Best ERPs for Small Manufacturers (Under 250 Employees)

Having a simple, flexible, and scalable ERP system is critical for small manufacturers. You need to keep things affordable, easy-to-use, and able to grow with your business. We think these ERPs capture those criteria the best.

1. Odoo ERP

Odoo is an all-in-one solution. It can make your tech stack simple by keeping everything under one roof. They have straightforward pricing and a feature set that lets your users stay within Odoo during their workday rather than jumping into different software every minute.

It's also an open-source ERP with a strong community. This means that you can build on more features when needed, and ask for help if you get stuck.

If you're looking for an experienced jack-of-all-trades, Odoo can be a great option for you.

2. Fishbowl Manufacturing

Fishbowl Manufacturing is a popular ERP solution for small manufacturers. It offers a range of features, including inventory management, production scheduling, and warehouse management. Fishbowl is known for its ease of use and affordability, making it a good option for small businesses. They've been building on additional features and cloud capabilities over the past few years.

3. ProShop ERP

Built by Founders who used to run a machine shop. Has everything like shop scheduling, shop floor control, quality management, CMMS, equipment calibration, and more. Have modules like ERP, MES, QMS, CMMS, and more to keep everything under one system.

4. MRPeasy

While they're tagline says they are "The MRP system for small manufacturers", we throw them in here since they have ERP functionality as well. MRPeasy has great integrations, straightforward pricing, and an easy to use interface

And everything you need to know is covered in their crazy extensive documentation.

Easiest to Build with ERPs

When we say easy, it's relative. ERP implementations are often complex, even when making them as simple as possible. So for this list, these are the ones where we think that the tool itself "gets out of the way" so you can build what you need.

1. Acumatica

We like to call this one the "HubSpot" of ERPs. Similar to HubSpot, Acumatica is a modern, cloud-based ERP system that was built on one unified code base, rather than pieced together through acquisitions.

They also offer straightforward pricing, and the system is known for its usability and ease of implementation. Like HubSpot's all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform, Acumatica integrates core business functions like financials, CRM, and project management in a single system.

2. Odoo ERP

Odoo is an all-in-one platform that keeps the most important information forward and accessible to end users. It's modular approach lets businesses keep it super simple to start, then add on more functionality when they're ready.

We've also found that the interface is intuitive and requires less training for end users and developers to get used to.

3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

This one might be a shock to some, but we believe that the familiarity and integration of Dynamics 365 Business Central with the other Microsoft products makes it easier as a whole to build a solution with.

Many manufacturers use Microsoft products to conduct business, and it can make sense to stay with Microsoft for ERP software as well. Plus their app ecosystem lets you bolt on other functionality you need with ease.

Most Extendable ERPs

These ERPs are able to extend their capabilities the best with other highly capable modules without having to work with entirely different platforms. All under one roof. Just pick and choose what you want to add on.

1. Plex ERP

Plex ERP is owned by Rockwell Automation, so you know it's been well tested. Because of this, the other products that are able to be added on to the ERP are highly impactful. This includes an MES (Manufacturing Execution System), QMS (Quality Management System), SCP (Supply Chain Planning), Production Monitoring, MES Automation, and APM (Asset Performance Management).

When your business is ready for that type of specialization of systems, Plex is a great option. It'll let you get into the nitty-gritty of what each of those products can do.

2. Netsuite ERP

Oracle Netsuite is a titan of the industry. They've "seen it all" when it comes to big challenges for manufacturers. Because of this they offer a full suite of tools to cover everything you can imagine. The potential complexity of this extended functionality is why it's not higher in the list.

3. Acumatica ERP

Plex ERP is owned by Rockwell Automation, so you know it's been well tested. Because of this, the other products that are able to be added on to the ERP are highly impactful. This includes an MES (Manufacturing Execution System), QMS (Quality Management System), SCP (Supply Chain Planning), Production Monitoring, MES Automation, and APM (Asset Performance Management).

When your business is ready for that type of specialization of systems, Plex is a great option. It'll let you get into the nitty-gritty of what each of those products can do.

4. Odoo ERP

Odoo is an open-source ERP system that offers a high degree of flexibility and customization. It also has a large community of developers creating extensions and customizations. Since it's open-source, you'll be able to integrate and build any other functionality that doesn't currently exist for the system.