Step Ahead STEPS

STEPS is the ERP suite of Step Ahead GmbH, a Bavarian software vendor that positions itself as a focused Mid-Market product for the trade, services and IT verticals. Founded in 1995 in Germering near Munich, Step Ahead has built a customer base of several thousand DACH businesses over almost three decades, with a vertical sweet spot in IT systems houses, technical wholesalers and service-driven mid-sized businesses. The product combines the standard ERP perimeter with vertical packs for IT distribution, service businesses and project-led trade, and ships native DATEV integration and GoBD-aligned bookkeeping for the German market. STEPS is positioned in the Tier-2 segment of the DACH Mid-Market ERP market alongside vendors such as Sage 100 and godesys.

Functional scope

STEPS covers the full Mid-Market ERP perimeter: financials with GoBD-aligned bookkeeping, AR/AP, multi-currency handling, sales and purchasing with frame contracts, multi-warehouse inventory, integrated CRM, project management with time-and-materials tracking, service-call management with field-service support, contract management with recurring billing for IT and service businesses, and document management. Vertical packs cover IT distribution (with deep handling of serial numbers, warranty and licence management), service businesses (with field-service workflows) and project-led trade (with project-controlling depth). The product handles the typical trade-with-service hybrid model of an IT systems house better than most horizontal ERPs and is a frequent choice for that vertical in DACH.

Target segment

STEPS targets German Mid-Market businesses between roughly 20 and 250 users in three primary verticals: IT systems houses and IT distribution, technical wholesale with significant service content, and project-led services such as engineering services or technical consultancies. The product is less well aligned with discrete manufacturing — for those use cases, abas ERP, proALPHA or SIVAS.ERP fit better — and is not the natural choice for e-commerce-first SMBs where Xentral, weclapp or JTL-Wawi typically deliver a better fit. At the upper end above 250 users with international multi-entity consolidation, Business Central or NetSuite usually provide more scale.

Architecture and deployment

STEPS is delivered both as an on-premises product and as a hosted managed service through Step Ahead or qualified partners. The technology stack is conservative and stable: a thick-client / web-hybrid front-end on Microsoft SQL Server, which is the standard combination for established Mid-Market ERPs in DACH. The product is not multi-tenant SaaS in the strict cloud-native sense; the hosting model is closer to dedicated cloud deployment with vendor-managed infrastructure. Open interfaces cover DATEV, banking, shipping carriers, common DMS platforms and the most relevant CRM and e-commerce systems for the target verticals.

Pricing and TCO

STEPS is sold under classical perpetual or rental licensing with annual maintenance, plus implementation services charged on a project basis. The vendor does not publish a public per-user price list. As a directional benchmark for a 50-user deployment in an IT systems house or technical wholesaler, software licences typically land between 40,000 and 120,000 euro, implementation services between 80,000 and 250,000 euro, and five-year total cost of ownership between 200,000 and 500,000 euro depending on vertical-pack depth and customisation. This places STEPS in the mid price segment of the DACH Mid-Market ERP market.

Selection considerations

STEPS is a strong choice for German Mid-Market IT systems houses, technical wholesalers and project-led service businesses between 20 and 250 users that value vertical depth, native DATEV integration and a focused vendor with decades of experience in the target verticals. It is less compelling for pure discrete manufacturers, e-commerce-first SMBs or upper-Mid-Market groups with international consolidation needs. For organisations where the trade-with-service hybrid model is core — an IT systems house being the archetype — STEPS is one of the most appropriate DACH Mid-Market options alongside Sage 100 and godesys.

Vendor homepage of STEPS (Step Ahead)

Current view of the website https://www.stepahead.de/

Screenshot of the homepage of STEPS (Step Ahead)

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Häufig gestellte Fragen

How long does the implementation of STEPS by Step Ahead take?

An ERP implementation takes 3 to 18 months depending on complexity. Cloud solutions are often live within 4–12 weeks, while classic mid-market ERPs need 6–12 months for requirements analysis, customising, data migration and training. More under ERP implementation.

How secure is STEPS by Step Ahead when it comes to data protection?

For cloud ERPs, the server location (ideally EU/Germany), a data processing agreement (DPA) and BSI C5 or ISO 27001 certifications are central criteria. GDPR compliance should be explicitly documented by the vendor. The exact details depend on the industry, size class and customising depth of the specific ERP setup.

How is STEPS by Step Ahead developed further?

Cloud ERPs typically receive monthly to quarterly releases automatically. On-premises ERPs have annual major releases with active patch maintenance. Release notes and the roadmap can be viewed at the manufacturer.

What happens to my data if I cancel STEPS by Step Ahead?

With cloud ERPs, a good vendor guarantees data export in open formats (CSV, JSON, SQL dump). The contract should explicitly regulate the data return obligation, deletion period and format. The exact details depend on the industry, size class and customising depth of the specific ERP setup.

What support SLAs does STEPS by Step Ahead offer?

Standard support usually covers business days from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a response time of around 4 hours. Premium/24x7 SLAs come at an extra charge. With cloud vendors, availability SLAs (e.g. 99.9%) are important – check the contract!