Manufacturing software: which MRP, ERP or CRM fits a small manufacturer
Short answer: Most small manufacturers start with MRP software, which plans materials, stock and production. MRPeasy starts at $49 a user a month, Katana has a free plan for up to 30 products, and Fishbowl starts at $229 a month billed yearly. For sales, Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud starts at $275 a user a month on a yearly contract, and a custom build fits when your process or your tools do not match these products.
Manufacturing software links a factory's orders, materials and machines in one system. When it works, you know what to buy, what to build next and when each order will ship. When i
I'm Ranjit, and I run Blur Studio: 15+ years building software, 120 apps taken live, and clients who have gone on to raise $10M+. I build AI systems and processes that help businesses do a lot more with a lot less time. I also work differently from most of what else is out there, more on that further down this page. Say hello.
What types of manufacturing software are there?
The names overlap, which confuses many buyers. Here is what each type usually covers.
- MRP (material requirements planning): Plans what materials you need and when, based on your orders and your bill of materials. A bill of materials is the recipe of parts that goes into one product.
- ERP (enterprise resource planning): A wider system that adds accounting, purchasing, sales and HR to the production side. My guide to custom ERP covers when a business outgrows a standard one.
- Inventory software: Tracks stock across shelves and sites. Some products, such as Fishbowl, grew from inventory into manufacturing.
- Manufacturing CRM: Tracks customers, quotes, distributors and repeat orders. A CRM is a shared customer list with a record of every deal.
- Shop floor tools: Show workers what to build, record time on each job and flag quality problems.
A small maker often needs MRP and a CRM first. Full ERP comes later, when finance and operations need one shared system.
Which manufacturing software products lead for small firms?
Each price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page in October 2026. Vendors change prices, so confirm on their site first.
MRPeasy
MRPeasy prices each user each month. Starter is $49, Professional is $69, Enterprise is $99 and Unlimited is $149, with a two-user minimum on Unlimited. From the 11th user, you add bundles of 10 users for $79 a bundle. You can pay monthly, or pay yearly and get one month free. It offers a free trial of 15 days, plus 15 more.
Katana
Katana has a free plan with unlimited users for up to 30 SKUs. A SKU is one product or part you track. Its paid plan, Advantage, has custom pricing on a yearly contract. Katana lists integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Amazon, which suits makers who also sell online. On the free plan, Shopify is the only online store it connects to.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl's inventory plans are billed yearly. Essentials is $229 a month with 2 users, Growth is $429 a month with 5 users and Scale is $729 a month with 10 users. Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing starts at $675 a month, and the page says Advanced pricing is always confirmed by quote. My Fishbowl alternatives guide compares it with other options.
Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud
Manufacturing Cloud is Salesforce's CRM for manufacturers. It tracks accounts, sales agreements and forecasts. Sales Core and Service Core each cost $275 a user a month. The Max editions cost $650, and Sales and Service Max costs $700. All editions need a yearly contract. It suits larger sales teams. A small maker with a few reps often does well with a simpler CRM, which my CRM for small business guide covers.
| Product | Type | Starting price (Oct 2026) | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRPeasy | MRP and light ERP | $49 a user a month | Small makers with up to a few dozen users |
| Katana | MRP and inventory | Free for up to 30 SKUs, then custom yearly price | Makers who sell through online stores |
| Fishbowl | Inventory and manufacturing | $229 a month, billed yearly | Firms that need deep stock control |
| Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud | CRM | $275 a user a month, yearly contract | Larger sales teams with distributors |
What should a manufacturer test before buying?
Manufacturing software is hard to swap later, because your bills of materials, stock and history all live inside it. Test carefully before you commit.
- Your real bill of materials: Load one of your most complex products, with sub-parts and options. See if the software plans it correctly.
- How you make things: Check it fits your style, such as make to order, make to stock, batch runs or job shop work.
- Costing: Make sure it shows the true cost of each order, including labor, scrap and overhead.
- Accounting sync: Confirm a clean, two-way link with your accounting tool, with no duplicate records.
- Shop floor use: Watch a worker use it on a tablet. If it takes many taps to log a job, people will stop logging.
- User costs as you grow: Work out the bill at your size today and at twice your size.
- Data export: Ask how you get your data out if you leave.
What should a manufacturer test before buying?
The mistake that costs manufacturers the most is testing a system's features before testing its exit. Your bills of materials, stock history and costing rules are hard to rebuild from scratch, and a vendor that makes it easy to get your data in rarely advertises how hard it is to get your data back out. Before you sign a yearly contract, ask the vendor to export a full product record, including its bill of materials and order history, in a format you could actually import somewhere else. If they cannot show you that cleanly during a trial, assume switching later will be expensive.
Where do AI and automation help manufacturers?
Automation for manufacturers works best on paperwork around production. These uses save the most time for small firms.
Drafting quotes from customer requests
Many quote requests arrive as emails with drawings or part lists. An AI tool can read the request, pull out materials, sizes and quantities, and draft a quote from your price rules. An estimator checks it before it goes out, so prices stay right.
Planning and reorder alerts
AI can look at open orders, stock and supplier lead times and warn you before a part runs short. It can also suggest an order for the week's production that keeps machines busy. A planner still makes the final call.
Turning shop notes into reports
Workers can speak a short voice note at the machine. AI turns it into a clean quality report or a maintenance ticket and files it against the right job. This keeps records complete without more typing.
My guide to business process automation covers how to pick which tasks to automate first.
When does custom manufacturing software make sense?
Most small manufacturers should buy one of the products above. They cost less than a build and they work on day one. If your process is standard and you have one site, start with a trial of MRPeasy or Katana.
A custom build or custom add-on starts to pay off in these cases.
- Your process does not fit: Engineered-to-order work, unusual costing or strict traceability rules can break a standard flow.
- Your tools do not talk: Quotes in one tool, production in another and shipping in a third means staff copy data all day.
- You need a customer or distributor portal: Buyers want to see order status, reorder and download certificates without calling you.
- Per-user fees grow large: At 50 or 100 users, a per-user price becomes a large yearly bill.
- You want control of your data: Some firms need full control of their designs, costs and customer records.
A middle path is common. You keep your MRP and build a portal, a quote tool or an AI agent on top of it. To compare the two costs side by side, see my build vs buy guide.
How would Blur Studio approach a manufacturing build?
I start by walking one real order through your business with you, from the quote request to the shipped invoice. I mark every place where someone retypes data, waits for an answer or keeps a private spreadsheet. If a standard product fits, I tell you which one to trial. If it does not, I build only the parts that are missing. That might be a quote tool that reads drawings, a distributor portal tied to your MRP, or an AI agent that flags late parts. You own the finished software and every account it runs on. I also stay on after launch to keep it working as your product line grows.
Questions people ask
What is the best manufacturing software for a small business?
For a small manufacturer, MRPeasy and Katana are common starting points. MRPeasy starts at $49 a user a month, and Katana has a free plan for up to 30 SKUs, as of October 2026. Test both with your most complex product before you decide.
What is the difference between MRP and ERP?
MRP plans materials and production based on your orders and bills of materials. ERP is wider and adds accounting, purchasing, sales and HR in one system. Many small makers start with MRP and move to ERP later.
Do manufacturers need a CRM?
A CRM helps a manufacturer track customers, quotes, distributors and repeat orders in one place. Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud starts at $275 a user a month on a yearly contract, and smaller teams often use a simpler general CRM.
How much does Fishbowl cost?
Fishbowl's inventory plans start at $229 a month billed yearly, as of October 2026. Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing starts at $675 a month, and the final price comes by quote.
How can AI help a small manufacturer?
AI can draft quotes from customer emails and drawings, warn you before parts run short and turn shop notes into reports. A person should still check quotes and plans before they go out.
Can I get my data out if I switch manufacturing software later?
It depends entirely on the vendor, and this is worth testing before you sign, not after you are stuck. Ask to export a full product record, bill of materials included, during your trial. A vendor that makes this easy is telling you something good about how they think about your data.
Roughly what does this cost?
As a broad reference, fixes and finishes start at around $1,500, and new builds start higher, always a fixed price agreed in writing before I start, never an hourly rate. My AI app cost guide explains what actually drives a quote up or down.
Is my project too small for this?
No. Most of the owners I work with have no tech team at all, that is the whole point. If the smarter move is a cheap software subscription instead of custom software, I will tell you that on the first call, even though it means I do not get paid.