ERP or accounting app for a Zid store?

An accounting app and an ERP both keep your books. The difference is what else each one tracks.

The short answer: an accounting app usually covers invoices, VAT, the general ledger and financial reports. An ERP adds stock across several warehouses, purchasing and branches, and sometimes manufacturing, all in one system. A Zid store usually needs an ERP once its books have to track stock in more than one warehouse, purchasing, or branches.

Point by point

	Accounting app	ERP
What it covers	Your books	Your books and operations in one system
Invoices and VAT	Usually covered	Usually covered
Ledger and financial reports	Usually covered	Usually covered
Stock	Some apps cover it, more simply	By quantity in each warehouse
Warehouses and branches	Usually outside its scope	Usually covered
Purchasing	Usually outside its scope	Usually covered
Manufacturing	Usually outside its scope	Some systems cover it
Setup	Usually simpler	Usually longer, since it covers more
Zid orders and returns with the app	Available from Starter	Available from Starter; returns with Odoo and ERPNext
Zid location stock with the app	With Wafeq from Growth, including a one-time opening-stock load	From ERP warehouses to each Zid location, from Growth
Available with the app today	Wafeq	Odoo 18 and 19, ERPNext, Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations

A general comparison; details vary by system.

What decides it for a Zid store

Three questions point the way:

• Where is your stock? A store shipping from one warehouse tracks stock in one place. A store spread over several warehouses or branches needs the quantity in each one inside its books, which is what an ERP usually covers.
• Do you buy with purchase orders? Tracking supplier purchase orders and receiving them into a warehouse is usually ERP work.
• Do you have branches? Branches with their own stock or accounts usually need a system that brings them together.

If every answer is no, an accounting app usually covers what your books need. For the decision by order volume and plan, the article “ERP or accounting app at 100, 500 and 2,000 orders” walks through it step by step.

What the app does with each

1. 1

   Paid orders

   Each paid order is posted with the customer, items, tax and shipping, then read back to confirm, with both.

2. 2

   Returns

   With Wafeq, Odoo and ERPNext, each return posts as one credit note. Returns are not available with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.

3. 3

   Stock

   With an ERP, stock flows from its warehouses to each Zid location. With Wafeq, stock is connected too, including a one-time opening-stock load.

4. 4

   Back to Zid

   The ERP document number appears as a comment on the Zid order with every system. Updating the order status in Zid is available with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, and is switched on during setup.

E-invoicing applies to both

In Saudi Arabia, ZATCA defines an e-invoice as one generated in a structured electronic format through electronic means. That applies to the business whatever system it runs, so check that the system you pick meets ZATCA’s requirements.