Workhorse
by Bespoke Business Software Ltd (Workhorse)
Light manufacturingProprietary SaaS✓ Verified
UK order and inventory platform with work orders, per-job bills of materials and batch and serial traceability, configured for each customer by the vendor's team and synced with Xero.
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 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 Workhorse does on each (2 of 6)
- YesIt represents a bill of materials, recipe, or formula.Evidence: goworkhorse.com › Assemblies(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Made to order bespoke manufacturing(opens in a new tab)
- YesIt accepts dated demand, sales orders, a forecast, or a master production schedule.Evidence: goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Work orders(opens in a new tab)
- 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.Each made-to-order job "carries its own BOM, which raises the purchase orders and stock allocations for that job", and a work order lists the components its build quantity needs. That is one job at a time; no planning run across demand is documented. goworkhorse.com › Made to order bespoke manufacturing(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Work orders(opens in a new tab)
- PartialIt uses lead times or required dates.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.
- 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
- Made-to-order workshops that build a bill of materials per job and want quote, job and invoice in one record
- Food, drink and pharmaceutical makers who need batch traceability from supplier lot to customer
- Xero users who want stock kept out of Xero and cost of goods posted as one monthly journal
Not a fit when
- Anyone who wants to sign up and try it alone: there is no free trial and every system is implemented by the vendor
- Shops that need dated purchase suggestions from a planning run; purchasing works from stock levels and job BOMs
Pricing facts
What it costs to do manufacturing in this product.
Useful entry price
£435/month
Billing basis
Mixed
What moves the real bill
- Onboarding fee. A one-off implementation fee is scoped per business: £2,864, £4,388 and £3,843 in the vendor's three worked examples.
Plans
| Plan | Price | Add-ons and setup |
|---|---|---|
| Configured subscriptionBilled monthly | from £345/mo · £30 per user/mo | —Required setup: price not published |
| Every customer gets all twelve modules; price varies with configuration, reports, integrations and customization. One month's notice. £345 is the base fee in the vendor's smallest worked example; the base fee depends on the configuration you need, so yours may be higher. | ||
Cheapest paid plan that manufactures, by paid users
- 1 user: Configured subscription, at least £375 a month (billed monthly); first year at least £4,500, not counting a required setup or implementation fee.
- 5 users: Configured subscription, at least £495 a month (billed monthly); first year at least £5,940, not counting a required setup or implementation fee.
- 10 users: Configured subscription, at least £645 a month (billed monthly); first year at least £7,740, not counting a required setup or implementation fee.
Pricing detail
There is no price list. The pricing page gives three worked examples of a base subscription that depends on configuration plus £30 per user: a 3-user food and distribution company at "£345 + 3 user licenses @ £30 = £435 per month", a 9-user interiors manufacturer with multi-stage manufacturing at "£570 + 9 @ £30 = £840 per month", and a 6-user pharmaceutical company at "£495 + 6 @ £30 = £675 per month". Each carries a one-off implementation fee. There is no free trial, and "once you join us you are on a one subscription month notice period." We show £435 as the smallest published example, not a price you can buy at.
Checked on October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com(opens in a new tab). Prices change. Check before you buy.
Manufacturing capability
18 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. | Yes | Sales orders carry promise dates, work orders a mandatory Required By date, and the stock outlook report gives "a forward view of stock, demand and incoming purchase orders by day, week or month".Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Work 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 | The shortfall run tops products up against stock levels: "POs will be generated to increase all Products with stock quantity requirements to their Max Stock Qty." That is a min/max top-up, not a requirements calculation against dated demand.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Different purchasing processes(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Product(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. | Partial | Every product shows "in stock, allocated, on order and free to sell", and the product page says the shortfall run works "against reorder points and open orders". The help article on the shortfall run does not say whether open purchase orders reduce what it suggests.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Different purchasing processes(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. | Partial | "Supplier prices, currencies and lead times are held per product", and the reporting suite includes "reorder recommendations based on usage and lead times". Nothing shows a lead time moving an order date.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| 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 | Shortfall purchase orders are generated as drafts from Max Stock Qty levels, with no order-by date described.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Different purchasing processes(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 | Assemblies carry a Bill of Materials: "Select a Component Product from the drop-down list. Enter the Quantity of the selected Product that is required to create one Assembly." Made-to-order businesses can compose a BOM per job.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Assemblies(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Made to order bespoke manufacturing(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. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of nested or multi-level bom structures, not just a flat component list.Know the answer? |
| Recipes & formulasBatch-style production by weight, volume, or percentage, including scaling a batch up or down. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of recipe or formula records, ideally with batch scaling.Know the answer? |
| Work / manufacturing ordersA record authorising and tracking the making of a specific quantity. | Yes | "Use the Work Orders Module to raise and manage Work Orders for Assemblies". Work orders have a Required By date, Draft, In Production, Complete and Canceled statuses, and consume components when completed.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Work orders(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Routings & operationsThe ordered steps a product goes through, and which machine or station does each one. | Partial | "Jobs move through production stages with their promise dates visible", under the customer's own stage names, and "work orders follow one another in sequence". Stages rather than documented operations or work centers.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Made to order bespoke manufacturing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Shop-floor trackingOperators report progress, time, and completions as the work happens. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of a shop-floor, operator, or terminal interface for reporting production.Know the answer? |
| Quality controlsChecks, tests, holds, and non-conformance records tied to production or receiving. | Partial | No standard quality module is documented. The vendor's own pricing example has a pharmaceutical customer needing "a custom QA process built into the standard stock transfer module", so QA is built during implementation.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
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 | The Batch Traceability page traces batch-controlled components into batch-controlled assemblies on completed work orders, then to the despatch note and customer. "Both the Component Product and Assembly must be batch-controlled for it to appear on this page."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Batch traceability(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Expiry & shelf lifeBest-before dates on materials and finished goods, with warnings before they lapse. | Partial | Each batch has an optional Batch Date field for "date of manufacture, sell by date, best before date". No expiry warnings or FEFO are described.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Product batches(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Serial numbersUnique identifiers on individual units, for warranty or field service. | Yes | "Use the S/N Inventory page to monitor and trace all serial number-controlled Products or Assemblies." Serial-controlled components are picked on work orders.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › S n inventory(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Work orders(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 | FIFO or average cost valuation, an assembly's average cost built from its components, and landed costs allocated across purchase orders. An assembly shows "The average cost of this Assembly based on the cost of the Component Products", with an optional override and "additional costs above the actual cost price".Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Avg cost calculation(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Assemblies(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| PurchasingRaising and tracking purchase orders to suppliers from inside the system. | Yes | Purchase orders are raised by hand, back-to-back from a sales order, or in bulk from a shortfall run, with partial receipts: "a purchase order stays open until the last unit lands."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Different purchasing processes(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Product(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Accounting connectionSends financial data to bookkeeping software, or includes its own general ledger. | Yes | Two-way Xero integration: invoices, credit notes and purchase orders post in real time, payment status flows back, and cost of goods sold posts as a month-end journal. QuickBooks is also listed.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Xero(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Ecommerce connectionPulls orders and pushes stock levels to a storefront or marketplace. | Yes | "Sync Shopify orders, inventory, and customer data directly into Workhorse in real-time." WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and eBay are also listed.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Integrations(opens in a new tab); goworkhorse.com › Product(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. | Partial | The pricing page says "our powerful APIs allow custom integrations tailored to your needs". No public API documentation was found.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Pricing(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 | "Click Download CSV to download the data displayed on the Batch Traceability page in CSV format."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: goworkhorse.com › Batch traceability(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. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of a complete account export, database dump, or equivalent.Know the answer? |
Deployment, licensing and your data
- Deployment
- Cloud (hosted for you)
- Licensing
- Proprietary SaaS
- Team sizes
- 2–5 people, 6–20 people
- Manufacturing styles
- Custom or job-shop work, Batch & recipe products, Kits & bundles
Integrations
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Magento
- BigCommerce
- Wix
- Squarespace
- eBay
- EDI
- Shiptheory
- Pipedrive
- 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 price depends on configuration. The £435 figure is the vendor's smallest worked example, and every example adds a one-off implementation fee of roughly £2,900 to £4,400.
- Quality control is built during implementation rather than documented as a standard module.
Evidence and verification
✓ VerifiedLast checked October 9, 2026 · 72% of capability fields resolved · 100% of those carry a source
Researched 2026-09-19 from the product, pricing and Xero pages and the public knowledge base (work orders, assemblies, batch traceability, product batches, serial inventory, purchasing, costing), all read verbatim. The pricing page gives worked examples rather than a price list, modeled as a from-price with a required, unpriced implementation fee.
Sources we checked (5)
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.
- Find whether open purchase orders reduce the shortfall run, and whether any report gives an order-by date.
- Confirm whether assemblies can be components of other assemblies (multi-level BOMs).
- Find API documentation and a full data export option.
- Confirm capacity or shop-floor tools, if any, beyond production stages.
Still unknown: capacity planning, multi-level bom, recipes & formulas, shop-floor tracking, webhooks, mcp support, full data export.