Custom or ready-made? There is a third way.
Packaged ERP asks you to change how you work. Custom ERP takes longer to build. A product made for your trade, shaped to your business, sits in between. Here is how they compare.
Three ways to get an ERP.
| Packaged ERP | Custom-built ERP | Trade product, shaped to you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit to your process | You adjust your process to the software. Settings cover the common cases. | Built around the way you already work, including the parts that make you different. | Starts from a product made for your trade, then the differences are built in. |
| Time to start | Quickest, if your process matches what the package expects. | Longest. Delivered in stages so you use real parts early. | Close to a ready product: the core works on day one, changes follow. |
| How you pay | Licence or subscription, often per user, every year. | Mostly upfront for the build, then support. | Product cost plus the changes you ask for, then support. |
| When the business changes | You wait for the vendor, or work around it in spreadsheets. | The system changes with you; that is what it was built for. | Changes are made to your version by the team that built it. |
| Who owns what | You own your data. The software stays the vendor’s. | You own your data. Source code ownership is agreed in the contract. | You own your data. Product code stays with the maker unless agreed otherwise. |
| Biggest risk | Paying for a system people avoid because it does not fit. | A project that grows without a clear scope. | Asking for so many changes that it becomes a custom build. |
Speed matters most.
Your process is close to how most businesses in your trade work, and you want to start soon. A product made for your trade will fit better than a general package.
Your process is your edge.
The way you work is different, and that difference is why customers choose you. Software should protect it, not flatten it.
Five questions to ask any vendor.
- Can you show my own trade’s transactions in the demo, not a generic company?
- Who owns the data and the code, and what happens if we part ways?
- How do you move our existing data, and what is checked before cutover?
- What does a change cost after go-live, and how long does it take?
- Who answers when something breaks at month-end, and how fast?
Questions, answered.
What is the difference between custom and ready-made ERP?
A ready-made (packaged) ERP is a fixed product: you configure it and adapt your process to it. A custom ERP is built around the way your business already works. A third route is a ready product made for your trade and then shaped to your business, which is how most Kreon clients start.
Is custom ERP more expensive?
It usually costs more at the start and less over time, because there are no per-user licence fees and no workarounds to maintain. A packaged ERP costs less to begin with, but licence fees continue every year and grow with your team.
Do I get the source code of a custom system?
At Kreon, yes, if handing over the source code is part of the scope agreed at the start. If it is asked for later, it can be handed over at an extra cost. Your data is always yours either way.
Can I start with a ready product and customise it later?
Yes. Kreon has 76 products made for specific trades, and each can be shaped to the way a business works. Many businesses start with the product and add their own changes once they are using it.
How do I decide?
If your process is close to how most businesses in your trade work and speed matters most, start with a ready product. If the way you work is unusual and that difference is why customers choose you, build custom, or shape a trade product until it fits.
Not sure which route fits?
Tell us how your business runs. We will tell you plainly whether a product, a custom build or a mix makes more sense.