Zoho ERP or Zoho One: which does your business need?
Zoho ERP and Zoho One are often confused because both bring several Zoho apps together. They solve different problems, and Zoho ERP is not part of the Zoho One bundle, so it is worth deciding early.
What Zoho ERP is
Zoho ERP runs finance and operations in one system: accounting and GST, purchasing, stock, sales, and manufacturing with manufacturing orders and work centres. It is licensed per user, with a separate lower-cost licence for employees who only need self-service.
What Zoho One is
Zoho One is a bundle of Zoho's business apps, including CRM, Books, People, Desk, Projects and many more, licensed for all employees or per user. It suits a company that wants sales, support, HR and finance on Zoho, but it does not include Zoho ERP.
How to choose
- You make things or run several stock locations: start with Zoho ERP, then add Zoho People, Payroll or CRM only where you need them.
- You sell services and want CRM, helpdesk and projects: Zoho One usually costs less than buying those apps one by one.
- You need both: Zoho ERP for operations, plus the few Zoho One apps you will actually use, bought separately. Compare that total with Zoho One before deciding.
Check the limits
Three example businesses
A fabrication plant with 25 office users: stock in several locations, manufacturing orders and GST compliance point to Zoho ERP. Adding Zoho Payroll and a few CRM users is usually cheaper than moving everyone to Zoho One.
A consulting firm with 40 staff: CRM, projects, helpdesk and HR across the whole team point to Zoho One, with Zoho Books inside the bundle for invoicing.
A distributor with a field sales team: often a mix: Zoho ERP or Zoho Books with Inventory for operations, plus Zoho CRM for the sales team. Price both routes before deciding.
Questions to answer before you choose
- Do you manufacture, assemble or transfer stock between locations every day?
- How many people need full access, and how many only need self-service or approvals?
- Which apps would your team actually use in the first six months?
- How many sales, purchase and manufacturing transactions do you expect in a year?
- Do you need everything on one Zoho data centre for your region?
Moving later is possible
Choosing one now does not lock you in forever, but moving data between products later takes planning, especially transactions and stock history. It is cheaper to spend an hour on the decision now; we can map your processes on a discovery call and price both options side by side.
Zoho ERP editions have yearly transaction limits that include sales, purchase and manufacturing orders. For a busy plant, count your expected orders, receipts and transfers before choosing an edition.
Prices and limits change; see Zoho ERP pricing for current figures. Talk to us and we will price both options for your team size.