If you’re a CFO or business owner, you don’t want an ERP. You want to open one screen and see where the money is going, what the P&L looks like, and which KPIs are slipping, without chasing five people for a spreadsheet.
That’s the goal. Most ERP projects miss it, and the reason usually isn’t the software. It’s the questions nobody asked before signing.
Here’s what I’d ask, based on what I see in real projects.
First, who are you listening to?
A lot of owners pick their ERP because a friend or a family member said “we used this, it was fine.” That’s not research.
Your friend’s business isn’t your business. Talk to someone who has implemented ERPs and can tell you what fits and what doesn’t, even if the honest answer is “this isn’t for you.”
Questions to ask in the first meeting
1. Why this ERP, and how does it compare with the alternatives, including cost?
A good vendor can lay out a clear comparison with real numbers. You should walk away comfortable with your choice, not pressured into it.
2. What problems are we actually solving?
If the vendor starts talking about features before asking about your pain points, be careful. The conversation should begin with your challenges.
3. What does success look like for this project?
Define it before you start. “Month-end close in three days.” “Live P&L by department.” Without a finish line, you can’t tell whether you’ve crossed it.
Questions about money
4. Which of my requirements are standard, and which need custom development?
This is where budgets quietly double.
Most clients only count the visible costs: hosting, per-user licenses, and a ballpark for the modules. Then discovery starts, and things everyone assumed were plug-and-play turn out to be separate side projects. Sometimes entire modules need to be built on top of the base system. When that happens, implementation and maintenance costs can run 2 to 3 times the original estimate.
Ask early. Ask in writing. Ask again.
Questions to test the vendor
5. Can I see a demo, and who have you done this for before?
A demo and a track record matter more than any sales deck. Check reviews and ask for references.
Your vendor doesn’t need to understand your business from A to Z on day one. What matters is whether they’re curious. Are they asking relevant questions and trying to understand how you work? That’s a vendor who wants to improve your efficiency, capacity and speed. The other kind wants to make some money and disappear.
6. Can you show me the dashboards and accounting reports in the demo?
Good ERPs like Odoo ship with dashboards and reporting out of the box. If a vendor can’t show you real accounting and reporting in the first demo, think twice.
Questions about the project itself
7. What’s the roadmap, with milestones and deadlines?
A defined plan with dates, and the discipline to hold the vendor to it.
8. Who on my team owns this?
This is the one most owners skip, and it’s the one that decides whether the project finishes.
Internal teams often try to save the broken process they’ve been living with, and some quietly fear the accountability a proper system creates. If nobody inside your company owns the implementation, the vendor keeps struggling, feedback arrives late, and the project drags on and never ends.
Be firm. Pick one person who answers for it. The vendor owns the roadmap, but you own the inputs.
Questions about life after go-live
9. What’s the warranty, and what does maintenance cost after it?
You shouldn’t pay maintenance on something that isn’t working properly yet. At Infranext, for example, we give a 30-day warranty after go-live, and then maintenance applies through monthly, 6-monthly or yearly packages, tailored to your company’s size and needs. Whatever your vendor offers, get it clearly defined.
The question most people forget
10. Are we ready to change how we work, not just which software we use?
A client once insisted on Odoo POS. It’s a powerful tool, especially as part of the whole ecosystem. But their existing system was decades behind: no restrictions, no data validation, and staff could enter whatever garbage they wanted and get it done.
A proper system has rules. That change in how people worked became the deciding factor, and in the end they didn’t use the new system at all. The software wasn’t the problem. The habits were.
Be honest about this before you sign, not after.
The short version
- Listen to experts, not just friends and family
- Define success before you start
- Ask what’s standard and what’s custom
- Demand a real demo with real reports
- Look for a vendor who’s curious about your business
- Get a roadmap with deadlines
- Put one person in charge on your side
- Be ready to change how you work
Want to skip the expensive lessons?
You can learn all this the hard way, or you can talk to someone who’s seen it go wrong and right. Call me. We’ll work out what you actually need before you spend a dollar on the wrong thing.
Sufyan Khan, Founder, InfraNext (infranext.co), authorized Odoo partner
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