Why publishing pricing this transparently is rare
Most software providers in Singapore avoid publishing manufacturing ERP cost numbers. The polite reason is that every project is different. The honest reason is that vague pricing keeps options open during sales. The cost of that vagueness lands on the buyer — manufacturers spend weeks chasing quotes from three vendors just to discover their workflow does not match the package shape.
Start Canyon publishes the bands. The estimator at /tools/cost-estimator runs through seven workflow questions and returns one of four engagement sizes within two minutes. The logic is rules-based and inspectable. The point is not to replace a real quote — the point is to make the first conversation start with both sides already speaking the same numbers.
The four bands and what they actually buy
Lean MVP build — S$10k to S$15k
This is the right shape when your operation is small enough that one workflow surface solves the constraint. Usually that surface is the master Excel: replace it with a single admin console plus a customer-scoped pricing engine, wire the lead routing, and you have a real system. Six to eight weeks. One paid discovery produces the scope. The financial system stays where it is.
Standard build — S$15k to S$25k
The Start Canyon centre of gravity. You have multiple workflow surfaces — admin, customer-facing, sometimes supplier — and one or two integrations. Eight to ten week build. A multi-portal MVP with a customer-scoped pricing engine, a production or order pipeline tracker, and a single finance integration (Xero, Million, Globe3, or similar). Most Singapore SMB manufacturers between 30 and 150 staff land here.
Expanded build — S$25k to S$40k
When the workflow has enough surfaces — multi-language supplier portals, mobile field sales, several integrations — that the first phase is a deliberate set of choices. Ten to fourteen weeks of build with phased rollout from week eight. Admin, customer, and supplier portals on Postgres with real-time sync; pricing engine with tier and per-customer overrides; production status pipeline with audit history; two to three system integrations.
Phased programme — S$40k and above
When scope is larger than a single MVP, the right shape is a phased programme. A paid discovery produces a roadmap; two or three build phases deliver over several months, each shipping independent value before the next begins. This band is for businesses with multiple product lines, multiple business units, or substantial integration debt.
What changes the band you land in
Seven inputs to the estimator map roughly to seven workflow dimensions. Each adds weight; the total maps to one of the four bands.
- Headcount — drives adoption complexity and per-portal user counts.
- Custom-spec share — drives pricing engine and configurator effort.
- Pricing model — published list, tiered, negotiated per customer, or "one senior person quotes from memory".
- Supplier count — drives portal scope, language work, and synchronisation effort.
- Order volume — drives stage modelling, filtering, and reporting needs.
- Existing systems to integrate — drives testing and integration surface area.
- Mobile workflows — drives layout and surface work for field users.
What is not in the band
The band quotes the Start Canyon build. It does not include third-party licences (Vercel hosting, Resend email, Postgres if you choose to host externally), hardware, or grant-related fees if you pursue PSG or EDG. None of these are significant for an SMB build — total third-party recurring cost is usually under S$200 per month — but they are real and should be itemized in discovery.
Adoption work is included. Migration scripts to move your master Excel into the new system, training sessions for sales admin and production, and a parallel-run window are part of the engagement. Skipping adoption is the most common reason ERP projects fail in Singapore SMB manufacturing, and we refuse to ship without it.
How the bands compare to alternatives
SAP Business One implementations in Singapore typically start at S$80k and reach S$250k for a full deployment. Dynamics 365 Business Central is similar. Odoo via a local SG partner usually lands between S$25k and S$120k depending on customization depth and partner choice. Synergix sits between S$40k and S$150k. Zoho One is much cheaper at user-month pricing, but rarely models SMB manufacturer pricing complexity well enough.
The bands above are not a like-for-like comparison. A Start Canyon build replaces a workflow bottleneck; an enterprise ERP replaces an organisation’s entire back office. The comparison the cost estimator is built for is: where in the Excel-to-ERP gap is the bottleneck, and what does it cost to solve that bottleneck cleanly.
How to use the estimator before talking to us
Run the estimator with your operations lead, not alone. The most useful answers come from someone who actually quotes customers, talks to suppliers, and watches the production whiteboard. Print the PDF, share it internally, and circle the answers that someone would argue with — those are usually the answers that point at the real bottleneck.
Then book a discovery if the band feels worth a conversation. Discovery is one paid week, between S$1,500 and S$3,000, and produces a written scope and fixed quote. If we are not the right team, you walk away with a workflow audit you can use anywhere.