Manufacturing software can serve numerous business types and sectors — machine shops, food and beverage, seed to sale and more — to automate recurring tasks and boost workflows. You can even use manufacturing software for small business operations.

This article covers our analyst-picked list of the market’s best small business manufacturing software. We’ll also cover key features, benefits and pricing considerations for these types of solutions.

Compare Top Manufacturing ERP Software Leaders

Table of Contents

• Best Small Business Manufacturing Software
  • Katana Cloud Manufacturing
  • MRPEasy
  • MIE Trak Pro
  • DELMIAWorks
  • Sage 100cloud
• Key Features
• Benefits
• Pricing Considerations
• Next Steps

Best Small Business Manufacturing Software

Here’s our comprehensive list of the best manufacturing software for small business workflows.

Though this list isn’t exhaustive, we’ve included the best benefits and key features and made notes of certain limitations for an effective apples-to-apples, unbiased comparison.

Compare Top Manufacturing ERP Software Leaders

Katana Cloud Manufacturing

This manufacturing software for small business operations serves the textile, fashion, food and beverage, industrial, furniture and other industries.

Katana serves supply managers, manufacturing managers, operation managers, owners and more. Top features include product recipes, reorder points, inventory management and more.

Top Benefits

• Ensure High-Quality Products: Add more time to production tasks to guarantee top-notch product creation.
• Perform Specific Branding: Add personalizations to quote templates to reflect your branding and company needs.
• Diminish Stockouts: Centralize and monitor shared ingredients, amounts, vendors to purchase them from and more to avoid stockouts and illegitimate sellers.
• Gain a Free Test Ride: Manage a 14-day free trial of this solution to gauge if it can meet your small business manufacturing needs.
• Obtain Real-Time Data: Receive real-time delivery delay data and how it affects production to evaluate and eliminate bottlenecks.

Primary Features

• Product Recipes: Work with product recipes, aka bill of materials (BOMs), for a list of materials, assemblies and more to manufacture specific products. Develop BOMs for products and variations.
• Reorder Points: Establish reorder points for all products or materials needing replenishment. Calculate missing or excess inventory items. Develop manufacturing or purchase orders for specific objects.
• Purchase Orders: Buy materials and products from vendors and govern stock item amounts. Draft, obtain, partially receive or clone purchase orders.
• Manufacturing Orders: Craft make-to-order or make-to-stock manufacturing orders via manually changing production statuses.
• Multi-Location Manufacturing: Construct and supervise numerous locations to maintain warehouses and manufacturing worksites.

Limitations

• Lacks unlimited shipped sales order lines per month.
• Lacks shop floor operators.
• Lacks batch and expiry date tracking

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MRPEasy

MRPEasy is a cloud-based small business manufacturing solution with robust tools to streamline manufacturing requirements planning (MRP) and production protocols.

This system serves several sectors, including apparel and fashion, chemical, electronics and more.

Top Benefits

• Make Better Choices: Conduct employee performance analyses to highlight the best workers and make well-informed business choices.
• Streamline Planning Operations: Input and manage formulas via product cycles to streamline production planning protocols.
• Perform Quick Job Delegations: Manage BOMs and routing changes in a centralized audit trail for simplified reporting workflows.
• Production Schedule: Use visual scheduling tools for effective work order planning and employee task allocation.

Primary Features

• Production Schedule: Review all scheduled manufacturing orders in Gantt chart or calendar filter views. Use drag-and-drop tools to reschedule operations or charges, review order information and more.
• Stock Lots: Access a list of every stock lot for available or scheduled-to-arrive items. Maintain a thorough history of all objects that move in and out of inventory.
• Serial Number: Manage a complete list of parts, serial number data and history, and more. Obtain automatic status updates. Label statuses as planned, consumed, shipped, received, rejected and more.
• Purchase Orders: Obtain and assess purchase order statuses, craft purchase orders and RFQs from scratch, deliver documents to vendors, send goods to the right places and more.
• Forecasting: Review a complete list of procurement estimates to calculate material requirements. Quickly analyze part amounts for specific products.

Limitations

• Doesn’t track outsourced processes or expenses.
• Lacks separate number lists for credit notes.
• Lacks tools to accept subcontractor part shipments.

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MIE Trak Pro

This small business manufacturing software serves make-to-order, contract and shop management sectors. Automate operations to upkeep changes and organize scalability.

It serves small and mid-sized companies and operates on Windows, Linux and Mac operating platforms.

The top modules include MRP, inventory, scheduling and more.

Top Benefits

• Expedite Tasks: Draft numerous purchase orders on inventory quantity reports simultaneously to accelerate workflows for improved productivity and revenue.
• Find the Right Information: Use the search tool to find job numbers, clients, date ranges and more for speedy order tracking.
• Boost Decision Making: Evaluate numerous batch quantity level fees to formulate better production strategies and make well-informed choices.
• Improve Data Storage: Back up data storage daily for easy access and to avoid the risk of cyber theft or accidentally losing information.

Primary Features

• MRP: Subtract work and purchase order production and purchases from open orders and forecast demand numbers in this system to determine available raw materials.
• Advanced Planning Schedule (APS): Perform what-if situations, execute new machine loading, fill out purchasing requirement dates and more. Other scheduling tools include backward, aka infinite, and whiteboard.
• Inventory: Manage part flows for merchandise stock and supply units. Review and revise stock levels, draft reports, generate worksheets for physical and cycle counting, and more.
• Work Orders: Develop thorough work orders to complete manufacturing products or services. Edit, release, complete, close or cancel orders as needed.
• Purchase Orders: Create a purchase order from scratch, inventory level information, work order BOM requirements and more. Permit specific workers to validate or reject purchases for approval.

Limitations

• Lacks custom drop-down fields and buttons.
• Doesn’t have an app for iOS devices.

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DELMIAworks

This manufacturing software for small business operations offers integrated supply chain management, CRM, capacity planning and other tools to streamline production floor and office duties.

It serves all company sizes and works with cloud and on-premise deployment. Top features include BOM, MRP, labor capacity planning, forecasting and more.

Top Benefits

• Increase Manufacturing Speeds: Review real-time machine and production runs to catch bottlenecks and increase efficiency for more on-time deliveries.
• Boost File Accuracy: Route documents accordingly before releasing them for strengthened accuracy.
• Reinforce Product Quality Standards: Manage corrective and preventive action (CAPA), failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), in-process inspections and more to ensure parts and goods meet high-quality compliance.
• Find Everything You Need: Create a digital simulation of the entire facility to find everything you need, perform what-if scenarios and more.

Primary Features

• BOMs: Consolidate and access work centers, labor, tools, dies, inserts fixtures and more. Craft multi-level bills for component pieces and alternative and substitute routings.
• MRP: Assess real-time material availability according to required manufacturing dates, current demand considerations, material lead times, production schedules and more.
• Labor Capacity Planning: Measure standard labor hours against required hours to meet weekly, daily or shift-based schedules according to work orders and labor. Cipher available labor according to categories, qualifications, skill levels and more.
• Forecasting: Review current and projected orders and impact on past, present and future annual sales. Handle numerous predictions and pull from future pricing on the inventory master table for more numbers.
• Work Order Management: Develop demand for vital materials and schedules to align with demand. Convert quotes into work orders automatically. Manage multiple work orders for one workpiece if needed.

Limitations

• Doesn’t offer free trials.
• Lacks inventory transaction backdating.

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Sage 100cloud

This cloud manufacturing software for small business protocols offers extensive security and compliance adherence tools for small and mid-sized organizations. Its configurable, scalability tools can help you meet diverse company requirements.

Top features include BOM, production entry, engineering change control, work ticket and inventory requirements planning.

Top Benefits

• Tailor Business Practices as Needed: Include customizable tables, fields, ad scripts and more to align with particular workflows. Work with personalized screens to add, delete or hide specific objects.
• Enhance Order Efficiency: Transform sales into purchase orders with ease to expedite manufacturing workflows.
• Make Better Choices: Gather data from numerous manufacturing operations and add them to budgeting and forecasting initiatives to make well-informed business choices.
• Centralize Data: Use the visual integrator tool to upload or export data into Sage or other programs for improved centralization.
• Support Paperless Protocols: Email invoices, purchase orders, quotes and more for greener, paperless practices.

Primary Features

• BOM: Define component items and assembly practices for swifter production times. Divide each bill by header information and the required part listings, including line items, charge codes, comments and more. Draft notes or standard, engineering, inactive, kit or phantom bills.
• Engineering Change Control: Chronicle engineering change notices and implement controlled bill structure revisions. Perform error corrections, fee reduction, design improvements and more.
• Production Entry: Input merchandise receipts into inventory in one step for faster production times.
• Work Ticket: Gather and use data to finish good or sub-assembly items for quantities, yield percentages, work instructions and more. Develop work tickets by copying from an open order or history, creating inventory items, pulling from BOMs or using templates.
• Inventory Requirements Planning: Assess current supply and demand details with real-time stock item level views, open purchase and sales orders and production material needs to determine required stock item amounts for specific goods.

Limitations

• Lacks a free trial.
• Can’t undo an entry.
• Lacks ship and arrival dates when scheduling planned transfers.

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Key Features

Small business manufacturing software carries numerous features and requirements to streamline production floor and back office responsibilities.

Review our free requirements template for more features and requirements to help you sift through and pick the right tools to meet your business needs.

Inventory Management

Inventory management tools allow you to manage all stock items in real time.

You can create notifications for minimum quantities so you don’t run out and can carry out effective replenishment plans.

Some top requirements include shipping, tracking, reporting and analytics, mobile support and demand forecasting.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management software allows you to track how products and goods move across your supply chain to the customer’s front door or store shelves.

Monitor real-time operations to assess performance and catch obstacles to maximize production.

Other requirements include warehousing, sourcing, collaboration, supply chain analytics and transportation management.

Production Planning

Implement production planning tools for more effective manufacturing operation planning and executions.

Some key features include demand forecasting, MRP, order management and more to boost flexibility, drive more revenue, maintain waste and stock items and more.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Use CRM tools to gain and retain current and potential consumers.

Some advantages of good CRM include retaining more customers, improving customer service, boosting marketing strategies and initiating mobile operations.

Accounting

Use accounting tools to ensure your finances and operations are up to par.

Features include core bookkeeping, reporting, asset tracking, billing and invoicing, centralized data and more.

Get our Manufacturing ERP Software Requirements Template

Primary Benefits

Small business manufacturing software has numerous advantages for improved practices, from saving money to automating tasks.

Streamline and Simplify Workflows

Automating tasks like sending invoices, managing BOMs, refilling raw materials in inventory and balancing general ledgers frees up your time to focus on administrative and client-facing jobs.

For example, you may specialize in producing frozen waffles. Your system can help you organize formulas and BOMs to streamline the batch-making process to increase productivity and ensure your products reach your clients and vendors on time.

Increase Real-Time Visibility

Use real-time analytics and notifications across inventory, accounting, production floor, supply chains and more to pinpoint and fix bottlenecks.

For example, your frozen waffle company relies on raw ingredients, such as eggs, milk, flour, fruit and more, to complete orders.

Real-time notifications and data allow you to avoid stockouts or overstocking materials. You also diminish using expired ingredients, recalls, lawsuits or company foreclosures.

Save Money

Most manufacturing ERP and other business software can cost anywhere from $100 to $100,000 or more.

Most solutions cater to enterprise-level needs, but small business solutions are on a roll because of a smaller TCO, and they offer a finite list of features that most businesses can use.

In the early ERP days, vendors used a one-size-fits-all approach. Now that small businesses are rising, vendors are rolling systems for non-enterprise clients.

Small business manufacturing software also boosts accuracy to reduce human errors and the time needed to rectify issues.

Compare Top Manufacturing ERP Software Leaders

Pricing Considerations

There are several factors to consider when evaluating small business manufacturing software, from deployment to features and expansion.

Cloud or on-premise deployment?

Are you looking for a cloud-based or on-premise system? Each has pros and cons.

Cloud systems allow you to access the solution from virtually any location on phones and other mobile devices.

On-premise lets you access the system on your company computers and servers. This method typically costs more because of licensing fees and customer support packages.

You can also invest in hybrid deployment that merges cloud and on-premise. Vendors vary on their hybrid plans, so it’s best to ask them for more details on this option.

Which features matter?

Features change according to company needs.

Do you need supply chain management, production planning and accounting tools, or additional features? Sometimes, you may need completely different parts to meet your company’s goals.

Take time to gather your requirements that meet your needs before you browse different vendors.

Are you expanding your business?

Are you staying a small business for the next five to ten years, or are you hoping to grow to a mid-sized or enterprise-level conglomerate?

Most systems offer scalability tools to add more employees, machinery, facilities and other resources.

However, you can invest in a solution dedicated to small business systems and determine your growth strategy after five years.

Compare Top Manufacturing ERP Software Leaders

Next Steps

The right manufacturing software for small business operations streamlines productions, manages orders and inventory in real time, and saves money.

This system can also centralize and handle supply chain, production planning, CRM and other protocols in one place to keep everyone on the same page.

Ready to take the next step? Check out our free, detailed comparison report to evaluate how specific products match your needs and stack up to competitors.

How has manufacturing software helped your small business? What are you looking for in a brand-new system? Let us know in the comments!