Best ERP software in Jordan and Saudi Arabia: the options side by side

“Which is the best ERP system?” has no single answer. A system that suits a trading company in Riyadh with ten branches may not suit a clinic in Amman or a contractor in Irbid. What a company in Jordan or Saudi Arabia can do is weigh the systems it is likely to meet against the questions that matter where it works. This article does both. One of the systems is ours — Zyntra OS — and we say so; every line about the others is that system’s own description of who it is for, from its public pages, and the end of this article links to a page that sets each one side by side with Zyntra OS.

What matters in Jordan and Saudi Arabia

• E-invoicing. In Jordan, invoices go to JoFotara, the National Invoicing System; in Saudi Arabia, to ZATCA’s system. Ask whether the ERP system sends them from inside itself, and what it does with an accepted invoice.
• Arabic. Every screen right to left and every document printed in Arabic, with English beside it for the people who read it.
• Local money. Dinars or riyals, cheques, and the payment methods your customers use, such as CliQ and eFAWATEERcom in Jordan.
• Labour rules. The end of service as each country’s law works it out, in the payroll itself.
• Support. Who answers, in which language, in which time zone.
• The whole price. Per user or per company, setup fees, the cost of each connection.
• Your sector. Whether there is an edition for your kind of business — a clinic, a school, a hotel, a law office — or only a general system to shape.

The systems, in no order

Zyntra OS (ours)

Who it suits: companies that want sales and CRM, accounting, inventory, projects, HR and payroll and support in one system, in Arabic and English, with JoFotara e-invoicing working and ZATCA ready — and editions for clinics, schools, hotels, real estate, law offices, workshops and more. It is made by Double Support in Amman since 2012: 55 modules you switch on when you need them, 117 ready connections included free, no setup fee and no hidden price, and Flowrica, its assistant, built in. About Zyntra OS. More coming soon — we keep working to make our system ready for everything you use.

Odoo

Who it suits, in its own words: Companies that want a wide range of apps — accounting, sales, inventory, shops and websites — on Odoo's own cloud, or on their own servers on its Custom plan.

SAP Business One

Who it suits, in its own words: Small and midsize businesses, and subsidiaries of large enterprises, that want an ERP in one of its 50 country versions, set up and supported by one of more than 850 SAP partners.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Who it suits, in its own words: Companies that want business apps from Microsoft on its Azure cloud, chosen one by one — from Business Central for small and midsize organizations to Finance, Supply Chain Management and Commerce for larger ones.

NetSuite

Who it suits, in its own words: Companies that want one suite for ERP and financials, CRM and ecommerce — and, with NetSuite OneWorld, companies running many subsidiaries across countries.

Zoho

Who it suits, in its own words: Companies that choose from a large family of apps — Zoho One bundles more than 45 of them — and want to start small: Zoho CRM has a free edition for 3 users and Zoho Books a free plan.

Daftra

Who it suits, in its own words: Entrepreneurs, startups, growing businesses and enterprises, in more than 50 industries, with e-invoicing pages for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE.

Qoyod

Who it suits, in its own words: Businesses in Saudi Arabia — retail, food and beverage, services and more — with a section for Jordan, and an enterprise edition for companies of 200 to 1,000 employees.

Wafeq

Who it suits, in its own words: Small and growing businesses and the accounting firms that serve them, across the GCC; its Enterprise plan is for medium and large companies.

Each line about another system is from its own public pages; its side-by-side page names the sources.

How to choose among them

Write down the five things your company does every day — sell, buy, stock, pay people, invoice — and ask each system to show them to you with your own documents, in Arabic, with your e-invoice going out. The system that handles your own five without a workaround is the best ERP system for you. For a closer look at one country, see ERP systems in Jordan and ERP systems in Saudi Arabia; for the question of whether you need an ERP system at all, read accounting software or an ERP system.

A general system or an edition for your sector?

Some ERP systems are general: one set of parts that every company shapes to its own work. Others come with editions for a kind of business, where the screens already speak its language — patients and appointments for a clinic, students and terms for a school, cases and hearings for a law office, rooms and stays for a hotel. Ask which one you are buying. A general system can fit any business with enough shaping; an edition fits one kind of business from the first day. Zyntra OS does both: the same system, with editions such as Zyntra Clinic, Zyntra School, Zyntra Legal, Zyntra Hotel and Zyntra Garage built on it.

What to ask in the demo

• Show me one of my own invoices going to JoFotara or ZATCA, and its QR code coming back.
• Show me the same invoice printed in Arabic.
• Show me a payslip with the end of service worked out by our country’s law.
• Show me a sale moving the stock and reaching the books without being typed again.
• Show me who changed a record, and when.
• Tell me the whole price for my company, with the setup fee and every connection, in writing.
• Tell me how I take all my records out if I leave.

The answers to these seven say more about fit than any list of features — including this one.

Jordan and Saudi Arabia are not the same market

A company that works in both countries should ask each system about both, one by one. In Jordan, invoices and credit notes go to JoFotara, and the invoice type — income, general sales or special sales, cash or receivable — is part of every invoice. In Saudi Arabia, ZATCA reads standard and simplified e-invoices, each signed and carrying its QR code, and a company is onboarded before its sending is switched on. The currency, the week and the labour law differ too. In Zyntra OS each company in the same installation keeps its own country, its own currency and its own e-invoicing, so a group with a company in Amman and one in Riyadh works in one system with each one’s rules.

Cloud, or your own installation?

Ask where the system runs and whose database your records sit in. Some systems keep many companies in one shared database; others give each company its own. In Zyntra OS each company has its own installation with its own database, and Double Support’s team in Amman sets it up with you and supports it.