Most Indian MSMEs start with accounting software and spreadsheets. As orders, staff and branches grow, the spreadsheets break — and the question becomes: buy an ERP, or build one?
When off-the-shelf is the right answer
- Your process is standard for your industry — buy, sell, stock, invoice.
- You need to start this month, not this quarter.
- Your team can adapt to the software's way of working.
- The per-user cost stays reasonable as you grow.
When a custom ERP pays for itself
- Your process is your advantage — special pricing, job work, made-to-order production, or a way of serving customers competitors can't copy.
- You pay for several tools that don't talk to each other, and staff re-type data between them.
- Per-user licence fees keep growing with every new employee or branch.
- Off-the-shelf customisation quotes are approaching the cost of building.
The hybrid most growing MSMEs choose
Keep accounting in a proven package like Tally, and build a custom operations system around it — orders, production, dispatch, field work, dashboards — that exports vouchers to accounts. You get software that fits your operations without rebuilding accounting and statutory reporting.
Questions to ask before you decide
- Which three tasks waste the most time today? Would off-the-shelf software fix them as-is?
- What will the licences cost in three years, at your expected headcount?
- What does customising the package cost, and who maintains those customisations after upgrades?
- Who owns the data, and can you export all of it?
What a custom ERP project looks like
A sensible custom ERP launches module by module: often sales and stock first, then purchase, production and dashboards. Each module goes live in weeks, not after a year-long "big bang". Typical budgets for small and mid-sized businesses in India range from ₹5 lakh to ₹20 lakh for 3–6 departments.
We build lean ERPs and CRMs — and run a 40+ module ERP of our own for schools. See ERP development at Infovion.
