We speak to business owners looking for a new ERP every week. To understand what really drives them, we analysed over 300 Dutch companies actively shopping around. Here is what we found.
Everyone has a gut feeling about why companies switch ERP systems. “The old system is too expensive.” “They want to move to the cloud.” “A competitor got something new.” But what are the real reasons, when you line up a few hundred switchers side by side?
We looked into it. Below are the five most common reasons to switch ERP, with real (anonymised) quotes, plus the one thread almost nobody names out loud.
Key findings
Based on 300+ analysed Dutch ERP switchers:
- Missing functionality (~45%) - the system lacks inventory, planning, work orders, projects or a B2B portal.
- Outgrew a bookkeeping package (~35%) - Excel or a package like SnelStart/Moneybird/Twinfield has been outgrown by the operation.
- Outdated or end-of-life (~30%) - forced migration by end of support or a mandatory cloud move.
- Fragmentation (~28%) - loose tools, double entry, connectors that do not add up.
- Unhappy vendor (~12%), too expensive (~10%), custom build stuck (~8%).
The common thread: almost nobody switches because “something better exists”. The switch is nearly always triggered by a forced moment. Companies usually name several reasons at once, so the percentages add up to more than 100%.
How we researched this
We analysed over 300 Dutch companies that were actively looking for a new ERP - from sole traders to organisations with hundreds of employees, spread across manufacturing, wholesale, installation, professional services, food, e-commerce and more. For each company we looked at two things: which system they run now, and why they want to switch. All examples and quotes in this article are anonymised; we care about the pattern, not the individual companies.
The 5 most common reasons to switch ERP
1. The system lacks what you need (~45%)
By far the most-named reason. Not that the system is broken - it is just missing a piece. Inventory management, capacity planning, digital work orders, project administration with post-calculation, a B2B ordering portal. A machine shop said: “little grip on the projects and the system has no inventory module.” A wholesaler: “they know how much stock they have, but not where it is.”
The underlying cause is almost always the same: the current system was designed for one thing (usually the bookkeeping or one industry), and the business has grown processes that ended up hanging around it.
2. You have outgrown your bookkeeping package (~35%)
A huge group does not yet run a real ERP, but a bookkeeping package plus Excel. While it stays small that works fine. But growth pinches: “works mostly from Excel now and that is starting to hit its limits.” And: “everything by hand, dockets handed in too late and the invoice to the customer already gone.”
This is a distinct category because the answer is different. Whoever outgrows SnelStart, Moneybird or Twinfield is not looking for a better bookkeeping package but for a business platform where accounting is part of the whole.
3. The system is outdated or shutting down (~30%)
The most powerful decision trigger: you are forced. End of support, a mandatory cloud migration, or a vendor that stops developing. “Exact Globe is no longer supported after this year.” “Multivers is no longer being developed.” “This ERP now has to move to S/4HANA and they are not going to do it.” And a classic: “an old AS/400 from the late nineties. It is now hitting its limits.”
This is exactly the moment not to blindly take a sidestep. If you have to migrate anyway, use that one migration well - see Exact Globe is end-of-life: what now? and Odoo vs Multivers.
4. Everything is held together with tape (~28%)
Fragmentation: a bookkeeping package, a separate CRM, Excel for planning, a standalone webshop, and connectors that not quite run smoothly. “Exact Online in combination with all kinds of loose tools.” “loose systems, which leads to manual work and inefficiency.” The books add up, but the operation leaks: double entry, errors, and nobody with the full picture.
5. Unhappy, too expensive, or custom build stuck (~30% combined)
The tail is three smaller but recognisable reasons. Unhappy with the vendor or partner (~12%): “they want to part ways with their current partner.” Too expensive (~10%), often with heavy enterprise systems: “this is seen as too heavy and too expensive.” And custom builds that get stuck (~8%): the self-built system maintained by one person - “a custom system that no longer gets updates and is maintained by one person” - a risk that grows with the years.
Where do companies switch away from?
Besides the why, we looked at the from. Roughly five starting points:
| Starting point | What we saw | Dominant pain |
|---|---|---|
| Excel / no system | Large share, often growers | Outgrown, functionality |
| Bookkeeping package (SnelStart, Moneybird, Twinfield) | Big group | Outgrown, fragmentation |
| Accounting-ERP (Exact family, AFAS) | Very often named | Outdated, functionality |
| Industry-ERP (Syntess, Isah, Gilde, Multivers) | Substantial | Unhappy, outdated, too expensive |
| Big ERP (SAP, NAV/Navision, NetSuite) | Smaller, but clear | Outdated (forced upgrade), too expensive |
The most-named individual packages: Exact (Online and Globe) number one by a distance, followed by SnelStart, AFAS, Multivers, Twinfield, Syntess and Microsoft Dynamics/Navision.
The common thread: almost nobody switches because “something better exists”
This is the finding that stuck with us most. You would expect companies to switch because they want something better. But in practice the trigger is nearly always a concrete event: the system runs end-of-life, a forced cloud migration arrives, the business outgrows its package, or the maintainer of the custom system leaves. “It could be better” is a dormant feeling; only a forced moment gets people moving.
That has a practical consequence. If you are forced to migrate anyway, that is exactly the moment not to take the smallest step (a sidestep to the same type of system), but to choose well once. Migrating twice - first the sidestep, then the real switch after all - is the most expensive scenario we see.
One striking aside: a single prospect named digital sovereignty as an explicit criterion - “it may not be an American system, it has to be a European system.” Not a dominant theme yet, but a growing voice.
What does this mean for you?
Do you recognise yourself in one of the five reasons? It helps to know which category your pain falls into:
- Missing functionality, or everything held together with tape? Then you want a broad platform where inventory, sales, projects and accounting sit on one system. Compare on our comparison pages or browse the alternatives guide.
- Have you purely outgrown your bookkeeping package? Check whether you really need an ERP or whether a lighter step suffices - we are honest about that.
- Forced by end-of-life? Use that moment. Do not take a sidestep; choose well once.
We are an Odoo Gold Partner and therefore not neutral - but we will just as readily tell you when a lighter package, or simply staying put, is the better choice. Want to know where your pain falls and what a switch delivers? Book a free Quickscan and we will map it in 20 minutes.
Read more: Is your ERP ready for retirement? · Exact Globe is end-of-life: what now? · All ERP comparisons · The best ERP alternatives, honestly compared