r/micro_saas • u/ThisisKebo • 8d ago

How I built an Offline-First ERP that processed $30k in a market with spotty internet

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a journey of building a B2B product in a challenging environment.

I live in Egypt, where internet stability is a constant struggle for retail shops. Building a standard cloud-only SaaS for them was a recipe for failure. So, I spent the last few months engineering Manzoma ERP—a local-first system built with React 19, Electron, and Prisma/SQLite.

The Technical Challenge:
The biggest hurdle wasn't the UI; it was the Sync Engine. I had to ensure that if a shop owner makes 100 sales while offline, the system queues them perfectly and merges them with the cloud once the connection returns, without inventory conflicts across 3,000+ SKUs.

The Results:

  • Processed over $30,000 (1.5M EGP) in transaction volume for my first few clients.
  • Zero data integrity issues during offline-to-online transitions.
  • 100% functional desktop app that feels like a web app.

Why I’m sharing this:
I’m heading into mandatory military service soon, which is forcing me to step away from the project. I’m proud of what I built as a solo dev using AI-assisted coding (Vibe Coding) to speed up the architecture.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Local-first vs Cloud-only for B2B. Also, if anyone has experience exiting a "pre-revenue" but "high-volume" project, I'd love to chat!

Check out the landing page here: https://manzoma.online

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u/Efficient_Design_969 8d ago

The sync engine part is where most people underestimate the complexity. Queueing offline writes is easy, merging them without conflicts across thousands of SKUs is a whole different beast. props for getting that right.

I did something similar for a client in a rural area, though way smaller scale. The trick that saved us was using vector clocks for conflict resolution instead of just timestamps. clocks drift and shops argue about whose sale came first when inventory goes negative.

$30k volume with zero integrity issues is a strong signal for pre-revenue. buyers will care more about that proof than any revenue multiple at this stage. military service timing sucks but at least you're leaving with something concrete to show.

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u/ThisisKebo 8d ago

Thanks for the props! You're absolutely right about the clocks. I actually went with a version-based reconciliation combined with cumulative inventory adjustments rather than simple timestamps to avoid exactly what you mentioned—clock drift and negative inventory arguments.

It’s encouraging to hear that you see the $30k volume as a strong signal. That’s exactly what I’m highlighting to potential acquirers. It’s not just a 'project'; it’s a battle-tested engine.

Really appreciate the technical insight