How to Choose an ERP System
Set your criteria before seeing a demo so you can judge each system against your needs. This is how to choose an ERP system using the approach we take with clients: understand your processes, assess vendors and build a business case your board can examine and challenge.
Why ERP selections go wrong
Many failed ERP projects were lost during selection, not delivery. Panorama’s 2026 ERP Report found more than a quarter of projects went over budget, most often because the chosen system didn’t fit and extra technology had to be added – results track preparation, not software.
ERP selection often starts in the wrong place. A vendor gives an impressive demo, becomes the favourite, and the criteria are written afterwards to justify the choice. Advisers may also earn commission on the licence they recommend. By the time you sign, the sales pitch may have had more influence than the system’s fit. Start by agreeing what the business needs and what each vendor must demonstrate.
ERP selection criteria that separate vendors
- Fit against the processes that make you moneyPick your ten highest-value processes and score each vendor on how they handle them natively. Ignore the other four hundred features.
- Industry depth, proven not claimedEvery vendor claims your sector. Ask for the specific functionality – lot traceability, CIS deductions, revenue recognition – and see it working.
- Five-year cost, not year-one priceSubscription growth at renewal, user-count creep, module add-ons and implementation. Our cost and pricing guide shows the anatomy for NetSuite.
- The partner market around the productYou’re choosing an ecosystem of implementers, not just software. A strong product with a thin partner market leaves you dependent on whoever sold it.
- Extensibility without a rebuildCustom fields, workflow, scripting, APIs. The system must absorb the requirements you haven’t thought of yet without version-lock.
- Exit terms and data ownershipHow your data comes out matters as much as how it goes in. Test the export story before signature, while you still have leverage.
The ERP selection process, step by step
Document the processes that matter – the ten that make or cost you the most money, with volumes and pain points. This becomes the demo script and the implementation scope.
Set criteria and weightings in writing – before any vendor contact, so the favourite can’t bend the scorecard later.
Longlist to shortlist of three at most – more than three deep evaluations and the team stops evaluating properly.
Scripted demos on your scenarios – vendors demo their strengths; make them demo your processes instead. For NetSuite, an independent demo shows the pitfalls the sales call leaves out.
References you choose, not references supplied – a comparable business, on the phone, without the vendor listening. Our case studies page explains how we run these.
Negotiate before signature – pricing leverage peaks the day before you sign and rarely returns. Walk in with the pricing anatomy already understood.
Building the ERP business case
A board-grade ERP business case counts both sides in full.
Costs: subscription, implementation (commonly rivalling the first year’s subscription), and the internal time your own team will spend – the line most cases omit.
Benefits: stated conservatively, tied to processes you documented in step one, with an owner against each number. Close days saved, stock accuracy, DSO, audit effort.
The strongest business cases also price doing nothing: the cost of the spreadsheet layer, the reconciliation time, the decisions made late on numbers nobody trusts. If that line is small, the sensible conclusion may be that you don’t need an ERP yet – a conclusion that builds more board trust than any projection.
Choosing an ERP?
Get an independent view before you commit to a vendor. We don’t resell licences. It’s free, it takes 30 minutes and there’s no sales pitch.
Where selections come unstuck
- !The demo trap. A polished demo of a perfect account proves the demo team is good. Score systems only against your scripted scenarios.
- !The reseller conflict. Advice from a firm earning licence commission is a sales channel, not a selection partner. Ask every adviser how they are paid.
- !Criteria drift. If the scorecard changes after a demo, the demo is choosing. Weightings set in step two only change with a written reason.
- !Implementation capacity ignored. The software is half the decision. Who implements it, and whether your own team has the hours, decides the other half – our implementation checklist shows what the project actually demands.
Where NetSuite fits – and where it doesn’t
We implement NetSuite, so weigh this accordingly. It’s a strong fit for UK mid-market businesses in product, services and multi-entity sectors that have outgrown accounting software. It’s usually the wrong answer for very small businesses happy in Xero, and for niche operations whose entire value sits in one specialist process a vertical tool already nails. If NetSuite makes your shortlist, test it like every other candidate – an independent demo exists precisely so the sales call isn’t your only evidence.
How to choose an ERP system: FAQs
What are the main ERP selection criteria?
How long does ERP selection take?
How do we build the ERP business case?
Should we pay for independent help with selection?
Last reviewed: 25 September 2026 · Written by the SuiteGeneration team
SuiteGeneration is an independent, senior-led NetSuite consultancy. Every project is designed and delivered by consultants at or close to solution-architect level. We don’t resell licences or carry partner targets. Our advice is ours, whether you’re implementing NetSuite, rescuing a stalled project or fixing a system that never delivered.
