ERP and manufacturing
An E2 Shop System alternative for smaller shops
E2 Shop System, from Shoptech, is job-shop software: quoting, scheduling, inventory, quality, and shop-floor data collection. It is a Windows manufacturing system sold on a quote to shops that want one vendor for the traveler. The depth is real, and so is the feeling that you bought a factory system for a garage that also does installs.
TrueScope is the lighter shop system. Quotes become multi-level BOMs and routings, time hits the job, and purchasing sees what is short. If the part then goes to a jobsite, the project and the crew are already in the app. It runs on a Mac and a phone instead of a shop-floor Windows client.
Relative cost for a small crew
E2 Shop System
Specialist software
TrueScope
$20 / full user
Longer bar means a heavier bill. TrueScope stays at $20. Confirm the other price on the vendor site.
Apps on a typical week
E2 Shop System plus
- Takeoff
- Field
- Mac office
One subscription
TrueScope
Takeoff, shop, field, and books
Fit for a small contractor
E2 Shop SystemTrueScope
Works on a Mac
Works on a phone
One app for the whole shop
More details
What E2 Shop System is built to do
E2 manages the production office and the floor: schedule, collect time, ship, and cost the job. Advanced modules cover quality and data collection hardware. It is not construction takeoff and it is not a service dispatch board.
- Shop-floor data collection and scheduling boards for a staffed plant
- A quoted, Windows-centered rollout
- Manufacturing depth a six-person custom shop will not staff
The lighter version for a small contractor
A small shop needs the quote, the BOM, the steps, the material issue, and a cost before the job leaves. TrueScope job central is that list, with inspection checklists and NCRs when quality matters, without a data-collection project.
E2 assumes the building is the business. Contractors who fabricate and install, or who also run service agreements, keep another product for the outside world. TrueScope is one system for both sides, and either side can be hidden.
Status updates belong on the floor and in the truck. TrueScope is mobile and offline-capable, and the scheduler can work on a Mac. You do not remote into a shop server to see a due date.
E2 is quote-only shop software. TrueScope is $20 per full user a month, including manufacturing and the field modules E2 does not try to be. Prices change. Check the vendor before you buy.
E2 Shop System and TrueScope side by side
Shop loop
E2 Shop System. Quote, schedule, collect, cost
TrueScope. Quote, BOM, route, issue, cost
Floor hardware
E2 Shop System. Data collection is a selling point
TrueScope. Phones and tablets, no shop PC required
Outside the plant
E2 Shop System. Not the product
TrueScope. Takeoff, projects, and field service
Platform
E2 Shop System. Windows shop system
TrueScope. Mac, PC, iOS, Android
Buying it
E2 Shop System. Quoted manufacturing ERP
TrueScope. Monthly per user, all modules
TrueScope features that cover this work
- Job central
Routing, work centers, and job cost.
- Inventory
Issue and receive against the job.
- Projects
When the finished part still has to be installed.
When E2 Shop System is still the right call
Keep E2 if the shop floor data-collection hardware and a full scheduling board are how you run a larger plant. Move if you are a smaller custom shop that also works in the field and wants the lite version of the traveler.
Questions small contractors ask
Is TrueScope an E2 Shop System alternative?
Yes for quoting, BOM, routing, inventory, and job cost at a small-shop scale. It does not replace a dedicated data-collection installation on a large floor.
Can the people on the floor update a job from a phone?
Yes. Time, notes, and photos post from mobile, including when the connection is down.
What if we also install?
The work order and the field project share the customer and the cost. You do not export the job into a second system on ship day.
$20 a full user. Every module.
Field contributors are $5. Mac, phone, and offline included.
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E2 Shop System is a trademark of its owner. TrueScope is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Bars show a relative picture for a small crew, not a live quote.