No need to pay, I can send a collection of guides that you can follow step by step from securing your server to install to backup.
But you should know that in most countries and cases using the services provided is better and cheaper in the end. especially if you are not very tech savvy (even if you are in a lot of cases).
but if you want :
1- Get a VPS I recommend using Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS OS.
2- secure your server
3- Buy a domain name
3- install ERP next
recommended 3-1 create a separate gmail address for your business
recommended 3-2 get an Zoho mail for your domain
4- secure with ssl here you have 2 options
4-1 lets encrypt
4-2 I personally use cloudflare both for DNS management and end to end encryption
5- setup your google account
6- Install a VB version or another instant on a PC to use and test with the back up files
7- Recommended use two factor authentication
8- Setup slack for auto notifs
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