Erplain
by Erplain
Modular inventory, sales and purchasing software from France and Canada with a real manufacturing module: BOMs, routings with subcontracted steps, manufacturing orders that consume components and value the output, and nested assemblies. Lots, expiry and serials are a separate add-on.
Why it is classified this way
We call this a Light manufacturing product. Has bills of materials or recipes, consumes stock when you build, and tracks production, but time-phased planning is not verified.
It is not labeled Full MRP because we have not verified that it accepts dated demand, sales orders, a forecast, or a master production schedule; nets that demand against stock on hand and orders already incoming; explodes requirements through at least one level of the bill of materials; uses lead times or required dates; and produces dated buy, make, transfer, release, or reschedule recommendations. That is a statement about the evidence we found, not a claim that the product is weak, see the capability table and the sources below.
The six Full MRP tests, and how Erplain does on each (1 of 6)
- YesIt represents a bill of materials, recipe, or formula.Evidence: erplain.com › Manufacturing management(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Bill of materials(opens in a new tab)
- PartialIt accepts dated demand, sales orders, a forecast, or a master production schedule.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.
- PartialIt nets that demand against stock on hand and orders already incoming.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.
- PartialIt explodes requirements through at least one level of the bill of materials.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.A manufacturing order lists the BOM components for its quantity, and a sub-assembly component spawns a linked child order ("A dependency means that a manufacturing order launched with an assembled component is linked to a parent document"). Nothing turns finished-item demand into component requirements ahead of time. help.erplain.com › Manufacturing dependancies(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Manufacturing orders(opens in a new tab)
- UnknownIt uses lead times or required dates.Not established. No evidence found yet.
- PartialIt produces dated buy, make, transfer, release, or reschedule recommendations.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.
These rules are applied identically to every product and enforced at build time, a record cannot be published as Full MRP unless all six pass with a source attached. Read the methodology.
Best for
- Small B2B and wholesale businesses that make or assemble part of what they sell and want one tool for orders, stock and manufacturing
- Makers who outsource steps to a subcontractor and need stock at the subcontractor tracked
- Food and cosmetics sellers who need lots, expiry and serials and are willing to pay for the traceability add-on
Not a fit when
- Anyone who needs a dated plan of what to buy or make; only reorder points and per-order shortage checks are documented
- Shops on QuickBooks Online Simple Start or Essentials, since the product and inventory sync needs Plus or Advanced
- Batch makers who think in weights, yields and percentages rather than per-unit components
Pricing facts
What it costs to do manufacturing in this product.
Advertised from
$69/month
Useful entry price
$86/month
Billing basis
Mixed
Why the useful price is higher
The $69 Essentials plan has no manufacturing. Bills of materials and manufacturing orders are the "Assemblies and manufacturing orders" add-on at +$17 a month billed annually, so the cheapest plan that manufactures is $86 a month for one user. Lot numbers and expiry dates are a further +$34, and purchase orders +$17.
Free trial: 14 days.
What moves the real bill
- Required add-ons. The manufacturing capability needs: Assemblies and manufacturing orders (+$17 a month billed annually, +$20.4 billed monthly).
- Annual billing assumed. The advertised rate requires paying for a year up front. Monthly billing costs more.
Plans
| Plan | Price | Add-ons and setup |
|---|---|---|
| EssentialsBilled yearly, shown per month | $69/mo · 1 users included, then $16 each | Assemblies and manufacturing orders $17/mo; Serial numbers, lot numbers and expiration dates $34/mo; Shopify $11/mo; API $46/mo |
| Essential features only: sales, invoicing and stock. Purchase orders (+$17 a month billed annually), kits (+$11), user permissions (+$29) and the other modules are add-ons. Prices shown with the page's USD switch on; the same page footnote calls them EUR. 12-month commitment. The FAQ says "None of our plans contain any hidden setup fees". One hour of onboarding training is included. | ||
| EssentialsBilled monthly | $82.80/mo · 1 users included, then $19.20 each | Assemblies and manufacturing orders $20.40/mo; Serial numbers, lot numbers and expiration dates $40.80/mo; Shopify $13.20/mo; API $55.20/mo |
| Essential features only: sales, invoicing and stock. Purchase orders (+$17 a month billed annually), kits (+$11), user permissions (+$29) and the other modules are add-ons. Monthly billing. Prices shown with the page's USD switch on; the same page footnote calls them EUR. The FAQ says "None of our plans contain any hidden setup fees". One hour of onboarding training is included. | ||
Cheapest paid plan that manufactures, by paid users
- 1 user: Essentials + Assemblies and manufacturing orders, $86 a month (billed yearly, shown per month); first year $1,032.
- 5 users: Essentials + Assemblies and manufacturing orders, $150 a month (billed yearly, shown per month); first year $1,800.
- 10 users: Essentials + Assemblies and manufacturing orders, $230 a month (billed yearly, shown per month); first year $2,760.
Pricing detail
Erplain is modular: "Build your own plan: The essentials + your choice of modules." Essentials is $69 a month billed annually ($82.8 billed monthly) with 1 user, then $16 per additional user a month ($19.2 monthly). The three cards on the page ($69, $163, $304 billed annually) are preset configurations, not tiers: $163 is Essentials with 3 users plus advanced pricing, multi-location, kits and purchase orders, and only the $304 card (5 users) switches on "Assemblies and manufacturing orders" and "Serial numbers, lot numbers and expiration dates". Annual billing is a 12-month commitment with "2 months free". Currency: the page has an EUR/USD switch and showed USD ("$69") when we loaded it; switched to EUR it shows €59 Essentials, €14 per extra user and €14 for manufacturing. The feature comparison footnote still says "Displayed prices are in EUR" under dollar figures, so the page contradicts itself. We record the USD figures exactly as shown with the USD switch on. All prices exclude taxes. Help-center wording that batches are "included only in the Premium subscription plan" predates the modular pricing.
Checked on October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com(opens in a new tab). Prices change. Check before you buy.
Manufacturing capability
20 of 25 fields resolved. "Unknown" means we have not found first-party evidence. It is not a No.
Planning
Working out what to buy or make, and when.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Accepts dated demandYou can tell it what is due and when, sales orders with dates, a forecast, or a production schedule. | Partial | Sales orders reserve stock ("Creating a Sales Order will update your Available inventory") and manufacturing orders carry "the number of units, the deadlines, the bills of materials and routings used". No page says a sales order due date or a forecast drives any calculation.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Sales orders(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Manufacturing orders(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Nets against stock on handIt subtracts what you already have before telling you to buy more. | Partial | Netting happens per order and per threshold, not as a plan. From a sales order: "If your available and upcoming stock is not sufficient to deliver this order, you can create a purchase containing the missing quantities." The Reorder report lists products below their reorder point.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Creating purchase orders from sales orders backorder(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Reorder point and backorder(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Counts incoming ordersIt knows about purchase orders and production orders already placed, so it does not tell you to order twice. | Yes | Open purchase and manufacturing orders count as incoming stock: "Ordered products remain in incoming stock until they are received, so your available stock is not updated too early." The manufacturing order article adds "When the manufacturing order moves to Released status, the quantities it contains are added to the product's incoming stock." The backorder check reads available and upcoming stock.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com › Purchase orders(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Manufacturing orders(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Creating purchase orders from sales orders backorder(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Uses lead timesIt works backwards from when you need something to when you must order or start it, using supplier and production lead times. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation showing lead time fields that shift a suggested order or start date.Know the answer? |
| Produces dated buy/make suggestionsThe output is an actionable list with dates, order this much by this date, start this batch on this date. | Partial | Purchase suggestions exist but carry no dates: the Reorder report says "Erplain will help you create Purchase Orders automatically based on the reorder point and default supplier of each product."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Reorder point and backorder(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Capacity planningChecks whether your people and machines can do the work in the time available. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of work-center or resource capacity being compared against load.Know the answer? |
Production
Recipes, bills of materials, and running the work.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of materialsA list of the parts and quantities needed to make one of something. | Yes | "BOMs let you define the components needed to manufacture a finished product. They work like a recipe: each component is assigned a specific quantity to produce one unit of the assembled product." A product can have several BOMs with a default.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com › Manufacturing management(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Bill of materials(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Multi-level BOMSub-assemblies inside assemblies, a part that is itself made from other parts, nested as deep as you need. | Yes | "Erplain allows you to use assembled products as components of other assembled products." Sub-assemblies are made through linked child manufacturing orders that hold the parent order until they start.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Manufacturing dependancies(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Recipes & formulasBatch-style production by weight, volume, or percentage, including scaling a batch up or down. | Partial | BOMs "work like a recipe", with component quantities per unit that multiply by the order quantity. Batch-by-weight formulas, yields or percentage scaling are not described.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com › Manufacturing management(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Bill of materials(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Work / manufacturing ordersA record authorising and tracking the making of a specific quantity. | Yes | "Create manufacturing orders in Erplain, track the required components, and turn them into finished products." Orders go Draft, Released, Ready to close, Complete, can be produced in several batches, and can disassemble as well as assemble.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com › Manufacturing management(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Manufacturing orders(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Routings & operationsThe ordered steps a product goes through, and which machine or station does each one. | Yes | "Routings help you organize the different steps required to manufacture your assembled products: pre-production, production, post-production, and more." Steps can be required or optional, and any step can be sent to a subcontractor. Steps are not tied to machines or work centers.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com › Manufacturing management(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Routings(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Shop-floor trackingOperators report progress, time, and completions as the work happens. | Partial | Steps are started and completed inside the manufacturing order ("Each step can then be started and completed one by one") and a calendar shows statuses and deadlines. No operator terminal or time capture is described.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Manufacturing orders(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Quality controlsChecks, tests, holds, and non-conformance records tied to production or receiving. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of quality inspections, checks, or non-conformance handling.Know the answer? |
Inventory & traceability
Knowing what you hold and being able to trace it.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Batch & lot traceabilityWhich incoming material lots went into which finished batch, and where those finished goods went. | Yes | "You can include Products with Batches as part of your Assemblies. When you transform the Assembly, you will have the ability to select the Batch ID", and each batch number opens every transaction that used it. Needs the "Serial numbers, lot numbers and expiration dates" add-on (+$34 a month billed annually).Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Batch tracking(opens in a new tab); erplain.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Expiry & shelf lifeBest-before dates on materials and finished goods, with warnings before they lapse. | Yes | "Each batch number can have an Expiration date and a Barcode number." Automatic allocation picks the batch with the closest expiry date, and an alert can fire when "A batch number is about to expire". Same +$34 add-on as lots.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Batch tracking(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Alerts(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Serial numbersUnique identifiers on individual units, for warranty or field service. | Yes | "Track the traceability of your products down to the individual unit: from purchase receipts through to customer delivery, including stock counts and returns." Serials can sit inside a batch. Same +$34 add-on as lots.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Serial numbers(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Commerce & accounting
Costs, purchasing, storefronts, and the books.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Product costing & COGSWhat it costs you to make one, and the cost of the goods you sold. | Yes | "When you create a Manufacturing Order to assemble a finished product, Erplain automatically calculates its cost of goods (the assembly valuation)." The cost is consumed components at MAC, FIFO or LIFO, plus a unit manufacturing cost and any exceptional costs.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Manufacturing order valuation(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| PurchasingRaising and tracking purchase orders to suppliers from inside the system. | Yes | "Erplain lets you create purchase orders, add products to order, generate a PDF, and email the document directly from the platform." Receipts can be partial. Purchase orders are an add-on, +$17 a month billed annually, not part of Essentials.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: erplain.com › Purchase orders(opens in a new tab); erplain.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Accounting connectionSends financial data to bookkeeping software, or includes its own general ledger. | Yes | QuickBooks Online syncs products, contacts, invoices, purchase orders and payments: "All Invoices created in Erplain can be sent to QuickBooks." The help center says "you need a QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced account to sync products, invoices and purchase orders". Included in Essentials. Pennylane is also listed as an integration.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › How does the quickbooks integration work(opens in a new tab); erplain.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Ecommerce connectionPulls orders and pushes stock levels to a storefront or marketplace. | Yes | Shopify: "Orders created from Shopify (or Shopify POS) will be created automatically in Erplain", and available stock syncs in real time. One store per account. A +$11 a month add-on billed annually.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › How does the shopify integration work(opens in a new tab); erplain.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Openness & your data
Getting data in, out, and away if you leave.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| APIA documented programming interface so other software can read and write your data. | Yes | A GraphQL API with a public reference: "Our API is currently available in read-write mode." The reference includes manufacturing order queries and mutations. A +$46 a month add-on billed annually.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Api(opens in a new tab); erplain.readme.io › Graphql(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| WebhooksThe system can notify other software the moment something changes. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of outbound webhooks or event subscriptions.Know the answer? |
| MCP supportA Model Context Protocol server, letting an AI assistant read or act on this data. Useful, but it has nothing to do with whether the product plans materials. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: a first-party mcp server, or documentation of one.Know the answer? |
| CSV exportYou can get your lists out as spreadsheet files. | Yes | "With Erplain, you can export at anytime all your data to CSV or XLSX spreadsheets. You can export your products, prices, stock levels, transactions and all your reports."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Exporting data(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Full data exportYou can take everything, including history and relationships, not just a few screens' worth of rows. | Partial | Export works screen by screen: "When this button shows, you can export the view displayed on your screen." The security page lists contacts, products, and sales, purchase and inventory documents. No single account export is described, so BOMs, routings and manufacturing history may not come out together.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: help.erplain.com › Exporting data(opens in a new tab); help.erplain.com › Erplain data security and backups(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Deployment, licensing and your data
- Deployment
- Cloud (hosted for you)
- Licensing
- Proprietary SaaS
- Team sizes
- Just me, 2–5 people, 6–20 people, 21–50 people
- Manufacturing styles
- Countable assembled products, Kits & bundles
Integrations
- QuickBooks Online
- Shopify
- Pennylane
- Stripe
Jobs this product qualifies for
Derived from the capability table above, not hand-assigned.
Editorial notes and cautions
Things we would want a friend to know before buying.
- The $69 headline buys no manufacturing. Manufacturing orders are +$17, lots and expiry +$34 and purchase orders +$17 a month (billed annually), so one person with all three pays $137, and each extra user is $16.
- The pricing page shows dollar figures under a footnote that says prices are in EUR. With the EUR switch on, the figures change (€59 Essentials), so check which currency your quote is in.
- Annual billing is a 12-month commitment, and 1,000 orders a month are included; quotes and purchase orders count toward that limit, at $0.04 per order beyond it.
- QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced is required to sync products, invoices and purchase orders.
Alternatives to Erplain
An alternative is always an alternative for a reason. There is no universal replacement.
Inventora is built for small makers and starts at $19 a month billed yearly with batch traceability included, where Erplain charges separate add-ons for manufacturing orders and lots.
- MegaventoryLower cost
Megaventory includes multi-level production and five users for $135 a month billed yearly; the same team on Erplain with manufacturing, lots and purchase orders costs about $200.
Evidence and verification
Why this record is not Verified. The pricing page contradicts itself on currency (dollar figures under a footnote that says EUR), and the record was written in a single pass on 2026-10-09. It stays Partially verified until an editor confirms the billing currency and re-reads the help-center quotes.
Pricing was read in headless Chrome on 2026-10-09, because the module prices only render in the page's configurator; each preset card was opened to see which modules it switches on. Capabilities come from Erplain's Freshdesk help center (help.erplain.com), which has a six-article Manufacturing section, and from its feature pages.
Sources we checked (15)
erplain.com
help.erplain.com
- 77000594406 manufacturing orders(opens in a new tab)
- 77000594408 bill of materials(opens in a new tab)
- 77000594409 manufacturing dependancies(opens in a new tab)
- 77000594411 routings(opens in a new tab)
- 77000596153 manufacturing order valuation(opens in a new tab)
- 77000585613 batch tracking(opens in a new tab)
- 77000597124 serial numbers(opens in a new tab)
- 77000585501 exporting data(opens in a new tab)
- 77000585456 api(opens in a new tab)
- 77000585454 how does the quickbooks integration work(opens in a new tab)
- 77000585455 how does the shopify integration work(opens in a new tab)
- 77000585896 reorder point and backorder(opens in a new tab)
What we still want to confirm
We publish our gaps rather than hiding them. If you can point us at a first-party page for any of these, we will update the record and credit the correction.
- Confirm which currency Erplain actually bills in for a US customer; the pricing page shows dollars under a footnote that says EUR.
- Find out whether sales orders carry a due date and whether lead times exist on suppliers or products. No dated planning or lead-time field is documented.
- Confirm whether webhooks exist; the help center documents only the GraphQL API.
- Confirm whether there is quality control, inspection or a hold status on batches. None is documented.
- Confirm what a full account export contains; export is documented one screen at a time.
Still unknown: uses lead times, capacity planning, quality controls, webhooks, mcp support.