Small Business ERP – What price?

Once the privilege of big corporations, ERP applications are gaining popularity among small businesses who need real-time access to sales patterns, product availability, cash flow etc. Besides eliminating the need to reenter data into multiple systems, ERP also helps small companies get a better grasp on their business operations and finances. Keeping data in Excel files means there are only a few ways to look at it – when what is needed are sophisticated reports.

In the past the large ERP price tag has been too much for many small businesses. While a small, standalone accounting package such as Intuit’s QuickBooks might cost a couple of hundred dollars, traditionally an ERP suite would start in the thousands of dollars and easily run into the tens of thousands. Not to mention lengthy deployment and battalions of expensive IT consultants to keep them up and running.

Today we are seeing more online ERP solutions for small businesses appearing on the market. Online applications are more suitable for small businesses who don’t want the extra overheads of installed software and need to be able to access their data from anywhere at anytime.

Small businesses require ERP packages capable of scaling to meet potential needs. Buying something that is too small or limited is a false economy. Scalability, in terms of both the number of users and in functionality is essential. Small business ERP software vendors need to provide ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions, with access to all features, allowing Customers to use as few or as many as they want as their business grows and matures. Ideally these should also be easy to deploy, without the need for expensive consultancy and training.

But how much are small businesses willing to pay? What is a fair ERP price, and what are the best solutions around?