ERP or business portal: what fits your business?

What an ERP does

An ERP system (enterprise resource planning) brings the core processes of a business into one package. Think of stock, purchasing, production, financial records with a general ledger, projects, hours and staff. It is made for companies where several people work on those parts and where one department has to know what another is doing.

That works well for a manufacturer, a wholesaler or a company with many employees. It also takes set-up, maintenance and training. For a service provider with a few clients a month it is usually more than needed.

What a business portal for your sales does

A business portal for your sales handles the chain from quote to payment: making a quote, having it signed, turning it into an invoice, receiving payment and keeping an overview. Stock and production are not part of it, and your bookkeeping stays in your accounting package. It works alongside your accountant's package.

With a client portal many people think of an environment where the client logs in. In a business portal for small business owners, the client side is often a personal link, without an account, where the client sees a quote and pays an invoice.

Questions that help you choose

• Do you hold stock or produce goods? Then you need an ERP or a stock system. A portal for quotes and invoices does not help there.
• Do several people work in the same system? With roles and permissions you are looking at an ERP or a larger package. A portal with one user fits an owner who does everything alone.
• Where do you lose the most time? If it is in preparing quotes, having them signed and retyping invoices, a portal for your sales solves that directly.
• Do you already have an accounting package and an accountant who works with it? Then you tighten the sales side and do not need a second set of books.
• Do you sell to businesses or to consumers? Many business portals are not made for consumers.

An ERP for freelancers

In most cases, no. A freelancer who advises, designs, builds or maintains has no stock, no production planning and no staff. What he needs is an accounting package for his records and a tidy way to make quotes and invoices. An ERP then mostly adds cost and upkeep.

That changes as you grow: a warehouse of your own, staff, several locations or a client base you manage from several places. Then a bigger system belongs.

Using them together

You do not have to choose. A company with an ERP can use a separate system for quotes, and a smaller business owner can start with a portal for sales and add a bigger system later. Make sure you can export your data, so a later switch is not a fresh start.

What to expect from a system for your sales

• That you type an amount once and see it again on the quote, invoice and report.
• That your client can sign and pay online, and that you keep evidence of it.
• That you get exports and reports your accountant can continue with.
• Not that it replaces your bookkeeping, files your VAT return or tracks your stock. If a supplier promises that, ask further.

If you have a question that goes beyond quotes and invoices, such as an ERP, a CRM or custom software, Assist2go can help think it through. See assist2go.nl.

Frequently asked questions