Job Costing Without ERP Overhead
ERP vendors want $150K and six months of your time. You just want to know if your jobs make money. Jolted gives small manufacturers real-time job costing, work orders, and WIP tracking—without the enterprise complexity and budget-busting implementation.
$0
Implementation
Days
To Deploy
< $500
Monthly
THE ERP TRAP
You Need Visibility, Not Complexity
Enterprise ERP Reality
ERP vendors want $100K-$300K for implementation alone
You'd need to hire an IT person or expensive consultants to run it
Six-month (or longer) implementation projects disrupt your business
ERP comes with 50 modules when you need 3-4
Per-user licensing makes adding shop floor workers expensive
Complexity means your team never fully adopts it
Jolted Alternative
Flat monthly pricing—start for under $500/month with no implementation fee
Self-service setup—your office manager can handle it
Setup in days, tracking jobs within a week
Focused on job costing, work orders, scheduling—nothing you don't need
Unlimited users included—add the whole shop floor
Simple enough that workers actually use it
COMPARISON
Jolted vs. Enterprise ERP
What small manufacturers actually experience
6-12 months
Days
$100K-$300K
$0
$5K-$15K
< $500
Pay per user
Unlimited
Complex MRP
Visual & Simple
Included
Partial/Add-on
Not Available
WHAT YOU ACTUALLY NEED
Job Costing Is the Core—Everything Else Supports It
ERP gives you 50 modules when you need 4. Jolted focuses on what small manufacturers actually need: job costing to know if you're making money, work orders to track production, scheduling to manage capacity, and WIP tracking for financial visibility.
Real-Time
Job Profitability
See margin per job as labor and materials are logged
Automatic
Cost Roll-Up
Costs flow from shop floor without manual allocation
Live
WIP Visibility
Know exactly how much capital is on your floor
See how much spreadsheets are costing your shop
Calculate Your SavingsNO BLOAT
Focused Capabilities for Small Manufacturers
Everything you need, nothing you don't
Job Costing Without Complexity
Track labor and material costs per job in real time. See margins without learning a complex ERP module or hiring consultants.
Days to Deploy, Not Months
Most shops are tracking jobs within a week. No six-month implementation projects. No parallel running until everyone forgets the old way.
No Six-Figure Investment
Flat monthly pricing under $500. No implementation fees. No per-user fees that punish you for adding shop floor workers.
Work Order Management
Create and track work orders with drawings attached. Progress updates flow into job costing automatically.
Production Scheduling
Visual scheduling with capacity view. Not MRP complexity—just clear visibility into what's scheduled and what has room.
WIP and Inventory Basics
Track WIP value and material usage per job. Enough inventory visibility for job costing without warehouse management overhead.
SUPPORTING YOUR OPERATIONS
Job Costing Needs Operational Support
Work Orders
Digital work orders with routings and attached files. Track status across operations. Time logged against work orders feeds job costs automatically—without the complexity of ERP work order modules.
Material Tracking
Log material issues per job. Track actual vs. estimated consumption. Not full warehouse management—just enough inventory visibility to support accurate job costing.
Production Scheduling
Visual scheduling without MRP complexity. See capacity by resource. Drag and drop to schedule. Actual progress updates the plan—without the advanced planning engines you don't need.
FAQ
ERP Alternative for Small Manufacturers: FAQ
What am I giving up by not using ERP?
Advanced capabilities you probably don't need yet: multi-plant coordination, complex MRP/supply chain planning, HR management, CRM integration, and deep financial consolidation. If these are critical, you need ERP. If you primarily need job costing visibility and operational control, Jolted does that without the overhead.
Can Jolted scale as we grow?
Jolted scales well up to approximately $50M revenue and 75-100 employees. At that point, you might genuinely need enterprise capabilities. Many customers start with Jolted, get their operations in order, and grow for years before ever needing ERP. When you do need to transition, Jolted data exports cleanly.
Why is ERP so expensive?
ERP systems are designed for enterprise complexity: global supply chains, multiple locations, regulatory compliance, and integration with dozens of other systems. The software architecture, implementation methodology, and support structure all assume enterprise needs and budgets. You're paying for capabilities that don't apply to a 25-person job shop.
Our accountant says we need ERP. Do we?
Accountants often see ERP as the "right" answer because it provides financial controls and audit trails they're familiar with. But for job costing and operational visibility, you don't need a full ERP platform. Jolted provides the operational data; your accounting software (QuickBooks, etc.) handles financials. Together they cover what your accountant actually needs.
What about NetSuite / SAP / Epicor specifically?
These are all excellent ERP systems—for the right size manufacturer. NetSuite typically runs $75K-$200K to implement plus $50K+/year. SAP Business One is similar. Epicor can be higher. All require months of implementation and dedicated management. If you need their advanced features, they're worth it. If you need job costing for a 30-person shop, they're overkill.
How is Jolted different from entry-level ERP?
Entry-level ERP (like some NetSuite packages) still requires implementation consulting, training, and complex configuration. They're simplified ERP, but still ERP. Jolted is built from the ground up for small manufacturers—no modules, no complex configuration, no consultants. The simplicity is fundamental, not a layer on top of enterprise architecture.
We're planning to grow to 200 employees. Should we just start with ERP?
Maybe, but probably not. Most shops don't grow as fast as planned. Starting with ERP means paying enterprise prices while you're still small. Starting with Jolted means you get visibility now, affordably, and can always migrate to ERP when you genuinely need it. The data exports cleanly, and the discipline you build transfers.
Skip the ERP Complexity
Get job costing visibility without the six-figure implementation and year-long project. See what right-sized manufacturing software looks like.
No implementation fees
Setup in days, not months
Flat pricing under $500/month
Export anytime—no lock-in
No credit card required
14-day free trial
Setup in 5 minutes