAP Business One. It is a software designed for small and midsize businesses, and is sold through certified reseller partners. It is offered as server-based, or SaaS. More information is on our website at www.aetherconsulting.com or at www.sap.com/usa/sme.
Good luck in your evaluations!
Hi David,
I agree with Jonathan Gross that it is hard to know what ERP system would be a good fit for your company without first talking to you in order to get a sense of your exact requirements, workflows, pain points, opportunities for improvement, etc.
As best I can tell from your brief description, Expandable Software might be a real solid fit. I am a bit biased as I am the President & CEO of Expandable,
I will promise not to waste your time if you are interested in a discussion as we target manufacturing companies and do offer either a client/server license model or a SaaS deployment.
Feel free to visit our website: www.expandable.com for more information or send me an e-mail at bswedroe@expandable.com
Lawson is another option. They have a good ERP solution and now have launched some cloud versions also.
Listed below you will find a link that details ERP solutions along with different application software solutions.
http://www.2020software.com/
Having just completed an ERP system selection engagement for a small company I would recommend you do a formal requirements definition to narrow the field of candidates. After narrowing the field to two or three finalists, you should have them demonstrate their solutions based on a script you develop. This will ensure your requirements are met rather than having the vendor show their marquee processes. Open source ERP may be a solution but due diligence should be completed before considering this option.
Let me know if you need additional assistance.
Rick Freeman
rfreeman@rickfreemanassociates.com
I would recommend that you look into Microsoft Dynamics GP. The Total Cost of Ownership is lower than Netsuite. I can provide some nice white papers on this if you are interested.
David,
You are my dream customer but unfortunately our applications for order processing, procurement, inventory control will not be ready for another 9 months. If you are smart you would go with a standard off the shelf ERP and unless you have some really really specific requirements 90% of your requirements should be met.
Netsuite is one of the best out there and don't even go near SAP Business One instead you can try out SAP Business by Design - which is supposed to be their SaaS version but technically it is not. Yes this is a bold statement and I am not averse to making it.
I sort of presumed that you are open to a SaaS based ERP. You should be but be careful of SaaS-querade, i.e. non SaaS vendors masquerading as SaaS vendors.
Please update the post with how you are going ahead - I personally would be very interested.
Regards
Chintan Tyagi
www.eazework.com
hi.you can take the assistance of USourceIT at no cost......http://www.usourceit.com/
Answer This Question