--- title: "ERP for SMEs that trade, distribute and supply projects" description: "1flux is an ERP for SMEs that trade, distribute or supply projects. Set up in one step, import from Excel and start each day on what needs your attention." url: https://1flux.ai/solutions/small-and-medium-businesses last_updated: 2026-10-11 --- For SMEs # ERP for SMEs that trade, distribute and supply projects For growing companies that have outgrown spreadsheets and starter accounting. Set up in one step and start with the apps you need. ## In short 1flux is an ERP for SMEs that buy, stock and sell to other businesses. One onboarding step creates your workspace and first company, with tax codes, roles, units of measure and quotation stages already in place. Import tools bring in your customers, items, opening stock and opening balances from Excel, checked before anything is saved. Each work area opens on what needs action, and you start with the apps you need. One onboarding card creates the workspace and its first company. Tax codes, roles and units arrive with it. View as text 1. Name your workspace: Workspace name "Sadaf Group", Industry "General". 2. Add your legal entity: Country United Arab Emirates, Legal entity name "Sadaf Building Supplies LLC", Display name "Sadaf Building Supplies", Base currency AED, Timezone Asia/Dubai. 3. Registration numbers (optional): Registration number and Tax number. They print on your documents. 4. First app: CRM, Inventory or Accounting. Every app stays one click away in the app switcher. Sound familiar? ## Why do SMEs outgrow their tools? Most growing B2B businesses run on Excel, WhatsApp, an entry-level accounting package and a few people's memory. It works until the business gets bigger than the people holding it together. These are the usual signs. 1. 01 ### The same order is typed three times Into the quotation, the order sheet and the accounting package. 2. 02 ### “What’s in stock?” needs a walk to the warehouse The stock sheet is always a day behind. 3. 03 ### Approvals happen in voice notes Nobody can find who agreed the discount. 4. 04 ### Month-end takes a week And the stock report still doesn't match the books. 5. 05 ### You've added a second warehouse or a second company And each has its own spreadsheet. 6. 06 ### Someone leaves and takes the customer list with them Because it lived on their laptop. 7. 07 ### The accounting package does the books, not the business Quotations, purchasing and stock sit outside it. If three or more sound familiar, read [signs your trading business has outgrown Excel](https://1flux.ai/blog/signs-you-have-outgrown-excel). Checklist ## What should an ERP for SMEs include? An ERP for SMEs should cover the whole trading cycle without a long project to set it up. Use this checklist when you compare options. | What to look for | Why it matters | In 1flux | | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Setup that doesn’t need a consultant for the basics | You can’t stop trading for a quarter | One onboarding step seeds tax codes, roles, units and quotation stages | | Imports you can run yourself | Your data is already in Excel | One import workbench with templates, validation and error files | | One record from quote to cash | Re-keying is where errors start | Quotations, orders, deliveries and invoices hand off to each other | | Books that keep themselves | Small finance teams can’t post everything by hand | Every receipt, delivery, invoice and payment posts its own journal; finance pays suppliers, reconciles the bank and gets a profit and loss and balance sheet for each company | | Controls that grow with you | More people means more risk | Roles, approvals and record visibility, set up without code | | Room for more companies and warehouses | Growth usually means both | Several legal entities and warehouses in one workspace | | Local paperwork | Generic tools miss local documents | Country packs for the UAE and Saudi Arabia: VAT codes, TRN and CR fields, the Saudi National Address, and ZATCA and UAE e-invoicing built in | | AI built in, not bolted on | AI is only as good as the records under it | One data model for every app; [Import PO with AI](https://1flux.ai/platform/ai) turns a customer’s PO into a draft quotation | Use the middle column with any vendor; the last column is 1flux's answer. Onboarding ## Set up in one step, not one quarter 1flux setup starts with one onboarding card. You name your workspace, then add your first legal entity: country, legal name, display name, base currency and time zone, with optional registration and tax numbers. You pick your first app, and 1flux seeds the rest in the same step: - Roles: Admin, Employee and Submittal coordinator - Country tax codes: UAE VAT 5% or KSA VAT 15%, input and output, plus zero-rated - 30 units of measure and 10 conversions - Quotation stages and default quotation templates - A “List Price” price channel for your catalogue - Record visibility set so each person sees their own records and their team’s When you’re ready for accounting, a one-click GCC trading chart of accounts installs 25 accounts (5 headings and 20 posting accounts), including input and output VAT, goods received not invoiced and FX gain or loss. You invite colleagues by email, and they sign in with their email or Google. Seeded when you create the workspace - Roles Admin, Employee and Submittal coordinator - Country tax codes UAE VAT 5% or KSA VAT 15%, input and output, plus zero-rated; GST for India - Units of measure 30 units and 10 conversions - Quotations Stages and default templates - Price channel "List Price" for your catalogue - Record visibility Each person sees their own records and their team's One click later: the GCC trading chart of accounts, **25 accounts** with input and output VAT, GRNI and FX gain or loss. Everything on this card is in place the moment the workspace exists. Import ## Bring your data with you 1flux has one import workbench for companies, contacts and items: add your data, map the columns, validate, then commit. You can upload CSV or Excel, or paste straight from a spreadsheet. Excel templates come with live dropdowns, and nothing is saved until the server has checked every row. | What you import | Limit per file | | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Companies and contacts | 5,000 rows, 10 MB | | Items | 10,000 rows | | Opening stock | 10,000 rows, all or nothing | | Opening trial balance | Posted once, on your [cutover date](https://1flux.ai/glossary/cutover-date) | Rows that fail come back in a downloadable error file. Company duplicates are matched by website domain, so a second import can update rather than duplicate. Bulk edit then lets you correct up to 5,000 companies or items in a spreadsheet grid, with a review of every change before it’s applied. See how [1flux compares with Excel and spreadsheets](https://1flux.ai/compare/spreadsheets). [Data import and migration](https://1flux.ai/platform/data-import-and-migration) 1. Add data (CSV or Excel). 2. Map columns. 3. Validate (Every row checked): 1 row needs a fix. 4. Result (With an error file). Nothing is saved until every row has been checked. Failed rows come back in an error file. Three apps ## Start with the apps you need 1flux has three apps on one login and one data model: **CRM** (customers, deals, quotations and sales orders), **Inventory** (stock, purchasing, receiving and the warehouse) and **Accounting** (the ledger, receivables, supplier payments, bank reconciliation, financial statements and consolidation). Tasks, Calendar, Knowledge and Approvals are shared across all three. Accounting keeps complete books for a trading company. Documents post their own journals, and finance pays suppliers, reconciles the bank, prepares UAE and Saudi VAT returns and gets a profit and loss and balance sheet for each company. ZATCA and UAE e-invoicing are built in: see [e-invoicing](https://1flux.ai/products/e-invoicing). You switch on the apps you need, and the 1flux team enables them for you. Many SMEs start with CRM and quotations, or with stock and purchasing, and add the rest as they’re ready. Because every app shares one record and one permission system, a customer’s credit terms and a sales order’s lines are the same wherever they appear. 1. Three apps, one login - CRM Customers, deals, quotations, sales orders - Inventory Stock, purchasing, receiving, warehouse - Accounting Books per entity, posting, receivables 2. One shared layer - One data model Tasks, calendar, approvals, workflows, permissions Needs action ## Open the day on what needs you Small teams don’t have time for reporting. Every 1flux work area opens on a **Needs action** list: up to six rows, sorted by severity, each with one action that opens exactly the records behind it. Examples include quotations expiring within 7 days, delivered orders waiting for an invoice and goods received but not invoiced for more than 30 days. - A command palette (⌘K or Ctrl K) to jump to pages and create records - Keyboard shortcuts for switching app and company - Three themes: Studio grey, Warm paper and Dark - A responsive layout that works in a phone’s browser Each overview opens on what needs you, sorted by severity. Every row opens exactly the records behind it. View as text 1. The finance manager opens the Accounting overview. 2. The most severe row comes first: AED 96,400.00 overdue across 5 customers. 3. Then goods received not invoiced older than 30 days, and goods receipt reports still at provisional cost. 4. Then draft journals waiting to post and the month-end close reminder: 3 of 6 close steps done. 5. Each row opens exactly the records it counts. Room to grow ## Grow into control without rebuilding anything As you hire, admins set up custom roles from more than 100 permissions, decide who sees whose records and add approval rules to quotations by total amount. Workflows on deals, quotations, sales orders and tasks add required fields, checklists, approvals and reasons, all without code. When you open a second company, it becomes another legal entity in the same workspace, with its own currency, registrations, letterhead and books. A new warehouse is a setting, not a project. [Workflows and approvals](https://1flux.ai/platform/workflows-and-approvals) Switch legal entity from the top bar. Currency, figures and the books follow; nothing mixes. View as text 1. The finance manager is working in Sadaf Building Supplies LLC, whose books are in AED. 2. They open the entity switcher in the top bar (⌘⇧E). 3. They choose Sadaf Trading Company. 4. The page now shows the books of Sadaf Trading Company in SAR. Each entity keeps its own currency, numbering, warehouses and books. Pricing ## What does 1flux cost? You switch on only the apps you need, and every new customer starts with a guided demo. Talk to us about your companies, warehouses and people, and you'll get a straight answer. ### [1flux pricing](https://1flux.ai/pricing) See how pricing works for the apps, companies and people you need. ### [Book a demo](https://1flux.ai/demo) Bring the spreadsheets you run on today, and we'll show you where each one lands. How it works ## How does an SME get started on 1flux? Five steps from the first conversation to going live. 1. ### Book a demo Walk through your own scenario with the 1flux team. 2. ### Create your workspace And your first company, in one onboarding step. 3. ### Import your data Customers, contacts, items, then opening stock and balances on your cutover date. 4. ### Invite your team Give each person a role and the companies they work for. 5. ### Go live On the apps you've switched on, and add others when you're ready. Read about [implementation and onboarding](https://1flux.ai/implementation). Who it's for ## Which growing companies use 1flux? Owner-led B2B companies with a sales team, stock to manage and a small finance team. - ### [Growing trading and distribution companies](https://1flux.ai/solutions/trading-and-distribution) A sales team, a warehouse and a small finance team. - ### [Building materials and project suppliers](https://1flux.ai/solutions/building-materials) Building materials, MEP or fit-out supplies sold into named projects. - ### [Owners adding a second company or warehouse](https://1flux.ai/solutions/business-groups) One system for both, with separate books. Coming from an entry-level accounting package? See how 1flux compares as a [QuickBooks alternative](https://1flux.ai/compare/quickbooks-alternative). FAQ ## Questions, answered Still deciding? [Talk to sales](https://1flux.ai/contact) ### How much does 1flux cost? 1flux pricing is set out on the [pricing page](https://1flux.ai/pricing). You switch on only the apps you need, from CRM, Inventory and Accounting, and the 1flux team enables them for your workspace. Every new customer starts with a guided demo, so talk to sales about your number of companies, warehouses and people and you'll get a straight answer. ### How long does it take an SME to get started on 1flux? 1flux setup starts with one onboarding card that creates your workspace and company, with tax codes, roles, units and quotation stages seeded. Customers, items, opening stock and an opening trial balance then come in through imports that check every row before saving. How long the rest takes depends on how much data you bring and which apps you start with. See [implementation and onboarding](https://1flux.ai/implementation). ### Can we run 1flux without an IT team? Yes. 1flux is a cloud web app, so there's nothing to install or host, and it works in any phone or tablet browser. Admins configure roles, approvals, workflow stages, custom fields and numbering in settings without code. Each customer's data is isolated inside the database with PostgreSQL row-level security, and every deployment takes a verified backup first. ### Can we start with only CRM or only Inventory? Yes. 1flux has three apps, CRM, Inventory and Accounting, and you switch on the ones you need. The 1flux team enables apps for your workspace, so you can start small and add the others later. Every app shares one login, one data model and one permission system, so nothing needs to be re-entered when you add one. ### Can 1flux replace our accounting package? Yes. 1flux keeps double-entry books per company and posts every receipt, delivery, sales invoice, payment and purchase invoice automatically, through one posting gateway. Finance pays suppliers, reconciles the bank, prepares UAE and Saudi VAT returns and gets a profit and loss and balance sheet for each company, straight from the ledger. Quotations, purchasing and stock run in the same system, so nothing is re-keyed into the books. ### How can I try 1flux? 1flux starts every new customer with a guided demo with the 1flux team. In the demo, the team walks through quotations, purchasing, inventory and accounting using examples close to your business, and you can see how 1flux handles your own documents, such as a customer PO, a purchase order or a stock list. After the demo, you get a written proposal for your apps, people and companies. ### Can 1flux grow with us if we add a company or a warehouse? Yes. A second company becomes another legal entity in the same workspace, with its own currency, registrations, letterhead, numbering and books, and you can limit people to the companies they work for when you invite them. A new warehouse is a setting, not a project: it belongs to a company, and stock is tracked per warehouse. Legal entities can be registered in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India. Related ## Keep exploring ### [Pricing](https://1flux.ai/pricing) How a 1flux price is put together, and how to get a written proposal. ### [Data import and migration](https://1flux.ai/platform/data-import-and-migration) Import companies, contacts, items, opening stock and an opening trial balance, validated before anything is saved. ### [1flux vs Excel](https://1flux.ai/compare/spreadsheets) One connected record for teams running on spreadsheets, WhatsApp and a basic accounting package. ### [Workflows and approvals](https://1flux.ai/platform/workflows-and-approvals) Stage rules, approvals by amount and one approvals inbox, configured without code. ### [Implementation](https://1flux.ai/implementation) Seven steps from discovery to your first month-end close in 1flux. ### [1flux vs QuickBooks](https://1flux.ai/compare/quickbooks-alternative) Stock by warehouse, purchasing and receiving control, and the books, in one system. Last updated 11 October 2026