To help you choose the right solution for your business, we used our software review methodology to evaluate and rank the best small business manufacturing software in the market today.
- Katana: Best Overall
- MRPEasy: Most Affordable Solution
- Fishbowl Inventory: Strong Inventory Management
- JobBOSS²: Most Customizable Solution
- xTuple: Most Cost-Effective ERP
- NetSuite: Best for Scalability
- Acumatica: Flexible Licensing
- Epicor Kinetic: Best for Discrete and Made-to-Order Manufacturers
- DELMIAWorks: Integrated ERP & MES
- Global Shop Solutions: Strong Shop Floor Efficiency
1 Katana - Best Overall
Why we chose it: Katana Manufacturing ERP is our top pick due to its intuitive design and comprehensive feature set that caters to smaller operations. It delivers real-time visibility into inventory, production, and accounting processes, essential for efficient small-scale manufacturing. The system streamlines order creation and tracking, simplifies production scheduling, and ensures accurate inventory management. Katana’s user-friendly interface and simplified workflows make it ideal for businesses transitioning from manual processes to an ERP system.
Additionally, Katana’s capabilities in generating purchase orders, tracking production costs, and creating detailed reports are essential for small businesses looking to optimize operations. Integrations with populator platforms like QuickBooks and Shopify and a focus on multi-channel sales management make it an ideal ERP solution for small manufacturers looking to expand their digital footprint and streamline their operations.
2 MRPEasy - Most Affordable Solution
Why we chose it: MRPEasy is a strong choice for small businesses due to its affordability, starting at just $49 per user monthly and offering a free trial. It offers features such as production planning with automatic scheduling and dynamic rescheduling, based on current inventory levels, pending sales orders, and manufacturing resources. MRP also supports inventory management, tracking stock movement and optimizing stock levels through purchasing integration.
MRPEasy offers batch and serial number tracking and helps manage orders, including tracking order status, generating shipping labels, and sending invoices. Its integrated system allows manufacturers to manage all aspects of production in one place, reducing the need for multiple software solutions. Additionally, its cloud-based platform allows for remote access, making it a flexible and convenient solution for manufacturers.
3 Fishbowl Inventory - Strong Inventory Management
Why we chose it: We went with Fishbowl for its advanced inventory and order management functions, ensuring manufacturers have the right materials to finish production on time. The platform also has several manufacturing features, making it a great choice for small and growing manufacturers. For example, Fishbowl delivers a customizable bill of materials so users can define and manage simple or configurable builds and use sub-assemblies in the order of operations.
Fishbowl can handle capacity planning, labor cost capture, work order management, and quality control processes. Finally, the platform offers one of the most popular integrations with QuickBooks, ensuring your accounting is synced exactly how it needs to be.
4 JobBOSS² - Most Customizable Solution
Why we chose it: We selected JobBOSS² for its customization flexibility, making it a strong choice for job shops and custom manufacturers. The platform easily adapts to individual manufacturer’s unique workflows and processes. It also provides extensive job scheduling, quoting, and shop floor management tools, all customizable to specific business needs.
JobBOSS² features customizable dashboards and reports, so users can easily view the KPIs and real-time data relevant to their roles. It also supports integrations with QuickBooks Desktop and Online, ADP, Paycheck, and CenterPoint Payroll. Finally, the software syncs with Alora, a machine monitoring program, to provide shop floor insights.
5 xTuple - Most Cost-Effective ERP
Why we chose it: xTuple emerges as the ideal ERP solution for manufacturers transitioning from QuickBooks due to it being a fraction of the cost of leading competitors. Its seamless integration capabilities, tailored specifically for growing businesses, allow for a smooth shift from basic accounting software to a full-fledged ERP system.
xTuple’s functionality encompasses inventory management, manufacturing resource planning (MRP), CRM, and financials, all within a single platform. This holistic approach streamlines operations and significantly reduces costs compared to piecemeal integrations, making xTuple a cost-effective and efficient choice for manufacturers seeking to upgrade their business systems.
6 NetSuite - Best for Scalability
Why we chose it: We found NetSuite to be the most scalable ERP option for growing manufacturers. It supports rapid scaling, making it an ideal choice for businesses poised for exponential growth or those juggling a broad range of products. As the business expands, NetSuite’s modular design allows for easy integration of new functions and features without overhauling the entire system.
NetSuite provides complete CRM and ERP capabilities for efficiently managing customer relationships and core business processes, ensuring all departments are aligned and functioning optimally. It also has strong inventory and warehouse management features. NetSuite’s tools ensure that stock levels are optimal, order fulfillment is timely, and storage costs are kept in check for growing businesses.
7 Acumatica - Flexible Licensing
Why we chose it: We picked Acumatica for its flexible licensing and platform model, providing affordability and easy scaling as business needs change. The platform allows unlimited users, with pricing based only on the resources and modules the company utilizes. Acumatica offers both public and private cloud hosting options as a SaaS solution to help keep company data secure. This seamless cloud integration eliminates the need for on-premise hardware, reducing IT costs and ensuring automatic updates.
Acumatica can handle bill of materials and routing management. It also supports strong inventory and order management capabilities. These tools ensure that stock levels are maintained optimally and that orders are processed efficiently, all in real time.
8 Epicor Kinetic - Best for Discrete and Made-to-Order Manufacturers
Why we chose it: Epicor Kinetic is our top pick for manufacturers in discrete sectors like aerospace and defense, automotive, medical devices, industrial machinery, and more.
Kinetic offers in-depth insights into production processes, enabling manufacturers to maintain high quality standards and adhere to industry-specific regulations. Additionally, Epicor Kinetic excels in providing tools for material requirements planning (MRP), supply chain management, and production scheduling.
9 DELMIAWorks - Integrated ERP & MES
Why we chose it: DELMIAWorks specializes in providing an integrated platform that combines ERP and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) functionalities. This integration allows unparalleled control and oversight over production processes, quality management, and supply chain operations. Catering to the needs of small to mid-market companies in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and plastics, DELMIAWorks offers real-time insights into manufacturing operations.
DELMIAWorks affords live monitoring and control of shop floor activities directly from the ERP system. This integration facilitates efficient workflow management, reduces data redundancy, and enhances accuracy in decision-making. For manufacturers looking for a comprehensive solution that offers deep integration between manufacturing operations and enterprise-level planning, DELMIAWorks is a solid choice.
11 Global Shop Solutions - Strong Shop Floor Efficiency
Why we chose it: We chose Global Shop Solutions for its capabilities in enhancing shop floor efficiency. Its key features include real-time job status tracking, inventory management, and scheduling of resources. Global Shop Solutions integrates various manufacturing operations, from order entry to delivery, ensuring a seamless flow of information and materials.
The platform’s advanced data analysis tools enable manufacturers to optimize production schedules, reduce waste, and increase throughput. Its comprehensive approach to shop floor management makes it a good tool for small manufacturers aiming to grow operational productivity.
What is Small Business Manufacturing Software?
Small business manufacturing software is designed to help small manufacturing 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 manufacturing software keeps your business more organized than tracking complex processes through manual methods or accounting software 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.
Small business manufacturing software includes a range of products that vary in functionality and specialty. Some businesses need a solution tailored to specific manufacturing industries like food manufacturing or medical device manufacturing to ensure regulatory compliance. Businesses that want to handle everything including human resources, accounting, production management, and more from a single system often choose a small business manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that can be scaled with your business.
Key Features of Small Business Manufacturing Software
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing Inventory Management | Manages real-time data on inventory levels of your finished products and raw materials. Manage prices and descriptions of your inventory. |
| 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 send invoices. Convert 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 of Small Business Manufacturing Software
Inventory Control
Small business manufacturing software gives you better control of your inventory. Tracking stock levels and related costs manually is prone to errors and miscalculation. As your business grows and you have more inventory to manage, the right solution will help you track your growing inventory demands.
The manufacturing system will track the quantities and costs of your on-hand finished products and raw materials. When your 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, it becomes more difficult to manage production schedules. Small business manufacturing software includes production planning and scheduling features that allow you to assign materials, equipment, and labor to each job. The software also features calendar views and Gantt charts, making it easy to visualize work order progress and the schedules of employees and materials.
Does QuickBooks Work for Small Business Manufacturers?
Small manufacturing companies commonly use QuickBooks Enterprise as an alternative to ERP software. QuickBooks Enterprise helps small manufacturing businesses 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 also helps manufacturers 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 $1,155/year for an on-premise solution and $140/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 material requirements planning, 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:
Manufacturing ERP Software for Small Businesses
Small manufacturers may want an ERP system instead of standalone manufacturing 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 the products that are 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.
