ERP vs CRM: What each system does and how they work together

Key takeaways

• Sales reps spend only 40% of their time selling and spend the rest on tasks such as data entry, according to Salesforce's 2026 State of Sales report.¹

• An ERP runs a company's finances and operations from one database, while a CRM tracks customers and sales deals before and after they close.

• Airwallex connects payments, bills, and expenses to ERP software and creates Payment Links inside CRM software such as HubSpot, which lets sales and finance see the same payment status.

ERP and CRM are two systems that run different sides of a business: an ERP manages internal operations while a CRM manages customers and sales. In many growing companies, sales closes a deal in a CRM and finance enters it again in an ERP to bill, ship, and collect payment. This guide explains the five key differences, how ERP and CRM systems pass data from a sales quote to a collected payment, and whether a business should implement an ERP or a CRM first.

What is the difference between ERP and CRM?

The main difference between ERP and CRM is that ERP software runs a company's internal operations, while CRM software manages a business’s relationships with prospects and customers. ERP handles work such as accounting, inventory, and purchasing, while CRM handles sales, marketing, and customer service. IBM describes ERP as software that manages internal business operations and CRM as software that focuses on external business interactions.²

Both ERPs and CRMs are databases that teams use every day, but they hold different records for different people. Most growing companies end up using both tools. The CRM helps win sales. The ERP records that revenue, delivers what was sold, and collects the payment.

What are CRM and ERP software?

CRM and ERP software are two core systems that most mid-market companies use to run their business. Both types of software started as smaller tools and grew into platforms with many apps. ERP began as material requirements planning (MRP) software for factories and now includes apps, such as payroll and eCommerce. CRM began as a digital contact list and now adds apps such as marketing automation and customer service ticketing.

What is CRM software?

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is the system of record for a company's customers, prospects, and sales deals. It tracks leads, records calls and emails, and manages the sales pipeline, which is the list of open deals and their stages. Many CRMs also manage marketing campaigns and customer support tickets. This means sales, marketing, and service teams all work from the same record for each customer.

What is ERP software?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is the system of record for a company's money and operations. It maintains the general ledger, which is the master record of every account, and it manages accounts payable (money the company owes), accounts receivable (money owed to the company), inventory, purchasing, and often payroll. Its job is to record transactions accurately and produce financial statements that pass an audit.

The 5 key differences between ERP and CRM systems

ERP and CRM systems differ in five areas:

1. What the business uses each system for

2. Who uses them

3. What data they hold

4. How they measure success

5. What they cost to implement.

1. Business focus

A CRM is used to grow revenue by helping teams find, win, and keep customers. An ERP focuses on running the business profitably by recording costs, fulfilling orders, and keeping financial records accurate. For example, a CRM shows how many deals closed this quarter, and an ERP shows whether those deals made a profit.

2. Primary users

CRM users are staff who work with customers, such as sales reps, account executives, customer success managers, marketers, and support agents. ERP users are finance and operations staff, such as chief financial officers (CFOs), controllers, accountants, procurement leads, and warehouse managers. ERP users also need strict permissions and audit trails, which are records of who changed what, because their entries change the company's financial records.

3. Data each system manages

A CRM holds flexible activity data, such as deal stages, meeting notes, email threads, and support history. Admins can easily add custom fields. An ERP holds structured financial data based on double-entry bookkeeping, where accountants record every transaction as a matching debit and credit. To correct an ERP record, accountants usually post a reversing entry—a new entry that cancels the old one. This keeps the original transaction visible to auditors.

4. Core metrics

CRM reports track pipeline health and customer value, including win rate, sales cycle length, customer acquisition cost (the cost to win one new customer), and churn (the share of customers who leave). ERP reports track financial health, including gross margin, working capital, inventory turnover, and days sales outstanding (how long customers take to pay).

Gartner found that finance leaders rank CRM technology, cloud ERP, and analytics tools as the three most valued technologies in the finance function.³

5. Cost and implementation timeline

An ERP costs more and takes longer to implement than a CRM because it replaces the company's accounting records and requires data cleanup, process redesign, and staff training. According to Panorama Consulting Group's 2026 ERP Report, the median ERP project takes nine months, and more than a quarter of organizations went over budget.⁴ A CRM rollout is usually shorter because most of the work is setting up sales stages, fields, and user access.

How ERP and CRM systems work together

ERP and CRM systems work together through a quote-to-cash process, which covers the steps from a sales quote to collected payments. An integration sends the closed deal from the CRM to the ERP and returns the payment status — resulting in neither team entering the same data twice. The process usually has four stages:

1. Quote and deal close in the CRM

The process starts in the CRM, where a sales rep builds a quote with products, prices, and discounts. Many teams use configure, price, quote (CPQ) tools inside the CRM to build quotes and keep discounts within approved limits. When the customer signs, the rep marks the deal "Closed Won," starting the next stage.

2. Sales order and credit check in the ERP

In this stage, the integration sends the closed deal to the ERP, which creates a sales order with the agreed products, prices, and delivery dates. The ERP also checks the customer's payment history and credit limit. If the customer has overdue invoices, finance can hold the order before anything ships.

3. Fulfillment and invoicing in the ERP

Next, the ERP manages delivery, such as shipping goods from a warehouse or starting a subscription. After delivery is confirmed, the accounts receivable module issues the invoice, calculates sales tax, and schedules revenue recognition under ASC 606, the US accounting standard for when revenue is recorded. The ERP then posts the invoice and revenue entries to the general ledger.

4. Payment status sync back to the CRM

When the customer pays, the ERP matches the payment to the open invoice and updates the cash balance. The integration then sends the paid status back to the customer's record in the CRM. For example, an account manager preparing a renewal can see that the last invoice was paid on time without asking the finance team.

Benefits of ERP and CRM integration

The main benefit of ERP and CRM integration is that each customer, order, and payment is entered once and stays the same in both systems. Only a third of sales teams use an all-in-one platform, according to Salesforce. Teams that rely on separate tools use eight of them on average.⁵ An integration eliminates the copying and pasting between those tools, which reduces errors in billing addresses, tax details, and line items.

Integration also improves forecasting. Finance can use pipeline data, meaning CRM records of deals that haven’t closed yet, to forecast cash. Procurement can also order materials before a large deal closes. This lets finance and procurement plan from the same numbers that sales tracks.

Challenges of ERP and CRM integration

The biggest challenge of ERP and CRM integration is that the two systems organize data differently. A CRM is built around accounts and contacts. An ERP is built around customer records, billing entities, and subsidiaries. This means teams must match one structure to the other. Finance and information technology (IT) teams also need to agree on which system owns each field, such as legal name, billing address, and tax ID. This prevents the sync from overwriting correct data.

Custom connections between the two systems need regular maintenance because a software update on either side can break them. Sales and finance may also have different priorities. Sales wants fast deals and flexible discounts, and finance wants complete tax details and firm payment terms. Agreeing on these rules is as important as the technical setup.

Should a business implement ERP or CRM first?

A business should first implement the system that addresses its primary bottleneck. A business implements a CRM when growth depends on winning customers, and an ERP when operations or accounting cannot keep up. Because budget, staff time, and IT support are limited, most companies implement one system before the other.

When a CRM should come first

A CRM should come first when the business sells services or software, holds little or no inventory, and needs a clearer view of its pipeline. Startups, agencies, and business-to-business (B2B) software companies can keep their books in entry-level accounting software such as QuickBooks Online or Xero while they build a sales process. As the CRM helps the business win more sales, that extra revenue can pay for an ERP later.

When an ERP should come first

An ERP should come first when the business holds inventory, manufactures products, runs a supply chain, or operates several legal entities. Distributors, manufacturers, and multi-channel retailers need accurate inventory and cost of goods sold (the direct cost of the products sold) from the start. If a CRM brings in more sales before the back office can handle them, fulfillment and accounting problems can grow.

When a unified ERP CRM system makes sense

A unified ERP CRM system makes sense for mid-market companies replacing their core systems at the same time. Suites like NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer CRM and ERP modules on one database, which means the business doesn't need a separate integration between them. The trade-off of a unified system is that built-in CRM modules often have fewer sales and marketing features than dedicated platforms such as Salesforce or HubSpot.

How Airwallex works with ERP and CRM software

Airwallex isn’t an ERP or a CRM. It works with both systems by handling the payments and currency conversions between them. Sales teams can collect payments from inside the CRM and Airwallex sends payments, bills, and card expenses to the accounting system on supported plans. Businesses planning these connections can read more about ERP payment integration and how payment data reaches the general ledger.

Bank feed, expense, and bill sync with NetSuite, Xero, and QuickBooks

Airwallex sends bank feeds, which are automatic transaction lists, to Xero and QuickBooks on every plan, and the Airwallex Grow plan adds NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central sync.⁶ Airwallex Expense Management posts approved card expenses and reimbursements to the general ledger, and Airwallex Bill Pay syncs vendor bills and payments back to the accounting system. With the NetSuite integration with Airwallex, each currency the business holds in Airwallex shows up in NetSuite as a separate bank feed, which updates every hour.

Multi-currency accounts for international customers and suppliers

An Airwallex Borderless Cash account lets US businesses hold 20+ currencies and receive funds from 70+ countries through local account details. This means international customers can pay through local bank transfers instead of international wires. Finance teams can hold those balances and use them to pay overseas suppliers with transfers to 200+ countries and regions. When a conversion is needed, Airwallex charges just 0.5% above the interbank rate for major currencies and 1.0% for all others.

Payment Links inside HubSpot deals

The Airwallex HubSpot integration lets sales teams create secure Payment Links directly inside a HubSpot deal for the deal amount. A HubSpot deal is the record HubSpot uses to track one sale.⁷

When a customer uses the link, the integration updates the deal with the latest payment status, meaning reps don't need to ask finance whether the customer has paid yet.

The payment also appears in the Airwallex transactions that feed the accounting system, where finance matches it to the invoice.

Frequently asked questions about ERP vs CRM

Is Salesforce a CRM or an ERP?

Salesforce is a CRM built for sales, service, marketing, and eCommerce teams. Its add-on apps offer some ERP features, such as quoting and billing tools, but Salesforce doesn’t include a general ledger. Companies usually connect Salesforce to a dedicated ERP such as NetSuite or SAP for accounting.

Is SAP an ERP or a CRM?

SAP is mainly an ERP provider, known for systems such as SAP S/4HANA that run finance, procurement, and supply chains for large companies. SAP also sells customer experience software for sales and service. Most businesses choose SAP for its ERP products.

Is NetSuite an ERP or a CRM?

NetSuite is mainly a cloud ERP for mid-market and fast-growing companies that need multi-entity accounting, inventory, and procurement. It includes a built-in CRM module for contacts and pipeline tracking. Companies with complex sales processes often pair NetSuite with a dedicated CRM such as Salesforce or HubSpot.

What are the top ERP and CRM systems?

The top ERP systems for mid-market and enterprise companies are Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, SAP S/4HANA, Sage Intacct, and Acumatica. The top CRM systems include Salesforce Sales Cloud, HubSpot Sales Hub, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, and Zoho CRM. The right ERP and CRM for a business depend on company size, industry, and the integrations each system offers.

What is the difference between ERP, CRM, and SCM?

The difference between ERP, CRM, and SCM is the part of the business each system manages. ERP runs internal finance and operations, CRM manages customer relationships and sales, and supply chain management (SCM) software plans and tracks the flow of goods from suppliers to customers. Many ERPs include SCM modules, and large manufacturers often add a dedicated SCM platform.

Can Excel work as a CRM?

Excel can work as a basic contact list for a founder with a few prospects but it won’t work as a CRM for a growing sales team. Spreadsheets lack activity tracking, user permissions, automatic stage updates, and connections to email and accounting tools. As the customer list grows, staff may accidentally edit different copies of the file and miss follow-ups.

Sources

1. https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/state-of-sales-report-announcement-2026/

2. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/erp-vs-crm

3. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-03-24-gartner-finance-survey-revelas-crm-technologies-are-the-most-valued-in-the-finance-function

4. https://4439340.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4439340/Reports/ERP%20Report/2026-erp-report-panorama-consulting-group.pdf

5. https://www.salesforce.com/en-us/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/documents/reports/sales/salesforce-state-of-sales-report-2026.pdf

6. https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/pricing

7. https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/apps/airwallex-v1-0--810401