By the Fab ERP team. As checked 12 Nov 2026.
Fab ERP is made by us. It is listed alphabetically with the others, with its limits.
Picking an ERP in India is harder than it looks, because the word covers very different things. Some products are accounting software with stock added. Some are full manufacturing suites that need a partner to set up. A few are built around the daily problems of a small shop: getting paid, answering a purchase order, sending a challan.
This list covers nine options that Indian manufacturers weigh. We left out SAP Business One, because SAP's own pages would not load for us and we will not describe a product from a third party's summary. The list is in alphabetical order. It is not a ranking.
We make Fab ERP, so read our own entry with that in mind. Everything about the other products comes from each vendor's own public page, read on 12 November 2026. Prices and plans change. Confirm on the vendor's site before you rely on anything.
Four questions to start with
- Can I see who owes me money and for how long?
- Can I turn an incoming purchase order into an order without retyping it?
- Can I send a quotation, invoice or challan to a customer quickly?
- Can my team learn it without a month of training?
The nine options
Busy
Accounting and GST billing software for Indian small and medium businesses. Its page lists GST accounting, e-invoicing, e-way bills, inventory across warehouses, invoice sharing on WhatsApp and a mobile app. Plans are tiered; the page lists Start at ₹5,000 a year, Smart at ₹8,000 and Power at ₹12,000 for one user, plus GST, with a 15-day trial.
Fits: small businesses that want straightforward accounting and billing.
ERPNext
An open-source ERP from Frappe. Its page lists accounting, procurement, stock, CRM and manufacturing, with multi-level bills of materials, work orders, job cards and subcontracting. It states there is no per-user pricing and that you pay only for hosting; Frappe recommends its own cloud hosting.
Fits: manufacturers with a technical person or a partner who can set it up, and who want to own the system.
Fab ERP
An ERP for Indian fabrication businesses and small factories, made by us.
- Dues are shown by age, party by party, most overdue first, with statements and credit limits.
- A purchase order that arrives by email is shown as a review row. You check it and press Accept, and the order is made. Anything unsure waits for a person.
- Quotations, proformas, invoices and challans are made in Fab ERP and shared on WhatsApp.
- Fabio, the assistant inside Fab ERP, answers questions from your own books and helps make documents.
- It runs in a browser and can be added to a phone home screen, with a PIN lock. A read-only Tally connector (beta) is set up with you.
Limits, plainly: Fab ERP does not make e-invoices or e-way bills, does not do payroll, and does not file GST returns. It has no nesting, machine programming or CAD tools, and no production planning with machine scheduling. It is not your books; Tally or your accountant stays the record.
Fits: owners and office teams in fabrication and job-work businesses who spend more time chasing payments and retyping orders than planning production. Every account starts with a 14-day trial; plans are on the pricing page, and the fabrication page says who it fits and who it does not.
Marg ERP
GST billing, inventory and accounting software from Marg Compusoft, offered since 1992. Its page lists batch and expiry stock tracking, multi-location billing, WhatsApp invoices and payment reminders, and mobile apps.
Fits: mainly retailers, wholesalers, distributors and pharmacy and FMCG businesses, which is how its own page describes its audience. For a fabrication shop it is usually not the first fit.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft's ERP for small and midsize businesses. Its page describes production planning and scheduling, shop-floor visibility, detailed bills of materials and cost control, plus multi-currency and consolidation. It offers a 30-day trial and is sold and supported through Microsoft's partner network. The page lists Essentials at ₹6,655 and Premium, which adds manufacturing, at ₹9,150 per user per month, paid yearly, with GST extra.
Fits: midsize manufacturers that want a Microsoft-based system and have the budget for a partner-led rollout.
Odoo
A suite of open-source business apps. Its manufacturing page describes manufacturing orders, finite capacity planning, a tablet-optimised shop-floor app, a mobile barcode app that works offline, quality checks and lot or serial traceability. It says workers do not need advanced training. The first app is free, including hosting and support; further apps are priced per user per month on its pricing page.
Fits: growing manufacturers who want planning depth and are ready to configure it.
TallyPrime
Accounting and business management software from Tally Solutions. Its page lists accounting, GST return filing, inventory, e-invoice and e-way bill generation, and a receivables view with due dates, pending amounts and days overdue. A multi-user licence covers several PCs on one LAN. It is sold as monthly, three-monthly and 12-month rental, or as a lifetime licence.
Fits: any business whose accountant already works in it. For many it stays the system of record, and the useful question is what to add beside it, not whether to replace it. Fab ERP reads Tally one way and never writes to it; see how Tally connects.
Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory
Cloud products from Zoho. Zoho Books lists e-invoices, e-way bills and delivery challans, with a free plan and a 14-day trial for paid plans, and plan prices shown per organisation per month. Zoho Inventory lists purchase orders, multi-warehouse stock, serial and batch tracking, delivery challans and e-way bills, also with a free plan priced per organisation per month. The Inventory page does not describe bills of materials, so check manufacturing needs with Zoho.
Fits: small businesses that want low-cost cloud software.
Zoho Creator
A low-code app builder from Zoho, not a ready-made ERP. Its FAQ describes per-user pricing and a free plan with one user and one application.
Fits: a shop with an unusual process and someone able to build and maintain apps.
When another ERP is the better choice
- Deep production planning, with several-level bills of materials, work orders and capacity scheduling: look at Odoo, ERPNext or Business Central first.
- Accounting and GST compliance as the main job: TallyPrime, Busy or Zoho Books are built around it. Some businesses keep their accountant on the tool they know.
- Retail, distribution or pharmacy: Marg is built for those trades.
- Multi-currency, multi-company growth: Business Central.
- You want to own and change the code: ERPNext or Odoo's open-source edition.
Fab ERP is for the case where the pain is in the office: payments, orders and paperwork.
Questions owners ask us
Do I need to replace my accounting software?
Not necessarily. Some small manufacturers keep the accounting system their accountant knows and add a tool for the daily office work beside it. Check what each product does before assuming it must replace anything.
How long does an ERP take to set up?
It depends on the product. Partner-led systems usually involve a project. Lighter cloud tools can be tried within days. Ask each vendor for a realistic plan before you commit.
Is a free plan enough for a small shop?
Free plans from Zoho and Odoo are useful for testing. Read what the free plan limits, such as the number of apps, users or records, before you rely on it.
How should I test an ERP?
Take ten real documents from last month: a purchase order, an invoice, a challan, an overdue payment. Run them through the trial and time how long it takes.
Where to look next
Ten questions to ask before you pay, Best ERP for metal fabrication shops and How to choose an ERP for a small manufacturer. To try Fab ERP on your own books, see plans and prices or book a walkthrough.