The ERP a small factory
actually needs, not the one it was sold
We rebuilt a factory's entire ERP from scratch after its original SaaS vendor account was lost, migrating 12,039 records into a self-hosted system the team now runs every day without a subscription that can disappear. An ERP-lite for a small manufacturer starts from that same principle: the features a small factory actually uses, running on infrastructure the factory controls.
What it is and who needs it
An ERP-lite fits a small manufacturer currently running production and stock tracking on spreadsheets, or on a full-scale ERP whose unused modules cost more in licensing and complexity than the few features the team actually touches. It fits a factory that needs trustworthy stock and cost numbers without the implementation overhead a generalist ERP vendor quotes for a business this size. It does not fit a manufacturer that genuinely needs multi-entity accounting, complex approval chains, or deep integration with a large existing enterprise stack; that scale calls for a different kind of system.
What is inside
Production tracking matched to how your factory actually organizes work, by order, by batch, by run, not a generic work-order model that does not match your floor. Stock accounting tied to material movements recorded as they happen, in and out, rather than reconciled from a periodic manual count that drifts further from reality every month it goes unchecked. Cost calculation that accounts for materials and labor per product, so a manager can see real margin per line instead of a gut estimate. Self-hosted deployment, because a vendor’s cloud account going inactive should never be a risk to your production data.
How we build it
We start by mapping the actual production and stock process on the floor, since a manufacturer’s real workflow usually has specific exceptions, a material that gets counted differently, a batch that splits mid-run, that a generic ERP’s default model does not represent. The system is built around that real process rather than asking the factory to adapt its workflow to fit standard ERP assumptions. We migrate existing data carefully, since a previous project taught us exactly how much can go wrong, and how much can be salvaged, when a factory’s historical records need to move into a new system intact.
What to watch
Data migration is where this kind of project most often goes wrong, since moving years of production and stock history out of spreadsheets or a legacy system into a new structure can silently drop or corrupt records if it is rushed; we treat migration as its own careful phase with validation against the original data, the same discipline from a past recovery where every one of twelve thousand records needed to move without loss. The second risk is a cost calculation that looks right on paper but does not match how your factory actually allocates labor and material cost to a product, producing margin numbers a manager eventually learns not to trust; we validate the cost model against real historical orders before treating its output as reliable. Self-hosting is a deliberate choice but carries its own responsibility, since a self-hosted system needs someone to own backups and updates; we set up automated backups and a clear maintenance routine so self-hosting means control, not neglect.
Timeline and price
| Option | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | from $7,000 | Single facility, basic production and stock tracking, manual cost entry |
| Production | from $12,000 | Full cost calculation, role-based access, Excel import and export, reporting dashboard |
| Full control (handover-ready) | from $20,400 | Everything in Production plus multi-facility support, architecture documentation, and 90 days of support |
Running cost after launch depends on hosting and, where relevant, model usage, typically $20 to $150 a month for a project at this scale.
What you own at the end
You own the system outright, self-hosted on infrastructure under your own control, with every production, stock and cost record in a database you can query directly at any time. There is no vendor account that can be cancelled, lost or priced out of reach later. This is the same handover standard on every product we build: no proprietary platform only we can operate, no API key or hosting account left in our name after launch, and a written document covering the architecture and the decisions behind it. A future engineer, yours or ours on a continuing basis, should be able to extend the system without having to guess why it was built the way it was.
Related
See the development service page for our full build process. This pairs with B2B wholesale platform, Vertical SaaS for logistics. For the engineering detail, see ERP integration, Inventory and warehouse management. For a real build, see Factory ERP recovery, self-hosted.
Want this built for your business? Get in touch and we will scope it with a fixed price.
FAQ
How much does an ERP-lite cost?
From $7,000 for production tracking, stock accounting and cost calculation for one facility, 6 to 11 weeks. A system spanning multiple production lines or facilities runs $12,000 to $18,000.
Why self-hosted instead of a SaaS ERP?
A self-hosted system never disappears because a vendor account lapses or a subscription is cancelled by someone who did not realize what depended on it, which is exactly the failure we were called in to recover from on a past project. It also avoids a recurring SaaS fee that scales with usage.
What does 'lite' mean here? What is left out?
Full ERPs often include modules a small manufacturer never touches: complex multi-entity accounting, elaborate approval chains, modules for business lines you do not run. We scope to production, stock and cost tracking, the parts a small factory actually uses daily, and add modules later only if a real need shows up.
What is the stack?
PostgreSQL for the core data, PostgREST or FastAPI for the API layer, a lightweight JavaScript interface for the floor and office, deployed with Docker Compose on infrastructure you control.
Who owns the system and the data?
You. The system runs self-hosted on your own server, with every production, stock and cost record in a database you control directly, not a vendor's cloud account that can be suspended or lost.