The total cost of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution includes software packages prices, hardware prices, and ERP implementation costs. It ranges from ten thousands to ten millions of US dollars dependent on the number of users, complexity of the solution, the ERP vendor, and the implementation locations such as US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Costs and Prices of Top Commercial ERP Management Systems
The best commercial ERP vendors usually provide good support services for their clients. Their products include Tally, Microsoft Dynamics (Navision), Navy, mySAP and Infor. The price of a commercial ERP system could be as high as $20 million plus a few million dollars per year for maintenance services for a client with 1,000 users.
There are various ways to reduce the pricing of a commercial ERP software package. For example, some of the Dynamics (Navision) resellers offer discount for Windows and Microsoft Office users.
For a small business with 25 users, the total cost of ERP ownership could be as low as $50,000-60,000. But for a medium-size company with 100 users, the cost could reach $400,000 as the complexity of the system increases. For a big company with 500 users, the cost could be 3-4 million US dollars or above. The average cost per user of a commercial ERP system can range from $2,000 to $20,000.
Best Low-Cost Open Source ERP Applications Download
Today many ERP vendors provide open source software for free downloading online and make money from support services. Using an open source program could significantly reduce the prices of ERP software packages.
For example, the average cost per user of an open source ERP solution could be as low as about $1,000. For a small business with 25 users, the total cost of ERP ownership could be as low as $30,000. For a medium-size company with 100 users, the cost could be below $150,000. For a big company with 500 users, the cost could be 1-2 million US dollars.
The top best free and open source ERP software systems include CK-ERP, Openbravo, Keen CRM/ERP, Jazz ERP, BlueErp, Adempiere, Compiere, Dolibarr, Postbooks, SQL-Ledger, ERP5, Fedena, GNU Enterprise, Opentaps, LedgerSMB, OFBiz, OpenERP, and WebERP. For more details of them, please check the article Best Free ERP Software Download Review.
But a business should know two facts before choosing an open source ERP solution:
- Though the software programs are available for free downloading, the ERP modules and implementation services are usually as costly as their commercial counterparts.
- An open source ERP vendor may not be able to provide excellent support services. This is one of the reasons why some ERP providers turn to be open-source.
Costs of Hardware and ERP Implementations
The hardware costs of an ERP system include the prices of ERP servers, computers for end users, systems software, network equipment, and security devices and applications. For a small business with 25 ERP users, the hardware can cost below $30,000. For a big company, the hardware costs could be as high as a few millions of US dollars.
The implementations of an ERP solution include training, customization, integration, data conversion and analysis, consultancy, and maintenance. A company can compare the service prices among different vendors before choosing a right solution.
Related Article:
Best ERP Software Solutions: 2011 Comparison and Reviews
Best Open Source ERP Software Systems 2011 Reviews
Chen Nanyang - Chen Nanyang's journalist career began in 2002 when he started writing for China's Nanfang City News, Singapore's United Morning Post and ...
Join the Conversation