Hi everyone,
I recently discovered ErpNext and am looking for user experiences and basic guidance from Belgian or Dutch users to evaluate whether it could meet our needs.
I run a small cabinet shop with two employees, specializing in custom furniture and interiors, including kitchens, wardrobes, offices, and retail spaces. Our company was founded three years ago from scratch, and like most manufacturing businesses, we face significant investments in machines, tools, and inventory.
Two years ago, we invested in a powerful CAD software, IMOS, which operates on AutoCAD and an SQL database. This software is complex but highly effective, allowing for extensive data import and export through its SQL capabilities.
Each project is unique, and estimating new jobs can be time-consuming, detailed, and subject to frequent changes throughout the sales process. Currently, we are using Excel for estimations, along with various applications for sending proposals, project planning, and CRM through ClickUp. We also upload our invoices to our accountant’s custom platform and send invoices via Gekko.nl. As a result, we have a collection of apps and data that are not centralized or easily analyzable.
We are looking for an ERP solution to centralize all of our data and processes. I have conducted extensive research on potential solutions, but nothing seems to truly fit our needs or financial capabilities. Some options are too generic (like Monday and ClickUp), while others are excessively complex and costly (such as SAP and NetSuite). Additionally, more specialized cabinet-focused ERPs (like Proteus, Ridder, and ProductionCoach) tend to confine us to a specific reseller. I prefer not to rely on a single party for support, upgrades, or customization.
I hope to ask some questions here as I explore ErpNext in more detail. The fundamental functions and customization capabilities of ErpNext appear to exceed what we currently have. However, I am curious about where customization ends and the need for real coding begins.
Here are a few specific questions I have:
- Can you send proposals that clients can digitally approve with the push of a button?
- Is it possible to set up a specific job costing form (to compare estimated costs vs. actuals vs. finished costs)?
- Will it be possible to utilize PepPol invoicing by 2026?
- Can we integrate with our accounting software, Exact Online?
- How much CPU time should we realistically expect to require?
Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights regarding ErpNext.
Best regards,