Who wrote this, and what "traditional" means
Navigate wrote this page. We have tried to be fair, but we are not neutral, so check our claims and talk to a partner for the other side.
By traditional ERP we mean systems usually bought through an implementation partner, with a defined project. This can include cloud versions. SAP says Business One is sold, implemented and supported by its partner network. Microsoft says Business Central is sold and supported exclusively by its global partner network. These facts are from pages we read on 31 October 2026.
Side by side
| Area | Navigate | Traditional partner-led ERP |
|---|---|---|
| How you start | Register online and follow a go-live checklist. Help with migration and training is quoted separately. | A partner scopes and runs a project. You get more hands-on help, and usually more cost and time. |
| Pricing model | Per organisation per month, with users, branches and stores included and extra capacity as a fee. | Usually per user, plus implementation. Business Central lists US$80 and US$110 per user per month on its US page. |
| Reach | Templates for 54 African countries, with Kenya the deepest today. | SAP cites 170+ countries and 50 localisations. Microsoft cites 157 countries. |
| Languages | English, Kiswahili, French. | SAP cites 28 languages. Microsoft cites 50+. |
| Tax connection | KRA eTIMS live. URA EFRIS planned. | Varies. Often through partner localisation. Ask your partner. |
| Mobile money | M-Pesa direct. Others through Pesapal or Flutterwave where supported. Airtel Money and MTN MoMo direct connections planned. | Varies. Usually through partner add-ons. Ask for a demonstration. |
| Track record | No customer counts or ratings published in this guide. Ask for references. | SAP cites 83,000+ customers. Microsoft cites 55,000 companies. |
| Partner network | Resellers exist, but nothing comparable in scale. | SAP cites 850 partners and 500+ extensions. |
| Change and customise | Custom fields, your own document rules, report builder, document layouts and REST API. Custom development is quoted. | Deep customisation through partners and extensions. It costs more but goes further. |
| Deployment | Hosted service. | Business Central has online and on-premises options. Ask a SAP partner about current options for Business One. |
| Depth in manufacturing and warehousing | Bills of materials, production orders, planning, work centres and quality. No bin-level warehousing. | Generally broader. Business Central Premium adds manufacturing and service management. |
Where Navigate may fit better
- You are a Kenyan or East African trading, distribution or service business, and you want M-Pesa and eTIMS as part of the product.
- You want to try it yourself before speaking to a partner.
- You run field or van sales and delivery, and want these on the same record as your stock and accounts.
- You have many casual system users and per-user pricing would be costly.
- You need specialist modules that are already in the product, such as SACCO, leasing, fleet or construction contracts. Check each against your process.
Where traditional ERP may fit better
- You operate across many countries or continents, and need strong local tax and statutory support in each.
- A parent company, auditor or investor requires a known global product.
- You want a partner to take on the project and to be accountable.
- You need a large market of ready-made industry extensions.
- You need an on-premise option.
- Your processes are unusual enough to need deep custom development.
Risks to weigh on each side
With a traditional project, the common risks are scope growth, reliance on one partner, and cost of change after go-live. A strong partner lowers these risks, and a weak one raises them.
With Navigate, consider the opposite risks. Self-service puts more of the work on your own team. A smaller vendor has less public history, so ask direct questions about support, service levels, backups and data exit. Service levels are negotiated on the Enterprise plan, so ask what applies to the plan you are considering.
How to decide
- Write your ten hardest transactions, and ask each option to run them.
- Get a three-year total from each, in writing.
- Speak to two customers of similar size for each.
- Check who supports you, and in which hours.
- Find out how you would leave, including the format of your data.
Where Navigate may not fit
- Navigate is not suited to groups needing strong statutory and tax support across many countries today.
- Navigate has no on-premise version on its public plans and no third-party extension marketplace.
- Navigate publishes no customer counts or independent ratings here. If a long public record is essential, a traditional vendor will be easier to verify.
- Live bank feeds are planned, and warehouse depth stops at warehouse level.
- Security certifications should be asked about directly. This guide makes no claim about them.
Frequently asked questions
Is Navigate a replacement for SAP Business One?
For some businesses it could be, and for others not. Navigate may suit a Kenyan or East African trading business. SAP Business One has much wider reach, partners and extensions. Test Navigate on your own processes before you decide.
Is Navigate a real ERP?
It covers sales, purchasing, stock, a double-entry ledger, treasury, fixed assets, payroll, production and projects in one system. Whether it is enough for you depends on your processes, so test them.
Can Navigate work with our existing ERP?
Possibly. There is a gateway for SAP Business One, set up by the Navigate team, and a REST API on plans with API access. Other links are bespoke work, quoted separately.
Can we run Navigate on our own servers?
Not on the public plans. It is a hosted service. A business that needs physical separation can ask about its own database or dedicated infrastructure.