To help you choose the right solution for your business, we used our software review methodology to evaluate and rank the best solutions on the market today.
- Katana: Best Overall
- MRPEasy: Most Affordable Option
- Fishbowl Inventory: Best for Warehouse-Heavy Manufacturing
1 Katana - Best Overall
Why we chose it: Katana Manufacturing ERP is our top pick, earning a rating of 9.5 due to its intuitive design and full feature set. It provides visibility into inventory, production, and accounting processes, useful for small-scale manufacturing. The system streamlines order creation and tracking, production scheduling, and stock management. Katana’s user-friendly interface and simplified workflows make it a good fit for businesses transitioning from manual processes to an ERP system.
Additionally, Katana generates purchase orders, tracks production costs, and creates detailed reports. These include reporting on stock movements, batch expiration, inventory forecasting, cycle times, fulfillment trends, and monthly sales volume. Katana also integrates with populator platforms like QuickBooks and Shopify. Its focus on multi-channel sales management caters to small manufacturers looking to expand their digital footprint.
We wouldn’t recommend Katana for very small companies. For example, its feature set may be overly complex and cost-prohibitive for manufacturers with only one or two final products.
2 MRPEasy - Most Affordable Option
Why we chose it: We gave MRPEasy a 9.0 out of 10 due to its affordability, starting at just $49 per user monthly and offering a free trial. The platform offers batch and serial number tracking and helps manage orders, including tracking their status, generating shipping labels, and sending invoices.
We found MRPEasy best for make-to-order and make-to-stock manufacturing, providing production planning with automatic scheduling and dynamic rescheduling. These are based on current inventory levels, pending sales orders, and manufacturing resources. MRPEasy also supports inventory management, tracking stock movement and optimizing levels through purchasing integration.
However, user reviews report an initial learning curve. Some functionalities are difficult to learn, like creating a BOM with subproducts and sub-assemblies. Additionally, many found the accounting and CRM modules limited – for example, importing contacts is a tedious process.
3 Fishbowl Inventory - Best for Warehouse-Heavy Manufacturing
Why we chose it: Fishbowl earned a solid 8.9 because it automates manufacturing processes and tracks stock across unlimited warehouses. The software provides advanced inventory and order management functions, ensuring manufacturers have the right materials to finish production on time.
Fishbowl offers a range of features tailored for small and growing manufacturers. During our software demo, we found its customizable bill of materials tool particularly effective for managing simple and configurable builds, as well as incorporating sub-assemblies. Additionally, Fishbowl can handle capacity planning, labor cost capture, work order management, and quality control processes.
One aspect we found noteworthy is that Fishbowl offers one of the most popular QuickBooks integrations. While the platform includes over 200 advanced reporting options, it lacks a basic report writer. This makes it difficult to customize reports without some programming knowledge.
4 JobBOSS²
Why we chose it: We selected JobBOSS² for its flexibility, making it a strong choice for job shops and custom manufacturers. We demoed the platform, and while visual cues can be somewhat confusing, the interface is modern and otherwise intuitive. It also provides extensive job scheduling, quoting, and shop floor management tools, all tailored to specific business needs.
JobBOSS² features customizable dashboards and reports, so users can easily view material supply and demand reports and metrics like stock levels and material costs. It also supports integrations with QuickBooks Desktop and Online, ADP, Paycheck, and CenterPoint Payroll. Additionally, the software syncs with Alora, a machine monitoring program, to provide shop floor insights.
We like that JobBOSS² is affordable compared to other ERP systems in the SMB manufacturing space. However, pricing requires a consultation call to ECI’s sales team.
5 xTuple
Why we chose it: We found xTuple best for small inventory-centric manufacturers in biomed, cannabis, electronics, food processing, and metal fabrication. During our demo, we found the native Windows interface a little dated. However, we like that it offers a smooth shift from basic accounting software to a full-fledged ERP system.
xTuple’s functionality encompasses inventory management, MRP, CRM, and financials. It handles multi-warehouse inventory, production scheduling, and reporting. This includes over 200 standard reports, all customizable using OpenRRT Report Writer, for tracking material usage, labor, sales, and inventory movement.
While xTuple doesn’t publish pricing on its website, its total cost of ownership is lower than most competitors’. However, we don’t recommend the software for apparel manufacturers. It lacks the product matrices needed to track stock accurately.
6 NetSuite
Why we chose it: We found NetSuite a scalable ERP option for growing manufacturers. It supports rapid scaling, making it a good pick for businesses poised for rapid growth or those juggling a broad range of products. As the company expands, NetSuite’s modular design allows for easy integration of new features without overhauling the entire system.
NetSuite provides complete CRM and ERP capabilities for efficiently managing customer relationships and general business processes. Users can opt for NetSuite Manufacturing Edition, which includes the core ERP, for functionalities like work orders, assemblies, WIP, routings, and demand planning. Overall, we found it best for MTS, MTO, and ETO manufacturing in sectors like automotive and electronics.
We don’t recommend NetSuite for process manufacturers, since their manufacturing module emphasizes discrete bills of materials over recipes and formulas. It’s also cost-prohibitive and overly complex for smaller manufacturers with less than ten employees.
7 Acumatica
Why we chose it: We picked Acumatica for its flexible licensing and platform model. It allows unlimited users, with pricing based only on the resources and modules the company uses. Overall, it’s a good pick for manufacturers with at least ten to 200 employees, especially rapidly growing companies needing an ERP with a modular, scalable architecture.
We found Acumatica Manufacturing Edition a good fit for several production methodologies, including MTS, MTO, ETO, project-centric, job shop, batch, and repetitive processes. Acumatica can handle bills of materials and routing management. Overall, we found it best for sectors like consumer goods, industrial machinery, automotive, electronics, and medical devices.
Acumatica’s pricing will depend on the edition you choose. The Manufacturing Edition includes financial management, BOMs, and MRP tools. However, pricing isn’t listed publicly. Minimum pricing starts at $1,800 monthly, but users must contact their sales team for a quote.
8 Epicor Kinetic
Why we chose it: Epicor Kinetic is our top pick for small manufacturers in discrete sectors like aerospace and defense, automotive, medical devices, and industrial machinery. It supports complex scenarios like engineer-to-order and assemble-to-order processes. We also like that Kinetic adheres to unique compliance requirements, such as FDA standards for medical devices and CMMC regulations for aerospace and defense.
The platform includes extensive inventory management, allowing precise tracking of every component, including revisions. Kinetic provides strong product configuration tools, including business rules to manage sub-assemblies. Additionally, the system helps maximize equipment utilization by integrating Epicor Advanced MES and IoT capabilities.
Kinetic handles processes like MRP, supply chain management, and production scheduling. Like many ERP solutions, it can be overwhelming for newcomers. Navigating its various workflows can be tedious, and users will likely need additional training to utilize all of Kinetic’s features fully.
9 DELMIAWorks
Why we chose it: DELMIAWorks, formerly IQMS EnterpriseIQ, is our top pick for manufacturers needing a blend of ERP and Manufacturing Execution System (MES) functionalities. Catering to the needs of small to mid-market companies in aerospace, automotive, and plastics, DELMIAWorks closely controls production processes on the factory floor. These include fabrication, machining, and even injection molding. It ensures on-time part delivery by tracking lot and serial traceability, UPC labeling, and pack-outs.
DELMIAWorks enables live monitoring and control of shop floor activities directly from the ERP system. It supports assembly operations, providing visibility into production schedules, finished product counts, and quality data. Its RealTime Production Monitoring system tracks critical parameters such as total parts created, production time, downtime, scrap, rejects, and parts remaining to be produced.
However, we found a number of user reviews criticizing DELMIAWorks’ accounting module. It requires significant customization and development effort to meet specific business needs.
10 Global Shop Solutions
Why we chose it: We found Global Shop Solutions best for manufacturers with ten to 200 employees in the automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, and medical devices sectors. We demoed the system for ourselves and found it adept at job status tracking, inventory management, and resource scheduling.
We like that the system has a strong global search function to locate parts and sub-components. Additionally, it supports complex bills of materials, where users can easily replace components, import/export customer BOMs, and drag and drop parts into the BOM. It also offers manufacturing templates that detail the sequences for material, labor, and outside services to route parts through the production process accurately.
Global Shop Solutions generally performs well, but its speed and responsiveness can vary, especially during peak usage times. Users have reported experiencing more system lag specifically in the accounting module.
What is Small Business Manufacturing Software?
Small business manufacturing software is designed to help businesses streamline their production processes, manage inventory, track orders, and improve overall operational efficiency. The software gives you greater inventory control as your product line expands and sales orders ramp up, manages shop floor operations, and gives you greater visibility across your supply chain. Dedicated software keeps your business more organized than tracking complex processes through manual methods or accounting solutions alone.
Manufacturing software designed for small manufacturers often features a multi-module system allowing you to choose the functionality you want. This allows you to cut costs and have a system that isn’t too complex for your needs. To ensure regulatory compliance, some businesses need a solution tailored to specific manufacturing industries, like food or medical device manufacturing. Businesses that want to handle everything from a single system, including human resources, accounting, and production management, often choose an ERP that scales with the company.
Key Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing Inventory Management | Manages real-time data on inventory levels of your finished products and raw materials. Manage prices and descriptions. |
| Production Planning | Assigns schedules of labor and resources for each manufacturing job. |
| Bill of Materials (BOM) | Includes instructions for manufacturing and lists of materials and equipment needed for the manufacturing process. |
| Sales Order Management | Creates and sends invoices. Converts sales orders into work orders for fulfillment. |
| Supply Chain Management | Tracks the flow of goods from acquiring the required materials to delivering the finished product. |
| Quality Control | Tracks defects in finished products and raw materials, and take corrective action as needed. |
Benefits
Inventory Control
A manufacturing system will track the quantities and costs of your on-hand finished products and raw materials. When supplies are running low, the system can automatically create and send a purchase order to the right vendor. This ensures you always have the necessary materials on hand and allows you to focus on other aspects of your business.
Production Planning
As your business grows and takes on more manufacturing jobs, managing production schedules becomes more difficult. This software includes production planning and scheduling features that allow you to assign materials, equipment, and labor to each job. It also features calendar views and Gantt charts, making it easy to visualize work order progress and the schedules of employees and materials.
Pricing Guide
Small business manufacturing software typically costs around $49 per user per month. These systems usually include modules for production planning and scheduling, basic inventory management, and shop floor tracking. However, they may lack accounting features but can integrate with widely used accounting software such as QuickBooks Online and Xero.
Key factors influencing the price include:
- Adding modules
- Training needs
- Implementation fees
- Total number of users
- Ongoing support and maintenance
##[QuickBooks for Small Manufacturers Small manufacturing companies commonly use QuickBooks Enterprise as an alternative to ERP software. QuickBooks Enterprise helps with income and expense tracking, invoicing, and job costing. Small manufacturers also benefit from advanced inventory tracking, sales order status management, and purchase order creation.
QuickBooks can calculate the true cost of manufactured products. The system factors in labor, freight, insurance, and other costs to help you determine prices for your products and increase your profit margins. For a single user, QuickBooks Enterprise starts at $1,261/year for an on-premise solution and $199/month for cloud hosting. Pricing goes up with additional users and higher-level plans.
Alternatives to QuickBooks
Some manufacturers quickly outgrow QuickBooks as their manufacturing system for a solution that offers features like MRP, quality management, production scheduling, and BOM. Manufacturers can choose to either find a software solution that integrates with QuickBooks in order to keep accounting on a familiar platform, or completely replace QuickBooks with a fully integrated system.
In a survey we conducted, we’ve found that the most popular QuickBooks replacements among manufacturers were:
ERP Software for Manufacturing
Small manufacturers may want an ERP system instead of standalone software to manage all business processes from one system. While ERP solutions are often customizable while reducing overall costs, smaller manufacturers may find full ERP solutions too complex for their needs.
Common features in manufacturing ERP software include:
- Costing
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Human resources management
- Inventory control
- Material requirements planning (MRP).
ERP software can have other advanced features like eCommerce functionality and warehouse management.
Industry-Specific Small Business Manufacturing Software
Some small business manufacturing software solutions are distinctly designed for specific industries or certain types of manufacturers including:
- Discrete Manufacturers: Discrete manufacturing software manages business operations for manufacturers that produce distinct products that can be counted individually. The software helps improve lead time and reduce costs through effective inventory control, production planning, and MRP.
- Process Manufacturers: Process manufacturing software manages products created with recipes or formulas. A process manufacturing solution assists with lot traceability and compliance management to meet regulatory standards. Industries that use process manufacturing software include pharmaceutical, chemical, and food manufacturers.
