Why 73% of ERP Purchases Disappoint
Gartner reports that 73% of companies are dissatisfied with their ERP implementation within the first 2 years. Not because ERP is bad — because the selection process is broken.
Vendors show you the best demo. Consultants sell you the biggest scope. And nobody tells you what the total cost of ownership actually looks like after 3 years.
The expensive truth: The average SMB spends €50,000–€150,000 on their first ERP (including implementation, customization, and training). And 60–70% of big-bang implementations fail or significantly exceed budget.
The 7-Point ERP Evaluation Framework
1. Total Cost of Ownership (Not Just License Price)
The license price is 20–30% of total cost. The rest is hidden:
| Cost Component | Traditional ERP | Modern Cloud ERP | NonnoTech |
|---|---|---|---|
| License/subscription | €500–€5,000/mo | €200–€2,000/mo | €99/mo flat |
| Implementation | €20,000–€100,000 | €5,000–€30,000 | €0 (self-service) |
| Customization | €10,000–€50,000 | €2,000–€15,000 | Included |
| Training | €5,000–€15,000 | €1,000–€5,000 | Included |
| Annual maintenance | 15–22% of license | Included | Included |
| 3-year total | €80,000–€250,000 | €20,000–€80,000 | €3,564 |
Ask the vendor: "Give me a written 3-year total cost of ownership including all fees." If they can't — or won't — that tells you everything.
2. Implementation Timeline and Methodology
| Approach | Timeline | Risk | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big-bang (everything at once) | 6–18 months | Very high | ~35% |
| Phased (planned waves) | 3–12 months | Medium | ~65% |
| Wave (1 module at a time) | 2 weeks per module | Low | ~90% |
Ask the vendor: "Can I go live with just one module in 2 weeks?" If the answer is no, the system wasn't designed for your reality.
3. Offline Capability
If you have retail locations, warehouses, or field operations — internet reliability is not guaranteed. Your ERP (especially POS and inventory) must work offline.
Ask: "What happens when internet goes down?" The right answer: "Everything continues normally."
4. Fiscal Compliance
If you operate in the EU, Balkans, DACH region, or anywhere with fiscal regulations — compliance isn't optional.
Ask: "Are fiscal receipts generated locally on the device? Do you support [your country's] fiscal regulations? Is compliance automatic or does it require configuration?"
5. Data Ownership and Portability
Ask: "If I cancel, can I export all my data?" and "In what format?" and "How long do you retain my data after cancellation?"
If the answer involves "proprietary format" or "data extraction fee" — your vendor is holding your data hostage.
6. Integration Architecture
Ask: "Do you have an open API? What format? REST? Can I connect to my bank, my e-commerce platform, my accounting software?"
Modern ERPs expose everything via API. Legacy systems require custom connectors that cost €5,000–€15,000 each.
7. Vendor Stability and Roadmap
Ask: "How many active customers do you have? What's your product roadmap for the next 12 months? How often do you release updates?"
A vendor with no roadmap has no future. A vendor that can't tell you their customer count is too small to trust.
Red Flags to Walk Away From
🚩 Per-user pricing — This punishes growth. At €50/user/month, a team of 30 costs €18,000/year. A flat rate is always more predictable.
🚩 "Implementation partner required" — This means the product can't be configured without consultants. Budget €20,000–€50,000 on top of license.
🚩 No free trial — If the vendor needs a sales call before you can try the product, they're hiding something.
🚩 Demo-only pricing — "Let's discuss pricing on a call" means the price depends on how much they think you'll pay.
🚩 Single-tenant "cloud" — Not a real SaaS. Means slower updates, more downtime, and higher cost.
The Honest Comparison
| Criteria | SAP Business One | Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Odoo | NonnoTech |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (20 users) | €3,000+ | €2,000+ | €600+ | €99 |
| Implementation time | 6–12 months | 4–8 months | 2–4 months | 2 weeks |
| Offline capability | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| EU fiscal compliance | Partial | Partial | Add-on | Built-in |
| Free trial | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ (limited) | ✅ Full |
| Per-user pricing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ Flat rate |
NonnoTech: The ERP That SMBs Actually Need
We built NonnoTech because we were tired of seeing small and medium businesses forced to choose between overpriced enterprise systems and underpowered budget tools.
What you get for €99/month:
- ✅ All modules: Finance, HR, Inventory, POS, Projects, DMS, Payroll, Analytics
- ✅ Unlimited users — no per-seat charges
- ✅ Wave implementation — go live in 2 weeks
- ✅ Offline-first architecture
- ✅ EU/DACH/Balkan fiscal compliance
- ✅ Open API for integrations
- ✅ Full data export, anytime
No implementation fees. No consultants required. No surprises.
Try it yourself. Start free trial → | Book a demo →