Let's consider the case where you have some knowledge of software, or you currently can't afford to spend money on software, so we also assume that you can't afford agencies who would use this software, meaning they would need it and not you, so in the end it would result in even greater monthly expenses for you.
Operating system: Windows is not free, and Mac OS significantly increases hardware costs. It may be suitable for you and your colleagues to use a Chromebook, as you will spend most of your time in the browser as an entrepreneur.
Office suite: Word, a word processor, and Excel, a spreadsheet program.
Mobile phones usually come with an operating system, but the operating system greatly influences the device's price.
Email system: even for a small startup, freemail and Gmail are no longer suitable; you will need your own domain and email under it.
You need at least a portfolio page, but it's better to periodically provide updates, for example, through a blog.
All our activities need to be planned and tracked, so some task manager is useful.
We do all this for money, but even if we don't have income yet, we already have expenses, and we need to keep track of them if for no other reason than to hand them over to the accountant or prepare a tax return.
If we are lucky, we will also generate income, for which we need to invoice, which can now be done through software.
In order to have customers, we need to sell. The length and steps of a sales process depend on the industry, but a process to follow is where a CRM is useful.
If we have customers, clients, partners, we need to maintain contact with them, for which some customer service system is needed where we can track requests, questions, reports, and cases.
If we outsource any of the above or the following tasks to other entrepreneurs or assistants, we also need to track time spent on tasks, although it is also advisable to measure our own time, for which an HR solution is needed, for example, for managing attendance sheets.
If we have reached this point, we have good skills or are working with the right people, and we need to systematize the knowledge needed to operate our own business or what we share with our clients for efficient operations—such as support or relieving internal colleagues through training—into a knowledge base. (On which we can even train an AI for further efficiency).
This is all in place, and we choose an integrated system like Odoo, which even includes some of the features mentioned above, or ERPNext, which offers all its modules for free, and we still need synchronization software towards other software that provides functions not covered by them. (Or if we don't use an integrated solution for the previous ones but use separate services for everything, then definitely).
Up to this point, Odoo's offer is still attractive, as all functions for one user are cheap and seem fair to pay more for the license as your company grows, but it is also worth considering that if for some reason you cannot pay the increased license fee, you cannot operate your company, and the costs of a growing company are likely to increase, so the money might be better spent elsewhere, of course, it is best if the amount saved directly forms a profit, for example, because you chose ERPNext instead. It is important to highlight here that both software can cost a lot of money if you want to cover unique needs, so it is advisable to treat these as if they were cloud services where you cannot have unique requests, thus keeping your costs low. In several companies, we have experienced that for Odoo with only 2-3 users, since there is not always the possibility to pay monthly, the annual license fee is approximately 22.40 EUR * 3 (user = 1 for you, 1 for your first part-time/contractor, 1 admin for occasional settings/development) * 12 months = 800 EUR always hurts, whenever you have to pay it.
But let us share two valuable tips here:
1. Thanks to synchronization software, there is the possibility of cheaper customization if needed, and
2. For your own core business, for example, manufacturing or e-commerce or what can give you a significant business advantage compared to competitors, for example, sales, because it greatly affects your revenue, it might be worth incorporating even more expensive software. Or, and this is the point, it will not be more expensive, just better, only the entire arsenal must be chosen well.
For details on these, contact us at >>
Here we need to mention that Odoo does a great job of comparing the value of its apps to the price of specialized competing market leaders, such as comparing its newsletter app to Mailchimp, thus presenting the use of Odoo as saving thousands of dollars, which is somewhat exaggerated and omits that in addition to these, many other software are needed, and this is the key, that all software must be considered together, not just those that the ERP can replace.
No matter what kind of business it is, we certainly need to sell, so we need some marketing software, but unlike the above, marketing requires not just one software, but without aiming for completeness:
Graphic design program,
Video editing program,
Social media management program,
Some assistant, because the free AI quota runs out quickly,
Automated marketing, for example, newsletter software,
And the list can be long…
Content and competition analysis for acquiring free visitors and SEO, keywords, trends, so that the above website and blog are not just shouting into the void, but relevant content for the target group that turns visitors into readers and buyers, of course with the right marketing, such as newsletter software, because you need to build a database.
What else can you do? Yes, you don't buy it, you don't use it, which puts you at a competitive disadvantage because your competitors use it. But how can they afford it? It may be that they cannot afford it either, they just didn't calculate it, and some certainly take advantage of inconvenient and temporarily free options, and a few know the secret of how to do it well.
Now you have seen the numbers. Are you working to give this to someone else? How much do you have to work to break even? Or to stay competitive, you really need these, but you would rather work with us who not only do the actual work but also provide you with these software at a fraction of the cost? Before making a decision, let's talk so that all the information is available to you >>
Why does it matter which software you use for free? Because in most cases, they have limitations that also hinder or obstruct work and leave no other choice but to subscribe, which you didn't want. And in most cases, for example, the API is not available, which is an important part of our suggested concept.
Data is valuable, so it is not such a big problem if you choose poorly, although it can be prevented, and you have to migrate to another software; it is worse when your data is not really yours, and they make migration difficult. This is why it is important to help you make the right choice.
It is also worth considering the user-friendliness and learning curve of the software when comparing them, because one software may be free, but it takes ten times as long to do something in it as in a truly economical software or, as we solved above, in the market-leading software, which can be obtained with huge discounts with just a few clicks. Of course, it also happens in certain tasks that you use it so rarely that it is actually worth choosing the inconvenient software.
The market wants us to rent software worth about 5-600 USD per month after an initial cost of a few thousand dollars. For a startup, this can easily reach 10,000 dollars annually, depending on the number of users. (This is why we do not recommend per-user monthly fee solutions, but unlimited ones for successful scaling). As we know, most businesses go bankrupt in the first year, and if we generate profit by then, it is already considered a very good result. (Of course, it will be insufficient in the long term).
In contrast, backendo can help you with business development, which today has many IT implications. If backendo manages the IT framework, it can significantly reduce costs, which in turn promotes business growth, because it comprehensively handles opportunities even with company structure planning, which can also mean further tax optimization. Backendo's monthly fee structure allows you to access and use these or identical software, have control over your data, and even use the expertise of our team.