ERP software: selecting a system and a partner to implement it

Most ERP products are sold and implemented through partners rather than by the software maker itself. The partner configures the system, migrates your data, trains your staff and usually provides first-line support afterwards. Two partners implementing the same product can give very different results, so ask who exactly will work on your project, how many similar implementations they have done in your sector, and whether they are certified by the vendor.

Be clear whether you are asking for help choosing a system or for a quote to implement one you have already chosen. A partner tied to one vendor will naturally propose that vendor. If you are still undecided, say so and ask how the partner would assess fit.

Describe your processes as they work today, including the workarounds. The partner needs to know how orders arrive, how stock is counted, how jobs are costed, how month-end works and which reports the directors rely on. Numbers matter too: users, transactions per month, warehouses, companies in the group and currencies.

Sector details change the answer. A manufacturer needs bills of materials and production planning; a wholesaler needs pricing agreements and batch or serial tracking; a construction business that pays subcontractors under the Construction Industry Scheme needs CIS deductions and returns handled correctly. List every system that has to connect: web shop, bank feeds, payroll, EDI with major customers, courier platforms.

• modules needed now and later: finance, inventory, production, sales and CRM, HR
• number of named users and their roles
• legal entities, currencies and sites
• integrations and the data that flows through them
• reports and dashboards that must exist on day one
• where the system is hosted: vendor cloud, partner hosting or your own servers
• who in your business can give time to the project

All VAT-registered businesses are within Making Tax Digital for VAT: VAT records must be kept digitally and returns sent through compatible software. HMRC publishes a list of software it recognises for this, so check that your ERP, or the bridging tool linked to it, is on it. If you run payroll in the system, it must also handle Real Time Information submissions.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords above a qualifying income threshold, which HMRC is lowering for the following two tax years. It does not apply to limited companies, but it matters if your group includes self-employed owners or property income held personally.

Looking further ahead, the government has announced an e-invoicing mandate for 2029 and chosen Peppol as the core network for it. The details are still being worked out, but when you buy a system that you expect to keep for years, ask the partner how the product will support structured e-invoices.

Source: gov.uk · gov.uk

Configuring a system means using its built-in settings. Customising means changing or adding code. Customisation can fit the software to an unusual process, but every change has to be tested and sometimes rewritten when the vendor releases an upgrade. A good partner will challenge whether a process should change instead of the software.

The contract usually has two parts: the licence or subscription, often per user per month, and the implementation services, quoted as a fixed price or on time and materials. Read what happens when you add users, what the annual price increases are, and how you export all of your data in a usable format if you leave. Because the vendor or partner will hold personal data about your staff and customers, you also need a data processing agreement under UK GDPR, including where the data is stored.

Moving data is where time disappears. Customer and supplier records, item codes, price lists and open orders all need cleaning before they are imported, and that work mostly falls on your staff. Decide early how much history to bring across, and whether you migrate opening balances only or full transaction history.

Choose the go-live date around your calendar: the start of a financial year or VAT quarter is cleaner than the middle. Plan a trial migration, testing by the people who will use the system, and training for key users who can then help their colleagues. For a period after go-live, expect questions to spike; the support terms should cover that.

Your request states your sector, the number of users, the modules you need, what you use now and when you want to start. Once your phone and email are confirmed, ERP suppliers in your area see it without your company name. The first supplier to buy it is the only one: the request then leaves our marketplace, and we email you that supplier's name, address and phone number before it receives your details.

You pay nothing, and you remain free to talk to other suppliers or not go ahead at all. There is no guarantee that a supplier buys the request; unsold requests are withdrawn after 21 days. Offrano confirms that buyers are registered businesses but does not check vendor certifications, so ask the partner for proof of its status and for a reference customer of a similar size.