Three- and five-year total cost of ownership sums, payback on efficiency savings, quote comparison and the checklists that keep an ERP selection on track.
The cheapest subscription is often not the cheapest system. What matters is the total cost of ownership (TCO) over the three to five years you will run the software: subscriptions or licences, implementation, migration, training, integrations, support, internal staff time and the cost of switching out at the end. These guides do that arithmetic step by step for typical Indian MSMEs.
Start with the 3–5-year ERP TCO guide, which links to every guide in this section. You will find worked examples for a small manufacturer and for a distributor or services firm, a payback method for efficiency savings, a requirements checklist, a way to normalise vendor quotes, realistic implementation timelines and what a payroll module must handle for EPF, ESI and professional tax.
Plug your own numbers into the ERP TCO estimator, the ERP payback calculator and the ERP selection checklist. Every figure in the examples is illustrative and should be replaced with written quotes from vendors and partners.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
Write a short ERP request for proposal, normalise vendor quotes to the same users, modules and years, and score price against fit. Illustrative example.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
Two illustrative three-year ERP cost comparisons: a multi-state distributor with e-way bills, and a 40-person services firm choosing between USD and rupee plans.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
An illustrative five-year cost comparison for an Indian component manufacturer: desktop accounting plus spreadsheets, cloud ERP and partner-hosted open-source ERP.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
How long ERP implementation takes for Indian MSMEs, phase by phase, what stretches timelines, and how to time go-live around GST returns and financial year-end.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
What an ERP payroll module must calculate for EPF, ESI, professional tax and TDS on salary, how it is priced, a worked contribution example and labour code checks.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
How to estimate measurable ERP savings in staff time, inventory, write-offs and compliance work, calculate payback and ROI, and avoid inflated business cases.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
A practical ERP requirements and demo checklist for Indian MSMEs covering processes, GST, Companies Act, payroll, data, integrations, pricing and support.
TCO Worked Examples and Selection Checklists
Build a 3–5-year ERP TCO in rupees with every cost line, renewal uplifts, staff time and exit costs, and compare offers on the same basis. Illustrative example.
