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Comparisons

ERPNext vs. SAP B1

COMPARISON

What makes ERPNext a great SAP B1 alternative

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If you’ve heard of ERPs, chances are you’ve heard of SAP. They created the very first ERP system ever back in 1979 and they’ve been dominating the market ever since. But maybe it’s time for this Goliath to meet its David.

ERPNext might be relatively new to the game, but here’s 8 reasons why you should pick it over SAP B1.

It doesn’t cost a small fortune

Or a large one. SAP’s ERP offerings are priced significantly higher than most of its competitors’, with B1’s licensing costs ranging from $3000 to $5000 per user for a one-time perpetual license, or between $100 and $300 per user per month if you go for a subscription.

Implementation costs are also usually quite steep, and unless you opt for the cloud version, you’ll also have to pay an annual maintenance fee which typically costs 15-22% of the license fee for ongoing support, updates and software maintenance.

In contrast, ERPNext charges only for hosting, which starts at a mere $5 a month.

You can even try it for free for as long as you like

Picking the right ERP system is one of the most crucial decisions you can make for your business, one that should not be rushed. While SAP B1 lets you test it out before you commit to it, the free trial only lasts a month, which might not be enough time to vet it properly. On the other hand, ERPNext can be used for free for as long as you like if you can self-host it.

Get full control over your software

ERPNext is 100% open source, which means anyone can view, modify or distribute the code used to build it. This means you can examine the code to make sure it isn’t doing anything it shouldn’t be, change the parts you don’t like, add any features you think it needs, host it wherever you want, you get the gist. All the control lies in your hands.

It’s a breeze to use

ERPNext offers a clean, modern interface that’s intuitive and easy to pick up, even on your first try. SAP B1 has a more complex interface, which might prove challenging to those unfamiliar with ERP systems. Users often require training to get a hang of the system, which is usually quite expensive.

It’s also a breeze to customize

Create new forms, customize existing ones, build custom reports, set up workflows, change user permissions based on roles—you can do all that and more on ERPNext without writing a single line of code. And if you do know how to code, take advantage of its open source nature and play around with the code on your favourite editor, or create custom scripts right from the interface to tailor it to your exact needs. While SAP B1 is also customizable, it can take up a considerable amount of time and money, and usually requires external consultants or developers with SAP expertise.

Get it up and running in a matter of weeks

ERPNext implementations don’t take nearly as long, or cost nearly as much, especially for SMBs. Deployment timelines range from a handful of weeks to a few months, whereas a more complex system like SAP B1 could require several months and end up costing significantly more.

Get all the help you need, free of cost

Like we said before, ERPNext only charges for hosting, and if you’re paying more than $50 a month for hosting, we’ll throw in support for free. And if you’re not, that’s okay too. ERPNext comes with a super active and passionate community that’s probably already answered any query you might have had on our discuss forum, and if not, all you have to do to find a solution is ask.

On ERPNext, scaling is a good thing

Don’t you think it’s really unfair that businesses like SAP make you pay extra every time someone new joins your team, even if your actual usage doesn’t go up? Because we do. Which is why on ERPNext, you only pay for the resources you use, not for every extra addition to your team. Let your team grow without worrying about your bills growing too.


Honestly, we could go on forever, but we’ll let the rest of the world do the talking for us. Check out this video to see why Sailesh Khawani recommends picking ERPNext over SAP B1, or this one to see how Jay cut down his average transaction time from 5 minutes to 30 seconds by switching from SAP B1 to ERPNext. 


Here’s a top features comparison by Dexciss Technology and check out this link to see what users on SaaSworthy have to say about ERPNext and SAP B1. And if you’re still not convinced, don’t be shy, get in touch with us here and give us a chance to change your mind.

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