The 5 Best ERP Software for SaaS Companies [2023 Edition]

Summary

Our #1 pick for the best SaaS ERP software is Oracle NetSuite for its comprehensive functionality, affordability, and scalability.

Plus, NetSuite is an ideal solution for Software as a Service businesses of any size looking to nail down its metrics by upgrading or implementing an ERP system.

What We Look For in the Best SaaS ERP Software:

• Benefits
• Functionality
• Affordability
• Scalability
• Potential Challenges

Key features in a SaaS enterprise resource planning (ERP) should include:

• Connecting your ERP to your SaaS platform
• A cloud-based solution
• A user-friendly interface
• Key business functions (e.g., accounting, orders, IT help desk, HR, and customer records management)
• Metrics-based reporting
• Automated upgrades
• Customizable dashboards
• Easy integrations with third-party software
• Management of your contracts and subscriptions
• Easy deployment of multiple recurring billing pricing strategies

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Do SaaS companies need ERP Software (Enterprise Resource Planning)?

As a SaaS company, you're always looking for ways to maximize efficiency, utilize automation, streamline processes, and increase profitability.

You’re faced with questions like:

• Should you charge per account or user?
• Do you charge a fixed amount per month or based charges on usage?
• How many features should you offer?

As a technology- and data-heavy operation, overcoming these challenges in-house with disjointed systems can be incredibly overwhelming.

You may need more savings, answers, and profits to run your business effectively.

Utilizing a SaaS ERP solution can help you achieve these goals—if you choose the right one.

But with so many SaaS ERP systems on the market, how do you decide which best suits your business's unique needs?

Let's explore some of the top ERPs available today and find out which ones are best for SaaS companies, starting with our #1 pick.

1. Oracle Netsuite

Founded in 1998, Oracle NetSuite is now the world's #1 Cloud ERP solution. The system boasts 33,000 customers in 200+ countries and territories.

NetSuite Benefits for SaaS Companies

NetSuite’s primary benefits for SaaS companies include the following:

• The only ERP that was “born in the cloud”
• Fully functional ERP across key business processes
• Built for a multi-tenant cloud environment from day one
• Centralized, comprehensive reporting and analytics
• Real-time insights
• Automated order management
• Streamlined billing across multiple revenue streams
• Revenue recognition (including recurring revenue)
• Financial consolidation
• Marketing & sales alignment using HubSpot
• ASC 606 compliance
• Endless customization
• Project management
• Use on any device

NetSuite Functionality for SaaS Companies

NetSuite’s ERP solution is built entirely in the cloud, streamlining future updates and added functionality. NetSuite features include:

• Consistent automatic cloud updates
• Custom commission modules
• Foreign currency translation
• Intercompany consolidation
• Native subscription billing
• Built-in security controls
• Real-time consolidation
• Saved searches
• Robust CRM

NetSuite's CRM system offers a centralized platform for SaaS businesses to effectively keep track of and coordinate interactions with their customers, partners, and vendors.

You can build your NetSuite system as you grow, so you don’t need to invest in the entire system upfront.

How Affordable is NetSuite SaaS ERP Software?

Because NetSuite is a modular platform, it’s pricing is dynamic and can change depending on your needs. This is great for companies that know what they want, so they only pay for the modules they plan on using.

It’s crucial to factor in implementation costs to ensure that you’re using NetSuite correctly.

We recommend licensing NetSuite through a Solutions Partner to get the most personal and white-glove service from the start.

How Scalable is NetSuite SaaS ERP Software?

NetSuite is a flexible platform designed to scale with businesses of any size, from small to mid-size to large organizations.

It caters to fast-growing SaaS startups looking to efficiently manage your growing operations or an established SaaS business ready to scale rapidly and become primed for investor funding.

Here’s how NetSuite scales with your business:

• Dynamic tiered pricing based on what features you need
• Handles throughput as order volumes increase
• Add on modules to customize your instance
• Manage users based on current need

Plus, you can customize your NetSuite instance with powerful modules to level up your capabilities.

For example, the Agreements module is a plug-and-play add-on that helps you automate subscription billing, send invoices, and manage complex billing strategies in an easy-to-use interface that natively integrates into NetSuite’s interface.

Challenges with NetSuite ERP for SaaS Companies

Maximize your NetSuite investment by implementing and integrating the software correctly. A comprehensive SaaS ERP implementation may include proper data migration, setting up modules, and customization. A seamless NetSuite integration ensures that you’re blending in NetSuite into your existing platforms like QuickBooks, Shopify, HubSpot, and more.

Trying to do this on your own can be a time and energy drain, so you’ll need to factor in implementation and integration costs with NetSuite experts.

2. SAP ERP

SAP ERP is designed to cater to SaaS companies of all sizes by providing a portfolio of solutions, including:

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition (for extra security)
• SAP Business ByDesign (for mid-market business)
• SAP Business One (for smaller businesses or subsidiaries)

According to its website, 99 of the 100 world's largest companies use SAP.

SAP ERP Benefits for SaaS Companies

SAP ERP’s benefits for SaaS companies include the following:

• Wide range of ERP cloud systems
• Public or private cloud flexibility (with SAP S/4HANA Cloud)
• Consolidate core business processes into a single system
• Fast deployment
• Use on any device

SAP ERP Functionality for SaaS Companies

SAP ERP’s features include:

• Automations powered by machine learning
• Digital assistants
• Advanced analytics
• Updates delivered via the cloud
• On-premise solution offered

How Affordable is SAP SaaS ERP Software?

SAP offers a suite of ERP solutions that start at different prices and depends on whether you buy a perpetual license or subscription.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Pricing

The cost to use SAP S/4HANA will differ depending on how many users and how much you want to use it. However, it will be too expensive for most small and medium businesses.

SAP Business ByDesign Pricing

SAP Business ByDesign charges a monthly base package fee of $1,818 with two advanced and three core users. For additional users, you pay:

• $22 per month per self-service user
• $120 per month per core user
• $217 per month advanced user

SAP Business One Pricing

SAP Business One offers four types of licenses:

• Perpetual License (doesn’t include maintenance, bug fixes, or updates)

• $3,213 per professional user
• $1,666 per limited user
• $1,357 per starter user

• Cloud-Hosted Subscription Model

• $132 per professional user per month
• $99 per limited user per month
• $110 per starter user per month

• Partner Hosted Model (multi-tenant environment)

• $188 per professional user per month
• $112 per limited user per month

• Cloud Express Edition: Pre-configured Project-as-a-service (PaaS) model

• Varies based on modules

You’ll also need to factor in implementation costs. For example, SAP Business One implementation can cost between $25K and $100K.

How Scalable is SAP ERP SaaS ERP Software?

SAP’s range of ERP products provides options for small and medium size SaaS businesses to large enterprises.

Challenges with SAP ERP for SaaS Companies

It can be confusing to decide which SAP ERP option to choose. Even the solutions posed for small to medium businesses can quickly add up to high costs.

Plus, its user interface can be challenging to use, and customization of this solution can be complex.

3. Sage Intacct

Sage Intacct ERP is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning solution designed to help businesses streamline their financial processes and gain better insight into their financial data.

Sage Intacct Benefits for SaaS Companies

Sage Intacct’s primary benefits for SaaS companies include the following:

• Robust ERP functionality
• Wide visibility with analytics
• Connect with third-party apps (e.g., Salesforce)
• Strong security

Sage Intacct Functionality for SaaS Companies

Sage Intacct’s features include:

• Add-on modules (revenue recognition, taxes, subscription billing)
• Automated back-office tasks
• Multidimensional general ledger
• Accounting essentials (AP, AR, order management, purchasing)

How Affordable is Sage Intacct SaaS ERP Software?

On average, the annual license starts at $25K. However, like most ERP solutions, Sage Intacct requires you to contact them for a customized quote.

This makes sense as Intacct is modular, so you’ll need to divulge your SaaS company’s details to determine which apps you’ll need to succeed.

How Scalable is Sage Intacct SaaS ERP Software?

Sage Intacct focuses on core financials designed to help you decide how to scale your business.

Plus, it’s a cloud-based software that constantly upgrades and updates, enabling you to use the latest tech to grow your business.

However, its limited number of prebuilt reports and complexity makes building new reports challenging.

Challenges with NetSuite ERP for SaaS Companies

Sage Intacct falls short of its counterpart, Sage X3, and competitor, NetSuite, in benefits and features across multiple SaaS business functions.

4. Acumatica

Acumatica ERP is a major cloud-based ERP solution that helps organizations to modernize their business operations with financial, operational, and customer management capabilities.

Acumatica Benefits for SaaS Companies

Acumatica’s primary benefits for SaaS companies include the following:

• Robust ERP functionality
• Real-time insights
• Connect with third-party apps
• Easy-to-use interface
• Flexible licenses
• Scheduled upgrades
• Public and private environments
• Use on any device

Acumatica Functionality for SaaS Companies

Acumatica’s features include:

• Automated and customizable workflows
• Accounting essentials (AP, AR, order management, purchasing)
• International capabilities
• CRM
• Payroll
• Unlimited users

How Affordable is Acumatica SaaS ERP Software?

Acumatica requires custom pricing, so you need to contact them for a specific quote. They base their pricing on functionality, product licensing, and number of transactions.

For a ballpark estimate, Acumatica monthly fees are $1,800-$2,900. This range is flexible based on the unique features and needs of the user.

How Scalable is Acumatica SaaS ERP Software?

Acumatica can be tailored to suit businesses' unique requirements, whether they need to handle hundreds of thousands of transactions per day or serve multiple international subsidiaries.

In addition, the platform's architecture ensures that the system continues to perform reliably no matter how much data is added or how many concurrent users are accessing the system. 

Challenges with Acumatica ERP for SaaS Companies

Acumatica needs to perform better with multi-subsidiary consolidation, multi-currency and multi-language capabilities, and compliance with international taxes and regulations.

Also, Acumatica offers fewer modules than competitors like NetSuite.

5. Microsoft Dynamics 365

Software giant Microsoft created an ERP solution called “Microsoft Dynamics 365.”

Essentially, it’s a group of business applications that helps your SaaS business improve its results through artificial intelligence-driven data.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Benefits for SaaS Companies

At its core, SaaS companies have two ERP options from Microsoft Dynamics 365:

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Finance is designed to deliver streamlined accounting, financial management, and reporting. Business Central was released in 2018 to cater to smaller companies.

In addition to ERP solutions, the platform offers marketing, commerce, supply chain, HR, and project management apps.

Microsoft Dynamics 365’s primary benefits with Finance and Business Central for SaaS companies include:

• Grow with financial reporting, built-in analytics, and AI-driven insights
• Use financial information to make business decisions and automate tasks
• Minimize costs and optimize spending across business functions
• Deploy in the cloud or on-premises
• Use on any device

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Functionality for SaaS Companies

Microsoft Dynamics 365’s Finance and Business Central features include:

• Core financials
• CRM
• Role-based workspaces and workflow guidance
• Predicts sales using historical data
• Real-time data visualization
• Built-in business intelligence

How Affordable is Microsoft Dynamics 365 SaaS ERP Software?

Pricing for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance is as follows:

• First app: $180 per user per month
• Subsequent qualifying Dynamics 365 app: $30 per user per month

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has two options: Essentials and Premium. Pricing is as follows:

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials

• The first app: Starts at $70 per user per month
• Subsequent qualifying Dynamics 365 app: $70 per user per month
• Additional team members: $8 per user per month

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium

• The first app: Starts at $100 per user per month
• Subsequent qualifying Dynamics 365 app: $100 per user per month
• Additional team members: $8 per user per month

Read Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide to understand the “subsequently qualifying Dynamics 365 app” fully.

How Scalable is Microsoft Dynamics 365 SaaS ERP Software?

To scale, SaaS companies must be able to rely on the latest software pushing boundaries and enabling teams to build at a rapid pace.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Business Central are rooted in on-premises software not integrally built for frequent, automatic upgrades. This makes some customers worry that if they upgrade, it will break things that are connected to it.

While Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides the information to scale, its architecture and features may need to be revised for rapid scaling.

Challenges with NetSuite ERP for SaaS Companies

Dynamics 365 Business Central does not need as much technical expertise to make system customizations or create custom reports as Dynamics 365 Finance.

However, it’s still not as simple as NetSuite's "clicks not code" strategy. If you want to customize Dynamics 365 Business Central, you must use the Visual Studio Editor to program in AL.

Bottom Line: NetSuite is Our Pick for the Best SaaS ERP

NetSuite is the best SaaS enterprise resource planning software on the market today. Here's why: 

NetSuite offers a complete suite of applications, including financials, inventory, e-commerce, and CRM. This means that you can manage all your operations in one place.

Plus, NetSuite is constantly adding new features and enhancements to its platform, so you can be confident that they're always using the most up-to-date software.