ERPNext

Enterprise-grade ERP without enterprise-scale licensing

SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Oracle are comprehensive ERP platforms. They are also systems that cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to license, implement and maintain, are operated by specialists who charge accordingly, and create a vendor dependency that makes every future business decision more expensive. ERPNext is the open source ERP platform used by tens of thousands of organisations globally, including manufacturers, retailers, professional services firms, healthcare providers, educational institutions and nonprofits. It covers the complete ERP stack: accounting, inventory, manufacturing, procurement, HR, payroll, project management and CRM. No module licensing. No per-user fees. No vendor lock-in. Node deploys and manages ERPNext as a fully managed service, handling the implementation, configuration, data migration and ongoing operations.

What ERPNext is

ERPNext is a modern, full-featured open source ERP platform built on the Frappe Framework, a powerful Python and JavaScript web framework designed specifically for enterprise application development. It is actively developed, with regular releases, a large global community, and commercial backing from Frappe Technologies.

ERPNext is genuinely comprehensive: it is not a small-business accounting package marketed as an ERP. It handles multi-company and multi-currency operations, complex inventory scenarios with serial and batch tracking, discrete and process manufacturing with bill-of-materials and routing, project management with time tracking and billing, complete HR with payroll and leave management, and a purchasing module with approvals workflow and supplier management. Every module is included in the same platform without additional licensing.

ERPNext is used by organisations at significant scale: manufacturing businesses with hundreds of SKUs and complex production schedules, retailers with multi-location inventory, professional services firms with complex billing structures, and healthcare organisations managing procurement and compliance. It is not a compromise platform. It is what organisations choose when they need real ERP capability without the cost structure of commercial alternatives.

Financial management and accounting

ERPNext's accounting module covers every aspect of financial management for a growing business.

General ledger and chart of accounts: a configurable chart of accounts that models your business structure. Multi-company accounting for businesses with multiple legal entities. Inter-company transactions and consolidated reporting. The accounting engine is double-entry by design: every transaction in the system creates the correct journal entries automatically.

Accounts payable and receivable: manage the complete purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash cycles within ERPNext. Supplier invoices, payment runs, customer invoices, collections, credit notes and payment allocation are all handled natively, with the journal entries created automatically from the underlying transactions.

Bank reconciliation: import bank statements and reconcile them against ERPNext transactions. The reconciliation tool matches payments automatically and presents unmatched items for manual review. Reconciliation that took hours of manual spreadsheet work becomes a short, automated process.

VAT and tax compliance: ERPNext includes full UK VAT handling: standard rate, reduced rate and zero-rated items, the Making Tax Digital-compatible return format, and EC acquisition and supply reporting for businesses with EU operations. Tax rules apply automatically based on item, customer and supplier configuration.

Multi-currency: transactions in any currency, with automatic exchange rate fetching and conversion. Foreign currency gains and losses are calculated and posted automatically. Reporting in any currency with exchange rates applied at the document level or the reporting date.

Management accounts and reporting: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement, trial balance, aged debtors, aged creditors and budget variance, all generated from live data with no separate reporting database, no period-end export to a spreadsheet, and no reconciliation between systems.

Inventory and supply chain

ERPNext's inventory module handles the complete supply chain from purchase requisition through to customer delivery, with full warehouse management and stock control.

Warehouse management: define a warehouse structure that matches your physical operations. Multiple warehouses, bins within warehouses, and virtual locations for in-transit stock. Inventory moves between locations with proper documentation and audit trail. Stock counts record actual quantities and generate adjustment entries automatically.

Serial and batch tracking: full traceability for items tracked by serial number or batch. Know exactly which serial numbers are in which location and which customer each has been sold to. Batch tracking with expiry dates and quality parameters for industries that require lot control. Recall actions can identify every affected item in the supply chain within seconds.

Reorder and procurement: configure reorder points and quantities per item per warehouse. ERPNext generates purchase recommendations automatically when stock falls below threshold, taking into account open purchase orders and sales orders already committed. Procurement planning works from the data, not from manual review.

Landed costs: allocate freight, customs duty, insurance and other landed cost components to purchase receipts. The true cost of inventory reflects the actual cost of acquisition, not just the supplier invoice. Gross margin reporting is accurate.

Quality control: define quality inspection requirements for goods inwards and production output. Inspection results are recorded against items before they enter stock. Failed inspections route to a rejection process. Quality data is traceable to the specific batch or receipt.

Manufacturing and production

For manufacturing businesses, ERPNext provides a complete production management system that handles the complexity of real production environments.

Bill of materials: define multi-level bill of materials for every manufactured item, including raw materials, sub-assemblies, labour operations and overhead allocations. BOM versioning tracks changes with full history. Costing is calculated automatically from BOM components at current or standard cost.

Production planning: generate work orders from sales orders or independently, with material requirements calculated from the BOM and checked against available stock. The production planner gives a clear view of what can be manufactured with available materials and what needs to be procured.

Work orders and operations: track production progress at the operation level. Record actual labour time, material consumption and production output against each work order. Variance between planned and actual cost is calculated automatically and posted to the correct accounts.

Subcontracting: manage outside processing where components are sent to a subcontractor for an operation and returned for further processing or assembly. ERPNext tracks materials sent to subcontractors as a liability and closes it when processed goods are received back.

Capacity planning: define machine and labour centre capacities and schedule work orders against them. Identify bottlenecks before they become delays. Plan production loads weeks ahead and optimise sequencing.

HR, payroll and leave management

ERPNext includes a complete HR and payroll module that handles the employee lifecycle from onboarding to payslip.

Employee records: a central employee record captures personal details, employment history, qualifications, assets assigned, appraisal records and all HR documents. HR events such as promotions, transfers and salary changes create their own records with effective dates, giving a complete history of each employee's time with the company.

Payroll: process payroll within ERPNext against UK pay rules, with configurable salary structures, deductions and allowances. National Insurance, income tax via PAYE, pension contributions and other statutory deductions are configured once and applied automatically per payroll run. Payslips are generated and distributed through the employee self-service portal.

Leave and attendance: employees apply for leave through the self-service portal. Managers approve or decline through their own view. Leave balances are tracked automatically against entitlement by leave type. Attendance recording integrates with leave to give a complete picture of working time.

Performance appraisals: manage the appraisal cycle within ERPNext with configurable appraisal templates, self-assessment and manager assessment, and outcomes linked to salary review actions.

Project management and professional services

For professional services organisations that bill time and expenses, ERPNext's projects module handles the complete billable engagement lifecycle.

Project structure: define projects with tasks, milestones and resource allocations. Link projects to customers for billing. Track time against tasks with timesheets. See actual cost vs budget at the project level in real time.

Billing: generate sales invoices from project timesheets and expense claims. Fixed-fee projects, time-and-materials billing, milestone-based billing, and retainer arrangements are all supported. Billing runs pull all unbilled time and expenses for a client and present them for invoice generation.

Keycloak integration

ERPNext integrates with Keycloak for single sign-on via SAML or OpenID Connect. Staff access ERPNext with corporate credentials. Roles are driven by Keycloak group membership. MFA requirements apply consistently with the rest of your application estate.