🚀 Deploy ERPNext on Ubuntu VPS

This article provides a guide demonstrating how to deploy ERPNext on Ubuntu VPS.

This guide uses Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, ERPNext v15, Frappe Bench, MariaDB, Redis, Supervisor, Nginx, and Let’s Encrypt SSL. Frappe’s production docs identify Bench as the CLI used to manage Frappe/ERPNext deployments and show the standard production flow: install Bench, create a site, get the ERPNext app, install it, check Supervisor, and update with bench update.

What is ERPNext?

ERPNext is a free, open-source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform that helps organizations manage nearly every aspect of their business from a single, integrated web application. It is built on the Frappe Framework using Python and JavaScript and is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL v3), making it suitable for self-hosting or customization.

Unlike traditional ERP systems that often require expensive licensing, ERPNext can be deployed on your own servers, in the cloud, or through managed hosting providers.

What does ERPNext do?

ERPNext combines multiple business applications into one system, allowing departments to share data in real time.

Major modules include:

Key Features

Complete Accounting

ERPNext includes a comprehensive accounting system with:

• Double-entry bookkeeping
• Multi-company support
• Multi-currency support
• Tax management
• Budgeting
• Fixed assets
• Profit & Loss
• Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow
• Bank reconciliation
• Automated journal entries

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Track:

• Leads
• Opportunities
• Quotations
• Sales pipeline
• Customer communications
• Follow-up reminders
• Marketing campaigns

Inventory Management

Features include:

• Unlimited warehouses
• Stock transfers
• Barcode support
• Batch tracking
• Serial number tracking
• Reorder levels
• Landed costs
• Stock valuation
• Inventory forecasting

Manufacturing

ERPNext is especially popular among manufacturers.

It supports:

• Multi-level Bills of Materials
• Production planning
• Capacity planning
• Workstations
• Job cards
• Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
• Quality inspections
• Production costing

Human Resources

Manage:

• Employees
• Departments
• Payroll
• Attendance
• Leave requests
• Expense claims
• Performance reviews
• Recruitment

Project Management

Includes:

• Gantt charts
• Kanban boards
• Task assignments
• Time tracking
• Billing
• Project budgets
• Milestones

Website & Portal

ERPNext includes a built-in web framework for:

• Company websites
• Blogs
• Customer portals
• Supplier portals
• Product catalogs
• Web forms
• Knowledge bases

No external CMS is required, though it can integrate with others if desired.

Reporting & Dashboards

Users can create:

• Custom reports
• Interactive dashboards
• Charts
• KPIs
• Scheduled reports
• Print formats
• PDF exports

Workflow Automation

ERPNext can automate many business processes, such as:

• Document approvals
• Email notifications
• Role-based permissions
• Scheduled jobs
• Server scripts
• Custom workflows
• Business rules

Customization

One of ERPNext’s biggest strengths is its flexibility.

You can customize:

• Forms
• Fields
• Workflows
• Reports
• Print templates
• Dashboards
• Email templates
• Permissions
• Web pages
• Client scripts
• Server-side Python code

Most changes can be made through the web interface without modifying the core application.

Integrations

ERPNext offers APIs and can integrate with:

• REST API
• GraphQL (via extensions)
• Webhooks
• Zapier (through community connectors)
• Payment gateways (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Authorize.net, depending on available integrations)
• Shipping providers
• LDAP/Active Directory
• OAuth providers
• Email servers
• SMS gateways
• QuickBooks migration tools
• Shopify and WooCommerce (via community apps)

Mobile Access

ERPNext is fully web-based and responsive, allowing access from:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• iPhone
• Android
• Tablets

There are also community-supported mobile apps available.

Typical Users

ERPNext is used by organizations such as:

• Manufacturers
• Wholesalers
• Retailers
• Distributors
• Professional service firms
• Construction companies
• Healthcare providers
• Educational institutions
• Non-profits
• Technology companies
• Government organizations

It is particularly well suited for small to medium-sized businesses but can scale to larger deployments with appropriate infrastructure.

Advantages

• No per-user licensing fees for self-hosted deployments
• Comprehensive suite of integrated business applications
• Modern web interface
• Highly customizable
• Strong API support
• Active open-source community
• Self-hosted or cloud deployment options
• Frequent feature updates
• Multi-company and multi-currency capabilities

Considerations

• Initial implementation requires planning, especially if migrating from another ERP.
• Customizations may require knowledge of the Frappe Framework and Python.
• Performance and reliability for larger organizations depend on proper server sizing, database tuning, backups, and high-availability architecture.

ERPNext vs. Odoo

SEE ALSO: 🚀 Deploy Odoo on Rocky Linux VPS

Is ERPNext a good fit?

ERPNext is an excellent choice if you want a full-featured, customizable ERP without recurring per-user licensing costs. It is especially appealing for organizations with in-house technical expertise or access to a hosting provider that can manage the deployment. For companies already operating Linux infrastructure or providing managed hosting—such as Rad Web Hosting—it can be deployed on a VPS or dedicated server and tailored to specific business processes while retaining full control over the data.

Recommended VPS Requirements

For a small production ERPNext server:

• OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• CPU: 2+ vCPU
• RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB+ recommended
• Disk: 40 GB+ SSD/NVMe
• Domain: erp.example.com pointed to VPS IP
• Ports: 22, 80, 443 open

Compare Ubuntu VPS Plans

Deploy ERPNext on Ubuntu VPS

To deploy ERPNext on Ubuntu VPS, follow the steps below:

1. Update the server

   SSH in as root:

   ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
   

   Update packages:

   apt update && apt upgrade -y
   apt install -y software-properties-common curl git wget unzip build-essential cron
   reboot
   

   Reconnect after reboot.

2. Create a dedicated ERPNext user

   Do not run ERPNext as root.

   adduser frappe
   usermod -aG sudo frappe
   su - frappe
   

3. Install system dependencies

   sudo apt install -y \
     python3-dev python3-pip python3-venv \
     redis-server mariadb-server mariadb-client \
     nginx supervisor \
     xvfb libfontconfig wkhtmltopdf \
     libmysqlclient-dev pkg-config
   

   Enable services:

   sudo systemctl enable --now mariadb redis-server nginx supervisor
   

4. Secure and configure MariaDB

   Run:

   sudo mysql_secure_installation
   

   Recommended answers:

   Switch to unix_socket authentication: Y
   Change root password: Y
   Remove anonymous users: Y
   Disallow root login remotely: Y
   Remove test database: Y
   Reload privilege tables: Y
   

   Edit MariaDB config:

   sudo nano /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf
   

   Under [mysqld], add or confirm:

   [mysqld]
   character-set-client-handshake = FALSE
   character-set-server = utf8mb4
   collation-server = utf8mb4_unicode_ci
   
   [mysql]
   default-character-set = utf8mb4
   

   Restart MariaDB:

   sudo systemctl restart mariadb
   

5. Install Node.js and Yarn

   ERPNext/Frappe needs Node.js and Yarn for frontend assets.

   curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
   sudo apt install -y nodejs
   sudo npm install -g yarn
   

   Verify:

   node -v
   npm -v
   yarn -v
   

6. Install Frappe Bench

   sudo pip3 install frappe-bench --break-system-packages
   

   Verify:

   bench --version
   

7. Initialize a new Bench

   From the frappe user home directory:

   cd ~
   bench init frappe-bench --frappe-branch version-15
   cd frappe-bench
   

8. Create the ERPNext site

   Replace erp.example.com with your real hostname.

   bench new-site erp.example.com
   

   You will be prompted for:

   MariaDB root password
   New Administrator password
   

   The Administrator password is the ERPNext admin login password.

9. Download and install ERPNext

   bench get-app erpnext --branch version-15
   bench --site erp.example.com install-app erpnext
   

   Set the site as default:

   bench use erp.example.com
   

10. Test ERPNext before production mode

    Start the development server:

    bench start
    

    Visit:

    http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8000
    

    Or, if DNS already points correctly:

    http://erp.example.com:8000
    

    Stop it with:

    CTRL+C
    

11. Configure production mode

    Run:

    sudo bench setup production frappe
    

    This configures Supervisor and Nginx for the Bench deployment. Frappe’s production docs note that a healthy production setup should show Frappe, Redis, Socket.IO, scheduler, and worker processes running under Supervisor.

    Reload services:

    sudo supervisorctl reread
    sudo supervisorctl update
    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    sudo systemctl reload nginx
    

    Check status:

    sudo supervisorctl status
    

    You should see processes like:

    frappe-bench-web
    frappe-bench-workers
    frappe-bench-redis
    

12. Configure DNS

    Create an A record:

    erp.example.com  A  YOUR_SERVER_IP
    

    Wait for DNS propagation, then test:

    dig +short erp.example.com
    

    It should return your VPS IP.

13. Install SSL certificate

    Install Certbot:

    sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
    

    Issue SSL:

    sudo certbot --nginx -d erp.example.com
    

    Verify renewal:

    sudo certbot renew --dry-run
    

14. Log in to ERPNext

    Open:

    https://erp.example.com
    

    Login:

    Username: Administrator
    Password: the password you created during bench new-site
    

    Complete the ERPNext setup wizard: company name, country, currency, timezone, chart of accounts, and first user.

15. Useful management commands

    Switch to the Bench directory:

    su - frappe
    cd ~/frappe-bench
    

    Update ERPNext:

    bench update
    

    Restart services:

    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    sudo systemctl reload nginx
    

    Run database migrations:

    bench --site erp.example.com migrate
    

    Clear cache:

    bench --site erp.example.com clear-cache
    bench --site erp.example.com clear-website-cache
    

    Check installed apps:

    bench --site erp.example.com list-apps
    

    Create manual backup:

    bench --site erp.example.com backup --with-files
    

    Backups are stored under:

    ~/frappe-bench/sites/erp.example.com/private/backups/
    

16. Add automatic off-server backups

    At minimum, sync backups to remote storage.

    Example using rsync:

    crontab -e
    

    Add:

    0 2 * * * cd /home/frappe/frappe-bench && /usr/local/bin/bench --site erp.example.com backup --with-files >/tmp/erpnext-backup.log 2>&1
    30 2 * * * rsync -az /home/frappe/frappe-bench/sites/erp.example.com/private/backups/ backupuser@backup.example.com:/backups/erpnext/
    

17. Firewall hardening

    Enable UFW:

    sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
    sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
    sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
    sudo ufw enable
    sudo ufw status
    

18. Troubleshooting

    Check Nginx:

    sudo nginx -t
    sudo systemctl status nginx
    sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
    

    Check Supervisor:

    sudo supervisorctl status
    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    

    Check Frappe logs:

    cd /home/frappe/frappe-bench
    tail -f logs/web.log
    tail -f logs/worker.log
    tail -f logs/scheduler.log
    

    Restart everything:

    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    sudo systemctl restart nginx redis-server mariadb
    

19. Common issues

    502 Bad Gateway

    Usually caused by stopped Frappe web workers.

    sudo supervisorctl status
    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    

    Site not loading by domain

    Check DNS:

    dig +short erp.example.com
    

    Check Nginx:

    sudo nginx -t
    sudo systemctl reload nginx
    

    CSS or JS broken after update

    cd /home/frappe/frappe-bench
    bench build
    bench --site erp.example.com clear-cache
    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    

    Scheduler not running

    bench --site erp.example.com enable-scheduler
    bench --site erp.example.com doctor
    sudo supervisorctl restart all
    

    ERPNext should now be running at:

    https://erp.example.com
    

Conclusion

You now know how to deploy ERPNext on Ubuntu VPS.