Why Successful ERP Projects Start With Questions
Implementing an ERP system is one of the biggest operational decisions a company makes. It touches accounting, inventory, sales, purchasing and HR, changes how most employees work every day, and stays with you for years. Yet many selections are made after one or two demos, and contracts are signed before basic questions are answered: who migrates the data, what the price actually includes, and what happens if you want to move to another system in five years.
Asking the right questions before you sign protects you from choosing the wrong system, and it also shows how ready your own organisation is. Many projects do not stumble because of the software. They stumble because requirements were vague, data was messy and the internal team never had time set aside for the work.
This guide groups the questions into six areas: questions for yourselves, functional fit, Saudi compliance, technology and data protection, implementation, and cost and contract. For each one we explain why it matters and what a good answer looks like.
Part 1: Questions to Ask Yourselves
1. Which problems are we trying to solve?
"We want an integrated system" is not a goal. Goals should be measurable: close the month in five days instead of twenty, cut stock count variances, issue invoices compliant with Phase 2 e-invoicing, or see profit by project. List your five biggest problems, measure where they stand today, and make every vendor demo answer them.
2. Who owns the project internally?
An ERP project needs an executive sponsor with authority to settle disagreements between departments, and an internal project manager with real time allocated, not a side task. If you cannot name both people, you are not ready yet.
3. Are our processes documented?
A vendor cannot configure a system for processes nobody can describe. At minimum, document purchase to pay, quote to cash, inventory procedures, and approvals with their limits. This exercise often reveals unnecessary steps you can remove before implementation.
4. What state is our data in?
How many duplicate items are in the item list? Do customer and supplier balances reconcile? Does the chart of accounts work, or does it need restructuring? Bad data moved into a new system is still bad data.
5. Do we have a realistic budget and timeline?
The worst go-live dates are peak season and financial year end. The worst budgets cover the subscription and ignore staff time, training and data cleansing.
Part 2: Functional Fit
6. Does the system fit our industry?
A system that works well for a trading company may not suit a contractor that needs project costing and progress billing, or a manufacturer that needs multi-level bills of materials and production planning. Ask for customers in your sector and speak to one without the vendor present.
7. Which modules are included, and which cost extra?
Get a written list: accounting, inventory, sales, purchasing, HR and payroll, projects, assets, point of sale. For each, ask whether it is in the quoted price or added later, and whether advanced reporting, mobile access and bank integration are included.
8. Can we see it run one of our own scenarios?
Do not settle for the standard demo. Send the vendor a real scenario a week in advance: a purchase requisition with two approvals, a partial receipt, a supplier invoice with a price difference, a discounted sale, a return and a month-end close. Ask them to run it step by step in front of you, and note every step that needed a workaround or a promise of future development. Those notes are what you will compare vendors on.
9. How does the system handle customisation?
What can be changed through configuration without code? What needs development? Does customisation survive upgrades? Too much customisation raises cost and complicates updates; too little may force you to abandon processes that matter.
Part 3: Saudi Compliance
10. Is e-invoicing compliant with both phases?
Since 4 December 2021, invoices must be generated by a compliant electronic solution, and since 1 January 2023 ZATCA has been rolling out the integration phase in waves. In Phase 2, standard B2B invoices are cleared by ZATCA before they are shared with the buyer, and simplified invoices are reported within 24 hours. Wave 25 covers businesses with revenue above SAR 187,500 in 2022 to 2025, with obligations from 1 February 2027. Ask whether ZATCA integration is part of the system or a separate service, how credit and debit notes are handled, and what happens when ZATCA rejects an invoice.
11. Does it support VAT and zakat requirements?
VAT is 15%. Returns are monthly if annual taxable turnover exceeds SAR 40 million and quarterly otherwise, due by the last day of the following month. Ask about the VAT return report, the handling of advance payments, and record retention, since the VAT regulations generally require records to be kept for at least six years, and longer for some assets.
12. If payroll is included, does it handle local labour rules?
Ask about the wage protection file, which must be uploaded through Mudad within 30 days since March 2025; GOSI contributions for Saudi and non-Saudi employees under both the existing and the new social insurance systems; and end-of-service and leave calculations under the Labor Law amendments effective February 2025. A payroll system that does not keep up with these changes will send you back to spreadsheets.
Part 4: Technology and Data Protection
13. Cloud or on-premise?
Cloud is now the normal choice for most companies: no servers in the office, updates handled by the vendor and access from any branch. Some organisations have special requirements, though. Saudi Arabia's cloud computing framework classifies government data and does not allow it to leave the Kingdom, so if you handle that kind of data, this question is decisive. For a broader comparison, see our cloud ERP guide.
14. Where is our data stored, and who can access it?
The Personal Data Protection Law has been in force since September 2023, and employee and customer data in your ERP is personal data. Transfers outside the Kingdom are allowed under defined conditions and safeguards. Ask where the data centres are, what access vendor staff have, whether there is an audit trail, and whether the vendor follows the National Cybersecurity Authority's cloud cybersecurity controls.
15. What about backup and continuity?
How often is data backed up? How long does a restore take? What availability does the contract guarantee? What happens at a branch when the internet goes down?
16. How does it integrate with our other systems?
Your online store, banks, government platforms, attendance devices, design or production software. Ask which integration interfaces exist, who builds them, and who maintains them when either side changes.
Part 5: Implementation
17. What is a realistic timeline, and who does what?
Ask for a written plan by phase. Duration varies widely with company size, number of modules and data quality, so the more useful question is what the vendor needs from you at each stage:
| Phase | Vendor responsibility | Company responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis | Workshops with departments, documented requirements | Decision-makers available, requirements signed off |
| Configuration | System, modules and permissions set up | Settings reviewed, questions answered quickly |
| Data migration | Templates and import tools | Data cleansed, loaded and balances verified |
| Testing | Issues fixed | Real scenarios run and results documented |
| Training and go-live | Role-based training, early-days support | Staff released for training, key users appointed |
The company's share of the work is large. If it is not built into people's schedules, the project slips however committed the vendor is.
18. Who migrates the data, and who verifies it?
Typically the vendor supplies templates and tools, and the company cleans and verifies its own data. Agree which data moves (items, customers, suppliers, opening balances), whether transaction history migrates or only balances, and who signs off the balances before go-live.
19. Will there be a parallel run?
Running old and new systems side by side feels safe but doubles the workload. A common alternative is thorough user acceptance testing on real data, followed by cutover at the start of an accounting period.
20. What training is provided, and for whom?
Ask about role-based training, reference materials, training for new users after go-live and support in the first weeks. Most post-launch problems come from users who do not know the right way to do something, not from system faults. Resistance is part of this too: involve key users in testing early, appoint a go-to person in each department, and explain why processes are changing, not just how. Our article on ERP change management and adoption covers this in depth.
Part 6: Cost and Contract
21. What is the total cost over five years?
The headline price is not the real cost. Ask for every line. A hypothetical example for a 40-user company, in SAR:
| Item | Year 1 | Years 2 to 5 (each) |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription or licence | 120,000 | 120,000 |
| Implementation and setup | 80,000 | 0 |
| Customisation and reports | 40,000 | 10,000 |
| Training | 20,000 | 5,000 |
| Internal team time (estimate) | 60,000 | 10,000 |
| Total | 320,000 | 145,000 |
Five-year total = 320,000 + 4 x 145,000 = SAR 900,000. That is the figure to compare across vendors and against expected benefits, not the subscription alone. Our article on total cost of ownership sets out the method in full.
22. When do we earn the investment back?
Do not accept generic promises of big returns. Build your own estimate from the problems you listed in question 1. Continuing the hypothetical: if the system saves two accountants' consolidation and reconciliation time worth SAR 150,000 a year and cuts inventory shrinkage by about SAR 100,000, the estimated annual benefit exceeds SAR 250,000, against an average annual cost of SAR 180,000 over five years. The numbers are estimates, but building them this way grounds the decision in your business rather than in industry averages.
23. How does pricing change as we grow?
Is pricing per user or per module? What happens when you add a branch or twenty users? Is there a fixed annual increase in the contract? A model that suits you today can become expensive in two years.
24. What support is included?
Support hours, language, channels and response times by severity. Arabic-speaking support during Saudi working hours is not a small detail for a finance team at month end.
25. What happens if we leave?
Nobody likes asking this at the start, but you should. Can you export all your data in a usable format? What notice period applies, and what fees? Tax records must be retained for years after a subscription ends, so how will you access them?
Red Flags in Vendor Answers
- "The system does everything." No system fits everything without setup. An honest answer names what needs customisation and what the system does not do.
- A very short timeline with no questions about your data. A vendor quoting duration before knowing your data volume and branch count is giving a marketing number.
- Vague pricing. Phrases like "as required" or "to be determined" for implementation and customisation usually mean increases later.
- Reluctance to share references. A vendor confident in its work makes it easy to talk to customers.
- Fuzzy answers on e-invoicing or data location. These questions have specific answers; generalities are not acceptable.
A Simple Scoring Matrix
Once you have the answers, score proposals against weights agreed by management in advance:
| Criterion | Weight | Proposal A (out of 5) | Proposal B (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional fit on your scenarios | 30% | 4 | 3 |
| Saudi compliance | 20% | 5 | 4 |
| Five-year total cost | 20% | 3 | 4 |
| Implementation and training plan | 15% | 4 | 3 |
| Support and references | 15% | 4 | 3 |
| Weighted score | 100% | 4.0 | 3.4 |
The figures are illustrative. The value of the matrix is that it moves the discussion from impressions to agreed criteria and stops a polished demo or a last-minute discount from deciding the outcome.
How Tranquil Answers These Questions
Tranquil is a cloud ERP covering financial accounting, ZATCA-compliant e-invoicing for Phase 1 and Phase 2 with real-time integration, inventory, sales and distribution, purchasing, HR and payroll with bank and Muqeem integration, projects, contracting, assets, property management and point of sale. Pricing is per user for smaller businesses, or a flat fee per module with unlimited users for organisations above 50 users, with a quote within 24 hours. Engagements include customisation of screens, reports, multi-level approvals and API integrations, and certified training on-site or remote by role, with 30 days of post-training support. Contact the Tranquil team and ask us to run one of your scenarios.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions should we ask before signing?
Coverage matters more than the count. Make sure you have written answers across six areas: internal readiness, functional fit, compliance, technology and data protection, implementation, and cost and contract.
Is a demo enough to decide?
No. A standard demo shows the system at its best. Ask for one of your real scenarios, speak to a current customer in your sector, and review the contract clause by clause.
Who should be involved in selection?
A representative from every department that will use the system, such as finance, inventory, sales, purchasing and HR, plus an executive sponsor and IT if you have it. A decision made by one department and imposed on the rest usually meets resistance.
What most often derails ERP projects?
Rarely the software alone. The usual causes are unclear requirements, unclean data, an internal team with no dedicated time, and too little training.
When should we start if we are in an upcoming e-invoicing wave?
Early enough to finish implementation and testing before your wave's integration deadline. Do not make ZATCA's date your go-live date; leave a margin to resolve any issues.