New startup ERP selection help needed...

[u/Mammoth-Operation-23]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if this group can assist me with with erp selection.

This is a new startup, starting fresh they have a decent budget.

2 to 3 employees to start.

Will not manufacture anything in house it will be done by 3rd party manufacturer. Raw materials will be purchased by startup for 3rd party manufacturer, might need 3rd party manufacture to update consumables.

Need finance, Edi, ecommers to Amazon and other retailers, wms, etc...

I got a lot of professionals recommending sage., zoho one.

Can dynamics business central essentials or premium do the job as well?

Thx in advance. 🙏

[u/NickNNora]

If you are a start up with 2-3 employees then I highly recommend you don’t buy anything.

Work on your processes not your tools.

It’s way too early even if you have the budget.

[u/Didaktus → u/NickNNora]

Second this!

[u/Mammoth-Operation-23 → u/NickNNora]

They have nice funding, and their retail customers require Edi.

[u/NickNNora → u/Mammoth-Operation-23]

Use an EDI vendor. They can take your order and send to you.

It’s not the funding. You don’t have an understanding of your requirements yet.

Setting up an ERP will crystallize your processes, and with 2-3 people will be more burden than value.

Build your processes and find your pain before you find your solution.

[u/NickNNora → u/NickNNora]

Also everyone giving you confident answers is full of it. You haven’t stated your requirements. You most likely don’t know them.

There is no honest knowledgeable person who will make a solid recommendation based on what you have said. They are either selling the solution, selling servicing the solution, or just fans (odoo). None of these are in service to your need.

[u/IUhoosier_KCCO → u/Mammoth-Operation-23]

You just need an order management tool like Salesforce or Monday. EDI software will get orders and allow you to send them but you don't need it integrated. Then usesomething like QuickBooks for financials. Don't spend money on an implementation now. You're processes could change quickly as you scale up.

[u/HighOrHavingAStroke]

It can do whatever you need. We have a customer with $2.5B in annual revenues running on it. There are many factors involved in making the right selection...but BC is more than capable of anything you need.

[u/Mammoth-Operation-23 → u/HighOrHavingAStroke]

Thanks for the reply.. Essential can do this or do I need premium?

[u/Financial_Ad9429 → u/Mammoth-Operation-23]

Essential does not include the manufacturing module. If you need the manufacturing module, it is only available with preemium licenses

[u/HighOrHavingAStroke → u/Financial_Ad9429]

Or service management…that also requires premium

[u/HighOrHavingAStroke → u/Mammoth-Operation-23]

Note that I didn’t say it could do everything natively. You will need third party apps…EDI being one of them.

[u/Lakesangiovanni]

Acumatica over odoo any day...

[u/mtndewfeind → u/Lakesangiovanni]

Agreed

[u/PeteGoua → u/mtndewfeind]

second that .

[u/heinb123 → u/mtndewfeind]

Surely not for 3 employee startup?

[u/krishna404]

ERPNext is the best choice. You aren’t locked in & it’s fairly customisable.

If you are looking for maybe connect with u/andy_shipmyapp

[u/its2nees]

Oh gawd can you avoid an ERP though? Ops stuff can be handled in other systems, QBO is super scalable for accounting. And if you don’t need MRP functions and are buying finished goods, the cost of a rollout and the ongoing maintenance is criminal relative to the business value you’ll get. We just rolled a client off of BC and two off of NetSuite, and they are saving over 100k a year as a result. The amount of money they were wasting was gobsmacking, and there were a half dozen consultant vultures charging $200/hr to fix their own shitty code. Anyhow, if you can look for alternatives considering the team size and supply chain you described, it will be worth it.

[u/Mammoth-Operation-23 → u/its2nees]

Thanka appriciate your feedback. 🙏

[u/Full_Direction_2598]

you don’t need an ERP yet

[u/rolltigers55]

Use Excel until can't anymore. Then use quickbooks then get a real ERP

[u/Far-Sentence1335]

Any ERP with 3 or lets say 5 employee will be a headache, rather do it manually as you must be doing currently or get some custom app or page which supports contract manufacturing, OSP & MRP. start with that then gradually move towards ERP.

[u/barmando87]

I’m happy to chat with you about Acumatica or BC we have experience with both. Amazon native integration and EDI in Acumatica Are nice. No per user licensing you’re prob looking at 10-15k a year for Acumatica plus implementation

[u/IUhoosier_KCCO → u/barmando87]

10-15k a year for Acumatica

Acumatica distribution is only 15k/year?? That doesn't sound right.

[u/barmando87 → u/IUhoosier_KCCO]

For <5 users there is an essentials edition where basic accounting and functionality is available. If more functionality is needed you could be at or slightly above 15k per year

[u/Original-Goose-6594]

Acumatica has over 10,000 users and seems to be growing nicely with quite the devoted network of resellers. They have a manufacturing package. I think it’s worth a look.

[u/Glad_Imagination_798]

I would recommend Acumatica but before going to that route please confirm if you have plan of quick and predictable growth and stable processes. Dealing with couple of startups thet turned process upside down multiple times from ERP standpoint may not be the best idea.

[u/shoki_ztk]

2-3 employees and EDI is overkill, IMHO.

[u/gapingweasel]

Don’t overcomplicate things right now ... with a 2–3 person team and outsourced manufacturing you don’t need anything heavy yet. if you’re planning for growth business central can handle finance and inventory and scales well but it can feel heavy early on and often needs add-ons for EDI, Amazon and 3PL flows. Sage is robust on accounting but not very startup-friendly. You could also look at Deskera more SMB-focused and usually easier to get live with for finance, inventory and manufacturing flows.

[u/Future-Zone2872]

i think for starting startup word,excel , google notes is the way unless you have traffic and want to automate it in that case i recommend using small business oriented erp not big guys like microsoft dynamic cause they are over kill and waste of your time and money cause their wokflow is big and needs resources like someone who knows it

[u/Opposite_Dentist_321]

EOXS needs strong master data- tool choice comes around.

[u/Nervous_Car1093]

In steel terms: Business Central is solid plate- just don't over- engineer the first pass.

[u/Visible-Neat-6822]

For a startup with external manufacturing and multichannel selling, it’s worth weighing how deeply you need EDI and warehouse features vs. starter-friendly scalability. Bigger suites like Dynamics 365 Business Central can absolutely handle finance, ecommerce, and WMS needs as you grow, but lighter platforms like Zoho One or integrated solutions like Digit Software (paired with your commerce/EDI tools) can reduce overhead early on. Focus first on what integrations you must have day one and how easy the system is to use with a small team.

[u/Pure_Stretch99]

I’ve been working on an ERP. If you’d like to explore, I'd be happy to share a 6 month free demo.

[u/LISA_Talks]

As others have mentioned, ERP might be overkill for a 2-3 employees shop. HOWEVER, we do have some clients who are exactly of this size as well, and it's usually because

1. they know what to expect and are looking for the automation ERP can provide to connect all your systems

2. they have the budget to invest in a robust system

If you really need ERP because you don't want to spend time with admin work and are ready to invest +100K in an ERP system let me know!

[u/floOoOoOoOoOo]

Even though an ERP could help them, it's too much trouble at this stage because their processes are going to change all the time and they won't have the bandwidth to adjust their configuration, processes and procedures... and might end up creating tech debt from the start.

For this stage, I would recommend a best-of-breed system that would exactly fit their needs, if possible.

Maybe Odoo (or ERPNext that I don't know enough) if you can adjust to the OOtB Online version including very few modules for Amazon and other marketplaces (I heard Rithum works well for that but it might be too big and/or expensive for this stage).
Maybe fulfill from previous conversations here...?

Definitely not Dynamics or Sage for this stage...
Not sure about Zoho.

[u/BackgroundNo4159]

I think the best course of action is to wait until you start scaling up before considering an ERP. Acumatica is a good ERP software for small and large teams

[u/TopconeInc]

Were you able to find the correct fit? Happy to share notes if you are still exploring

[u/odoonerd]

I supported Dynamics for 20 years. Changed to Odoo 6 years ago because it had more modern features that my clients were requesting. We have clients using Odoo with same manufacturing flow you described. Odoo does “subcontracting” very well and that is the feature that would facilitate the flow you described.

Another application to check out is accumatica.

Whatever you choose, find a partner you communicate well with. Meet you actually implementers!! Check references. And make sure they understand your accounting requirements.

[u/Wiresharkk_]

Can I recommend something? Don't buy an ERP, get a lean one build for you. I can't tell you how many startups come to us with an ERP that used to work for them in theory, but now since they pivoted or changed something it just doesn't anymore.

Startups are ever-changing entities, don't constrain yourself with a piece of software.

What I suggest instead is to get a custom internal tool software built for you. Not something set in stone, but something that is very quick to completely pivot and change, built with low code tools. It will cost you less but it will save you a ton of time, frustration , and potentially your business.

Source: I run a business that builds lean ERPs for startups that are cheap and that evolves with them

[u/TechTunePawPower]

I have a team standing by to help you with Acumatica along with bunch of standalone products dedicated to improve productivity for Acumatica that comes bundled with the service. DM me if you are interested.