Odoo, Siigo or a Custom ERP: Which to Choose in Colombia

Are Siigo and Alegra ERPs or accounting software?

They are accounting software with e-invoicing and inventory, not full ERPs, and for many small businesses that is plenty.

Siigo and Alegra are, first and foremost, cloud accounting software built to keep you compliant with the DIAN, Colombia's tax authority: electronic invoicing, support documents, electronic payroll, tax reports and IFRS-based bookkeeping. Both include multi-warehouse inventory, quotes and receivables, which is why many people call them ERPs. But ERP software also ties approval-based purchasing, production, logistics, CRM and ecommerce into one database, and that is where these tools reach their limit.

That is not a flaw, it is the design. Siigo describes its Siigo Nube plan as its most complete business management software and bundles accounting, inventory, cost centers and quotes into its packages. Alegra structures its plans by monthly revenue, number of users and number of warehouses. If your company buys, sells and invoices without unusual processes, one of the two is probably all you need.

Trouble starts when you ask them to be something they are not: batch production control, approval workflows across departments, or real-time sync between an online store and several warehouses. If that list sounds familiar, keep reading. If not, stay with the accounting package and do not buy more system than you use. And if you are still unsure what an ERP actually is, we have an earlier guide on when your business really needs one.

What does Odoo offer, and how much does it cost in Colombia?

Odoo charges per user, not per module; the big cost is not the license but the implementation.

Odoo is a Belgian modular ERP with dozens of apps: accounting, sales, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, CRM, website, ecommerce, point of sale and HR, among others. Its Community edition is open source and free to download, but most companies use the subscription-based Enterprise edition. It has a Colombian localization with chart of accounts, withholding taxes and electronic invoicing.

These are the prices each vendor listed on its official page on October 26, 2026. They change often and almost all of them carry first-year discounts, so check them before you decide:

• Odoo, One App Free plan: a single app, unlimited users, hosted on Odoo Online.
• Odoo, Standard plan: US$8.95 per user per month billed annually, or US$11.20 month to month, plus VAT. All apps included, Odoo Online only.
• Odoo, Custom plan: US$16.40 per user per month billed annually, or US$20.40 monthly, plus VAT. Adds Studio, multi-company, external API and the option of Odoo.sh or on-premise hosting. A light user costs US$2.90.
• Siigo, business software billed annually (list price): Profesional independiente at COP 2,189,900 a year with 1 user, Emprendedor at COP 2,869,900 with 3 users and Premium at COP 3,325,900 with 5 users, all with unlimited electronic documents.
• Alegra Accounting, billed monthly: Emprendedor at COP 74,900, Pyme at COP 163,900, Pro at COP 250,900 and Plus at COP 319,900 a month, each capped by revenue, users and warehouses; paying annually takes 25% off.
• Custom ERP: no per-user licenses; cost depends on scope. Our published benchmark for custom platforms runs from COP 8,000,000 to over COP 30,000,000, plus hosting and maintenance.

When does a custom ERP work out cheaper over 3 years?

With few users and standard processes, almost never; with many users or heavy Odoo customization, it can.

Let's run honest numbers with the prices above. Ten users on Odoo Standard billed annually come to US$3,222 in licenses over three years, plus VAT. The same ten on the Custom plan come to US$5,904. On Siigo, the Premium plan costs COP 9,977,700 over three years at list price, but covers five users; on Alegra, the annual Pro plan adds up to COP 6,774,300 with three users. On licenses alone, no custom build competes with that.

The math changes for three reasons. The first is Odoo implementation, which the pricing page explicitly leaves out: configuration, data migration and training are done by a partner, and that cost never shows up in a license calculator. The second is customization: if you need Studio or your own code, you move to the Custom plan, pay for Odoo.sh separately, and maintaining that code is on you. The third is headcount: 40 operators on the Custom plan already add up to US$23,616 over three years, in licenses alone.

A custom ERP starts to win when two of those three things show up together: many users, heavy adaptation, and a process that is your edge over competitors. For the general build-versus-buy argument, without product names, see our comparison of custom management systems and off-the-shelf ERPs. Here one rule is enough: project licenses, implementation and maintenance over 36 months for each scenario before you sign anything.

How does each option handle DIAN electronic invoicing?

Siigo and Alegra ship it ready; Odoo sets it up as in-house software or through a provider; a custom ERP integrates it rather than reinventing it.

In Siigo and Alegra, electronic invoicing is the heart of the product. Siigo includes unlimited electronic documents in its business plans and provides the digital signature certificate free for the first year. Alegra includes unlimited sales invoices on every plan. In both cases the DIAN workflow comes configured from day one.

Odoo handles it through its Colombian localization. According to its official documentation, the e-invoicing module works as in-house software registered with the DIAN and requires a valid tax ID (NIT), a digital signature certificate approved by ONAC, Colombia's accreditation body, and completing the DIAN enablement process. There is also a module to issue invoices through Carvajal as a provider. It is entirely workable, but someone has to configure and test it, usually the partner.

With a custom ERP, the rule is not to build electronic invoicing from scratch. Your own system runs operations (inventory, production, orders) and sends the invoice to an authorized technology provider or to your accounting software through an API. Siigo publishes an API for creating products, customers and sales invoices, and Alegra runs its own developer portal. That way your accountant keeps working in the tool they already know.

What about inventory, ecommerce and marketing in each one?

Odoo is the only one of the three with an online store and CRM built in; the accounting tools connect through integrations.

Inventory: all three have it, at different depths. Alegra caps warehouses by plan, from one on Emprendedor to a hundred on Plus. Siigo includes inventory in its packages and offers POS plans with stock control. Odoo adds routes, locations, lots, serial numbers and manufacturing, which is what a company that transforms product needs.

Ecommerce: Odoo includes website and ecommerce in the same plan, connected to inventory and invoicing. Alegra mentions integrations to automate payments, ecommerce and inventory. If your store runs on WooCommerce or Shopify, Siigo or Alegra will depend on a connector, and you should decide which system owns the stock so the website never sells what is gone. Note that Odoo's Standard plan does not include the external API: to connect it with third-party systems you need the Custom plan.

Marketing and CRM: Odoo includes CRM, email marketing and social media as apps within the same plan. Siigo and Alegra do not try to cover that ground, so the usual setup pairs them with a separate CRM. A custom ERP can include exactly the CRM your sales process needs, as we did in Broo ERP with customer and consent management, but that only makes sense once the off-the-shelf option no longer fits.

How do you choose ERP software in one afternoon? (decision matrix)

Find your company's row in the matrix, then confirm prices on the official page before requesting quotes.

The matrix sums up everything above. It does not replace a demo or a quote, but it tells you where to start and what is not worth evaluating. Find the row closest to your company, book a demo of the recommended option and the next one down, and compare the three-year cost with implementation included.

One last warning: the most expensive mistake is not choosing the wrong tool, it is rolling out a full ERP when the real pain sits in a single department. Start with the problem, not the product.