ERP for Startups & Scaleups Guide
Successful startups and scaleups and their employees are often juggling a variety of tasks and business processes across multiple internal applications, ranging from small accounting packages such as Xero and Quickbooks to project management tools like Asana or Monday.com, stock and inventory management tools, business intelligence platforms, Microsoft Excel and more.
Whilst this is fine to start with, using a variety of solutions to execute business processes can cause multiple issues such as data inconsistency, slow reporting and therefore it has knock on effects such as working longer hours, outdated information, unhappy customers, compliance issues, lack of investor confidence and more.
So, is ERP the best option for startups and scaleups in this position? If so, which ERP should you choose? How much does it cost to implement ERP for a startup? We answer these questions and many more below.
Why do Startups & Scaleups need ERP software?
Customer, User & Employee Satisfaction
Many startups and scaleups today are differentiating in the battle for the best talent and winning market share by optimising user and customer satisfaction as well as providing the best employee experience possible to attract the best people. This is also a key reason why startups choose to implement ERP systems.
When it comes to customer and user satisfaction, nothing can ruin the experience such as having delays in receiving a product, delayed refunds and other issues which are typically caused by running your business on multiple applications with little or no integration. ERP systems for startups enable startups & scale-ups to integrate their business processes and systems into a seamless flow, enabling them to deliver on their customer promises and contracts.
On the other hand, startups need the best people in order to win back market share in the first place. All too often, the best talent in any industry are moving to tech enabled, innovative startups, then are forced to deal with endless administration and slow reporting rather than putting their brains to work. Many startups will implement an ERP system simply to improve the quality and productivity of day-to-day work for their employees.
Raising Investor Confidence, IPO or SPAC
Many of the startups and scale-ups we've worked with at ERP Research choose to implement an ERP solution largely to provide their investors' confidence in their ability to mature and scale, ultimately protecting the money they invested. When implemented correctly, ERP systems enable startups and scaleups to move into new territories and geographies, identify productivity and efficiency issues and bottlenecks and ultimately provide auditable accounting information.
Many startups and scaleups will therefore implement a new ERP system, simply to raise investor confidence and raise their next $10-500M in funding, or to enable them to meet the requirements for an initial public offering (IPO) or SPAC merger.
Which startups & scaleups are implementing ERP solutions?
Startup & scaleup companies across multiple industries implement ERP systems at different points in their growth journey. We have seen companies in the software-as-a-service (SaaS), FinTech/financial technology, biotechnology, marketing and advertising, manufacturing, property startup categories implementing ERP solutions according to their specific needs.
What are the ERP needs for startups & scaleups?
Scalability
The last thing any business wants is to have to go through multiple ERP implementations in a short space of time. Therefore choosing an ERP system that will scale with your business is key. When selecting a new ERP system for your startup, you need to ensure that it can cope with the demands of your business as you grow.
Can your ERP handle the amount of transactions you'll need to process in 3-5 years time? Does your startup ERP provide accounting and tax localizations for the countries you plan to expand into over the next few years? Is the ERP system updated regularly by your ERP vendor?
Flexibility
Many startups & scale-ups aren't sure what their business will look like in a few years time. The need may come to pivot into different products or services, or add additional products to their offering. Depending on this, your startup business process and capabilities may need to significantly adapt or retool. It's therefore recommended that you select a new ERP system for your startup or scale-up that offers the maximum flexibility and breadth of functionality to enable this.
Cloud ERP First
Most startups and scale-ups have no On-Premise IT infrastructure and have no plans to change that. Instead, startups and scaleups today are opting for 100% Cloud infrastructure and applications to allow them to flex usage as well as remove administration and wasted IT resource. The same goes for ERP systems for startups and in response, there are many Cloud native ERP systems to enable this. Check out our guide to Cloud ERP for more information.
Reporting & Analytics
Startup ERP systems must have inbuilt reporting & analytics to provide startup leaders to quickly analyze the position of their business in real-time across financials, stock, human resources, projects, sales and more.
Financial Management
What is the best ERP system for startups? What is the best ERP system for scaleups?
The best ERP system for startups and scaleups will always depend on the industry of the company and the specific business processes they need to accomodate. As well as this, due to growth rate of startups and scaleups, you also need to anticipate potential changes or requirements that will be needed in the future.
Check out our rankings of ERP solutions for startups and scaleups to get started.
How much does ERP cost for a startup & scaleup?
We have put together a complete guide and breakdown on the costs of ERP implementations and ongoing costs. The costs can of course vary for all ERP implementation and depend on factors including ERP project scope, geography, the ERP software itself and ability to adopt standard ERP business processes.
How do I choose an ERP for my startup or scaleup?
Choosing an ERP system for startups or scaleups needs to start with an ERP requirements gathering process. This involves compiling a document containing your ERP requirements which can be used to internally and externally communicated the needs of your business and the criteria for selecting a new ERP system.
You can use our free ERP requirements template to speed up this process.
How do I implement startup ERP?
Whilst it is possible to implement an ERP solution yourself, many startup businesses and larger businesses choose to hire a third party systems integrator or ERP systems implementation partner to do this for them.
