Enterprise MRP was built for factories with 500 employees.You have three.
Craftybase is the lightweight MRP that fits how small manufacturers actually work — batch production, material tracking, cost per unit, and COGS reporting, without the six-figure setup fee or the three-month implementation.
Loved by small manufacturers who outgrew spreadsheets but didn't need an ERP, including…
Enterprise MRP tools were designed for companies with dedicated IT staff, implementation budgets, and months to spare. Most small manufacturers need something that gets out of the way and just works — from day one.
Log every production run with the materials used, quantities made, and labor time — Craftybase automatically deducts materials from inventory, calculates your true cost per unit, and keeps a full history of everything you've manufactured. No configuration wizards, no consultants required.
Having a small business that manufactures products with countless raw materials, Craftybase keeps us organized and helps us have a clear picture of the health of our business.
Most small manufacturers are guessing at their product costs — or their spreadsheet formulas haven't been updated since 2021. Craftybase calculates your real cost per unit from actual material purchases (using weighted average costing), updates automatically when supplier prices change, and rolls it all up into tax-ready COGS reports at year end.
Craftybase helped us make sure we were accounting for everything in our prices, and helped us quickly test what would happen if we changed suppliers to upgrade some of our materials.
Craftybase connects directly to Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, and Square. Orders flow in nightly — products match up, inventory adjusts, profit margins calculate. No manual data entry, no CSV exports at midnight. Just your numbers, up to date.
Enterprise MRP tools are built for teams. Craftybase is built for the person who also does the packing, the shipping, and the bookkeeping.
| Craftybasefrom $99/mo | Katana MRPfrom $199/mo | ERPNext / Fishbowl$2,000–$15,000+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Same day | 1–2 weeks | Months |
| Batch manufacturing tracking | |||
| Automatic COGS for tax time | Requires accounting integration | ||
| Etsy + Shopify order sync | Custom integrations only | ||
| Lot number & batch traceability | |||
| Built for 1–5 person teams | Works, but built for larger teams | ||
| No IT department required | |||
| Pricing guidance per product | Limited | Varies by module |
No credit card required. No implementation project.
MRP features that actually fit your workflow
Everything a small manufacturer needs — and nothing a factory floor supervisor needs.
Bill of materials (recipes)
Real-time material inventory
Lot number tracking
Schedule C and COGS reports
Pricing guidance
Daily order imports
Trusted by makers worldwide
It's super important that we can record and trace ingredient lots and production batches. Craftybase has made this process streamlined and easy to stay organized.
Angie FlickingerAngie Flickinger
Start with the Indie plan at $99/month — built for small manufacturers doing up to 750 order lines per month. No implementation fees. No contracts. No consultants.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
Craftybase works best for in-house manufacturers who make products in batches and need to track materials, costs, and production without enterprise-level overhead.
Lightweight MRP (Materials Requirements Planning) software handles the core of manufacturing management — bill of materials, batch production tracking, material inventory, and cost calculation — without the enterprise complexity of full ERP systems. Traditional MRP tools like ERPNext or Fishbowl require dedicated IT staff, multi-month implementations, and significant upfront investment. Lightweight MRP tools like Craftybase are cloud-based, set up in hours, and designed for teams of one to five people who make products in-house.
Katana MRP is designed for growing manufacturers with dedicated teams, complex production workflows, and multiple warehouses. Craftybase is designed for in-house makers — the person who also does the shipping, the bookkeeping, and the customer service. Craftybase starts at $99/month (vs Katana at $199/month), includes automatic COGS calculation built in, and is specifically optimised for Etsy and Shopify sellers who manufacture their own products. If you've looked at Katana and found it more than you need, Craftybase is the next step down — not a step down in quality, but a right-sizing for your business stage.
Yes — bill of materials (recipes) and batch production are core features. You create a recipe for each product listing every material and quantity required. When you log a production run, Craftybase automatically deducts those materials from your inventory and calculates the exact cost of that batch. You can run multiple batches, track components (sub-assemblies), and see how many finished goods you can make from current stock. This is the foundation of how most small manufacturers use Craftybase.
Yes — Craftybase is specifically designed to replace the collection of spreadsheets most small manufacturers cobble together. It handles the things spreadsheets can't do well: automatic inventory deduction when you manufacture, rolling average cost calculations as supplier prices change, and COGS reporting that updates in real time throughout the year. Makers who switch from spreadsheets typically save several hours per week on data entry and report that their cost numbers become significantly more accurate within the first month.
Craftybase works best for product-based businesses that manufacture in batches — soap makers, candle makers, cosmetics and skincare producers, food manufacturers, herbalists, jewelers, and other artisan or small-batch producers. It's a strong fit if you have 1–10 products, use 5–100 raw materials, and sell through Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, or Square. It's less suited to businesses with complex multi-level production workflows, large warehouses, or 50+ employees — those companies typically need a full ERP system.
Most Craftybase users are up and running within a day. The typical onboarding path is: connect your sales channel (Etsy or Shopify syncs automatically), add your materials and their current stock levels, create recipes for your products, and log your first production run. There's no implementation project, no data migration consultant, and no training program. The knowledge base covers every setup step, and support is available if you get stuck.
Join thousands of small manufacturers who track their batches, know their costs, and actually understand their COGS — without an ERP consultant.
No credit card required. Set up in a day, not a month.
