Pastel to Cloud ERP Migration Cost and Payback Calculator
Replacing Pastel or another entry-level package is usually justified by control, not by the licence line. This calculator shows whether the cost case holds on its own once hosting, IT support and manual work are counted.
Your numbers
Your results
Business case arithmetic from your inputs. It excludes tax effects, growth, and benefits such as better stock control or faster month end.
Annual saving vs share of manual hours removed
Sweeps Share of manual hours removed from 0 to 80, holding your other inputs fixed.
ERP business case review
Send your inputs and we will give a candid second opinion on the case and the migration risks.
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How to use it
List what the current system truly costs: licence or support fee, the server and backup, and the IT support that keeps it running. Then add the hidden item, the hours your people spend re-keying data between sales, stock and spreadsheets. On the new side enter the subscription, the hosting or integration costs and the implementation and data migration quotes. The tool computes the net annual position and the payback.
- Get hours from the team, not from a guess.
- Use a loaded rate that includes benefits.
- Test with a lower share of hours removed to be cautious.
The method
Annual saving is current total minus new total. Payback in months is one-off cost divided by annual saving times twelve, calculated only when the saving is positive. Return over the horizon is saving times years minus one-off cost, divided by the one-off cost. It is a simple undiscounted view, which suits a first screening. For board papers, discount the cash flows and include inflation on the subscription.
Reading the result
If the saving is negative, the move must be justified by other things: inventory visibility, costing, multi-currency, audit trail and the ability to run a manufacturing route. Be honest about that in the business case. If payback is beyond three years on realistic inputs, check scope. Heavy customisation is the most common reason an ERP project outgrows its budget.
Common mistakes
Counting only the licence, ignoring the data clean-up, and assuming all manual hours vanish. Budget for parallel running during the first month end, user training, and changes to reports that your management relies on. Cloud subscriptions in dollars add exchange-rate exposure, so test a weaker rand on the subscription line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the licence fee the main saving?
Rarely. For smaller companies the larger items are IT support, backup, and the staff hours spent re-keying and reconciling. A fair business case counts all three, and then lists control benefits separately.
What share of manual hours can I remove?
Between 20 and 50 percent is common in first-year estimates when sales, stock and purchasing finally share one system. Test it low, then ask what process changes are needed to actually bank the gain.
Why is my payback negative or zero?
Zero is shown when there is no annual saving, since payback has no meaning. That means the cloud system costs more to run than the old one, so the case rests on capability gains rather than cost.
Should I discount the cash flows?
For a formal case, yes. This tool is a screening step. Use it to decide whether a case is worth building, then discount the cash flows at your cost of capital in a separate model.
We can help you test the numbers against your actual transaction volumes and sketch a migration plan. Ask for an expert review of your business case.
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More ERP Migration & Selection tools
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- ERP Migration Risk Assessment
- Data Migration Effort Calculator
- ERP Selection Scorecard for Manufacturers
- ERP Go-Live Readiness Checklist
- ERP Change Management Readiness Assessment
- ERP Integration Complexity Calculator
- Cloud vs On-Premise ERP Cost Calculator
- ERP Upgrade vs Replace Assessment