All-in-one software for installation companies under 20 people: what you actually need
An installation company under 20 people needs six building blocks: a shared inbox, customer records, scheduling, quotes, digital work orders and an accounting connection. A light all-in-one package covers that without months of implementation. A full ERP suite only makes sense with real inventory, own production or complex project accounting.
By the makers of stiptUpdated August 6, 2026
What does all-in-one mean for an installation business?
Search for business software for installers and you mostly find big names: ERP suites with modules for everything, sold through implementation partners. That makes sense, because that is where the money is. But an installation company with eight technicians and two people in the office has a different question than a group with its own warehouses.
There are roughly three routes. Loose tools: Outlook, Excel, a calendar and a separate quoting program. A full ERP suite that also wants to cover inventory, purchasing, HR and project accounting. Or a light all-in-one system that handles the core: customer contact, records, scheduling, quotes, work orders and a connection to your accounting package.
All-in-one does not mean the package does everything. It means the parts you use daily live in one system, with one price and one login, so the customer question, the appointment and the work order hang on the same record.
The six parts you actually need
Customer email and WhatsApp in one list for the whole team, so nothing sits unanswered when someone is off.
Everything about one customer or project in one place: messages, appointments, documents and status. No digging through mailboxes.
A planning board with technicians, travel time and type of work. Appointments attach to the record, not to a separate calendar.
Draft, send and follow up from the record, with the customer's approval kept on it.
Forms the technician completes on their phone, with photos and a signature, saved to the record as a PDF.
Invoices go from the record to your accounting package and the payment status comes back. The bookkeeping itself stays where it is.
Why do small installation companies buy software that is too heavy?
Because the advice often comes from parties that earn on the implementation. Whoever sells an ERP suite bills consultancy by the day; the bigger the package, the longer the project. The comparisons you find online mostly come from vendors and their partners, rarely from independent sources.
On top of that, companies buy for what they might one day become. Maybe you will hold your own inventory some day, so you take the inventory module just in case. In practice that module stays switched off, while the licence keeps running and the system has become heavier for everyone who works in it daily.
The sober rule: buy software for the company you are now, in a package you can grow within. Switching when you genuinely need an ERP in five years is cheaper than working five years with something too heavy.
ERP suite, light all-in-one or loose tools?
| ERP suite | Light all-in-one | Loose tools | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implementation | Months, with an external consultant | Days to weeks, set up yourself | Instant per tool, glue work is yours |
| Pricing model | Per module, plus implementation | Per user per month | Separate subscriptions that add up |
| Coverage | Everything, including what you never use | The core: inbox, records, scheduling, quotes, work orders | Gaps between the tools |
| Administration | Own application manager or partner | One handy employee | Nobody feels like the owner |
| Best for | Inventory, production, group companies | Service SMBs up to a few dozen people | Starters and sole traders |
Broad strokes, no names: the boundaries shift per vendor.
When is an ERP the right choice after all?
Sometimes it genuinely is. An ERP in the installation trade pays off once you run your own warehouse with inventory that needs valuing, do your own production or assembly, or handle long projects with extensive project accounting and post-calculation. The same applies when you are part of a larger group that consolidates its numbers. In those cases the implementation project is not overhead but a necessity.
The difference lies in where your complexity comes from. At an SMB installation company under 20 people it is almost always the customer process: enquiries, site surveys, quotes, scheduling, handover, maintenance. That is work for an all-in-one system. If your complexity is in goods flows and financial administration, you are in ERP territory.
Be honest about which of the two you are. Most companies in this size bracket install what the wholesaler delivers that week and have no inventory that needs valuing on the balance sheet.
New conversation? Routed automatically, with the customer record next to it.
A shared team inbox as in stipt: email and WhatsApp arrive on the customer record, visible to the whole team.
How to judge a package
- Ask for a trial account and set up your own work process; if that fails without a consultant, you know enough
- Calculate the total price over the first year, including modules, integrations and implementation, not just the monthly rate
- Check whether email and WhatsApp are part of the package itself or bolted on through an external connector tool
- Count what a technician costs who only fills in work orders; some packages charge the full user rate for that
- Verify the connection to your own accounting package, so invoices are never retyped
- Ask how you get out again: can you export customers, records and documents if you want to switch
What does business software cost for an installation company?
Loose tools look cheapest: a few tens of euros per month per subscription. The real cost sits in the gaps between them: retyping, searching and agreements that fall through the cracks.
Light all-in-one packages for SMBs usually charge per user per month, roughly between 30 and 150 euros, depending on what is included. ERP suites often charge per module, plus an implementation project that quickly runs into thousands to tens of thousands of euros before anyone works with it.
So never compare on the monthly rate but on the total price over the first year, including implementation, integrations and the number of users you actually need. For stipt, that price is simply on the pricing page, including what is and is not included.
Frequently asked questions
Does an installation company under 20 people need an ERP?
Usually not. An ERP pays off with your own inventory, production or complex project accounting. If your complexity sits in the customer process, from enquiry to maintenance, a light all-in-one package covers it without months of implementation and without modules you never use.
What is the difference between an ERP and all-in-one software?
Breadth and weight. An ERP wants to cover every business process, including inventory, purchasing and financial administration, and therefore requires an implementation project. An all-in-one package limits itself to the daily work: customer contact, records, scheduling, quotes and work orders, and connects to existing software such as your accounting package for the rest.
How long does switching to an all-in-one package take?
Importing customers and open projects takes a day or a few days. The real change is the way of working: the team has to handle messages, appointments and work orders in one system instead of scattered lists. Expect a few weeks before that runs by itself, without an external consultant.
Can we keep our accounting package?
With an all-in-one package, yes: it connects to your existing accounting software and passes invoices along instead of replacing the bookkeeping. An ERP replaces the financial administration too; that is a much bigger move and rarely needed in this size bracket.
Are loose tools not cheaper than one package?
On the invoice often yes, in practice rarely. Loose tools mean retyping between systems, searching across mailboxes and lists, and mistakes in hand-offs. As soon as more than two or three people work with the same customers, that costs more than the price difference with one package.