What is ERP?

A simple explanation of ERP — what it is, what it does, and how it connects to your ecommerce store.

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. In practice, it is the central system a business uses to manage its core operations — finances, inventory, orders, purchasing, and reporting — in one place rather than across multiple disconnected tools.

ERP in ecommerce

For ecommerce businesses, the ERP is typically where invoices are created, VAT is accounted for, stock levels are tracked, and revenue is reported. Common ERP systems used by Nordic and European ecommerce businesses include Fortnox, Visma.net, Visma eEkonomi, Business Central, Monitor G5, and SAP.

The line between accounting system and ERP is blurry at the smaller end of the market. For many growing ecommerce businesses, Fortnox or Visma eEkonomi functions as the ERP — it handles invoicing, VAT, and basic inventory. Larger operations often add a dedicated WMS or PIM system alongside.

What an ERP system actually manages

Finances and accounting — invoices, credit notes, VAT, tax reporting, and reconciliation. Every sale from your webshop needs to be booked with the right account and tax code. That happens in the ERP.

Inventory — how many units you have, where they are, and what is on order. Accurate inventory in the ERP means accurate stock levels in your webshop — if the two are connected.

Orders — sales orders, purchase orders, and the ledger entries they create. When an order comes in from Shopify, the ERP creates the corresponding invoice.

Customers — company records, payment terms, credit limits, and in B2B contexts, contract pricing.

Reporting — profit and loss, VAT returns, and the data that drives management decisions.

ERP and ecommerce integration

An ERP system does not automatically talk to your webshop. Orders placed in Shopify or WooCommerce do not automatically appear in Fortnox or Business Central. Stock levels updated in the ERP do not automatically reflect in the store. Those two systems need to be connected.

That connection is what an integration platform like Junipeer provides. When your ERP and ecommerce platform are connected, every order creates an invoice automatically, stock levels update in near real-time, and payout reconciliation from Klarna or Stripe happens without manual work.

Next steps

Integrate your ERP with ecommerce | Compare ERP systems for ecommerce | All integrations

Frequently asked questions

What does ERP stand for?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning — the central system a business uses to manage finances, inventory, orders and reporting in one place.

Is an accounting system like Fortnox an ERP?

For many small and mid-sized ecommerce businesses, the accounting system is the ERP — it is where invoices, VAT and stock are managed. Larger operations may run a full ERP like Business Central or SAP alongside it.

What is the difference between an ERP and an ecommerce platform?

Your ecommerce platform (e.g. Shopify) runs your storefront and captures orders. Your ERP creates the invoices, books the revenue and tracks stock. They handle different jobs and usually need to be connected.

Do I need to connect my ERP to my online store?

If you are re-keying orders or updating stock by hand, connecting them removes that manual work and the errors it causes. Orders, invoices and stock levels then move automatically. Setup with Junipeer takes about 15 minutes.

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