ERP software that matches your processes - across departmental boundaries too
An ERP system is meant to carry the path from quote to invoice all the way through. In practice that path breaks at the handovers: the order is entered again from the quote, the warehouse hears about it too late, accounting retypes the line items. Attek Solutions builds ERP systems in which a case stays the same case from beginning to end — as a monthly rental, with no upfront investment, from €500 per month.
An ERP is a CRM that keeps running
A CRM ends when the order comes in. An ERP takes over at that point and carries the case onwards — through procurement, warehousing, production or service delivery, up to the invoice and the final costing.
That is why an ERP faces the same demands on its data model as a CRM: anyone who cannot model a party holding several roles, or several contract relationships running in parallel, will run into a problem by the time it comes to billing at the latest.
Why off-the-shelf systems fail on customer structures: custom CRM systems →
What an ERP has to do on top of that, and where off-the-shelf systems regularly break, is the handover between departments.
The break happens at the handovers
Within a single department, off-the-shelf systems usually work well. Sales gets along with its module, and so does the warehouse. The friction arises in between.
THE CASE
Quote
Sales
Entered again
Line items are keyed in a second time, and discrepancies only surface late
Order
Order processing
Date unknown
The promised date is known only to whoever was in the conversation
Delivery
Warehouse, production
Change doesn't carry
Whether the correction arrives depends on someone remembering it
Invoice
Accounting
Reconstruction
What the order actually cost is pieced together afterwards
Final costing
Management
THE RESULT
Custom-built: the same case from beginning to end — the four handovers disappear
Every single break can be bridged with care. Taken together, they produce an organisation in which experienced staff are irreplaceable, because only they know where to look.
Writing quotes and following up automatically
Following up is the task that is left undone most often — and at the same time the one with the most direct effect on revenue.
Quotes are built from data you already hold
Customer, terms, articles, price tiers and payment terms are already in the system. The quote is assembled, not written from scratch, and automatically carries the right layout and the right mandatory details.
Follow-up runs by your rules
Anyone who has not responded after seven days receives a reminder. Anyone who has not responded after fourteen days lands on the list of the responsible member of staff. You decide from which order value a phone call is made instead — and which customers are exempt from automated messages.
The quote becomes the order by confirmation
No second data entry, no discrepancy between quote and order confirmation. What the customer accepted is what is built, delivered and invoiced.
You can see what happens to your quotes
Accepted, rejected, unanswered — per member of staff, per customer group, per value band. The question “How many quotes are open and how much volume is in them?” becomes answerable without anyone maintaining a list.
One case, not a data transfer
The difference between a well-built and a badly built ERP rarely lies in its features. It lies in whether a case stays the same case or is created anew at every stage.
When quote, order, delivery note and invoice all sit on the same case, a number of things follow by themselves:
- A change takes effect everywhere it is relevant
- The status of an order can be read off at any time, without asking anyone
- The final costing is a report, not a reconstruction
- Who changed what and when remains traceable — which is also a GoBD requirement
- Reporting across departmental boundaries works, because the data is connected rather than merely sitting side by side
That is precisely what off-the-shelf systems fail to deliver wherever your processes depart from the sequence they assume. For most businesses, though, those departures are the reason they are successful.
Reporting that works across departments
Questions that cannot be answered in separate systems, because the answer sits in several departments at once:
- Which customers order frequently but are unprofitable once the final costing is done?
- Which member of staff writes many quotes and closes few?
- How long does it actually take from enquiry to delivery — and where is the waiting time?
- Which orders run over the calculated time, and why?
Reports like these are not a reporting feature, they are a consequence of the data model. What is not recorded as connected data cannot be analysed as connected data afterwards.
Existing systems don't have to go
Replacing an ERP in full is a large, risky undertaking — and rarely necessary.
The more common route is to replace the area that creates the most friction and to connect the remaining systems. Accounting stays where it is. So does inventory management, if it does its job. What is newly built is the continuous case on top.
That is productive sooner, cheaper, and manageable when something goes wrong.
How it works
- 01Intro call, 30 minutes. You describe your problem. We tell you honestly whether custom software pays off for you or whether off-the-shelf software is the better choice.
- 02Personal demo. Instead of slides you get software: we take a problem you described in the intro call and show it to you as a working application. That way you judge from your own case whether the effort is worth it, before you sign anything.
- 03Requirements workshop. We go through your workflows until we have understood them completely. Free of charge.
- 04Signing the contract. After the requirements workshop you receive a fixed monthly price for your requirements, and we sign the contracts.
- 05First productive version after one to two months. This is when you start paying — not before.
- 06Operations and continued development. Your workflows now run automatically and your team gains time for the business. We take care of operations, maintenance and support.
The process in detail — including what you contribute yourself →
The alternatives compared
| Option | Off-the-shelf ERP weclapp, Xentral, Odoo | ERP implementation project SAP, Dynamics | Spreadsheets between systems | Attek CSaaS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard flow from quote to invoice | good | good | manual | built in |
| Processes outside the assumed sequence | limited | with effort | manual | built in |
| Automated follow-up by your own rules | limited | add-on module | no | built in |
| Handover without a second data entry | depends on the module | yes | no | built in |
| Reporting across departmental boundaries | limited | yes | no | built in |
| Integration with existing systems | standard connectors | depends on the project | manual | part of the solution |
| Upfront investment | licence, implementation plus consultancy costs | often five to six figures plus consultancy costs | none | €0 |
| Time to productive use | weeks to months | 6–18 months | — | 1–2 months |
| Running costs | licence per user | licence plus maintenance | working time | €1,000–1,500+/month |
When an off-the-shelf ERP is the better choice
An off-the-shelf ERP is the better choice when the budget is small and your processes can be modelled in the sequence it assumes — quote, order, delivery, invoice, with no special cases that regularly fall outside it. In that situation it is cheaper, faster to implement and more mature than anything newly built.
The calculation tips as soon as the off-the-shelf system has to be adapted to your special cases. Adaptations there run through consultancy, and in the SAP world daily rates regularly sit at €1,500 and above. What is a requirement in your own system becomes a customising project in an off-the-shelf system — in total often more expensive than the custom-built system.
The case is similar if you already use specialist software that no ERP brings with it: your own warehouse management, an industry solution for your production. It is then more sustainable to build the continuous case around that software and connect it, rather than placing an off-the-shelf ERP alongside it and aligning both sides with consultancy effort.
The same applies to key figures: what you analyse in your own system sits in data that is connected anyway — in an off-the-shelf ERP the same figure is an add-on module or an export route. In short: off the shelf, as long as the budget is small and your processes follow the standard. Talk to us as soon as you want to scale, need to reduce staff or licence costs, or want new business to come out of your data — and at the latest when your staff regularly have to leave the intended path in order to get their work done. Our price depends on the scope of functionality and does not rise with the number of users: from €500 per month, typically €1,000–1,500.
Frequently asked questions
Who builds custom ERP software for mid-sized companies?
Attek Solutions GmbH in Berlin builds custom ERP systems and provides them on a rental basis — with no upfront investment, with operations and continued development included in the monthly price. In most cases alongside existing systems, more rarely as a full replacement.
What does a custom ERP system cost?
At Attek Solutions between €1,000 and €1,500 per month, with a lower limit of €500. That includes development, hosting, operations, maintenance and support. No setup fee, no upfront investment, no hourly rates. First productive version after one to two months.
What is the difference between CRM and ERP?
A CRM manages the relationship with the customer up to the point the order comes in. An ERP carries the case onwards from there — through procurement, warehousing, service delivery, invoicing and final costing. In a custom-built system the separation is artificial anyway: it is the same case, simply thought through further.
Can the system follow up on quotes automatically?
Yes, by rules you define. For example a reminder after seven days, followed by an entry on the list of the responsible member of staff. You decide from which order value someone calls personally instead, and which customers are exempt.
Do we have to replace our existing ERP?
In most cases, no. The usual approach is to replace the area that creates the most friction and to connect the remaining systems. A full replacement is a large undertaking and rarely necessary.
How long does an ERP implementation take with you?
One to two months to the first productive version. That version deliberately covers the core process; further areas follow based on actual use. Classic ERP implementation projects take considerably longer, because the full scope has to be settled before the system goes live.
Can data be migrated from the old system?
Yes. Master data, open cases and history are migrated as far as they can be exported. Data migration is part of the project.
Is a custom-built ERP GoBD-compliant?
Traceability of changes, immutability of accounting-relevant data and retention periods are part of the data model from the outset, not a later addition. Whether your specific process meets the requirements is for your tax adviser to judge — we implement what they specify and document it so it can be audited.
Follow one order with us from beginning to end.
In the intro call we walk through a typical case and look at where it drops out of the system today. 30 minutes, free of charge.
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