Each trade runs its own kind of distribution software. DSD and route sales distributors run route accounting software beside QuickBooks or their ERP, priced from $49 a rep a month (SimplyDepo, billed yearly), $60 a user (Orderwerks) or $200 a month for three users (inSitu Sales). Industrial and MRO distributors run Prophet 21, Infor CloudSuite Distribution or DDI Inform, electrical, plumbing and HVAC distributors Epicor Eclipse or Infor CloudSuite Distribution, beverage distributors VIP, eoStar or Encompass, steel service centers Invera INVEX or Enmark Eniteo, and lumber yards Epicor BisTrack, ECI Spruce or DMSi Agility. Whichever system fits your trade, some orders and supplier ship dates still arrive by email, PDF and phone; Morsa, which publishes this guide, does that work on top of it.
Morsa publishes this guide. We read every vendor’s own site on 25 October 2026, or an Internet Archive capture where the site blocks automated reading (Epicor), and every partner or research figure carries its source. Quote only means the vendor publishes no price.
Quick answer: what each kind of distributor runs
Distributor | Systems built for them | Price, read 25 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
DSD and route sales: snacks, bakery, dairy, CPG | Route accounting apps beside QuickBooks or the ERP: SimplyDepo, Orderwerks, inSitu Sales, LaceUp, bMobile Route | SimplyDepo $49 to $89 a rep a month; Orderwerks $60 a user; inSitu Sales from $200 a month |
Industrial and MRO | Epicor Prophet 21, Infor CloudSuite Distribution, DDI Inform | Prophet 21 about $1,000 a month plus $100 to $175 per user, and $50,000 to $500,000 to implement (ERP Research); others quote only |
Electrical | Epicor Eclipse, Prophet 21, Infor CloudSuite Distribution, Savance | Quote only |
Plumbing, HVAC and PVF | Eclipse, Infor CloudSuite Distribution, DDI Inform, Klipboard | Quote only |
Beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks | VIP, eoStar, Encompass, Ohanafy | Quote only |
Steel and metals service centers | Invera INVEX, Enmark Eniteo, RealSTEEL | Quote only |
Lumber yards and building materials | Epicor BisTrack, ECI Spruce, DMSi Agility | Quote only; $20,000 to $200,000 a year by size (SoftwareConnect) |
General distribution ERPs such as NetSuite, Acumatica and Business Central fit many of these trades too; they are compared, with prices, in wholesale distribution software.
DSD and route accounting software
DSD, direct store delivery, is a model where the supplier delivers straight to the retail store instead of through the retailer’s warehouse, and the same team often restocks shelves, takes returns and writes the next order [2]. Route accounting is the money side of it. Orderwerks defines it as tracking every financial transaction on a delivery route: what was loaded, delivered, invoiced, collected and returned, and what came back to the warehouse at the end of the day [1]. SimplyDepo draws the same line: route accounting is the financial side, invoices, payments and settlements [2].
Three things make route accounting software different from ordinary order management. The sale happens in the field, often with no signal, so the app has to work offline. Stock lives on the truck, so the system has to settle each truck against the books at the end of the day. And large grocery and convenience chains accept invoices at the door through DEX, an electronic invoice standard, so DEX support decides whether you can sell to them [3]. Distributors run one of two models, or both: pre-sell, where a rep takes the order and a driver delivers it later, and van sales, where the driver sells from what is on the truck [1][2].
The market splits in two. Route apps such as SimplyDepo, Orderwerks, inSitu Sales, LaceUp and bMobile Route write into the accounting system you already own; beverage platforms such as VIP and Encompass replace it with a full ERP (see the beverage section below). If your books are in QuickBooks and staying there, start with the first group.
Route accounting software prices
Most of this market prices after a demo. These vendors publish numbers:
Vendor | Fits | Price, read 25 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
SimplyDepo | CPG brands and distributors with 3 to 100 reps; syncs to QuickBooks Online | $69, $59 or $49 a rep a month billed yearly, by team size; $89, $79 or $69 billed monthly; no setup fee |
Orderwerks | Wholesale, wine and spirits, tobacco; QuickBooks and Xero | $60 a user a month; delivery add-on $150 a month plus $25 a driver; van sales add-on (Enroute Pro) $150 plus $50 a driver; onboarding $1,000 to $5,000 |
inSitu Sales | Small field teams; QuickBooks, Odoo, Epicor | $200 a month with 3 users, $329 or $429 for larger plans, $34.99 per extra user |
Solid Route Accounting | Sage 100 users | $84.95 or $98.95 per mobile device a month |
LaceUp | QuickBooks, SAP and Sage users | Quote only |
bMobile Route | QuickBooks, NetSuite and SYSPRO users | Quote only |
Pepperi | Brands and distributors running DSD and van sales | Quote only |
Sources: SimplyDepo [4], Orderwerks [5], inSitu Sales [6], Solid Innovation [7], LaceUp [3], bMobile Route [8], Pepperi [9]. For the wider market, Orderwerks says legacy enterprise systems can cost $50,000 or more to implement plus monthly fees, while cloud platforms typically charge $40 to $100 per user per month [1]; no other page we read gives a market-wide range, so treat it as one vendor’s view.
What a five-truck van sales operation pays
A worked example for a distributor with five van sales trucks and one office admin, built only from the published prices above. It is an estimate; the products differ, so compare settlement, offline mode and DEX before price.
Option | Monthly | Year one |
|---|---|---|
Orderwerks with its van sales add-on, Enroute Pro | $410, Orderwerks’ own example: a $60 admin seat that includes one driver login, plus $150 and four more drivers at $50 | $5,920, with the $1,000 Quick Start onboarding |
inSitu Sales Enterprise, five app users | $498.98, from inSitu’s own table: $429 plus two extra users at $34.99 | $5,987.76, standard onboarding included |
SimplyDepo, five reps billed yearly | $345: 5 × $69 | $4,140, no setup fee; billed monthly, 5 × $89 is $445 a month |
What to test in a route accounting demo
Close one route on screen: cases out, cases sold, returns, a damaged case credited at the door, cash in, and the variance flagged.
Run a full stop with no signal. Orderwerks suggests asking for the demo in airplane mode with your whole catalog loaded [1].
Send a DEX invoice to one of your own chains, live.
Show how the day posts to your accounting system, and what happens when a post fails.
Price the second truck: per rep, per driver, per device or per user.
Industrial and MRO distribution software
Industrial and MRO distributors sell deep catalogs to plants and contractors through branches, often with vendor-managed inventory, kitting and repair work. The systems built for them:
Epicor Prophet 21. Epicor calls it “the only ERP designed by distributors for distributors” [10]. ERP Research estimates about $1,000 a month plus $100 to $175 per user per month, with $50,000 to $500,000 for implementation [11]. Epicor has scheduled the final on-premises feature release for May 2028; new features after that come in the cloud only [12]. Epicor pricing works the numbers.
Infor CloudSuite Distribution (SX.e). For industrial supply, Infor lists high-volume order processing, complex pricing models, supplier rebate management, advanced manufacturing and rentals [13]. Quote only.
DDI Inform (Advantive). A distribution ERP with counter sales, an embedded CRM, proof of delivery and margin-based customer pricing [14]. Advantive, which also sells Distribution One, markets its distribution ERPs to fastener, bearing and power transmission, hose, janitorial and HVAC distributors, among others [14][21]. ERP Research finds no published price list [15].
TrulinX (Tribute). An ERP for industrial distributors and fabricators, deployed on-premise or cloud-hosted [16]. Quote only.
Acumatica Distribution Edition. The general option with a list price: Acumatica’s APEX for Distribution bundle starts under USD 1,495 a month with implementation and support included [17].
What AI does for these distributors, and which vendors sell it, is covered in AI for industrial and MRO distributors.
Electrical distributor software
Electrical distributors run a busy counter, quote contractor jobs, release project orders over months and claim supplier rebates. Four systems are built for that work:
Epicor Eclipse. In Epicor’s words, “the top ERP system designed specifically for electrical, plumbing, HVAC and PVF wholesale distributors,” strongest at front counter work, job management, inventory forecasting, EDI and contract pricing; it also runs as Eclipse Cloud [18]. Eclipse is not being retired: is Epicor Eclipse going away? has the dates.
Epicor Prophet 21. Kissinger Associates, an ERP partner, names Prophet 21 as a vertical platform worth researching for industrial or electrical distribution [19].
Infor CloudSuite Distribution. Infor sells cloud versions built for electrical distributors, with complex pricing, supplier rebate management and kitting [13].
Savance Enterprise. An ERP for electrical, HVAC, plumbing and industrial supply distributors, bought by Klipboard in a deal completed on 14 January 2026 [20].
All four quote prices individually. For the AI side of electrical distribution, see AI for electrical distributors.
Plumbing, HVAC and PVF distributor software
Plumbing, HVAC and PVF (pipe, valves and fittings) distributors share the electrical trade’s counter and job work, plus seasonal equipment demand, warranty claims and contractor accounts:
Epicor Eclipse is built for these trades as well as electrical [18].
Infor CloudSuite Distribution has a plumbing and HVAC version with complex pricing, supplier rebate management, warranty and claims management, and rentals and service [13].
DDI Inform. Advantive’s HVAC version highlights fast counter sales, seasonal demand tracking and electronic purchasing documents with LBMX, American Standard and Goodman [21].
Klipboard. Sells two ERP platforms to HVAC and refrigeration distributors, one for single-location businesses and one for multi-branch operations, and has versions for plumbing and PVF [22].
QuickBooks add-ons. Smaller supply houses that stay on QuickBooks can add an inventory system such as Acctivate, which prices on request [23].
None of these publish a price. The AI side of the HVAC trade is covered in AI for HVACR distributors.
Beverage distribution software
Beverage software has consolidated. eoStar joined VIP in May 2022 [25], and VIP completed its acquisition of Encompass Technologies on 14 September 2026 [27], so three of the main beverage distribution systems now belong to one company.
VIP. A beverage operations platform for distributors: route accounting and warehouse management, BizStride routing, OrderStream demand planning, the KARMA CRM and Connect for retailer ordering [24].
eoStar. End-to-end software for three-tier and other DSD beverage distributors, covering route accounting, warehouse management, voice picking, forecasting and mobile sales, with more than 14,000 users [25].
Encompass. Sells itself as “the complete ERP for beverage distributors,” with sales, warehouse, delivery, financials and field operations on one platform for three-tier and DSD businesses [26].
Ohanafy. A beverage platform built on Salesforce for suppliers and distributors [28].
Orderwerks adds wine and spirits features such as automated New York SLA compliance reporting, at its published prices [5].
All but Orderwerks quote prices individually. With eoStar and Encompass inside VIP, a beer, wine or spirits distributor replacing its system is now choosing among VIP’s product lines, a Salesforce-based platform such as Ohanafy, or a general ERP with a route app. Broadline food distributors are a different market; see AI for foodservice distributors.
Steel and metals service center software
Metals service centers buy from mills, process material by slitting, cutting, sawing or plate work [29], and sell inventory tracked by tag, heat and gauge [31], with mill test reports that must follow each piece to the customer. Metals-specific ERPs are built for that work:
Invera INVEX. A cloud metals ERP and AI platform built for metal service centers, metal distributors, steel processors, rolling mills and tube mills, with an AI assistant called Ivy and a customer ecommerce portal [29].
Enmark Eniteo. An ERP purpose-built for metal service centers of all sizes, covering sales, purchasing, receiving, shipping, production order scheduling and outside processing; Enmark says readers of Metal Center News voted it the number one ERP [30].
RealSTEEL. An ERP for the metals industry, including metal bar distributors [31].
All three quote prices after a demo. Two free helpers for the paperwork side: the mill test report reader and the material cert packet checklist.
Lumber yard and building materials software
Lumber and building materials (LBM) dealers sell by the piece, the board foot and the bundle, run a contractor counter, quote special orders and deliver to job sites. Three systems are built for them:
Epicor BisTrack. Epicor calls it the “#1 ERP for Building Supply,” browser-based and cloud-hosted on Microsoft Azure, and cites a 99% retention rate [32]. Plan the platform: Epicor has scheduled the final BisTrack Desktop release for December 2026 and the final on-premises BisTrack Web release for July 2028 [12].
ECI Spruce. Point of sale, inventory, purchasing, accounting, analytics and ecommerce in one system for LBM dealers [33]. SoftwareConnect calls it ideal for lumberyards and regional dealers with up to 200 employees [35].
DMSi Agility. An ERP for building materials and industrial distribution that tracks lumber units such as board feet and linear feet, with installed sales and in-house production [34].
Klipboard and Infor CloudSuite Distribution also sell versions for building materials distributors [22][13]. None publish a price. SoftwareConnect’s pricing guide, updated 16 March 2026, puts dealers with 20 to 100 employees at $20,000 to $75,000 a year (ECI Spruce, Acctivate, DMSi Agility Starter) and dealers with 100 to 500 employees at $75,000 to $200,000 a year (DMSi Agility Enterprise, WoodPro, Epicor BisTrack) [35].
Orders and ship dates: the work no trade system does
These systems keep the record for their trade. In the vendor pages read for this guide, none describes reading an order a contractor texts as a photo, a chain’s emailed PDF purchase order with its own item numbers, or a supplier email that moves a ship date two weeks. In every trade, the same two jobs land on people:
Trade | Orders that still arrive by hand | Supplier dates that still get chased |
|---|---|---|
DSD and beverage | Chain and store orders by email and phone, outside the route app | Brand and brewery ship dates and allocations |
Industrial and MRO | PDF purchase orders with the customer’s part numbers | Vendor acknowledgments that move a date |
Electrical | Contractor job releases and takeoffs by email | Long lead times on gear and lighting |
Plumbing and HVAC | Photos of handwritten lists from the counter | Seasonal equipment dates from manufacturers |
Steel | Purchase orders that need a cert packet | Mill rolling and delivery dates |
Lumber | Contractor material lists and special orders | Mill and truss delivery dates |
We build Morsa for that gap. Morsa is the AI COO for operations at manufacturers and distributors: an AI agent that does daily operations work inside the systems, email and phone your team already uses, on top of whichever system your trade runs. Take a route distributor on QuickBooks: when a chain emails a PDF order, Morsa reads it, matches the chain’s item numbers to yours, asks before it guesses, and enters it in your accounting system or ERP. When a brand’s ship date moves, it reads the supplier’s email, updates the date and shows which customer orders the slip hits, with a proposed fix for one-tap approval. It chases open supplier orders from the buyer’s own mailbox and answers where-is-my-order emails with the ETA and carrier tracking. For a steel service center, it files mill certs as they arrive, builds each customer’s cert packet and requests any missing cert.
People approve what matters: the lines Morsa is unsure of, price exceptions and the fix for each slip. Morsa works through email, Teams, WhatsApp and phone as well as your accounting system or ERP, and runs in the cloud, a private cloud or fully on-premise. To see how a supplier acknowledgment turns into dates, try the purchase order acknowledgement reader.
J4S, a 120-person glass plant, raised on-time completion of operational commitments from about 30% to about 75% across about 900 commitments in four weeks; Morsa went live there in two days and the ERP stayed in place (the J4S story). At JRG Automotive, Morsa caught 5 of 8 production-stopping material shortages early enough to act, saving $2 million. Morsa starts with a pilot on one live problem. The pilot is free when no implementation work is needed; otherwise there is a minimal implementation cost, refunded if the pilot shows no value. After that, the fee is a share of the value created, agreed after the pilot. There are no per-seat licenses (how pricing works).
If one of these gaps matches yours, book a demo.
Bottom line
Pick the system built for your trade. DSD and route sales distributors should start with a route accounting app such as SimplyDepo, Orderwerks or inSitu Sales; beverage distributors with VIP’s products or Ohanafy; industrial and MRO distributors with Prophet 21, Infor CloudSuite Distribution or DDI Inform; electrical, plumbing and HVAC distributors with Eclipse or Infor CloudSuite Distribution; steel service centers with Invera or Enmark; and lumber yards with BisTrack, Spruce or DMSi Agility. Only the route apps and Acumatica’s APEX bundle publish prices, so budget the rest from partner figures and get the implementation quote in writing. If your orders and supplier dates still arrive by email, PDF and phone, the setup that works is that trade system with Morsa on top: the trade system keeps the record, and Morsa takes that work.
Food distributors and the food manufacturers who supply them have their own ERP shortlist, with lot, catch weight and FSMA 204 needs; our guide to ERP for food manufacturers and food distributors compares those systems with sourced prices.
Sources
Orderwerks, Route Accounting Software for Distributors: The Complete DSD Guide: https://www.orderwerks.com/blog/route-accounting-software-guide (read 25 October 2026)
SimplyDepo, 7 Best DSD Software for Route Sales Teams (2026): https://simplydepo.com/industry/dsd-software/ and DSD route accounting software: https://simplydepo.com/dsd-route-accounting/ (read 25 October 2026)
LaceUp Solutions, Route Accounting Software: https://www.laceupsolutions.com/solutions/route-accounting-software/ (read 25 October 2026)
SimplyDepo, Pricing: https://simplydepo.com/pricing/ and Distribution management software: https://simplydepo.com/distribution-management-software/ (read 25 October 2026)
Orderwerks, Pricing: https://www.orderwerks.com/pricing (read 25 October 2026)
inSitu Sales, Pricing: https://insitusales.com/en/pricing/ (read 25 October 2026)
Solid Innovation, Solid Route Accounting for Sage 100: https://www.solid-innovation.com/pages/solid-route-accounting-for-sage-100 (read 25 October 2026)
bMobile Route, home page: https://bmobileroute.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
Pepperi, Direct Store Delivery and Van Sales: https://www.pepperi.com/route-accounting-dsd/ (read 25 October 2026)
Epicor, Prophet 21 product page: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/products/enterprise-resource-planning-erp/prophet-21/ (read 25 October 2026 through an Internet Archive capture of 16 October 2026)
ERP Research, Epicor Prophet 21 (P21) Pricing 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/epicor-prophet-21 (read 25 October 2026)
Epicor, Epicor Announces Schedule of Final On Premises Feature Releases for Kinetic, Prophet 21, and BisTrack (6 January 2026): https://www.epicor.com/en-us/newsroom/news-releases/epicor-announces-schedule-of-final-on-premises-feature-releases/ (read 25 October 2026 through an Internet Archive capture of 7 June 2026)
Infor, Wholesale distribution software: https://www.infor.com/industries/distribution (read 25 October 2026)
Advantive, DDI Inform distribution ERP: https://www.advantive.com/products/ddi-system/ (read 25 October 2026)
ERP Research, DDI System Inform ERP Pricing and Costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/ddi-inform (read 25 October 2026)
Tribute, TrulinX ERP: https://www.trulinx.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
Acumatica, APEX for Distribution pricing calculator: https://www.acumatica.com/apex/distribution/ (read 25 October 2026)
Epicor, Eclipse product page: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/products/enterprise-resource-planning-erp/eclipse/ (read 25 October 2026 through an Internet Archive capture of 2 August 2026)
Kissinger Associates, The Best ERP for Wholesale Distributors: A 2026 Buyer’s Guide, updated 1 September 2026: https://www.kissingerassoc.com/blog/best-erp-for-wholesale-distributors (read 25 October 2026)
Klipboard, Klipboard acquires Savance Enterprise to boost its presence in US wholesale distribution (14 January 2026): https://www.klipboard.com/en-au/news/klipboard-acquires-savance-enterprise-to-boost-its-presence-in-us-wholesale-distribution (read 25 October 2026)
Advantive, HVAC distribution software: https://www.advantive.com/industry/distribution/hvac-software/ (read 25 October 2026)
Klipboard, HVAC and refrigeration: https://www.klipboard.com/en-us/sectors/wholesale-distribution/hvac-refrigeration, plumbing: https://www.klipboard.com/en-us/sectors/wholesale-distribution/plumbing, pipe, valves and fittings: https://www.klipboard.com/en-us/sectors/wholesale-distribution/pipe-valves-and-fittings and lumber, building materials and roofing: https://www.klipboard.com/en-us/sectors/wholesale-distribution/lumber-building-materials-and-roofing (read 25 October 2026)
Acctivate, Pricing: https://acctivate.com/pricing/ (read 25 October 2026)
VIP, Beverage distribution software for distributors: https://www.vipinsights.com/solutions/distributors (read 25 October 2026)
eoStar, About eoStar: https://eostar.com/about-eostar/ (read 25 October 2026)
Encompass Technologies, home page: https://www.encompasstech.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
Vermont Information Processing, VIP Announces Strategic Acquisition of Encompass Technologies, PR Newswire (14 September 2026): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vip-announces-strategic-acquisition-of-encompass-technologies-to-accelerate-the-future-of-food--beverage-technology-302877838.html (read 25 October 2026)
Ohanafy, home page: https://ohanafy.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
Invera, INVEX metal ERP: https://www.invera.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
Enmark Systems, ERP business software for metal service centers: https://www.enmark.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
RealSTEEL, ERP software for the metals industry: https://www.realsteelsoftware.com/ (read 25 October 2026)
Epicor, BisTrack product page: https://www.epicor.com/en-us/products/enterprise-resource-planning-erp/bistrack/ (read 25 October 2026 through an Internet Archive capture of 29 July 2026)
ECI Software Solutions, Spruce: https://www.ecisolutions.com/spruce/ (read 25 October 2026)
DMSi, Agility ERP: https://www.dmsi.com/agility (read 25 October 2026)
SoftwareConnect, The Best Building Materials Software, updated 16 March 2026: https://softwareconnect.com/roundups/best-building-materials-software/ (read 25 October 2026)
Morsa, J4S customer story: https://morsa.ai/customers/j4s (read 25 October 2026)
Morsa, Pricing: https://morsa.ai/pricing (read 25 October 2026)
