Dolibarr
Dolibarr is an open-source, modular ERP and CRM web application. It provides core business workflows for sales, invoicing, inventory, projects and basic accounting. One-sentence value: Dolibarr is a cost-aware, self-managed solution for governed analytics teams that need core workflows and extensibility without heavy vendor lock-in.
It suits freelancers, small teams, non-profits and technical teams able to self-host PHP/MySQL apps. Dolibarr centralises customers, quotes, invoices, payments, stock, projects and basic bookkeeping to replace spreadsheets and scattered tools. It reduces software license cost by using a GPL community codebase (hosting and paid support separate).
Use Cases
- Single-person consultancy: issue invoices, track clients, log time.
- Household or side-business: manage simple stock and invoices.
- Replace separate invoicing and CRM tools for small teams.
- Central source for customer and invoice data feeding BI.
- Lightweight project accounting and resource tracking for product teams.
- Integration point for automations via REST API and addons.
Strengths
- Modular core plus optional modules for incremental feature enablement.
- Covers CRM, invoicing, inventory, projects and basic accounting.
- GPL open-source code enabling custom changes and data locality.
- REST API and addon marketplace for integrations and automation.
- Multi-company and multi-currency support for basic international operations.
- Low upfront software cost compared with proprietary ERP licensing.
- Suitable for self-hosting; keeps data local and supports customisation.
Limitations
- Less accounting depth than enterprise ERPs for complex finance.
- UI is functional but less polished than modern SaaS.
- Integration maturity for enterprise BI stacks requires engineering.
- Community-driven roadmap can delay prioritisation of features.
- Performance and scalability for very large deployments (Unverified).
Final Thoughts
Try Dolibarr now if you need a low-cost, modular ERP/CRM and can self-manage hosting. Wait if you require enterprise-grade finance, out-of-the-box BI connectors, or vendor SLAs.
Consider a managed cloud when you need vendor SLAs and managed integrations into enterprise BI; a managed option reduces your operational burden.