Enterprise resource planning (or ERP) is a process by which firms streamline vital business aspects. ERP software helps businesses to manage processes and resources like raw materials, production capacity, orders to human resources and payrolls.
With the advancement of technology, ERP solutions have undergone an evolution. Today’s ERP solutions contain many essential add-ons. These include supply chain, business intelligence, and CRM capabilities.
Big companies all over the world use ERP systems. With the advent of cloud computation and subscriptions for the last two decades, small businesses have started to reap ERP benefits more than ever. For small businesses, shifting to a cloud based ERP to manage supply chain, operations, finance, and other processes into one single system helps conduct their business in an efficient and faster manner along with more visibility and analytical opportunities.
In this article, we’ll look at the ERP systems that SMB owners can use to improve their business processes.
Table of Contents
- SAP Business One
- NetSuite ERP
- Odoo ERP
- Sage Intacct
- Which ERP to Choose for Small Business?
1. SAP Business One
SAP Business One provides a set of tools that drive essential financial decisions. SAP Business One starts at $1400 for an on-premise starter package license, $1700 for a limited license and $3300 to obtain a professional license.
Also known as SAP B1, it automates accounting processes for SMB owners. It's a slimmed-down version of SAP ERP used by large companies. These processes include accounts receivable, payable, and journal entries. It also provides a solution for managing cash flows and controlling budgets.
You can conduct many important asset management and banking tasks with SAP B1. The solution provides you total financial control over your fixed assets’ life cycles. From acquisition to depreciation and disposal, you control it all. Furthermore, you can process bank statements and reconciliations. You can also make fast payments through methods such as bank transfers and checks.
Image: SAP Business One
2. NetSuite ERP
NetSuite ERP is a reliable and multi-purpose solution. It can work in all major industries, from marketing and finance to healthcare. The subscription fees for NetSuite depend on the number of business users. For small businesses, a yearly subscription can cost anywhere from $18,000 to $25,000.
NetSuite operates completely from the cloud. This means small business workers can access company data from anywhere. This allows your business to focus on actual growth rather than managing information.
NetSuite allows you to create automated marketing campaigns based on trending market data. It lets you access useful information about your customers. This includes demographics and buying patterns. It also provides real-time dashboards, allowing you to identify critical statistics.
The ERP solution can run the complete financial management process for your business. This includes stocking, inventory management, and delivery chain.
Image: NetSuite ERP
3. Odoo ERP
Odoo is an integrated, all-in-one open source reliable ERP platform. Its Enterprise edition costs $20/user/month (annual billing). The inventory and warehouse management features make it great for the retail industry.
Odoo comes with an integrated e-commerce platform. This allows business owners to maintain an inventory through automated stock adjustments and reporting. But its features don’t end there. It provides tools that address invoicing, point of sale and email marketing, etc.
The ERP system also contains a unique double-entry inventory management system. This system enables full tracking of materials from the supplier to the end consumer. Users can pack and deliver customer orders with or without the use of barcode scanners.
The capabilities of Odoo can also assist the HR department of a small business. Using the employee module, the team can gather data on all employees in one database. They can also create weekly and monthly timesheets. This allows them to trace the time of each company employee.
Image: Odoo
4. Sage Intacct
Sage Intacct system is a cloud-based ERP software allowing data to be stored locally or on a cloud service provider like Amazon AWS, Rackspace, and Google Cloud Engine.
Some of the noticeable features are:
- Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable: You can create and manage supplier or customer relationships, transactions and track expenses. You can also create custom invoices, sales orders and freight documents.
- Orders, Quotes and Contracts: You can create and track quotes and orders. Also you can manage contracts and agreements.
- Inventory: Inventory Management is one of the most important features that is required by small businesses. You can manage your items with attributes for better storage, shipping and reporting.
- Project Management: This is one of the most powerful features for small business owners and managers. You can create projects and tasks and assign them to employees. You can also record time and expenses against each of these tasks.
I would recommend this to small businesses because small businesses require accounting software that is easy to use and affordable. Also, the customer support of Sage Intacct has been great so far, said Dror Zaifman of iCash, who uses Sage Intacct for better accounting operations.
The pricing starts at around $50 per month and ranges all the way to nearly $330 per month.
Image: Odoo ERP
Small Businesses Need ERP
Small business owners cannot do everything themselves. In a cut-throat business environment, they need ERP systems to help them with their tasks.
ERP software tools provide many dynamic solutions to the needs of small firms. These include helping owners make fact-based decisions and improving communication across all departments.
“Selecting an ERP entirely depends on your company requirements and which industry you are in. An ERP which is best for your business might not be suitable for other enterprises. So, it is quite difficult to give one name as the best ERP software,” said Haroon Sethi, ex-McKinsey and Founder of Proqura.
Although some of the modern accounting software like Tally and Quickbooks also provide additional sales and ordering tools as well as very simple inventory management.
Want to keep up with all the latest startup topics? Subscribe to our newsletter in the footer below.