When Is an ERP System Worth It? The Signs from 1,148 Retailer Conversations

How we went about it 

We analyzed 1,148 initial conversations with 622 businesses. They took place between January and August 2026. We didn't count conversations with existing customers. We counted which reasons retailers give for a new ERP. Multiple answers were possible.

Interfaces and accounting come up in almost every ERP conversation. That's why they're missing from the table. They say little about what actually triggers the switch.

1. Your data sits in five spreadsheets and none of them is right 

Retailers most often name Excel as the reason for switching. Many businesses start with a spreadsheet for stock, an invoicing program and a shop. That works as long as one person keeps track of everything.

Then the company grows and more employees join. Every file has its own version.

A managing director from B2B food wholesale puts it like this: "The sources of error are just too extreme. Too many people are working in Excel and transferring data. Then you get version issues on Dropbox. And suddenly you have no idea what's right anymore."

This applies to you if:

• you check stock in a different file than orders

• you copy invoices by hand from orders

• you export CSV files for your tax advisor and rework them

• only one person knows which spreadsheet is current

At Sternglas, these files disappeared after implementation: "Many spreadsheets don't even exist anymore." The team saves 20 hours a week.

2. Your growth depends on retyping 

Many retailers contact us with a plan. A new marketplace is coming up, or a second brand is joining. Their current solution was enough until yesterday. But for the next step, it's not enough anymore.

"We've grown quite a lot over the past year, and before that it was more or less fine to work with Excel and an invoicing program. Now it's getting slow, it's reaching its limits." Managing director, B2B wholesale, around €3 million in revenue

Another retailer sells 4,000 items across five marketplaces and maintains each one individually: "Then I can't keep up at all."

These are the points where the current solution tips over:

• You want to sell on Amazon, Kaufland, Otto or eBay and maintain stock in each channel individually.

• You take over a second brand and need separate numbers.

• You create B2B orders by hand because your shop only supports B2C.

• You ship abroad and calculate tax rates in spreadsheets.

Businesses that end up choosing Xentral almost always name a concrete growth goal. They rarely mention hours saved. They buy an ERP so that the next step becomes possible.

3. Your system is being phased out or can't handle e-invoicing 

Sometimes a date decides: the vendor ends support for your software, or a new obligation arrives that your old system doesn't cover.

For many businesses, e-invoicing is such a date. Since 2025, you've had to be able to receive e-invoices from business customers. From January 1, 2027, you have to send them yourself if your prior-year revenue exceeds €800,000. From 2028, that applies to all B2B businesses.

You should plan backwards. Set when the new system has to be live. Then subtract the time for selection and data migration.

Lieblingsstück was working with Xentral after 18 days and shipped around 800 orders in the first few weeks. PetRhein needed 6 weeks. If you start in December, you still won't have enough buffer for January 1.

4. Your provider raises prices and you can no longer budget 

26 conversations name a price increase explicitly as a reason. For businesses switching to Xentral, it often plays a part anyway. In June 2026, 6 of 25 new customers had just experienced a price change from their previous provider.

What usually causes the frustration is the lack of predictability: "They increased prices tenfold almost overnight. From 100 euros to 1,000 euros a month. You no longer have any basis to budget for that."

A retailer of sleep systems wanted to add two shops. That was only possible on the new plan: "Cost increase of 100%. Well, after negotiations, anyway." On top of that came a revenue share above a certain threshold.

Check your contract for these points:

• Does the price rise with your revenue or with the number of your orders?

• Does every new shop, client or channel cost extra?

• Can the provider adjust prices during the contract term?

• What do add-on modules cost that you'll need in 12 months?

5. One person leaves and nobody knows how the process works 

A team lead described her monthly reporting to us: "Since 2018, I go in every month and write down how much of which product was sold. It's no fun."

If this person drops out, the report is missing. An ERP records processes in the system. New people then work with the same data as everyone else.

This applies to you if:

• there's no description of important processes other than "ask Lisa",

• one person's vacation delays shipping,

• new colleagues need weeks before they can handle orders on their own,

• reports only exist when a particular person builds them by hand.

When an ERP isn't worth it yet 

Not every shop needs an ERP. If you work alone, serve one channel and have few orders a month, an invoicing program with a shop connection is often enough.

Our conversations show a lower limit: below 100 orders a month, many businesses find an ERP too big for their needs.

Plan ahead anyway. If you expect a new channel or significantly more orders in the next 12 months, now is the better time. While day-to-day business is running calmly, implementation is easier.

Calculate what waiting costs you 

Many retailers compare the ERP price with zero. But your current solution costs money too. It just doesn't appear on any invoice.

The owner of a confectionery manufacturer worked it out like this in our conversation: "If I cut the clicks like that, I save 50 percent on my employee."

Here's how to calculate it for your business:

1. For one week, count the hours spent on retyping, reconciling and correcting.

2. Multiply them by your team's hourly rate.

3. Extrapolate that to 52 weeks.

4. Add the cost of errors such as wrong deliveries and overselling.

5. Compare that with the annual ERP cost.

An example: 10 hours a week at €35 comes to €18,200 a year. Errors and missed growth aren't included yet.

The biggest worry is a project that fails 

Many retailers know their solution isn't enough anymore. They still hesitate. Usually they've heard of an implementation that went wrong, or experienced one themselves.

That worry is justified. These rules reduce the risk:

• Start with the core processes. Orders and stock first, special cases follow in phase 2.

• Clean up your master data before migrating. Duplicate items and old customers don't belong in the new system.

• Test with real orders. Run old and new processes in parallel for a short time.

• Set a fixed start date. Without a date, every implementation drags on.

7 questions show whether you should switch now 

Answer each question with yes or no:

1. Do you maintain stock in more than one file or system?

2. Do you copy orders or invoices by hand?

3. Are you planning a new channel, a new brand or B2B in the next 12 months?

4. Has your software price gone up in the last year without you getting more?

5. Is support ending for your system, or is e-invoicing missing?

6. Does an important process depend on a single person?

7. Does your team spend more than 5 hours a week on reconciliation and corrections?

Two or more yes answers: Calculate what your current solution costs you.

One yes answer: Keep an eye on it. With your next growth step, it will get bigger.

No yes answers: Your solution holds up. Check the questions again in 6 months.