Title: What to Look for in an ERP Demo URL: https://zudoworks.com/answers/what-to-look-for-in-an-erp-demo/ Description: What to look for in an ERP demo as a small manufacturer: bring your own parts and orders, watch the stock ledger and job costing, and test a correction. Updated: 2026-11-03 # What to look for in an ERP demo In an ERP demo, look for how the system handles your own parts and orders rather than the vendor's sample data. Ask to see a work order from BOM to job cost, a stock correction and what it leaves in the ledger, a purchase receipt posting stock, a limited-permission user, and a CSV export. Count the clicks for the tasks your team repeats most. By Arunkumar V, CTO · 03 November 2026 · 2 min read [Try ZMOS free](https://app.zudoworks.com/signup) [Book a 20-minute demo](https://zudoworks.com/contact/) - ERP demo checklist - ERP demo questions - how to evaluate an ERP demo - ERP demo script manufacturing ## Send your own data before the demo A scripted demo on tidy sample data looks good for every product. Send the vendor five of your items, one real BOM with two levels, one customer and one open order a few days before, and ask them to load those. A vendor who will not do this is telling you how support will feel later. In the demo, ask them to create a work order for your product, issue the material, log labour, close the job and show the cost, and watch whether the cost uses the real issue cost or a standard. ## Ask to see the awkward cases The daily reality of a small shop is corrections and exceptions, so ask for them explicitly. - A stock count that disagrees with the system, and what the correction leaves behind - A BOM revision change while an order is open - Material issued to a job and part of it returned - A job sent out for subcontracting and received back - An inspection that fails, and how the NCR links to the job - A user who may see prices but not change them ## Count the clicks and the screens The tasks your team repeats all day matter more than features used once a quarter. Time how long it takes to receive a purchase order, issue material, print a job card, and log time against a step. Ask whether the floor can do its part on a phone or a shared terminal, with a barcode, and what happens when the internet drops. Then ask to drive the same tasks yourself, or hand the mouse to someone who has never used the system. A demo you cannot drive is a presentation. ## Check what happens after the demo Before the call ends, ask for three things in writing: the full price list including seats, storage and support; a link to the user guide and the changelog; and confirmation that you can export items, customers, vendors and transactions yourself at any time. Ask who answers support, in what hours, and how quickly a first reply arrives. A trial you can run with your own data for a few weeks tells you more than a second demo, so ask for one. ## How to run an ERP demo on your own terms 1. **Step 1** Send five items, one two-level BOM, one customer and one open order to the vendor before the demo. 2. **Step 2** Ask the vendor to build a work order from your BOM, issue material, log labour and close it with a cost. 3. **Step 3** Ask for a stock correction and look at what the ledger records. 4. **Step 4** Time the daily tasks: receive, issue, print a job card, log time. 5. **Step 5** Ask for the price list, the user guide, export confirmation and a trial in writing. ## Where ZMOS fits ZMOS can be checked against this list in the browser at app.zudoworks.com: work orders with routing steps, job cost at real issue cost plus labour at the work-centre rate on the day the job closes, an immutable stock ledger where a correction is a new movement, roles and permissions down to fields, NCRs linked to jobs, and exports at any time. The six-month free period for startups and registered partners replaces the demo for shops of 10 to 50 people. It is not the fit for a plant that needs an on-premise install. [What ZMOS does](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/) - [six months free](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/free-trial/) - [job costing explained](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/job-work-and-costing/) - [compare manufacturing ERPs](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/vs/manufacturing-erp/) ## People also ask Short answers, each one complete on its own. ### Related answers - [What questions should I ask an ERP vendor?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/questions-to-ask-an-erp-vendor/) - [What is the best ERP for small manufacturers?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/best-erp-for-small-manufacturers/) - [What is job costing in manufacturing?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/what-is-job-costing/) - [What is an immutable stock ledger?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/what-is-an-immutable-stock-ledger/) - [How much does a manufacturing ERP cost?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/how-much-does-a-manufacturing-erp-cost/) - [How does ERP data migration work for a small shop?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/erp-data-migration-for-small-shops/) - [What should an ERP for multiple warehouses do?](https://zudoworks.com/answers/erp-for-multiple-warehouses/) - [All 54 answers](https://zudoworks.com/answers/) ### Inside ZMOS [Zudo AI](https://zudoworks.com/zudo-ai/)[Stock ledger](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/stock-ledger/)[Low-code forms and rules](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/low-code/)[Barcode job cards](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/barcode-job-cards/)[Roles, audit log, API](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/roles-audit-api/)[Security](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/security/)[Free trial](https://zudoworks.com/zmos/free-trial/)[Why Zudo Works](https://zudoworks.com/why-zudo-works/) Should I ask for a trial instead of a demo? Ask for both. A demo shows the vendor's view in an hour; a trial with your own items and one real order shows how it behaves on an ordinary Tuesday. If a vendor offers only demos, ask why. Who from the shop should attend an ERP demo? The owner or manager, the planner, the stores person and whoever does invoicing, each watching their own daily task being done. A demo attended only by the owner misses the clicks the floor will repeat all day. What is a red flag in an ERP demo? Refusing to load your data, skipping the correction and exception cases, not letting you drive, vague answers on export and pricing, and a module that is coming soon for something you need in the first month. How many ERP demos should a small shop sit through? Two or three, with the same script and data each time, so the products are comparable. More than that and the team cannot remember which system did what. Shortlist from documentation and pricing first.