ERP licence types explained: per user, flat, platform and resource-based

Per-user subscriptions

Per-user subscription is the most common model for cloud ERP, according to ERP Research. Microsoft publishes Business Central at $80 (Essentials) and $110 (Premium) per user per month, and Dynamics 365 Finance at $210, with a minimum purchase of 20 Finance licences in Microsoft's Product Terms. Odoo's US price list shows US$31.10 (Standard) and US$61.00 (Custom) per user per month on yearly billing; Odoo shows other prices in other regions. Cost grows in a straight line with headcount, so the user count you commit to matters most.

Light, team and activity users

Many vendors sell cheaper licences for people who only approve, view or do self-service tasks. Business Central Team Members cost $8 per user per month (official). Odoo's US price list shows a Light User at US$8.90, arranged through an Odoo advisor. For Dynamics 365 F&O, Microsoft does not publish the Operations – Activity price; a secondary source puts it at $50. Where a vendor publishes no light-user price (NetSuite, SAP Business One, S/4HANA in our data), the calculator prices light users as full users and says so — an upper bound.

Flat plans with user caps

Both small-business accounting tools in our data charge per plan rather than per user. QuickBooks Online plans include up to 1, 3, 5 or 25 users ($38–$340 per month list). Xero advertises no per-user licence fees, with US plans from $27 to $97 per month; its offer terms refer to a customer's first organisation, which indicates plans are bought per organisation. When you outgrow a plan's user cap you move to the next plan; above QuickBooks Online Advanced's 25 users the product no longer fits.

Platform fees and attach licences

Some vendors add a base fee on top of users. A secondary source reports NetSuite's base platform licence from $999 per month plus $99–$199 per full user, and $500–$1,000 per month for each additional OneWorld subsidiary. Microsoft F&O uses attach licences: a user who already holds a base app can add a second app at a lower attach price — $30 per user per month for Supply Chain Management on top of Finance, per Microsoft's Licensing Guide.

Resource-based and annual packages

Acumatica does not charge per user; secondary sources describe pricing by licensed applications and transaction volume, from $6,396 per year for the entry edition. Sage Intacct is sold as an annual package: CostBench reports a median contract of $56,902 per year from 349 purchases, and ERP Research quotes $400–$800 per named user per month while noting that Sage sells annual packages rather than seats, so the calculator uses the package by default.

How each system in our data is licensed

The table is generated from our pricing data. 'Basis' shows whether the default price is the vendor's official list price or a secondary estimate.

FAQ

Are light users cheaper?

Usually. Business Central Team Members are $8 per month versus $80 for Essentials. Not every vendor publishes a light-user price.

What is an attach licence?

A discounted licence for a second application given to a user who already holds a qualifying base licence, used by Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O.