Why Do So Many ERP Software Projects Go Over Budget? (And Who is to Blame!)

Updated: June 17, 2010

It is not always your fault

At times, going over budget could be the Partner's fault if they underestimated the amount of time required. If this is truly the only cause, an honest ERP Software partner may take the time as a loss and quote more efficiently the next time.

Budget overruns can also happen if you are working with a less-than-honest Partner that has intentionally low-balled the initial quote in order to win your business.

Some companies take advantage of the fact that many prospects do not ask enough questions. These prospects find out later that work they assumed was included in the proposal are now considered "out of scope." To make sure you know what to ask I recommend you read the report "30 Questions Every CFO Needs To Ask About the Cost of Accounting Software"

Remember, price is only one piece of the puzzle, and you should not always choose a Partner based on the lowest quote. A higher services quote could simply mean that you are dealing with a more honest Partner.

This Deloitte and Touch report is extremely telling. It compares the Top 10 buying criteria of companies the first time they purchased ERP software vs. the second time. The first time, the #1 criteria was price. The second time "Level of support from the solution provider " was #1 and price was knocked down to #5. Learn from this example and choose your partner wisely!