Choosing an ERP in the UAE: Local vs Global

If you are choosing an ERP in the UAE you are probably weighing a global
product against a local one. Both are legitimate choices. Here is an honest view of the
trade-off, including where we are the wrong answer.

The real difference: who can change the software

Feature lists look similar. The difference that shows up eighteen months in is what happens
when the system will not do something you need.

	Global product SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Odoo, Zoho, QuickBooks, Tally	Sherta
Who wrote it	A vendor overseas	Us, in Abu Dhabi
Who implements it	Usually a local partner	Us
Custom change	Partner raises it with the vendor; may become a paid module or never arrive	We change the code
Support	Tiered; first line often overseas	The people who built it, UAE hours
UAE specifics	WPS, gratuity and e-invoicing usually via localisation packs or add-ons	Built in, because our customers are here
Ecosystem	Large; many consultants and add-ons	Small; we are the ecosystem
If you outgrow the UAE	Scales globally	We would not pretend otherwise

One question worth asking every vendor

“Does the CRM post to the general ledger, or do we export and import?”

Many suites are assembled from separate products — a CRM here, a payroll tool there,
accounting underneath — joined by connectors. They work, but each join is a place where
numbers drift and someone reconciles at month-end.

In Sherta the modules are one system with full integration to the GL: a
quotation becomes an order, the order is invoiced, and revenue, VAT and the receivable post
themselves. Payroll, stock movements, depreciation, IFRS 16 amortisation and inter-company
recharges do the same. Ask any vendor to show you that chain end to end, with your numbers.

When a global product is the better choice

We would rather say this now than after an implementation:

You are part of a multinational whose group already mandates a platform.
Fighting that is not worth it.
You need deep industry functionality that a specialist vertical product
has spent twenty years building.
You want a large pool of consultants so you are never dependent on one
supplier.
You are planning to operate in many countries with different tax regimes.

When a local vendor makes more sense

Your process is genuinely non-standard and you are tired of being told
the software cannot do it.
You run several UAE companies and need inter-company recharges and
transfer pricing handled properly rather than in a spreadsheet.
Compliance is the priority — WPS payroll, gratuity to UAE labour
law, VAT, IFRS 16 and e-invoicing.
You want to speak to a person who can fix it, in your time zone.

Moving from what you use today

We regularly migrate businesses from Tally, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Odoo, older accounting
packages and — most commonly — a long-serving set of spreadsheets. The work is in
reconciling, not copying: your opening balances must match what you left, and you must be able
to prove it.

How to decide

Write down the three things that waste the most time today.
Ask every vendor to show you those three, using your own numbers.
Ask what happens when you need a change: who decides, how long, what cost.
Ask who answers the phone at 4pm on a Thursday.