Decide whether you need MES on the shop floor or ERP is enough
If your problem is quoting, job costing and scheduling, an ERP core like MIE Trak Pro or Genius ERP covers it. If you need real-time production monitoring tied to machine data, DELMIAWorks documents ERP and MES sharing one database, and Infor CloudSuite Industrial lists an embedded APS. Buying MES you don't use is the most common overspend in this category; buying ERP-only when you needed floor data capture is the second most common.
Decide how much compliance documentation you actually need
ProShop ERP is built around AS9100, ITAR and FDA-grade traceability, with documented access controls and a stated path toward CMMC Level 2. That buys you audit-ready paperwork but nothing here says what it costs beyond "quote, based on number of users." If you're not in aerospace, defense or medical device work, that documentation overhead is a cost with no return. Total ETO, by contrast, is positioned specifically for engineer-to-order machine builders with CAD-driven BOMs, a different compliance profile entirely.
Rule out vendors on deployment before you compare features
Five of the fifteen listings above document hybrid deployment (JobBOSS², Global Shop Solutions, MIE Trak Pro, Epicor Kinetic, DELMIAWorks, Aptean, Acumatica), meaning cloud and on-prem coexist in some form. Fulcrum states cloud-only with no on-prem option. Visual EstiTrack is on-prem only. If your plant has no reliable internet on the floor, cloud-only tools are out regardless of what else they offer.
TODO(editor): verify which of the hybrid-deployment vendors actually let a customer choose on-prem vs. cloud independently, versus just offering both across their product line with no single-shop choice.
Work out who administers the system day to day
None of the listings state implementation staffing requirements except JobBOSS², which documents a three-to-six month implementation window. That's a proxy for administrative burden: a system with a multi-month rollout needs an internal owner, not just a login. Ask each vendor directly what an implementation looks like in weeks, and get it in writing before you sign, since only one listing gives you a number to start from.
Check what it has to talk to before you shortlist
QuickBooks integration is documented for two vendors: JobBOSS² (Desktop and Online, for invoices, payroll and AR/AP) and Cetec ERP (Online, event-based syncing for financials). If your accounting system is QuickBooks, that narrows things fast. Genius ERP and Cetec ERP both document a REST/RESTful API for custom integrations; Fulcrum publishes API documentation too. For CAD-to-BOM flows specifically, Genius ERP documents CAD-to-BOM conversion and Total ETO is built around CAD-driven BOMs by design.
TODO(editor): confirm whether any of the eight vendors that don't name specific integrations (Realtrac, Infor CloudSuite, Acumatica, Aptean, Visual EstiTrack, Global Shop, DELMIAWorks, Epicor Kinetic) have documented connectors elsewhere that weren't captured in this listing set.
Price it beyond the license
Cetec ERP is the only listing with a published number: $50/user/mo starting at 50 users. Global Shop Solutions documents an upfront cost plus ongoing quarterly cost, with no figures given, and a concurrent-user licensing model that complicates estimating for larger workforces. Acumatica uses consumption-based licensing, a different cost curve than per-seat models. None of this tells you implementation, training or integration cost, which the listings don't cover at all.
TODO(editor): verify whether any of the fourteen quote-only vendors have public implementation-cost estimates (via case studies, webinars, or partner sites) that could be added here without violating the no-invented-numbers rule.
