# 3 Top-Rated Open Source ERP Software | Capterra > Looking for customizable enterprise resource planning tools? Check out these three top-rated open source ERP software that helps you create and manage business processes. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/open-source-erp-software --- Program & Project ManagementEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP) # 3 Top-Rated Open Source ERP Software Written by: Shephalii Kapoor Shephalii KapoorAuthor Writer Experience I’ve been writing for Capterra since September 2021, providing expert insights to help small businesses find the right software solutions. ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/skapoor/) and edited by: Lindsay Page Lindsay PageEditor Content Editor Experience I have been an editor at Capterra for three years, specializing in editing data-driven research and tech trends reports for small a... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/lindsay-page/) Published June 2, 2022 | Updated on July 17, 2024 8 min read Table of Contents - [1\. ERPNext](#1-erpnext) - [2\. Odoo](#2-odoo) - [3\. SAP S/4HANA Cloud](#3-sap-s4hana-cloud) - [Cost to upgrade from free, open source ERP software](#what-is-the-cost-to-upgrade-from-free-open-source-erp-software-to-paid-one) - [FAQs](#frequently-asked-questions-when-selecting-open-source-erp-software) Running a business can be overwhelming. Juggling inventory, managing finances, and tracking customer interactions can consume a lot of time for entrepreneurs. [Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software](https://www.capterra.com/enterprise-resource-planning-software/) simplifies these processes by integrating them into one central platform.  However, traditional ERP solutions can be expensive and inflexible. Open source ERP software offers a compelling alternative, allowing businesses to customize the software to their specific needs while avoiding hefty licensing fees.  In this article, we’ve listed three top-rated open source ERP software solutions, in alphabetical order, based on verified software reviews. Per our research, all three products are enterprise resource planning tools with common features, such as customer relationship management and inventory management. **What is open source software?** Open source software (OSS) is software with a publicly distributed source code, released under a specific license, often free of charge. IT application/software programmers use the source code to create a particular software solution, modify it, or enhance its functionality. _We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between July 2022 and July 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings._ ## 1\. [ERPNext](https://www.capterra.com/p/164441/ERPNext/) ERPNext is an open source enterprise resource planning software that allows small businesses to record all their business transactions in a single system. The software supports 146 widely used currencies, of which eight are enabled by default to facilitate multi-currency accounting. Transactions including sales invoices, purchase invoices, payment entries, and journal entries can be recorded in any preferred currency. You can also enable other currencies or create additional ones as per your individual business requirements. **Product features of interest****:** - **Payroll management:** Define different salary structures and assign specific salary structures to employees based on their positions. The software also lets you define the payroll period, submit employee tax exemption declarations, and create salary slips for employees. It offers multilingual support to help you manage payroll for a global workforce. - **Customer relationship management:** Manage leads, opportunities, and customers with the CRM module in ERPNext. This feature enables you to create detailed profiles for leads, contacts, and customers, storing information related to names, addresses, and past interactions. You can also capture leads from various sources, manage support interactions, and gain insights via comprehensive CRM reports.  - **Kanban boards:** Visualize and manage workflows across various aspects of your business. The software lets you create, assign, and track tasks through different stages of a process using customizable columns and cards. Each card represents a task, which can be moved across columns denoting various stages of completion—to do, in progress, and done.  **Open source license**: GNU General Public License (GPLv3) **Open source technical support options (Free)**: Online form, Q&A forum, and knowledge base ### Who should consider ERPNext? Small businesses with a global workforce or dealing with international clients can consider ERPNext for their business needs. The software, with support for multiple currencies, including USD, Euro, and GBP, and multiple languages, such as English, French, and German, makes it easier for businesses to cater to a global audience. Users can leverage the software’s abilities to manage invoices, bills, and payments in various currencies, stay updated with current exchange rates, and set up separate accounts for different currencies to have a clear view of finances in each currency. Additionally, they can generate reports in various languages for stakeholders or clients who may prefer information in their native language. #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $50 per month #### Billing cycle Monthly #### Device Compatibilty Pro tip Look for an open source ERP tool that allows you to add new users, integrate additional modules, and handle increasing amounts of data as the business grows, either in terms of size, number of transactions, or complexity of operations. Ensuring scalability can help you prevent the need for costly system replacements in the future. ## 2\. [Odoo](https://www.capterra.com/p/135618/Odoo/) Odoo is a comprehensive suite of business applications that provides various integrated modules to support multiple business processes, including customer relationship management, sales, accounting, inventory, and human resource management. You can use the tool to create custom dashboards to have a personalized view of your business data. These dashboards are distinct from pre-built dashboards as they offer deeper insights with a greater level of customization capabilities. You can create custom dashboards for different business modules within Odoo and sort, organize, and display the data as per your requirements. **Product features of interest****:** - **Human resource management:** Manage the entire employee lifecycle—from recruitment to employee onboarding, performance appraisals, leave management, and payroll processing. The feature also facilitates monitoring employee work hours and managing leave requests.  - **Business process automation:** Leverage artificial intelligence to automate various business processes, including sales lead scoring and email classification. Odoo’s AI capabilities can analyze vast amounts of data to identify trends and patterns, providing actionable insights for better decision-making across different departments.  - **Invoice digitalization:** Convert physical invoices into digital format, facilitating easier management and processing. This feature uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to automatically extract key information, such as vendor details and invoice amounts from scanned invoices. The extracted data is then used to create digital invoices, reducing manual data entry and errors.  **Open source license**: GNU Lesser General Public License version 3 (LGPLv3) **Open source technical support options (Free)**: Knowledge base and community forum. ### Who should consider Odoo? Small businesses looking for a scalable system with basic AI capabilities can opt for Odoo. They can initially use the software to start with essential modules and add functionalities as their business grows. The software uses artificial intelligence to automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry, form processing, and email classification. It also helps users analyze historical data and market trends to generate forecasts, allowing for better resource planning and allocation. Users can leverage the software’s AI capabilities to recommend relevant products, answer customer questions, and analyze customer behavior. #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $24.90 per user, per month #### Billing cycle Annual #### Device Compatibilty ## 3\. [SAP S/4HANA Cloud](https://www.capterra.com/p/152293/SAP-S-4HANA/) SAP S/4HANA Cloud is an ERP system that automates asset management, finance management, sales, manufacturing, supply chain management, and procurement processes. The software allows the creation of intelligent robotic process automation (RPA) bots that mimic human actions and leverage built-in intelligence to perform end-to-end business processes without human intervention. These bots can handle more complex tasks, such as processing unstructured data and categorizing customer inquiries based on sentiment analysis, freeing up employees from time-consuming and error-prone tasks. **Product features of interest****:** - **Financial management:** Obtain a real-time view of your finances and manage tasks, such as accounts payable/receivable, cash flow management, and financial reporting. The software offers comprehensive capabilities for managing general ledger, asset accounting, and financial planning and analysis. It leverages real-time data processing to deliver up-to-the-minute financial insights. - **Inventory management:** Track materials across your supply chain—from procurement to warehousing. The system offers real-time insights into inventory levels, allowing for data-driven decisions on ordering, reducing stockouts, and minimizing storage costs.  - **Backup and disaster recovery:** Automatically backup your important data and system configurations to safeguard against system disruptions. The feature also enables data restoration and system recovery, minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity.  **Open source license**: SAP S/4HANA’s open source code can be downloaded and customized per your needs. Contact vendor for more open source licensing information. **Open source technical support options (Free)**: Knowledge base and Q&A forum ### Who should consider SAP S/4HANA Cloud? SAP S/4HANA Cloud can be a viable option for businesses prioritizing task and process automation in an ERP system. With intelligent robotic process automation in place, users can automate a wider range of tasks, including those requiring decision-making or unstructured data. It leverages machine learning algorithms to continuously improve accuracy, ensuring consistent process execution within SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP RPA can handle process steps, including data entry and report generation, multiple times, which helps boost operational efficiency across businesses with high-volume transactions. Best functionality #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade Available upon request from the vendor #### Device Compatibilty Pro tip Shortlist an open source ERP platform with an open application programming interface (API) that allows easy integration with other tools and existing systems. This flexibility, along with community-built integrations can help you create more efficient and simplified workflows. ## What is the cost to upgrade from free, open source ERP software to paid one? If you wish to customize ERP platform, you can use the existing source code to customize the open source platform and add features specific to your ERP business needs. However, if you want to leverage the features offered by the vendor, you always have the option to switch to a paid version of the tool. Most paid plans of ERP software solutions range between $8 to $70 per user, per month, depending on various factors—features, deployment options, number of users, and customization options. An open source ERP platform may include the following subscription plans: - **Free trial**: No-cost trial plans, starting from 7 days, gives access to either all or limited features of the software. This is ideal for those who want to try the tool before investing in it. - **Free version**: Free software plans offer basic features and limited premium feature access, ideal for small business owners with a limited budget. - **Entry-level**: Starts at $8 per user, per month and offers limited features; good option for small business owners with basic ERP needs, such as financial transaction management, inventory management, and payroll handling. - **Mid-tier**: Mid-range pricing for the ERP platform ranges from $12 to $24.90 per user, per month and offers advanced features, such as supply chain management, financial forecasting, real-time analytics, and multi-currency support. This plan can be suitable for those who have outgrown basic ERP needs and require only some advanced features. - **High-end**: Advanced plans costing over $70 per user, per month offer a range of advanced capabilities, such as priority support, mobile accessibility, and advanced reporting. These plans are appropriate for large organizations. Hidden costs associated with open source ERP software While open-source ERP software boasts the advantage of no licensing fees, there are some hidden costs that need to be considered. - **Implementation and customization costs**: Open-source ERP software requires in-house experts or external consultants to set it up and tailor it to specific business needs. This can be expensive, especially for complex configurations. - **Security:** With open source code readily available, the software might be more vulnerable to security breaches. You'll need to invest in additional security measures to mitigate these risks, which will result in additional charges. - **Maintenance and support expenses**: Open source software relies on the community for bug fixes and updates. While some communities are active, you might need to hire developers for dedicated support or troubleshooting, especially if facing critical issues. ## Frequently asked questions when selecting open source ERP software Here are some questions to ask ERP software providers before making a final purchase: Does the software offer budgeting and forecasting features? Budgeting and forecasting are important features to consider when evaluating open source ERP software. These enable businesses to plan their finances effectively, predict future financial performance, and make informed decisions. The best open source ERP platforms allow users to create different types of budgets, such as operational, capital, and project-based budgets for various periods (monthly, quarterly, and annually). Moreover, they utilize historical financial data, including sales trends and market conditions, to predict future expenses, trends, and outcomes. What are the types of reports generated by the tool? Open source ERP tools generate a wide variety of reports, including financial statements, sales, inventory, and supply chain reports to provide insights into different aspects of a business. Understanding these can help you ensure that your open source tool provides detailed and accurate data to enable informed decision-making. In addition to generating custom reports, the software should also offer the ability to customize these reports as per the specific requirements of the business. What are the available data security features? When selecting the best open source ERP software, understanding the available security features is important to protect sensitive business information. An open source ERP tool may offer several features, such as role-based access control, user authentication, data encryption, audit trails, data backup, and regular updates to protect financial, customer, and intellectual data. Understanding these can help you ensure compliance and protect your business from potential threats. * * * Looking for Enterprise Resource Planning software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Enterprise Resource Planning software](https://www.capterra.com/enterprise-resource-planning-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Authors [### Shephalii Kapoor](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/skapoor/) Shephalii Kapoor is a writer at Capterra. She provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 Capterra user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Capterra software advisors and buyers. [### Lindsay Page](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/lindsay-page/) Lindsay Page has been an editor at Capterra for three years. She specializes in editing data-driven research and tech trends reports for small and midsize businesses. She has more than a decade of experience writing and editing for a variety of industries, with expertise in cybersecurity, corporate and securities regulation, and finance. She has been a writer, editor, senior editor, and associate director. ### RELATED READING - [How AI Scheduling Software Helps Restaurants Reduce Overtime and Boost Staff Satisfaction](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-employee-scheduling-software-for-restaurants/) - [Why Use Accounting Software? 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Real Buyer Budget Data](https://www.capterra.com/resources/accounting-software-cost/) - [What’s Really Slowing Your Team? 5 Project Management Challenges to Fix](https://www.capterra.com/resources/project-management-challenges-faced-by-project-teams/) - [Accounting Software by Industry: What to Look for Based on Your Business Type](https://www.capterra.com/resources/accounting-software-by-industry/) To be considered for this list, products have to: - Have at least 20 unique product reviews published on Capterra within the past two years, with an average rating of 4.0 or higher. We selected the three products with the highest ratings to feature in this article. - Offer an open source, stand-alone version of the software with the source code freely available that can be modified and redistributed. - Meet our enterprise resource planning software market definition: “Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software integrates all of an organization's departments and functions into a single system. ERP software systems handle processes including manufacturing, logistics, distribution, inventory, shipping, invoicing, and accounting. ERP applications can also control business-side functions including sales, billing, and human resources management.” The “best functionality” tool is identified based on the highest user ratings for functionality that a vendor received based on user reviews as of July 3, 2024. **Editorial independence:** We select and rank products based on an objective methodology developed by our research team. While some vendors may pay us when they receive web traffic or leads, this has no influence on our methodology. Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from [Capterra’s ERP software directory](https://www.capterra.com/enterprise-resource-planning-software/). The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in the Capterra directory that offer them. Only products with publicly available pricing information, as of July 3, 2024, were considered for pricing calculation. Product research for this article was contributed by [Baljeet Kaur](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/bkaur/).