Spreadsheet, ERP or custom software? A plain way to choose

People usually ask us “which ERP should we buy?” The better first question is “do we need one?” Sometimes the right answer is a better spreadsheet. Sometimes it is something built for you. Here is how to tell.

Option 1: the spreadsheet (and it is fine, for a while)

A well-kept spreadsheet is cheap, flexible and you already know how to use it. It works well when one or two people enter the data, you have a single location, and the cost of a wrong cell is small.

It stops working quietly, not loudly. These are the signs:

• Two people edited at once and now there are files named “final_v3_new.”
• Someone changed a formula and nobody noticed for a month.
• You cannot tell who changed a number, or when.
• Branches send you their sheets, and you spend Monday copying them into yours.
• A missed update costs real money: an expired batch, a double-booked room, a customer promised stock you do not have.

If two or three of those are familiar, the spreadsheet has become a risk.

Option 2: ERP, a ready-made system with modules

ERP means one system covering several parts of the business: sales, stock, accounts, staff and so on. Its strength is that the parts talk to each other, so a sale reduces stock and shows up in the books without anyone retyping it.

It fits when your business works in a fairly standard way, you have more than one branch or team, and you want visibility more than uniqueness. Its weakness is that you adapt to the system, to some degree. If it does 80% of what you do and the other 20% is your competitive edge, that is a problem.

The cleanest way in is modular: start with the module that fixes your biggest leak and add others later. We lay out how that works on our ERP and business management page, and for sector-specific needs there are versions for hospitals and clinics and schools and institutes.

Option 3: custom software

Custom means built around how you actually work. It is the right call when your process is the thing that makes you different, when off-the-shelf tools force clumsy workarounds, or when you need to connect several unusual systems.

The cost is more up-front thinking, and more dependence on whoever builds it. Make sure you own the code and the data, get documentation, and that it is built in modules so you can start small. If someone suggests a giant first release, be wary. Details on how we approach it are under custom software and systems.

Five questions that decide it

1. How many places and people touch the data? One or two: spreadsheet. Several branches or teams: ERP or custom.
2. How standard is your process? If a competitor could use the same system as you, ERP is fine. If your process is your secret sauce, lean custom.
3. What does a mistake cost? Small: spreadsheet. Medical records, fees, stock expiry, legal deadlines: a real system.
4. Who will own it internally? Any option fails without one named owner.
5. Can you start with one piece? If yes, you can lower the risk of every option.

A composite example

This is an illustration, not a client story. Picture a small chain of three pharmacies. Each runs its own sheet for stock. The owner finds out about shortages when a customer complains, and about expiries when it is too late. The question is not “which ERP is best?” It is “which single problem costs the most?” Probably stock visibility across branches. So the first module is inventory with expiry alerts for all three, the second is purchasing, and the sheet for everything else survives a bit longer. That is a sensible order, whatever software is chosen.

One last thing

Whichever route you take, write down what “done” means before you start, in a sentence or two a non-technical person can check. It is amazing how many projects skip that. You can see how we scope work on how we work, or tell us the problem on WhatsApp and we will say honestly whether you need us at all.

Back to Insights