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From analysis to aftercare
Installing the software is quick. The time goes into deciding how you work, migrating your data, testing with real files and training your people. What an ERP is, is explained under ERP, and the sales side of it under CRM.
| Phase | What happens | Share of the time | What slows it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis | How you work today and what must stay | A fifth | Nobody who decides |
| Configure or build | Set up modules, build custom parts | A third | Wishes that keep growing |
| Migrate data | Customers, items, open balances, history | A fifth | Duplicate and incomplete records |
| Test and train | With real files and your own people | A fifth | Testing without the people who use it |
| Live and aftercare | Adjust in the first months | The rest | No time planned after go-live |
Analysis is the phase most often cut short, and it decides how much you redo later. Winning two weeks there often costs two months in the build.
Duration by number of users
Duration per company sizeRules of thumb in months, from start to go-live
- 1 to 10 users1 to 3
- 10 to 50 users3 to 6
- 50 to 200 users6 to 12
- Large projects, measuredAverages 2013 to 201614 to 21
Large projects overrun
The rules of thumb for small businesses come from practice. For larger projects there are measurements: in Panorama Consulting's 2017 ERP report, projects between 2013 and 2016 took 14.3 to 21.1 months on average, and often ran longer than planned. If you get a three-month plan for two hundred people, ask where the rest of the time went.
Your own people's hours
Those hours come on top of normal work, and that is exactly where a timeline overruns most. Put them in the calendar before the project starts, and choose a quiet period for the final weeks: not your busiest season, not the week of the year-end close. What the package costs over three years is in Odoo pricing and is Odoo free; whether Odoo fits, in Odoo or custom software and Odoo alternatives.
Live per module instead of all at once
A package usually switches over in one go, with everything you use. A custom system can go live per module: first planning, then stock, then invoicing. Your team works with the first part after a few weeks, while the next is built. Reusing a working platform for your sector saves even more time. How that works is in custom ERP development and replace Excel with software; who Peppol applies to, in is Peppol mandatory in Belgium. What your own system costs is in custom software development cost.
Keeping the timeline realistic
- An internal project lead with time and a mandate, not someone doing it on the side.
- Clean your data before the migration, not after.
- Test with real files and the people who work with it daily.
- A date on which the old system stops.
- Time set aside for the first three months after go-live.
Overruns, timing and the old system
Why do ERP projects overrun so often?
Because wishes grow during the project, data turns out messier than thought, and the people who decide also have their normal work.
Can an ERP implementation take a month?
For a small business with standard processes and clean data, yes. From ten users with their own ways of working, rarely.
When is the best time to go live?
In a quiet month, ideally at the start of a financial year or quarter, so your accounts have a fixed starting point.
Should I keep my old system running next to the new one?
A few weeks side by side gives a safety net; longer means double work.