Which ERP or manufacturing software should a small manufacturer use?

Tally's own help page on running job work orders, either as the principal manufacturer sending material out or as the job worker receiving it. It shows how far a small manufacturer can go inside TallyPrime before needing an ERP.

Job Work in TallyPrime

From help.tallysolutions.com by Tally Solutions 4 min read

• Enable job work to track material sent to and received from job workers.
• Use the job work out and job work in reports to see what is still lying with whom.
• Pre-close job orders that will not be completed so stock stays accurate.

The official ERPNext manual for its manufacturing module: bills of materials, workstations and routing, work orders, production plans and capacity planning. Read it to see whether your shop floor fits before you install anything.

ERPNext manufacturing documentation

From docs.frappe.io by Frappe Docs

• Set up the bill of materials first; every work order hangs off it.
• Workstations and routing are what give you machine-level capacity planning.
• Production planning pulls sales orders into the materials you must buy.

Tally's own price page for TallyPrime, the accounting software most Indian CAs already use. Silver for one PC is Rs 750 a month, Rs 8,100 for 12 months, or Rs 22,500 for a lifetime licence, all plus 18% GST.

Buy TallyPrime: plans and prices

From tallysolutions.com by Tally Solutions Pricing page

TallyPrime on eChai Explore

• Silver (single PC) is Rs 750 a month or Rs 22,500 plus GST for life.
• Every plan includes invoicing, inventory, GST returns, e-invoicing and e-way bills.
• Remote cloud access is an extra add-on.

Frappe's hosting prices for ERPNext, the free and open source ERP. A single site on shared servers starts at Rs 410 a month, a server for several sites at Rs 1,800 a month, and pricing is per site rather than per user.

ERPNext pricing on Frappe Cloud

From frappe.io by Frappe Pricing page

ERPNext on eChai Explore

• ERPNext is not priced per user, so a team of 20 costs the same as a team of 2.
• Hosting yourself is free; paying Frappe buys managed upgrades and backups.
• Budget for an implementation partner: the software is free, setting it up is not.

Odoo's rupee prices. One app is free for unlimited users; Standard, with every app including Manufacturing (MRP), Inventory and Accounting, is Rs 725 a user a month billed yearly, or Rs 580 under a discount valid for the first 12 months, and Rs 950 month to month.

Odoo pricing (India)

From odoo.com by Odoo Pricing page

Odoo on eChai Explore

• If you only need one app, such as Manufacturing, the free plan covers unlimited users.
• The yearly discount lasts 12 months, so plan on Rs 725 a user from year two.
• Custom, at Rs 1,350 a user yearly, is what you need for Studio, multi-company or the API.

Zoho's rupee price list for its cloud inventory app. A free plan covers 50 orders a month for one user and one location; Standard is Rs 999 a month billed yearly for 500 orders, Premium Rs 2,299 and Plus Rs 4,999.

Zoho Inventory pricing (India)

From zoho.com by Zoho Pricing page

Zoho Inventory on eChai Explore

• Start on the free plan to test: 50 orders, 1 user, 1 location.
• Plans are capped by orders a month, so price your busiest month, not an average one.
• Composite items, backorders and dropshipping are in every plan, which covers light assembly.

Katana's own plans for product makers. The Free plan costs $0 with no card, covers up to 30 SKUs with unlimited users and locations, and connects to Shopify; larger businesses move to Advantage, a custom annual contract.

Katana pricing

From katanamrp.com by Katana Pricing page

Katana on eChai Explore

• The free plan's 30-SKU limit is the real constraint, not users.
• Only Shopify integrates on the free plan.
• Advantage is quoted per business, so get the scope written down.