Disagreement between the open-source developer community that formed around the Compiere open-source ERP[6] software and the project's corporate sponsor ultimately led to the creation of Adempiere as a fork of Compiere.

This ranking provides a measure of both the size of its developer community and also its impact on the open-source ERP software market.

The project name comes from the Italian verb "adempiere", which means "fulfillment of a duty" but with the additional senses of "Complete, reach, practice, perform tasks, or release; also, give honor, respect", here which were considered appropriate to what the project aimed to achieve.

The goal of the Adempiere project is the creation of a community-developed and supported open source business solution.

The following business areas are addressed by the Adempiere application: All community members are entitled to their say in the project discussion forums.