Invoicing software or ERP in Austria: which one is enough?
Florian Hödl
Network Monitoring and Automation
In short: If all you do is write invoices, you do not need an ERP. Invoicing software such as sevdesk, Lexware Office or FreeFinance is enough and cheaper. An ERP pays off once orders, material, appointments or several staff come in and you would otherwise keep the same data in three tools.
We hear this question often: is invoicing software enough, or do I need an ERP already? The honest answer depends on your daily work, not on company size. This article gives you criteria to decide in ten minutes.
The three options at a glance
Excel. Free and flexible. It holds up as long as one person sees everything. Trouble starts when quotes, invoices and the customer list sit in separate files or two people work at once.
Invoicing software. Write quotes and invoices, track payments, collect receipts, hand data to the tax adviser. Providers like sevdesk, Lexware Office or FreeFinance are built for exactly this. According to our market research from November 2026, prices at sevdesk and Lexware Office run roughly between 8 and 33 euros a month depending on the plan. Providers change prices regularly, so check their current pages.
ERP. One system for the whole flow: enquiry, quote, order, project or delivery, stock, invoice, payment. All data sits in one place. In return, setup takes more effort. What an ERP is, we describe in detail in our article on ERP systems for SMEs.
When invoicing software is enough
Stay with invoicing software if this describes you:
- You work alone or with one other person.
- You mainly write invoices, few quotes and little follow-up.
- You keep no stock and no material management.
- You have no projects or orders you follow for weeks.
- Your main goal is to give the tax adviser clean receipts.
In that case an ERP would be oversized, and we would tell you so. That is exactly how the fit check on our ABOS page ends when the answers say so.
When an ERP is the better choice
An ERP becomes interesting when several of these apply:
- Orders: A quote becomes an order, then a project or delivery, then an invoice. You do not want to retype it each time.
- Material: You keep stock or purchase for orders.
- Appointments: Jobs, maintenance or project steps need to be traceable.
- Several people: Staff work with the same customer and order data.
- Time: You currently search for data in email, Excel and an invoicing tool at once.
Sooner or later a system switch follows, usually in the middle of operations. Starting with an ERP spares you that move.
Comparison table
| Criterion | Excel | Invoicing software | ERP (e.g. ABOS) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices and quotes | by hand | yes | yes | |
| Orders and projects | by hand | limited | yes | |
| Stock and material | by hand | mostly no | yes | |
| Several staff | difficult | depends on plan | yes | |
| Setup | none | hours | about 4 weeks with ABOS | |
| Running costs | none | low | higher | |
| Risk of switching later | high | medium | low |
The cost question, honestly
An ERP costs more than invoicing software, no way around that. For new customers, ABOS launch prices are 39 euros net a month for Solo, 99 euros for Team and 310 euros for Business, each with a one-time setup, valid until 31 March 2027. The list prices afterwards are on the ABOS page. The price is per business, not per user, up to the number of users included.
Set against that the time you spend today on double entry and searching. And factor in what a later system switch costs.
Cash register and tax adviser
Two points to clarify early:
Cash register. Whether you need a cash register depends on your business and cash turnover. Clarify current obligations and deadlines with your tax adviser or the WKO, we do not want to quote figures that can change. On the product side: a cash register with receipts directly in ABOS is in preparation. Until then we connect your existing register on request.
Tax adviser. Whichever route you choose, ask your firm in which form it wants the data. How that looks with an ERP is covered in Export to the tax adviser: BMD, RZL and DATEV.
Where ABOS fits
ABOS is Dolibarr, set up and operated from Austria, with servers in Germany. Why Dolibarr and not Odoo or another system is explained in the open source ERP comparison. More on our page about Dolibarr. Setup takes about 4 weeks, and we import your customer list from Excel or CSV.
Frequently asked questions
Is invoicing software enough for my sole proprietorship?
If you mainly write invoices, yes. Once orders, material, appointments or staff come in, it gets tight.
What does an ERP cost a small business?
That depends heavily on the system. ABOS uses flat prices per business: launch prices from 39 euros net a month until 31 March 2027, then the list price of 49 euros, each plus a one-time setup.
Can I switch from invoicing software to an ERP later?
Yes, but you have to move master data and processes, usually alongside running business. That is the effort you avoid by starting in an ERP early.
Do I need a cash register for an ERP?
Those are two separate questions. Whether a cash register obligation applies, clarify with your tax adviser. With ABOS we connect an existing register on request.
My tax adviser works with BMD. Does that fit?
Yes. You work in ABOS, your tax adviser gets the data by export and stays with their own system. A separate login for your tax adviser is free in every plan.