ERPNext and accounting software (freee, 弥生): which job belongs to which

If a shop already uses accounting software such as freee会計 (cloud) or 弥生会計 (which comes as the cloud 弥生会計 Next and the installed 弥生会計 27), the question when thinking about an ERP is not “should we drop the accounting software” but “which jobs does it handle, and which sit outside it”. This article is based on the official pages of freee, 弥生 and ERPNext, viewed on 2026-11-12; prices may change after that date.

M&C ERP is built on ERPNext, so we are not a neutral party; every figure has a source at the end of the article.

Two scopes

• Accounting software handles the books: recording income and spending, vouchers, reports, and the Japanese tax and invoice requirements each vendor says it supports.
• ERPNext records purchasing, stock, sales and accounting in one system; its official documentation describes the Point of Sale module as one that “integrates retail transactions with Inventory and Accounting”.

Cost (official pages, viewed 2026-11-12)

freee会計 for corporations (the pricing page for newly founded corporations states 「表示価格はすべて税抜きです」, prices exclude tax, for the first three plans; the pricing page for small and medium businesses, which lists アドバンス and エンタープライズ, does not say whether tax is included):

弥生会計 Next (tax excluded, 税抜): エントリー 34,800円 per year, ベーシック 50,400円 per year, ベーシックプラス 84,000円 per year (monthly contract: 3,480 · 5,040 · 8,400円 per month). On the 弥生会計 page, the cloud column states 「ユーザー追加が可能（従量課金）」 (users can be added, usage-based charge). 弥生会計 オンライン shows 「新規ご契約受付終了」 (no new contracts). 弥生 also has an installed desktop product, priced by support plan; see 弥生’s price page.

ERPNext: the ERPNext pricing page calls it “free and open-source” and says the cost has “two components - Hosting and Implementation”.

Japan’s invoice system (インボイス制度)

In each vendor’s own words:

• freee: the page of 「freee請求書」 (freee’s invoicing software) states 「インボイス制度・電子帳簿保存法 対応」.
• 弥生会計 Next states 「インボイス制度や電子帳簿保存法に対応。」 and 「適格請求書/区分記載請求書の入力に対応しています。」 (about entering invoices).
• M&C ERP: the demo has a 適格請求書 print format; it is a demonstration sample, not a version that meets the legal requirements.

Stock

freee has a product called 「freee在庫管理」. 弥生: in the column for the installed product (弥生会計 27), the 弥生会計 page says that if you also want to handle sales, purchasing and stock together, this is possible in combination with 「弥生販売」 (「「弥生販売」と組み合わせで対応が可能」); the cloud column does not say this. In ERPNext, stock, purchasing and sales live in the same system as accounting.

When to think about an ERP

• If the main work is bookkeeping and tax filing, and stock is small or simple, accounting software may already be enough.
• If the shop records stock, purchase orders and sales orders somewhere else and then re-enters them into the accounting software, that double entry is what an ERP can reduce.
• Support for Japanese tax and invoice requirements needs to be checked separately for any ERP before real use.

Information about M&C ERP for small shops in Japan is in preparation. If you would like to hear about it, register through the inquiry form on this site.