Compare
Why not just use
Excel and Tally?
You might not need to switch everything. Spreadsheets, accounting software and a general ERP each do something well. What they leave to a person is the work in between: the buyer’s list, the container’s costing, the papers, and everyone outside your company. That’s what Octa is for.
Read a buyer's list into an enquiry
Octa · Any spreadsheet or photo, matched to your catalogue by meaning; what can't be placed is flagged
- Spreadsheets ·
- Retyped by hand
- Accounting software ·
- Not what it's for
- General ERP ·
- Import templates, if the buyer uses yours
Cost a container per product
Octa · Freight, duty and overhead spread by volume and value; a margin per product; landed cost per unit
- Spreadsheets ·
- Possible, fragile, one person understands it
- Accounting software ·
- Costs are booked after the fact
- General ERP ·
- Landed cost modules, usually per shipment not per carton
Proforma, packing list, commercial invoice
Octa · Built from the same lines, with each destination's registrations printed
- Spreadsheets ·
- Templates copied per shipment
- Accounting software ·
- Invoices, not export paperwork
- General ERP ·
- With customisation
Buyer approves online
Octa · A private link: read, ask for changes, approve with a name
- Spreadsheets ·
- PDF by email, reply by email
- Accounting software ·
- —
- General ERP ·
- Customer portals, at a price
Suppliers send rates
Octa · A link per supplier; rates land in the rate book and reach open consignments
- Spreadsheets ·
- Collected by phone and retyped
- Accounting software ·
- —
- General ERP ·
- RFQ modules, often supplier accounts needed
Tracking for the buyer
Octa · Milestones plus the carrier's own tracking, on one link
- Spreadsheets ·
- “Where is my container?” emails
- Accounting software ·
- —
- General ERP ·
- Integrations, separately priced
Plan against actual, and the P&L per container
Octa · The assumed figures frozen, the actual bills beside them, closed on facts
- Spreadsheets ·
- If someone keeps it up
- Accounting software ·
- Company-wide, not per container
- General ERP ·
- Project costing, set up by a consultant
Stock by lot with expiry, and what to reorder
Octa · Every lot's landed cost and expiry; the next container sized from sales
- Spreadsheets ·
- Manual
- Accounting software ·
- Quantities, rarely lots or expiry
- General ERP ·
- Usually strong here
Statutory accounts, tax returns, payroll
Octa · Not Octa's job — your accountant works from Octa's invoices and reports
- Spreadsheets ·
- —
- Accounting software ·
- What it's built for
- General ERP ·
- Built in
Up and running
Octa · Same day. 14 days free, no card
- Spreadsheets ·
- Already open
- Accounting software ·
- Days
- General ERP ·
- Months, with a consultant
| The job | Octa | Spreadsheets | Accounting software | General ERP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read a buyer's list into an enquiry | Any spreadsheet or photo, matched to your catalogue by meaning; what can't be placed is flagged | Retyped by hand | Not what it's for | Import templates, if the buyer uses yours |
| Cost a container per product | Freight, duty and overhead spread by volume and value; a margin per product; landed cost per unit | Possible, fragile, one person understands it | Costs are booked after the fact | Landed cost modules, usually per shipment not per carton |
| Proforma, packing list, commercial invoice | Built from the same lines, with each destination's registrations printed | Templates copied per shipment | Invoices, not export paperwork | With customisation |
| Buyer approves online | A private link: read, ask for changes, approve with a name | PDF by email, reply by email | — | Customer portals, at a price |
| Suppliers send rates | A link per supplier; rates land in the rate book and reach open consignments | Collected by phone and retyped | — | RFQ modules, often supplier accounts needed |
| Tracking for the buyer | Milestones plus the carrier's own tracking, on one link | “Where is my container?” emails | — | Integrations, separately priced |
| Plan against actual, and the P&L per container | The assumed figures frozen, the actual bills beside them, closed on facts | If someone keeps it up | Company-wide, not per container | Project costing, set up by a consultant |
| Stock by lot with expiry, and what to reorder | Every lot's landed cost and expiry; the next container sized from sales | Manual | Quantities, rarely lots or expiry | Usually strong here |
| Statutory accounts, tax returns, payroll | Not Octa's job — your accountant works from Octa's invoices and reports | — | What it's built for | Built in |
| Up and running | Same day. 14 days free, no card | Already open | Days | Months, with a consultant |
A general comparison of the kinds of tool, not of any one product. Accounting packages and ERPs vary; check the ones you’re considering.
Keep your forwarder and customs broker
OCTA prepares invoices, packing lists and order slips from the consignment record, with the landed cost of every unit. It does not file customs entries or book freight; your customs broker and freight forwarder keep doing that.
Keep your accounting software
Octa runs the trade; your accountant keeps the statutory books, working from the invoices and reports Octa produces.
Spreadsheets are fine for one container
At a container a month, a good workbook works. At four a month, with thirty suppliers, the workbook becomes the bottleneck.
An ERP is a project
If you need manufacturing, HR and ten warehouses, an ERP is the right tool. If you need to move containers well this month, it isn't.