"How much will it cost?" is usually the first question a business owner asks about ERP, and one of the hardest to answer from a typical vendor website. ERP cost depends on how many people will use the system, which areas of the business it covers and how much help you need to get it running. This guide breaks down what drives ERP cost in the UK, the costs that are easy to miss, and how to weigh what you spend against what you get back.
What drives ERP cost?
Most ERP budgets are made up of the same handful of elements. Some are recurring, some are one off, and the balance between them varies a great deal from one system to another.
User licences or subscriptions
Cloud ERP is normally priced per user, per month, so the number of users is the biggest single driver of your ongoing cost. It is worth thinking carefully about who genuinely needs access, and at what level, rather than giving everyone a licence by default.
Plan or module tier
Many systems offer tiers with different capabilities. A lower tier may cover the essentials, while a higher tier adds more advanced modules. Choosing the tier that matches what you need now, with room to move up later, avoids paying for features that sit unused.
Implementation and configuration
Someone has to set the system up around your business: your products, pricing, locations, users and processes. Some vendors charge heavily for this and rely on long consultancy engagements. Others keep it lean. Always ask what is included, how long it typically takes and who does the work.
Data migration
Your customer lists, product catalogue, stock levels and supplier details need to come across from your existing spreadsheets and systems. The cleaner your data, the easier this is. Messy or duplicated data takes longer to prepare, whatever system you choose.
Training
A system only pays back if people use it properly. Budget time for training, not just money. Staff will need some hours away from their normal work to learn the new way of doing things.
Support and updates
Check whether ongoing support is included in the subscription or charged separately, where the support team is based and how you reach them. With cloud ERP, updates are typically handled for you, which removes the cost of periodic upgrade projects.
Customisation
Bespoke development is where ERP budgets most often run away. The more a system can be configured by your own team, without code, the less you will spend adapting it over time.
The hidden cost of disconnected tools
When looking at ERP cost, it is tempting to compare it against zero. In reality, your current setup already costs money. It just does not arrive as a single invoice. Think about:
- Subscriptions for several standalone apps that each cover one job
- Staff time spent re-keying data between systems and spreadsheets
- Errors in orders, invoices and stock that cost money to put right
- Cash tied up in excess stock because figures cannot be trusted
- Management time spent assembling reports by hand
A fair comparison sets the full cost of an ERP against the full cost of carrying on as you are. Our ERP ROI calculator helps you put numbers on the time and errors involved, so the decision rests on your own figures.
What Central ERP costs
We publish our prices so you can budget with confidence. All prices exclude VAT.
- Free plan: for very small operations, covering up to 50 customers, 50 sales a month, 100 products, 2 locations and 2 custom task types.
- Standard: £40 per user per month.
- Complete: £80 per user per month.
- Custom: tailored plans for businesses with specific requirements.
As a simple illustration, a team of ten people on the Standard plan would be £400 a month before VAT. Full details of what each plan includes are on our pricing page.
Setup and configuration typically takes 2 to 4 weeks, depending on complexity. Because Central ERP includes custom tasks and workflow automation, much of the tailoring that would otherwise need bespoke development can be done through configuration: your own task types, stages, custom fields and condition based automations.
How to budget for ERP
A practical ERP budget does not need to be complicated. Work through these steps:
- List your users. Who needs daily access, and which areas of the system will they use?
- Decide your starting scope. Which modules solve your biggest problems first? You can add more later.
- Ask about one off costs. What does setup involve, how long will it take and what is included?
- Allow for internal time. Data preparation and training will take your team away from their day jobs for a while.
- Plan for growth. Work out what the cost looks like with more users or locations in a year or two.
Weighing ERP cost against value
The cheapest system is not always the best value, and the most expensive is not always the most capable. The real question is what the system will return. Value usually shows up as hours saved on admin, fewer errors reaching customers, better control of stock and cash, faster and more confident decisions, and the ability to grow without adding headcount at the same rate.
It also matters who stands behind the software. Ask where it is hosted, how access is controlled and who supports you after go live. Central ERP is hosted on Microsoft Azure in European data centres, with role based access control by user, role, location and department, and is supported by a UK team.
Next steps
If you are building a business case, start by estimating what your current processes cost with the ROI calculator, then compare the result with the plans on our pricing page. If you would like to see what the system would look like for your business, booking a demo is the quickest way to get a clear, accurate picture.