Lexware Inventory Management and Microtech are two German SMB trade-and-inventory products serving the small-business segment of German operations. Lexware Inventory Management is the inventory-and-trade module within the broader Lexware Office suite (Haufe Group). Microtech serves a slightly larger SMB-and-lower-mid-market segment with broader ERP scope. This comparison covers the practical differences for German SMB trade-and-inventory operations.
Vendor positioning
Lexware Inventory Management: part of the Lexware product family by Haufe Group. Targets small trade and inventory operations (typically under 30 employees) with simple operational patterns. Strong integration with Lexware accounting and Lexware Lohn. Microtech: established DACH SMB ERP from Microtech GmbH. Targets slightly larger SMB-and-lower-mid-market trade operations (typically 10-100 employees). Broader ERP scope including some manufacturing and project-business capabilities. Both products are German-built with native German-market features. Positioning targets adjacent customer-size segments.
Functional comparison
Lexware Inventory Management strengths: simple-and-accessible UX, fast deployment, tight Lexware ecosystem integration, accessible pricing for very-small operations. Microtech strengths: broader ERP scope, stronger inventory and warehouse capabilities, multi-warehouse support, customer-specific pricing depth, light-manufacturing capabilities. Where Lexware wins: very small SMBs (under 10 employees), pure-Lexware-ecosystem operations, minimal complexity requirements. Where Microtech wins: 10-100 employee operations, multi-warehouse, complex pricing scenarios, broader operational scope.
Pricing and architecture
Lexware Inventory Management: traditional Windows-based desktop application with subscription pricing (typically 25-60 EUR per user per month depending on edition). Cloud-deployed variants increasing. Microtech: Windows-based client-server architecture with subscription or perpetual licence options. Pricing higher than Lexware reflecting broader scope (typically 60-150 EUR per user per month). Both products are pre-modern in cloud-native terms; both have cloud-hosted variants increasing in maturity.
Selection guidance
Lexware Inventory Management for: very small operations (under 10 employees), simple trade and inventory operations, Lexware-ecosystem-centric organisations, cost-sensitive choice with limited complexity. Microtech for: 10-100 employee operations, more complex trade and inventory scenarios, light-manufacturing operations, broader operational scope than pure trade. Beyond either: organisations outgrowing both typically migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, weclapp or Sage 100 depending on specific industry-and-scope needs.
Implementation considerations
Implementation considerations beyond pure functional fit. Partner-network depth: the implementation partner often matters more than the product within a peer set. Both products typically have multiple credible DACH partners; evaluating partner-specific team CVs and project references matters substantially. Reference customers: speak to at least two customers per vendor in your specific industry segment. Industry-specific operational patterns reveal which product fits better in real operations. Total Cost of Ownership: compare 5-year TCO including software subscriptions, implementation services, ongoing support, infrastructure (where applicable) and internal effort. Cost differences typically 20-40% across comparable proposals; the absolute cost matters less than the operational outcome. Roadmap orientation: evaluate the vendor's investment trajectory and ecosystem strategy. Products with strong roadmap investment and growing ecosystem deliver better long-term value than products in maintenance mode despite functional parity at selection time.
Long-term operational considerations
Three additional patterns matter for long-term operations. (1) Upgrade and update model: cloud-SaaS products receive automatic updates; on-premises products require customer-managed upgrade projects. The cumulative cost-and-effort of upgrades over 5-10 years matters substantially. (2) Customisation discipline: products with constrained-customisation (clean-core) reduce long-term maintenance burden at the cost of operational flexibility. Products with flexible customisation enable operational specificity at the cost of upgrade complexity. Match the discipline to organisational capability. (3) Skills and talent: products with larger user-bases have larger pools of available IT-skilled professionals. Specialist products with smaller installed bases produce talent-acquisition friction over time. Selection should reflect not just current capability but long-term sustainability of the operations model.
What are the main differences between the two systems?
The key differences in architecture, industry fit, customizing depth and licensing model are compared in the main section of this page. The exact configuration depends on the industry, company size class and customizing depth of the specific ERP setup. A well-founded answer always requires a look at the individual business processes and the strategic IT roadmap.
Which system is better suited to mid-market companies?
Mid-market suitability differs by company size (SMEs with 50 employees, classic mid-market with 250 employees, upper mid-market with 1,000+). Suitability per size class is presented in the main section – see also ERP for the mid-market. The exact configuration depends on the industry, company size class and customizing depth of the specific ERP setup.
How long does a migration between the two systems take?
ERP migrations typically take 6–18 months. With significantly different data models, it can take longer. Read more under ERP implementation.
What do existing customers say about the two systems?
The Trovarit ERP study and vendor references provide qualitative data. Dedicated reviews can be found on the vendor pages above. The exact configuration depends on the industry, company size class and customizing depth of the specific ERP setup.
What customizing options do the two systems offer?
Customizing depth varies widely – cloud solutions are usually more restricted, while on-premise systems can often be fully adapted at source-code level. See the main comparison section for details. The exact configuration depends on the industry, company size class and customizing depth of the specific ERP setup.
