Your ERP treats a frigate block like a sales order, and that is the whole problem
A custom ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) for a Halifax shipbuilding, defence or port-logistics firm runs $90,000 to $180,000 over 5 to 8 months. You go custom in Halifax when NetSuite or SAP cannot represent a Canadian Surface Combatant work breakdown structure, ITAR/CGP-controlled inventory, and progress-billing tied to physical block completion all at once. Most marine firms here keep two ERPs and a parallel spreadsheet because no single off-the-shelf seat does all three.
You bought NetSuite to run a shipyard supply chain and discovered it thinks in invoices, not in hull blocks. A frigate work package at the Halifax Shipyard is months of labour against a fixed-price milestone, with earned-value reporting the prime contractor demands every period. NetSuite's project module bolts onto that awkwardly, so your project controls team rebuilds the EVMS in Excel anyway and reconciles it back by hand.
Then there is the controlled-goods problem. Odoo and Dynamics have no native concept of a Controlled Goods Program registration or a part that cannot ship to a non-cleared subcontractor. Your buyers police that in their heads, and one wrong PO to a Dartmouth machine shop becomes a compliance incident. Off-the-shelf ERP was built for distributors, not for a defence shipbuilder closing the books against block completion.
Why the usual tools struggle in Halifax
- NetSuite project accounting can't carry an earned-value milestone tied to physical block completion on a Surface Combatant package
- No native Controlled Goods Program (CGP) or ITAR flag, so export-controlled parts are policed manually in buyers' heads
- SAP's standard cost model fights fixed-price defence contracts where the milestone, not the unit, is what gets billed
- Marine-grade BOMs with 40,000 line items and revision churn grind Dynamics' MRP to a crawl
What a custom erp build changes
A custom ERP lets you model the actual object your business runs on: a work package with a labour budget, an earned-value curve, a CGP control flag, and a billing milestone that fires when QA signs off a block. You stop maintaining a shadow EVMS in Excel and stop trusting buyers to remember which parts are export-controlled. For a Halifax prime subcontractor, that single source of truth is the difference between passing a DCC audit and scrambling for three weeks before one.
The features that matter for Halifax
Halifax ERP: the full scope
Everything an ERP build here can cover: custom ERP modules, ERP API integration, ERP implementation, ERP integration, NetSuite customization, SAP integration and Odoo development.
- You run defence or marine contracts where billing is tied to milestones, not units sold
- Export control and CGP compliance is a recurring audit risk you currently handle manually
- Your project controls team maintains a shadow EVMS in Excel that finance reconciles by hand
- Your BOMs are large enough that off-the-shelf MRP performance is a daily complaint
- You're a commercial-repair or fabrication shop with no defence or export-control exposure
- Your project work is small enough that NetSuite's native project module actually fits
- You have under 20 finance and ops users and can't staff ERP ownership
- You need a system live this quarter and can adapt your process to an off-the-shelf flow
ERP pricing in Halifax: the real numbers
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Project-controls ERP layer over existing finance | $70k to $110k | 4 to 5 months |
| Full custom marine/defence ERP with CGP controls | $120k to $180k | 6 to 8 months |
| Annual support, compliance updates and integrations | $24k to $40k/yr | ongoing |
From kickoff to launch: the schedule
Exactly what you get
A system whose core object is a work package, not an invoice. It carries a labour budget, an earned-value curve, a CGP control flag and a billing milestone that fires on QA sign-off. It integrates to your shipyard CAD/PLM and MES, exposes a clearance-gated subcontractor portal, and produces a DCC-audit trail you don't have to assemble by hand. Finance closes the books against block completion instead of reconciling a shadow Excel EVMS every period.
How to choose a developer in Halifax
Pick a team that can talk fluently about defence supply chains and export control, not just SaaS plumbing. Ask them to walk through a Surface Combatant work package end to end: budget, earned value, controlled-goods gating, milestone billing. Local helps when they understand the Irving and Burnside ecosystem and can sit in your project-controls meetings. Pair the ERP with your inventory management software and a business intelligence dashboard so leadership sees package health without waiting for month-end.
- Earned-value and progress-billing computed from real block completion, not re-keyed from a parallel spreadsheet
- CGP and export-control flags enforced at the PO line, so a non-cleared subcontractor physically can't be issued a controlled part
- BOM engine tuned for 40,000-line marine assemblies with engineering-change revision history that survives audit
- One ledger across procurement, project controls and finance instead of NetSuite plus Excel plus a separate inventory tool
- Reporting that maps to the prime contractor's reporting cadence without a monthly manual reconciliation
- A custom ERP is a multi-year commitment; you own upgrades, security patching and the integration to your CAD and MES forever
- Defence-grade access control and audit logging add 20 to 30 percent to the build versus a generic internal tool
- You lose the off-the-shelf accounting modules NetSuite gives free, so payroll and tax filing still need an integration
- If your contract mix changes (less defence, more commercial repair), a hard-coded EVMS model can become a liability
- !A vendor who's never heard of the Controlled Goods Program; ask them to describe how they'd gate a controlled PO line
- !They demo a generic project-accounting module and call it earned value; ask to see a milestone-based progress-billing run
- !No questions about your prime contractor's reporting cadence; ask how they'll match it without manual reconciliation
- !They quote a fixed price before seeing a real BOM; ask them to load a 40,000-line assembly and show MRP performance
- !They suggest pure NetSuite customization; ask why a SuiteScript layer beats owning the work-package model outright
Teams investing in erp in Halifax usually scope it next to internal tools, shopify, inventory management, since these systems share data and budgets.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Can't I just configure NetSuite's project module instead of building?
You can for commercial repair work. For a defence package billed on milestones with earned-value reporting and CGP-controlled parts, NetSuite's project module forces a shadow EVMS in Excel and policies export control manually. At that point the configuration cost approaches a custom build with none of the fit.
How does a custom ERP handle the Controlled Goods Program?
It flags controlled parts at the item level and enforces clearance at the purchase-order line and shipment. A non-cleared Dartmouth subcontractor physically can't be issued a controlled part, and every touch is logged for a DCC audit. That replaces buyers remembering the rules in their heads.
What's the real timeline to first production close?
Six to eight months for a full custom marine ERP with CGP controls. A lighter project-controls layer over your existing finance system can be live in four to five. The long pole is integration to your CAD/PLM and MES, not the ledger itself.
Will it integrate with our shipyard CAD and MES?
Yes, that's the point. The BOM engine ingests engineering changes from PLM and the work-package object syncs progress from the MES driving your panel and block lines. The integration is where most of the budget and risk sits, so scope it first in discovery.
Is a custom ERP overkill if we're mostly a parts supplier?
If you supply controlled goods into the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the CGP and audit requirements alone often justify custom. If you're a pure commercial fabricator with no export-control exposure, an off-the-shelf ERP plus inventory management software is usually the better call.