Why an ERP or coding your own system with AI could be the biggest mistake you make in 2026

Option one

Spend $100k+ on an ERP and put in a 6-month slog just to get it LIVE…

An ERP works. No argument. For some businesses it is the right call. It is also a much bigger job than most people are told up front, and here is where it bites.

#1. The price gets serious… fast.

For a 20 to 50 person business the first year runs $50k to $180k on published Australian numbers. At 50 to 200 people it is more like $150k to $500k.

And it is never one bill. You pay for the software, the setup, the consultants who configure it, moving your data across and training the team.

#2. Then it eats months of your time.

Six to twelve months is normal here. Even the quickest path the big sellers publish wants a few hours from you every week for two to four months.

Someone has to map how you work now, clean up the data, set it up, test it, train the team and hold it together on go live day. That someone works for you, and they still have their old job to do.

#3. And after all that, the jobs can still end up back in a spreadsheet.

An ERP is built for the accountants. It is great with the books. It is not great with jobs.

So the floor goes back to a spreadsheet to keep track. You have spent six figures, and you are still asking someone where the job is up to.

The good news is, you do not need an ERP. So you do not have to part with $100k plus of your hard earned cash to get a grip on your jobs.

Option two

Surely you can just build your own system with AI, right?

Fair question in 2026. Writing code has never been easier and the first version usually looks not too bad. The trouble starts after that.

#1. AI can build features… But it doesn’t become your software team.

Once 30 or 50 people use it every day, someone has to look after it. The database. Who can see what. The backups. Every new version. The bugs.

And the links to your other software, which break the day something changes at their end.

#2. Building it can be cheap… Owning it is EXPENSIVE.

So who looks after it? Hire a developer and you are into six figures a year. An Australian developer earns about $132,000 on average.

Or you do it yourself. Nights and weekends, fixing issues – in a back end you do not really understand.

…Which brings us to the third problem, and it is the dangerous one.

#3. The security risks would keep any sane business owner up at night

Code from AI still has to be checked by someone who knows what they are doing. A 2025 study of more than 500,000 code samples found more high risk holes in AI code than in the human code it was compared against.

Cybercrime costs a medium sized Australian business $97,200 per report on average. Your jobs, your prices, your customer list and your staff details would all be sitting in there.

None of this means AI writes bad software. It means someone still has to be paid to look after it, and that someone is now on your payroll.

#1. It already works in workshops like yours.

WorkGuru has been running industrial businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the USA for seven years. Fabricators, trailer builders, structural steel and engineering workshops.

The tricky parts of a job shop are already sorted. The drawing changes. The subbies. The stock. The six week job that goes through four departments.

• Up and running in weeks, not most of a year. We help you set it up. That is part of the deal.
• Built around how a workshop runs. Not an app for a bloke in a van, stretched to fit.

#2. You get the best parts an ERP gives you and more to streamline your operations (the stuff that actually makes the money).

Quotes, jobs, scheduling, hours, buying, stock, invoices and profit per job. All in one place, talking to Xero or MYOB.

No ledger to set up. No big add-on to pay for so three people can use it. And no consultant needed when you want to change how something works.

• The quote and the real cost, side by side. Hours, materials, subbies and overheads on the one screen, while the job is still running.
• Stock, purchase orders and landed costs are in there. Most job apps leave those out.
• Your accounts stay where they are. Invoices and bills go both ways, so nothing gets typed in twice.

#3. Looking after it is not your job.

Updates, backups, the links to other software and the security are all handled at our end.

If Xero changes something at their end, that is our job to fix. Not a Friday night for the bloke who built your app.

• Updates and backups happen without you. Nothing to test, nothing to patch.
• Security is our job, every day. Not another role you have to hire for.