Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions are popular among organizations looking to manage their business functions and optimize business processes within a centralized and integrated network. 

While ERPs were initially reserved for large enterprises, growth in the industry has allowed growth-focused businesses to reap the same benefits. With countless ERP solutions to choose from, it’s important to compare your options—such as SAP Cloud ERP  and Acumatica—to see which is best for your business.

What Is SAP Cloud ERP?

SAP Cloud ERP encompasses the cloud-based ERP solutions based on the market-leading SAP Business One , SAP Business ByDesign , and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition platforms. SAP Cloud ERP solutions are a complete enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with built-in intelligent technologies, including AI, machine learning, and advanced data analytics.

It also comes with fit-to-standard solutions available from Navigator Business Solutions designed for easy implementation in different industries such as finance, manufacturing, consumer products, supply chain, and professional services. It’s the preferred platform of many small and mid-market businesses, and it’s used by large companies like Amazon, Apple, and Toyota, as well.

What Is Acumatica?

Acumatica is an ERP solution offering modules from basic online accounting to advanced ERP functionality. Although Acumatica promotes its benefits for those operating in the distribution, manufacturing, service, retail, ecommerce, and construction industries, it is also frequently used by small and medium-sized businesses.

The intuitive design of Acumatica, coupled with its optimization and being a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application, makes it very scalable as a business grows.

Acumatica has a flexible pricing model that makes the app an excellent option for resource planning in small manufacturing businesses looking for a solution for ERP, general ledger accounting, and inventory management.

Comparing SAP Cloud ERP and Acumatica

Although SAP Cloud ERP and Acumatica are both ERPs designed for growing businesses, they take different approaches to helping companies reach their organizational goals. 

Functionality

SAP offers a comprehensive set of integrated functionality with key modules. Acumatica’s suite of tools includes four major modules: financial management, customer relationship management, project accounting, and distribution management.

Although SAP offers a broader range of functionalities, Acumatica offers better performance for the modules they share in common. Choosing between the two should be based on the modules your business requires. 

For more information on SAP’s functionality, read our recent article on SAP S/4HANA versus Sage Intacct .

Flexibility

Although ERP solutions come out of the box with a long list of features, most companies have unique processes that need unique solutions. Therefore, ERP solutions need to be flexible and highly customizable.

In addition to offering more modules and features, SAP offers an almost endless list of customization options, allowing businesses to tailor the software to meet their requirements. Acumatica may offer simpler customization options in some cases.

Integrations

If you are looking to integrate more functionality via a Value Added Reseller (VAR), then SAP is the preferred option. While Acumatica has more than 340 VAR partners, SAP has over 850 VARs. This translates to more integrations available to SAP users.

However, since both ERP solutions have stable ecosystems and multiple options for extending an ERP solution, you will need to work with VARs to purchase and implement new software integrations as required by your business.

Security 

Acumatica and SAP are both industry-leading ERP solutions that offer stellar security for businesses. Because they are cloud-based solutions, the risk of being hacked is significantly reduced. SAP also uses encryption for outgoing emails and checks the signature of incoming emails. Both offer external access protocols, security audits, password fortification, and multi-layered security mechanisms to keep the business networks safe at all times. 

Cost

Acumatica offers a unique pricing model, allowing users to pay based on the computing resources and applications they need. To make this work, Acumatica is only available through its partner channel. However, the license fee is approximately $1,000 per month and goes up as businesses integrate more features. 

On the other hand, SAP Cloud ERP solutions are sold by SAP. The price tag starts with a monthly subscription package. Integrating additional features can push the price up per month, or higher, for advanced users. However, when compared side-by-side, SAP is the less expensive of the two ERP options.

In Conclusion

No one ERP solution will meet the requirements of every company. For example, Acumatica and SAP Cloud ERP have their respective strengths and weaknesses. Businesses need to select an ERP solution based on the requirements of their business, as well as how much they have available to invest in software.