Picking an ERP is the most expensive technical decision your company will make in the next five years. Not because of the monthly price — which always looks reasonable — but because once you put your data, processes, and team inside a system, getting them out costs six times what getting in did.
Most SMBs pick their first ERP by gut: a recommendation, a polished demo, a well-timed discount. Three years later they realize they're locked into a vendor that doubled in price, that they're paying for a module nobody uses, and that exporting their data requires hiring the same consultant who sold them the implementation.
These are the 7 questions your next ERP has to answer before you sign. If you hesitate on any one of them, walk away.
1. Is your data actually yours?
Ask the salesperson literally: "If I decide to leave tomorrow, how long does it take my team to download EVERYTHING — invoices, customers, accounting entries, file attachments — in a format another system can read?"
The answer you want: "Right now. Full export to CSV/JSON from the Data section." If the answer includes phrases like "we'll have to coordinate," "it's a process," or "depends on your plan," your data isn't yours. It's the vendor's.
2. Who owns the installation — you or the vendor?
There are two models: SaaS (the ERP runs on the vendor's servers) and self-hosted (it runs on a server you control — yours or your hosting provider's).
Both are valid. The problem is when it's SaaS and the data can't be exported and the API is closed. At that point you're not buying software — you're renting a hostage situation for your data.
3. Modular or all-in-one?
Almost every ERP sells you the full bundle. You'll use 4 of the 12 modules you're paying for. The other 8 are the vendor's catalog you're financing.
A well-designed modular ERP lets you activate and pay only for what you use, and add modules as you grow. It doesn't force you to buy payroll if your team is 4 people, or inventory if you sell services.
Practical tip If you're paying for modules you never use, you're financing the vendor's catalog, not your operation. Look at your invoice: any module unopened in 6 months is a sign the pricing model doesn't match your real usage.
4. Open, documented API?
Sooner or later you'll want to connect the ERP to something: your e-commerce, your CRM, a marketing tool, an internal process only you understand.
If the API exists but is closed ("contact us to talk"), it's a marketing API, not a technical one. A real API has public docs, examples, a sandbox, and does NOT charge per request. If they try to charge you for using THEIR API to access YOUR data, you know exactly how much they respect you.
5. How much does growing cost?
Ask the vendor to show you pricing under 3 scenarios:
- Today (your current team, your current customers)
- In 2 years (assume 50% more users, 2× revenue, +1 multi-tenant company)
- In 5 years (3× users, 5× revenue, 3 companies)
If the price scales linearly with growth, fine. If it scales exponentially (each new user costs more than the previous one, each additional company doubles the plan), it's an upsell trap.
The underlying idea A good ERP scales linearly with your business; a bad one scales exponentially with your invoice.
6. Real support in your language and time zone?
"24/7 support" on the vendor's website means very little. Test BEFORE signing: send an inquiry in your language on a Tuesday at 4 PM, another on a Sunday night.
- Do they respond within 4 business hours?
- Does a person respond, or a generic script?
- Do they solve the problem, or tell you "check with your implementer"?
If you plan to operate from LATAM, Spain, or Brazil, English-only support at 3 AM won't help you. The discount isn't worth it.
7. Who's going to be serving your company in 3 years?
The ERP you pick today has to last at least 3 years to amortize the implementation cost. Ask:
- Is the vendor 5+ years old, or a startup that could disappear?
- How many active customers do they have in your sector?
- Is the company profitable or living off funding rounds?
- If a larger company acquires them, what happens to your contract?
A brilliant startup can offer you the best product on the market and vanish in 18 months when the money runs out. You're left scrambling to migrate data on a deadline.
So what now?
There's no perfect ERP. There are honest ERPs — the ones that let you leave the day you want, charge you for what you actually use, and respond when you have a problem.
Before signing any proposal, read the contract with these 7 questions in hand. If the salesperson gets uncomfortable with any of them, that's your answer.
IntegraDox is built specifically so that all 7 answers are "yes, no asterisks": data exportable in one click, your installation or ours, modular, open API, linear pricing, support in Spanish and Portuguese, and a team that replies directly — no lost tickets.