ERP guide
Should a company subscribe to a cloud ERP or build a custom one?
Subscribe to a cloud ERP such as Oracle NetSuite when your processes are close to standard and you want the vendor to run everything for you. Build a custom cloud ERP when the subscription would keep growing with users and modules while you still pay to change the product, because a system you own does not cost more each time you hire.
| What you are comparing | A product | A custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Cost over five years | A subscription for every year you use it, based on users, modules or resources depending on the vendor, plus implementation, data migration and training. Stop paying and the system stops. | A one-time build with the figure fixed in a written scope, then running costs such as hosting and database paid from your own accounts. No licenses and no renewals. |
| Per-seat fees | Common. Microsoft, SAP and Odoo publish per-user prices and NetSuite counts users in its license. Acumatica and Plex are the exceptions on our lists. | None. Opening a location or hiring a team adds no fee. |
| Fit to your process | A shared cloud product is the same for every customer, so you work inside its settings. SAP is explicit that its public cloud packages expect preset processes. | Built from your process, including the rules that differ by location, customer or product line. |
| Time to launch | You can sign quickly, but configuration, data migration and training come before go-live, usually led by a partner. | Starts with discovery and a written scope. You see working screens during the build, and that scope sets the schedule. |
| Who runs it | The vendor runs the servers, security patches and upgrades. That is the main thing a subscription buys. | It runs on managed cloud services in accounts you own. Black Badger or any developer you choose maintains the application. |
| Where it is hosted | Where the vendor decides, with a few exceptions such as a private cloud subscription or an on-premise plan. | On cloud accounts in your company name. It can be moved, because you hold the code. |
| Leaving | You export your records and rebuild everything else in the next system. The vendor keeps the product. | Nothing to leave. If you change developers, the code, data and accounts stay with you. |
When subscribing is the right answer
Subscribe when your processes are ordinary and your team is small relative to the work of running software. A vendor-managed cloud ERP handles servers, upgrades and security for you, and it does standard accounting, inventory and order management well.
Subscribe as well when you need to be live on proven finance software soon. A product exists today. A custom system has to be scoped and built first.
When building a custom cloud ERP is the right answer
Build when the subscription has become a growing cost. The usual signs are a renewal that rises every year, modules bought to work around a gap, and a partner invoice for every change.
Build when the cloud product cannot match how you work. Multi-tenant software is the same for everyone by design. If your process is the reason customers choose you, build software that matches it.
How to compare the cost of a cloud ERP subscription with a custom build
Compare the cost over five years. For the product, add the subscription at the users and modules you will have by the end of the period, the implementation, and the yearly cost of changes. Most cloud ERP vendors publish no price, so start from your own quote.
For the custom route, the number is a one-time build plus running costs. Black Badger publishes no price, because the figure depends on what the system must do. A written scope gives you the number to set beside the product total.
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
Questions buyers ask
Is a custom ERP still a cloud ERP?
Yes, a custom ERP is still a cloud ERP. It runs in a browser on cloud hosting, the same as the products. The differences are that the hosting account is yours, there is no license, and the software does only what your company needs.
Who handles upgrades and security on a custom cloud ERP?
The providers of the cloud services a custom cloud ERP runs on patch those services. Whoever you retain maintains the application itself, which can be Black Badger or another developer, since the code is written to be handed over.
Can we keep our accounting software and build a custom ERP around it?
Yes, you can keep your accounting software and build the rest. The general ledger stays in a proven accounting product, and the custom system runs operations and feeds it. Nothing that works has to be replaced.