What inventory valuation methods do manufacturing systems support?

Manufacturing accounting software typically supports FIFO (First-In-First-Out), LIFO (Last-In-First-Out), and weighted average costing. FIFO is most common for perishable materials, while weighted average simplifies cost calculations for high-volume production. The choice affects both profitability reporting and tax obligations.

How does job costing work in manufacturing software?

Job costing tracks all expenses for individual production jobs or work orders: direct materials, direct labor, and allocated overhead. The software calculates cost-per-unit by dividing total job costs by units produced. This enables accurate pricing, margin analysis, and identification of unprofitable products or processes.

What is WIP (Work-in-Progress) tracking?

WIP tracking monitors the value of partially completed products on the production floor. Manufacturing software calculates WIP value by summing materials consumed plus labor applied plus allocated overhead for unfinished goods. Accurate WIP valuation is required for GAAP-compliant financial statements and inventory audits.

Can QuickBooks handle manufacturing accounting?

QuickBooks Online lacks native manufacturing features like BOM costing and WIP tracking. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise offers basic inventory assemblies and job costing. Most manufacturers pair QuickBooks with specialized tools like Fishbowl or Katana for full manufacturing capabilities, or choose integrated solutions like Sage or NetSuite.

How much does manufacturing accounting software cost?

Pricing varies by business size: Small manufacturers pay $50-200/month for tools like MRPeasy or Katana. Mid-market solutions (Fishbowl, Sage 100) cost $300-1000/month. Enterprise ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP) run $1000-5000+/month with implementation fees of $10,000-100,000+.

What is BOM (Bill of Materials) costing?

BOM costing calculates the total material cost of a finished product by summing costs of all component parts and raw materials. Manufacturing software maintains multi-level BOMs showing sub-assemblies within assemblies. Accurate BOM costing is essential for pricing decisions, margin analysis, and cost reduction initiatives.

What ERP integrations should manufacturing software have?

Look for integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, or Sage for general ledger sync. Manufacturing-specific integrations include MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems), CRM for sales orders, purchasing/procurement systems, and shipping/logistics platforms. Native integrations reduce manual data entry and reconciliation errors.

Manufacturing Industry Guide

Best Manufacturing Accounting Software 2025

The best manufacturing accounting software combines job costing, WIP tracking, and inventory valuation in one platform. Top picks for 2025: Katana for growing manufacturers ($179/month), Fishbowl for QuickBooks users ($329/month), and NetSuite for enterprise operations ($1000+/month).

Manufacturing accounting requires tracking costs across raw materials, labor, overhead, and work-in-progress that generic accounting software cannot handle. This guide compares solutions by production type, integration needs, and budget.

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Manufacturing Cost Structure

Understanding typical cost breakdowns helps evaluate software that tracks each component accurately.

45-65%

Material Cost

of total product cost

15-25%

Labor Cost

of total product cost

20-30%

Overhead

of total product cost

<15%

WIP Target

of annual revenue

What Makes Manufacturing Accounting Different?

Manufacturing accounting tracks costs as they flow through production stages, from raw materials through work-in-progress to finished goods. Generic accounting software treats inventory as a single asset class, missing the cost detail manufacturers need for pricing and profitability analysis.

Production Cost Flow

Raw materials purchased and held in inventory
Materials + labor + overhead applied to work orders
WIP accumulates as production progresses
Finished goods valued at total absorbed cost

Required Reports

Job cost summary by work order or product
WIP aging for production bottleneck analysis
Variance reports (actual vs standard cost)
Margin analysis by product line or customer

Essential Manufacturing Accounting Features

Features that separate manufacturing-specific software from generic accounting tools.

Job Costing

Track materials, labor, and overhead for each production job to calculate true product cost and profitability.

WIP Tracking

Monitor work-in-progress value across production stages for accurate financial statements and inventory audits.

BOM Costing

Calculate material costs from multi-level bills of materials with automatic cost rollups and variance analysis.

Inventory Valuation

Support FIFO, LIFO, and weighted average costing methods for raw materials, WIP, and finished goods.

Production Reporting

Generate cost variance reports, margin analysis by product line, and production efficiency metrics.

ERP Integration

Sync with QuickBooks, Xero, or Sage for seamless general ledger posting and financial consolidation.

Manufacturing Accounting Software Comparison

Compare top solutions by features, integrations, and pricing for your production environment.

Software	Best For	Pricing	Key Integrations
Katana	Small-mid manufacturers	$179-799/month	QuickBooks, Xero, Shopify
Fishbowl	QuickBooks users	$329+/month	QuickBooks, Xero, Amazon
MRPeasy	Budget-conscious SMBs	$49-149/user/month	QuickBooks, Xero, Shopify
Sage 100	Mid-market manufacturers	$300-1000/month	Native ERP modules
NetSuite	Enterprise manufacturers	$1000+/month	Native cloud ERP

Katana

$179-799/month

Visual production scheduling, real-time inventory, shop floor app

Best for: Small-mid manufacturers

Fishbowl

$329+/month

Deep QuickBooks integration, barcode scanning, work orders

Best for: QuickBooks users

MRPeasy

$49-149/user/month

Affordable MRP, drag-drop scheduling, built-in CRM

Best for: Budget-conscious SMBs

Choosing Software by Production Type

Job Shop / Custom Manufacturing

Custom products with unique specifications. Each job has different materials, labor requirements, and timelines.

Priority Features:

• Detailed job costing
• Quote-to-job tracking
• Time tracking integration
• Change order management

Best fit: Katana, Fishbowl

Discrete Manufacturing

Countable units with defined BOMs. Products are assembled from components with predictable processes.

Priority Features:

• Multi-level BOM management
• Standard cost variance analysis
• Assembly tracking
• Serial/lot tracking

Best fit: Sage 100, MRPeasy

Process Manufacturing

Batch production with formulas or recipes. Products cannot be disassembled back into components.

Priority Features:

• Formula/recipe management
• Batch tracking and traceability
• Yield variance tracking
• By-product costing

Best fit: NetSuite, Sage 100

Document Processing for Manufacturers

Process Manufacturing Documents with Zera Books

While manufacturing accounting software handles production costing, Zera Books streamlines the document processing that feeds your accounting system. Process vendor invoices, bank statements, and financial documents to get clean data into your manufacturing ERP.

Document Types We Process

Vendor invoices for raw materials
Bank statements for AP reconciliation
Supplier statements for account verification
Financial statements for analysis

Integration Benefits

Export to QuickBooks, Xero, Sage
AI categorization for cost allocation
Batch processing for month-end close
$79/month unlimited processing

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about manufacturing accounting software features and selection.

Manufacturing accounting software combines standard bookkeeping with production-specific features: job costing, work-in-progress (WIP) tracking, bill of materials (BOM) costing, and inventory valuation. Unlike generic accounting tools, it tracks costs across raw materials, labor, overhead, and finished goods to calculate true product profitability.

Related Resources

Construction Bookkeeping Software AP Automation Software QuickBooks Bank Import Invoice Processing Bank Statement Converter Industry Solutions Bank Statement Processing AI Categorization Month-End Close Pricing

Streamline Your Manufacturing Document Processing

Process vendor invoices, bank statements, and financial documents to feed clean data into your manufacturing accounting system.

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