I've had a similar experience at my last freelance job. The only difference being that my "boss" thought he was quite the developer himself. It was dreadful, but I know now that (since you answer to him directly) you've got a golden opportunity. The advice of trying to make him see that he has to care, I would have given a few years ago. I had a clear vision of how software should be built and I wanted everybody around me to fit into that process precisely. What I've learnt is that some people just don't care for a structured approach, because it involves thinking ahead and in detail, which conflicts with how their brains work. Upper management (in its worst form) is used to making yes/no decisisions based on bite-sized information. BECOME THE PROJECT MANAGER! Your boss probably likes nothing better than not having to care about the internals of his ERP system. Odds are he's only interested in the statitics page anyway. So get to know the current system and interview your colleagues to find out what can be improved upon. If at all possible (not every boss likes it if you're seemingly unproductive, you might have to sneak around), try to do their job with them for a few hours, to get a feel of the system and where it stops being adequate. Turn this analysis into requirements and a functional and technical design for the new system. After that, you're the de facto specialist, which makes you the person to make most decisions. Act like it. Run only the biggest questions by your boss (basically everything that involves spending money) and present him the options in such a way he only has to say yes to plan 1, 2 or perhaps 3. Along the way he's going to want to see some progress of course. Trust me: it'll look good if it's designed well graphically. Beautiful interfaces are more important to the ignorant than functionally briliant ones. Also make sure you get some click through screens asap to satisfy his needs and don't forget his beloved statistics, even if all is not interactive yet. Most of the screens will be quite easy to come up with after the forementioned interviews. Behind the scenes, you're free to run the project as it pleases you. Go nuts with every development methodology you think works for you. It might seem frightning to take on this role, but think of it this way: In the end you'll be the one that your boss can rely on to get major development done. You won't bother him with the details and deliver a great product on time. And if all fails (which probably won't be your fault, I foresee