Häufig gestellte Fragen
Which industry ERPs are leading in the electrical trades?
In the German electrical trades, systems such as Streit V.1, pds, KWP (with the Label Software product line), Sander & Doll and WinWorker are widespread, each providing electrical-specific modules for wholesaler connectivity, test reports and mobile data capture. In the mid-market, generalist solutions such as Sage 100 with an industry layer are also used, for example when trade or manufacturing needs to be covered alongside the trades business. Industry-specific systems reduce customising effort and cover special processes such as IDS-Connect or DGUV V3 management out of the box, but are often more expensive per licence than purely generic software. Which solution fits depends heavily on company size, product range depth and the existing IT landscape.
What does an ERP for electrical businesses cost?
There is no blanket figure, as prices vary greatly with headcount, module scope and licence model. In the mid-market, implementation costs are, based on experience, in the range of roughly 2,500 to 6,000 EUR per workstation, while cloud subscriptions start at about 60 EUR per month per user, depending on the vendor. With classic on-premise models, annual maintenance and update fees are added, which in the industry typically amount to 18 to 22 per cent of the licence sum. Special modules for PV project planning, subsidy applications or maintenance contracts are often licensed separately as add-ons and should be factored into the total cost calculation.
How important are ETIM and wholesaler interfaces such as IDS-Connect?
ETIM is the de facto standard for classifying electrical material master data and thus practically mandatory for taking over article data from electrical wholesalers without manual maintenance. Complementing this, interfaces such as IDS-Connect, UGL and Datanorm handle the ongoing exchange of prices, availability and orders with wholesalers such as Sonepar, Rexel or Würth. Via IDS-Connect, current prices and delivery times can be transferred directly from the wholesale catalogue into the costing, making redundant article masters unnecessary. More on the underlying standards can be found in the article ERP for technical wholesale.
How does an electrical trades ERP support DGUV V3 inspections and test reports?
DGUV Regulation 3 (formerly BGV A3) requires recurring inspections of electrical installations and equipment, whose intervals must be determined via a risk assessment; guideline values are around six months for portable devices and three months on construction sites, with maximum values of one year in workshops and up to two years in office environments. An ERP maps the inspected devices and installations in the master data model, manages the inspection deadlines automatically and creates audit-proof test reports including resubmission. Mobile service apps also make it possible to capture measurement values and photo documentation directly on site. The inspection itself may still only be carried out by a person qualified to test (electrically skilled person) per TRBS 1203 — the ERP supports the documentation but does not replace the professional assessment.
Does an electrical business have to handle e-invoices, and from when?
The obligation to receive electronic invoices in the B2B sector has already applied since 1 January 2025, so every electrical business must be able to accept and process e-invoices. The obligation to send structured e-invoices follows in stages: from 1 January 2027 for companies with more than 800,000 EUR in prior-year revenue and from 1 January 2028 for all other businesses. The relevant formats in Germany are XRechnung and ZUGFeRD, with ZUGFeRD as a hybrid format additionally carrying a human-readable PDF view with embedded XML data. Towards private customers (B2C), PDF or paper invoices remain permissible; an e-invoice to private customers requires their consent. A modern ERP with a DATEV interface covers the creation, dispatch and archiving of these formats.
Which functions does an ERP need for PV, wallbox and heat pump projects?
With the growth of photovoltaics, storage systems, wallboxes and heat pumps, the business is shifting towards project- and subsidy-intensive orders that an ERP should be able to map. Important are a connection to the Marktstammdatenregister (MaStR, the German core energy market data register) — power-generating installations and storage systems must be registered there within one month of commissioning, otherwise fines and the loss of the EEG feed-in remuneration threaten — as well as workflows for grid operator approval. Added to this are templates and tracking for subsidy applications to KfW, BAFA and BEG, commissioning and VDE test reports, manufacturer warranty registration, and clean measurement and photo documentation. As these processes often run in parallel with the classic time-and-material business, flexible billing types and a project-related file are decisive.