Custom ERP
A custom ERP for small business, without the six-figure project.
One system for the whole business: invoicing, bookings, inventory, customers and reports, with AI doing the busywork. Built by one senior dev, first version live in a month, grown sprint by sprint at a fixed written price each step.
Fixed price · live in a month · your server, your code
Why owners end up here
‘Most ERPs are either too generic or too expensive.’
A custom ERP is one system for your whole business, built around how you already work. Owners look for one when off-the-shelf ERPs are too generic and enterprise projects are priced for much larger companies. Nearly every custom-ERP conversation starts with that line, in some form.
Tool sprawl
A CRM here, invoicing there, bookings in a third tab, the real truth in spreadsheets. Every tool almost fits, and none of them talk to each other.
Per-seat fees forever
Five SaaS subscriptions times every employee, every month, for software that still makes you work around it. The bill only ever goes up.
Generic or gigantic
Off-the-shelf ERPs are either too generic to match how you actually work, or enterprise projects priced for much larger companies.
The honest comparison
Traditional ERP project, off-the-shelf suite, or built around you.
A traditional custom ERP is a multi-year enterprise project. An off-the-shelf suite starts fast, then your business bends to the software. An AI Makers build is live in a month, built around how you work, at a fixed written quote per sprint.
| Traditional custom ERP | Off-the-shelf ERP / SaaS | AI Makers build | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Enterprise budgets, quoted in phases | Per seat, per month, forever | Fixed written quote per sprint |
| Timeline | A multi-year enterprise project | Fast start, then years of workarounds | First version live in a month |
| Fit | Configured from enterprise modules | Your business bends to the software | Built around how you already work |
| Who builds it | A rotating consultancy team | Nobody: you configure it yourself | One senior dev, the one you talk to |
| Ownership | Licence and lock-in | Their cloud, their rules, their exit fees | Your server, your code, no licence fees |
The traditional column describes enterprise custom ERP projects. If your business needs that shape of project, I will tell you on the first call.
How it's built
It starts small and grows into your whole business system.
It starts as a private AI workspace on your server, live in a month. Then it connects the tools you already run and adds custom modules one sprint at a time, each quoted before it is built.
Step 01
Your AI workspace
A private web app for your team, connected to Gemini, Claude and Codex through your own accounts. Live in a month, on your server.
Step 02
Your tools, connected
WhatsApp, email, sheets, your CRM, your bank. The system reads and acts across the tools you already run: one place, whole picture.
Step 03
Your modules, built
Invoicing, bookings, inventory, reporting and customer comms, built as custom pages and automations, one sprint at a time, each quoted before it is built.
Modules clients have built into theirs
- Invoicing and payment tracking
- Bookings and scheduling
- Inventory and stock control
- Customer records and follow-ups
- Quotes and job management
- WhatsApp and email customer comms
- Dashboards and daily reports
- Scheduled automations and alerts
Questions owners ask
Is this a real ERP?
It does what an SMB needs an ERP for: one system holding invoicing, bookings, inventory, customers and reporting, fed by every tool. It skips the enterprise baggage: modules you never open and consultants configuring screens for a year. If you need multi-entity consolidation accounting out of the box, a traditional ERP serves you better, and I will say so.
What does a custom ERP cost for a small business?
Not enterprise money: traditional custom ERP projects are multi-year enterprise projects. An AI Makers build starts with a working core in a month, then grows sprint by sprint. Each sprint has a fixed written price for its agreed scope, quoted after a short scoping chat with me, and you own the code.
Why not use Odoo or another off-the-shelf ERP?
If an off-the-shelf system genuinely fits how you work, use it: it is cheaper on day one. Owners come to me after that experiment, when the modules almost fit and the team lives in spreadsheets around the edges. A custom build inverts that: the software matches the business, and the AI inside it does the busywork.
How is an AI workspace different from a chatbot?
A chatbot answers questions; this is the system your business runs on, connected to your tools through your own accounts. It acts, reconciling the bank, chasing invoices, booking jobs and filing reports, and it grows custom pages your team works in every day. The chat is just the front door.
Who owns the system, and where does it run?
You, and on your own server. Code, prompts, integrations and infrastructure are all signed over at handover. The AI runs through your own Gemini, Claude and Codex accounts, so there is no per-seat fee and no dependency on me.
Start here
Tell me what your one system needs to do.
A short scoping chat with me, then a written scope and a fixed quote. No sales team and no runaround: you talk to the person who builds it.