Job shop software compared: which job shop ERP to run and what it costs

The best job shop software is the ERP built for how your shop quotes and schedules: JobBOSS² for quote-heavy job shops, Global Shop Solutions for high-mix shops that need a finite schedule, ProShop for regulated precision machine shops, and Cetec ERP or MRPeasy for shops under 25 people leaving spreadsheets. For a 25-person shop, five years of software and implementation comes to about $63,000 to $131,000 on MRPeasy, Cetec ERP or Acumatica, which publish their prices; most of the others quote. Whichever you choose, RFQs, material certs and supplier dates still arrive by email; Morsa, which publishes this guide, does that work on top of the ERP.

Morsa publishes this guide. We read every price below on the vendor’s own page or a named research page on 25 October 2026. Quote-only vendors are marked as such, and where two sources disagree, we show both.

Quick answer: the best job shop ERP for each kind of shop

• Quote-heavy job shop or fabricator, 20 to 80 people, keeping QuickBooks: JobBOSS². Won quotes convert into jobs, and it syncs with QuickBooks Desktop and Online [1]. Quote only.

• High-mix shop that needs a finite schedule, or servers on site: Global Shop Solutions, with finite, infinite and what-if scheduling in one system [2]. Quote only.

• Precision or regulated machine shop (aerospace, defense, medical): ProShop, which puts ERP, a quality system and MES in one product, with a path to CMMC Level 2 [3]. Quote only.

• Engineer-to-order or project shop: JobScope, built around contracts, releases and work breakdown structures [4].

• Under 25 people, leaving spreadsheets: Cetec ERP at $50 per user per month with accounting included, or MRPeasy at $49 to $149 per user per month [5][6].

• Job shop that also distributes stocked parts: SYSPRO, sold to manufacturers and distributors, or Acumatica Manufacturing Edition, which does not charge per seat [7][8].

• Make-to-order plant heading past 100 people or onto several sites: Epicor Kinetic [9].

Whichever ERP fits your shop, the work it leaves to people can run on Morsa, an AI agent that sits on top of the ERP; the section on what the ERP still leaves to people, below, shows how.

What job shop software does, and how it differs from a general ERP

Job shop software, or a job shop ERP, runs make-to-order work where nearly every job is different. An estimate is built from a routing, the quote becomes the job, material is bought for that job, labor is clocked against each operation, and the job’s actual cost is compared with the estimate when it ships. Machine shop software, or an ERP for machine shops, is the same idea with more weight on inspection, quality records and traceability.

A general manufacturing ERP is built around standard products, stocked parts and a forecast, which is why job shops often find it clumsy [4]. For the broader field, including Business Central, NetSuite and Odoo, see our best ERP for manufacturing picks and the longer manufacturing ERP software comparison, which carries review scores and practitioner complaints. This page stays with the systems a 25 to 80 person job shop or machine shop actually shortlists, and what each one costs.

Job shop ERP prices at a glance

Prices read on 25 October 2026. Of the systems in this table, only Cetec ERP, MRPeasy, Fishbowl and Acumatica publish a number on their own sites; for the rest we give the research figures with their source.

The job shop ERPs, one by one

Each entry covers what the system is, who it fits, what to watch for and what it costs.

JobBOSS² pricing, fit and reviews

JobBOSS² is ECI Software Solutions’ ERP for job shops and make-to-order manufacturers. ECI says it brings E2 software together with JobBOSS expertise, and that 5,000 job shops run it [20]. Estimates use preset rates for burden, labor, quantity breaks, setup, run time, outside services and commission, and the quote is created from the estimate with one click [21]; won quotes convert into jobs. It schedules by drag and drop, tracks inventory and quality, syncs with QuickBooks Desktop or Online, and now drafts bills of materials from PDFs, spreadsheets and images with an AI BOM builder [1]. It runs as multi-tenant SaaS, private cloud or on premises, and ECI puts implementation at about 3 to 6 months [1].

Best for: quote-heavy job shops and fabricators of 20 to 80 people that want to keep QuickBooks for the books.

What users say: commenters on r/ERP recommend JobBOSS² and E2 for custom job shops as systems built for that work [22], and one r/Machinists user who ran the older JobBOSS calls its 2018 version, quoting aside, the high point of ERP systems [23].

Watch for: ERP Research notes that the interface and reporting feel dated next to cloud-native rivals [10]. Ask to see a custom report built in the demo, with its cost.

Price: quote only. ECI’s pricing page offers packages sized to the shop and a form [24]. ERP Research reports directory listings from about $3,000 a year, a typical $3,000 to $30,000 a year, and $5,000 to $40,000 to implement [10].

Global Shop Solutions pricing and fit

Global Shop Solutions is one ERP from quote to cash for job shops and make-to-order manufacturers. Its published scheduling feature list is the most detailed in this group: finite and infinite, forward and backward, what-if, and constraints by employee skill [2]. Estimating generates quotes from single-level and BOM estimate routers, quotes repeat orders from data already in the system, and compares estimated with actual time for each operation [25]. Recent additions are AI accounts payable automation and AI sales order entry [26]. It runs in the cloud or on premises [12].

Best for: high-mix shops where the schedule is the hard part, including shops that want servers on site.

Watch for: the shape of the bill. Global Shop licenses concurrent users, meaning people in the system at once, and shop floor screens, each for an upfront fee plus an ongoing quarterly cost that includes updates and support [11]. Count your busiest shift, not your headcount, and expect year one to be the expensive year.

Price: quote only. ERP Research lists a starting price of $65 per user per month and a typical $100 to $200, implementation of $20,000 to $250,000 depending on size and complexity, and support at about 18% of licence cost [12].

ProShop ERP pricing and fit

ProShop combines ERP, a quality management system and MES for precision machine shops, with aerospace, defense, medical and space industry pages and a dedicated path for shops pursuing CMMC Level 2 [3]. Its headline feature is now Chip, an AI that learns from past jobs and puts setup notes and cost history in front of operators and estimators [3]. It sends invoices and purchase orders to QuickBooks or Sage 50 for the books, and connects to Paperless Parts, Mastercam and Net-Inspect [27].

Best for: AS9100, ITAR and medical shops that want quality records, work instructions and the job in one place.

Watch for: ProShop describes itself as a system that enforces your workflows, compliance requirements and rules [3]. For a regulated shop that is the point; a shop that wants to keep its own way of working should test it in the demo. Accounting stays in QuickBooks or Sage 50 [27].

Price: quote only, priced per user, with standard or Government packaging and continuous support [13]. We found no third-party figure we would stand behind.

E2 Shop System (Shoptech E2): is it still sold?

Not to new customers. ECI’s E2 page now reads “E2 MFG for Existing Customers” [14], its JobBOSS² product page calls JobBOSS² the former E2 Shop [1], and ECI says JobBOSS² brings E2 software together with JobBOSS [20]. E2 earned its following on job costing: a commenter on r/ERP whose shop ran it for years singles out the built-in time clock that showed job cost as it happened, and its QuickBooks link [22]. ERP Research still lists $45 to $100 per user per month and $5,000 to $60,000 to implement [15], which helps if you are renewing. If you run E2 today, ECI’s current job shop product is JobBOSS²; price that move before you look elsewhere.

JobScope

JobScope has built ERP for job shops, engineer-to-order and project manufacturers for more than 45 years [4]. Its feature list reads like a fabricated-equipment shop’s: separate estimating, engineering and production bills of materials; contracts, releases, work orders and work breakdown structures; material bought directly to the job; job-based MRP; BOM import from CAD; and earned-value measures for government contract work [4].

Best for: engineer-to-order and project shops that build equipment to contract.

Price: quote only; we found no published or research figure.

MIE Trak Pro

MIE Trak Pro is a quote-to-job ERP for job shops, fabricators and discrete manufacturers. Quotes carry material, labor, routing and outside services into the job, so actual cost lands next to the estimate; scheduling runs in APS or one of four other modes; and job costing ties into the financials [28]. MIE’s founder wrote the first version to help his father run a machine shop, nearly 30 years ago [28].

Best for: metal fabricators and job shops that want the quote, the job cost and the accounting in one system.

Price: quote only, priced per user [16].

Cetec ERP

Cetec ERP publishes its price, which is rare in this group: $50 per user per month with a five-user minimum, $25 for shop floor users who clock time, and $20 for customer or vendor portal users, with every module included and a free trial [5]. Those modules run from quoting to general ledger, receivables and payables [29]. Support is self-serve at no charge, $650 a month for the Standard plan or $3,200 for Enterprise; ITAR-compliant hosting adds $500 a month [5]. Implementation runs from do-it-yourself at $0 to $5,000 to $80,000 assisted or $50,000 to $150,000 and up fully managed, billed at $315 an hour; Cetec’s own estimate for a company moving off QuickBooks and spreadsheets is $26,000 to $40,000 [30].

Best for: small job shops and contract manufacturers that want a published price and accounting built in.

Watch for: one r/ERP commenter calls the interface older, with a learning curve [22]. ERP Research lists Cetec at $40 to $80 per user per month [31]; Cetec’s own page reads $50 [5].

SYSPRO pricing and fit

SYSPRO is a modular mid-market ERP that markets itself to manufacturers and distributors, which makes it a fit for the job shop that also stocks and resells parts. SYSPRO publishes no price; its pricing address opens its products page [7]. ERP Research says it is sold as a cloud subscription or an on-premises perpetual licence, puts cloud pricing at $75 to $200 per user per month, perpetual licences at $1,500 to $5,000 per concurrent user, implementation at $30,000 to $500,000 and support at about 20% of licence cost a year, and calls it best for companies of 50 to 500 people [17].

Best for: job shops of 50 people and up that also distribute, or plan to.

Price: quote only.

MRPeasy, Fishbowl, Acumatica, Epicor Kinetic, Plex and the rest

• MRPeasy publishes $49 (Starter), $69 (Professional), $99 (Enterprise) and $149 (Unlimited) per user per month. Past ten users you add them in bundles of ten for $79 a month, annual billing gives one month free, and there are no contracts [6]. It suits shops under about 25 people moving off spreadsheets.

• Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing starts at $675 a month, priced by users and deployment, with bills of materials, MRP, work orders, job and labor costing and deep QuickBooks integration. Fishbowl’s cheaper Inventory plans, $229 to $729 a month, do not include manufacturing [18]. It suits small assemblers who keep QuickBooks more than custom job shops.

• Acumatica Manufacturing Edition sells APEX for Manufacturing, a fixed package of software, implementation and support from under $2,185 a month, cloud only, with unlimited users [8]. It suits shops where many people on the floor need a login.

• Epicor Kinetic is quote only. ERP Research puts it at $100 to $200 per user per month plus a platform fee from $1,500 a month, and implementation at $50,000 to $1 million [9]. The platform fee alone comes to $90,000 over five years before a single user, which is why it fits make-to-order plants from about 100 people up.

• Plex (Rockwell Automation) runs ERP and MES on one platform with all modules in the subscription; ERP Research lists $120 to $250 per user per month and $50,000 to $600,000 and up to implement [19]. It suits regulated or automotive plants with repeat production more than a job shop.

• Fulcrum is cloud software for precision CNC shops and sheet metal fabricators, with built-in AI it calls Archie, quoting and capable-to-promise dates; it publishes no price [32].

• DELMIAWorks (formerly IQMS) sells a JobShop module inside its ERP [33]; ERP Research describes the ERP as best for plastics, packaging and repetitive manufacturers that want ERP and MES in one, and quotes it on request [34].

What a 25-person job shop pays over five years (estimate)

This is an estimate built only from the published and research figures above, not a quote. Assumptions: 25 people, of whom 8 quote, buy, schedule, invoice and ship (full users) and 17 clock in and out of jobs on the floor; cloud deployment; implementation paid in year one; no price rises; support included unless a separate fee is listed.

The math, line by line:

• MRPeasy Enterprise: 10 users at $99 is $990 a month, and users 11 to 25 take two 10-user bundles at $79, so $1,148 a month. Annual billing charges 11 months: $12,628 a year, or $63,140 over five years, plus $0 to $8,000 of implementation [6][35].

• Cetec ERP: 8 users at $50 ($400) plus 17 shop floor users at $25 ($425) is $825 a month. Adding the $650 Standard support plan makes $1,475 a month, or $88,500 over 60 months, plus $26,000 to $40,000 of implementation [5][30]. Without the paid support plan, five years comes to $75,500 to $89,500.

• Acumatica APEX for Manufacturing: under $2,185 a month for 60 months, implementation and support included, is under $131,100 [8].

• JobBOSS²: $3,000 to $30,000 a year for five years is $15,000 to $150,000, plus $5,000 to $40,000 of implementation [10].

• Global Shop Solutions: 10 concurrent users at $100 to $200 a month for 60 months is $60,000 to $120,000, plus $20,000 to $250,000 of implementation [12]. At ERP Research’s $65 starting price, the low end would be $59,000.

Two things stand out. The quote-only systems span ranges too wide to budget from, so ask for written quotes with implementation split out by module. And none of these numbers includes your own people’s time: the estimator, buyer and quality lead who keep feeding the ERP long after go-live. That cost does not stop in year one. Morsa’s fee is not in the table either: it is a share of the value a pilot proves, agreed after the pilot.

How to choose a job shop ERP: five questions for the demo

1. Run one of your own RFQs from email to invoice. Watch what gets retyped between the quote, the job, the purchase order and the shipment. Check that a $150 plating minimum on a 20-piece job stays a lot charge and does not turn into a unit price.

2. Price the shop floor, not just the office. Count who clocks into jobs. Cetec charges $25 for a shop floor user [5], MRPeasy sells users past ten in bundles of ten [6], Global Shop prices concurrent users and shop floor screens separately [11], and Acumatica’s APEX package includes unlimited users [8].

3. Decide where the books live. JobBOSS² and ProShop sync to QuickBooks, and ProShop also to Sage 50 [1][27]; Cetec and MIE Trak Pro keep accounting inside [29][28]. If you are leaving QuickBooks altogether, read outgrowing QuickBooks first.

4. Follow a heat number through the system. From the mill cert at receiving to the cert packet at shipping, count the clicks and ask who files what.

5. Ask who implements, and for how long. ECI quotes about 3 to 6 months for JobBOSS² [1]; ERP Research says Global Shop’s own team usually implements [12]; Cetec runs from do-it-yourself to fully managed [30]. Ask for the implementation quote by module, with data migration as its own line.

What the ERP still leaves to people: RFQs, material certs and supplier dates

Here is a normal Tuesday at a 40-person machine shop on any of the systems above.

• 7:40, an RFQ. A customer emails a drawing for 500 turned shafts in 1018 steel, zinc plated. The ERP has a quote screen, but the estimator still opens the PDF, hunts through old jobs for something close, asks the steel service center for today’s bar price, emails two platers and waits a day for their prices, then types the quote.

• 10:15, a delivery. Bar stock arrives. Receiving keys the packing slip into the ERP and drops the mill cert in a folder, matched to the heat number by hand.

• 1:30, a cert request. A customer wants the cert packet for last week’s order. Someone pulls the mill certs, the inspection report and the certificate of conformance, finds the plater’s cert missing and emails the plater.

• 3:45, a slipped date. The bar supplier emails that next week’s delivery is four days late. If the buyer sees it today, the purchase order date changes in the ERP. Which jobs and customer dates that hits gets worked out at Thursday’s production meeting.

The ERPs above hold the quote, the job and the purchase order once someone has entered them, and several now add AI to parts of that entry. The reading, chasing and matching between emails, suppliers and the ERP still sit with three people: the estimator, the buyer and whoever owns quality.

Morsa, the AI COO for operations at manufacturers and distributors (an AI agent that does daily operations work inside the ERP, email and phone your team already uses), takes on that work. It connects to any system with an API, a database, an export or an email trail, such as JobBOSS², ProShop, Global Shop or Epicor, and reads and writes it. On the same Tuesday:

• The RFQ. Morsa reads the drawing and pulls the closest past job with its routing. It adds your machine rates and today’s material price. It sends the plating RFQ to your platers, reads their replies and works out the landed cost. Then it drafts the quote in your format, and the estimator checks every line before it goes. The full walk-through is in our manufacturing quoting software guide.

• The certs. A phone photo of the packing slip becomes the receipt in the ERP, and the mill cert is filed with it. When the customer asks for the packet, Morsa builds it from what is on file and requests the missing plating cert from the plater. Our material cert packet checklist lists what goes in one.

• The supplier dates. Morsa chases suppliers from the buyer’s own mailbox, in the buyer’s words, reads the replies and updates the purchase order dates in the ERP. When a date slips, it shows which jobs and customer orders the slip hits and proposes the fix for one-tap approval.

People still make the calls that need judgment: the price and the send on every quote, any receipt that does not match its purchase order, and every customer date that moves.

At J4S, a 120-person glass plant, on-time completion of operational commitments rose from about 30% to about 75% across about 900 commitments in four weeks, after going live in two days (J4S customer story) [36]. At JRG Automotive, Morsa caught 5 of 8 production-stopping shortages early, saving $2 million.

A pilot on one live problem comes first. It 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 licences (how pricing works).

To see it on your own RFQs, certs and supplier emails, book a demo.

Verdict: which job shop ERP should you run?

Choose the ERP for how your shop quotes and schedules. If you quote every day and keep QuickBooks, run JobBOSS². If the schedule is your hardest problem, run Global Shop Solutions. If you make aerospace, defense or medical parts, start with ProShop. Engineer-to-order work points to JobScope, a fabricator that wants accounting inside to MIE Trak Pro, a shop under 25 people to Cetec ERP or MRPeasy, a shop that also distributes to SYSPRO or Acumatica Manufacturing Edition, and a make-to-order plant past 100 people to Epicor Kinetic.

Then look at what the ERP still leaves to people. If your estimator, buyer and quality lead spend their days on RFQs, certs and supplier emails, the winning setup is that ERP plus Morsa: the ERP keeps the record, and Morsa does the reading and chasing while they approve. Book a demo to try it on one live problem.

Sources

1. ECI Software Solutions, JobBOSS² product page: https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/jobboss2/ (read 25 October 2026)

2. Global Shop Solutions, Planning and scheduling software: https://www.globalshopsolutions.com/planning-and-scheduling-software-for-manufacturing (read 25 October 2026)

3. ProShop ERP, Homepage: https://proshoperp.com/ (read 25 October 2026)

4. JobScope, Job shop manufacturing software: https://www.jobscope.com/job-shop.html (read 25 October 2026)

5. Cetec ERP, Monthly pricing: https://cetecerp.com/pricing (read 25 October 2026)

6. MRPeasy, Pricing: https://www.mrpeasy.com/pricing/ (read 25 October 2026)

7. SYSPRO, ERP products and solutions (the pricing address opens this page): https://www.syspro.com/pricing/ (read 25 October 2026)

8. Acumatica, APEX for Manufacturing: https://www.acumatica.com/apex/manufacturing/ (read 25 October 2026)

9. ERP Research, Epicor Kinetic pricing and costs 2026: https://www.erpresearch.com/pricing/epicor-kinetic (read 25 October 2026)

10. ERP Research, JobBOSS² pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/jobboss (read 25 October 2026)

11. Global Shop Solutions, ERP software pricing: https://www.globalshopsolutions.com/pricing (read 25 October 2026)

12. ERP Research, Global Shop Solutions pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/global-shop-solutions (read 25 October 2026)

13. ProShop ERP, Pricing: https://www.proshoperp.com/pricing (read 25 October 2026)

14. ECI Software Solutions, E2 MFG for existing customers (the E2 Shop System address opens this page): https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/e2-shop-system/ (read 25 October 2026)

15. ERP Research, E2 Shop System pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/e2-shop-system (read 25 October 2026)

16. ERP Research, MIE Trak Pro pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/mie-trak-pro (read 25 October 2026)

17. ERP Research, SYSPRO pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/syspro (read 25 October 2026)

18. Fishbowl, Pricing: https://www.fishbowlinventory.com/pricing (read 25 October 2026)

19. ERP Research, Plex Manufacturing Cloud pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/plex (read 25 October 2026)

20. ECI Software Solutions, Job shop manufacturing ERP software: https://www.ecisolutions.com/industries/manufacturing/job-shops/ (read 25 October 2026)

21. ECI Software Solutions, JobBOSS² estimating and quoting: https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/jobboss2/features/quotes/ (read 25 October 2026)

22. Reddit r/ERP, What ERP systems are best for a custom job shop? (May 2025): https://www.reddit.com/r/ERP/comments/1krae8u/what_erp_systems_are_best_for_a_custom_job_shop/ (read 25 October 2026)

23. Reddit r/Machinists, Paperless parts (November 2025): https://www.reddit.com/r/Machinists/comments/1p6lbl4/paperless_parts/ (read 25 October 2026)

24. ECI Software Solutions, JobBOSS² pricing: https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/jobboss2/job-shop-software-pricing/ (read 25 October 2026)

25. Global Shop Solutions, Estimating and quoting software: https://www.globalshopsolutions.com/estimating-and-quoting-software-for-manufacturing (read 25 October 2026)

26. Global Shop Solutions, AI-integrated ERP software: https://www.globalshopsolutions.com/ai-integrated-erp (read 25 October 2026)

27. ProShop ERP, Integrations: https://proshoperp.com/product/integrations/ (read 25 October 2026)

28. MIE Solutions, MIE Trak Pro homepage: https://mie-solutions.com/ (read 25 October 2026)

29. Cetec ERP, Homepage: https://cetecerp.com/ (read 25 October 2026)

30. Cetec ERP, Implementation and launch pricing: https://cetecerp.com/implementation-pricing/ (read 25 October 2026)

31. ERP Research, Cetec ERP pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/cetec-erp (read 25 October 2026)

32. Fulcrum, Cloud manufacturing software: https://fulcrumpro.com/ (read 25 October 2026)

33. DELMIAWorks, Job shop manufacturing ERP management software: https://www.solidworks.com/product/delmiaworks/manufacturing-erp/manufacturing/jobshop/ (read 25 October 2026)

34. ERP Research, DELMIA Works pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/delmiaworks (read 25 October 2026)

35. ERP Research, MRPeasy pricing and costs 2026: https://erpresearch.com/pricing/mrpeasy (read 25 October 2026)

36. Morsa, J4S customer story: https://morsa.ai/customers/j4s (read 25 October 2026)

37. Odoo, Pricing: https://www.odoo.com/pricing (read 25 October 2026)