ERP and manufacturing
A simpler JobBOSS alternative for small shops
JobBOSS, now JobBOSS² from ECI, is job-shop ERP: quotes, work orders, scheduling, data collection, and job costing for machine shops and custom manufacturers. It is Windows software with a quote-only price and a shop-floor focus. Shops adopt it when the router and the job traveler are the whole business.
A small contractor who also installs what they build is only partly a job shop. TrueScope job central is the lite version of that quote-to-work-order loop: multi-level BOM, routing, work centers, and live job cost. Takeoff, projects, and field scheduling are in the same subscription, on a Mac or a phone, without a Windows server.
Relative cost for a small crew
JobBOSS
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
JobBOSS plus
- Takeoff
- Field
- Drawings
One subscription
TrueScope
Takeoff, shop, field, and books
Fit for a small contractor
JobBOSSTrueScope
Works on a Mac
Works on a phone
One app for the whole shop
More details
What JobBOSS is built to do
JobBOSS runs the traveler. Scheduling boards, time collection, and quoting are deep because the buyer is a production manager. Implementation and Windows infrastructure are assumed.
- Data collection and scheduling depth for a staffed production office
- Quoting aimed at repeat machine-shop parts, not blueprint trades
- A desktop ERP that does not go to the install crew
The lighter version for a small contractor
TrueScope gives the shop a BOM, a routing, setup and run standards, inspection checklists, and a cost that updates while the job is open. You skip the traveler system features a 40-machine shop uses and a six-person fab does not.
Steel, millwork, and mechanical shops often leave the building to install. JobBOSS does not take off a structural drawing or dispatch the install crew. TrueScope starts at the PDF, builds the work order, then schedules the field on the same job.
Job cost and time do not have to be keyed at a shop PC at the end of the day. TrueScope runs on phones and Macs, and it caches entries offline inside a plant or on a site with bad Wi-Fi.
JobBOSS² is sold on a quote. TrueScope full users are $20 a month with manufacturing, takeoff, and field service included. Prices change. Check the vendor before you buy.
JobBOSS and TrueScope side by side
Shop paperwork
JobBOSS. Full job-shop ERP and travelers
TrueScope. BOM, routing, work centers, and job cost
Platform
JobBOSS. Windows shop system
TrueScope. Browser on Mac, PC, and mobile
Plans
JobBOSS. Not a blueprint takeoff tool
TrueScope. Takeoff feeds the BOM
Install crews
JobBOSS. Outside the product
TrueScope. Projects and field scheduling
How you buy it
JobBOSS. Quoted ERP project
TrueScope. $20 per full user, no module upsell
TrueScope features that cover this work
- Job central
The JobBOSS-shaped work: BOM, routing, and cost.
- Takeoffs
Start from the drawing, not from a retyped list.
- Inventory
Issue material from bins to the work order.
When JobBOSS is still the right call
Keep JobBOSS if you are a staffed machine shop that lives in travelers and data collection and you do not install or take off plans. Move if you are a smaller custom shop paying ERP complexity for a BOM and a job cost.
Questions small contractors ask
Is TrueScope a JobBOSS alternative?
Yes for quoting into a multi-level BOM, routing, work centers, and job cost. It is the lighter shop system, and it adds takeoff and field work that JobBOSS leaves to other software.
Does it run on a Mac?
Yes. The shop screens are in the browser, so you are not keeping a Windows PC only for the ERP.
Can I track time against the job?
Yes. Timesheets and labor cost sit on the job, along with material, so variance shows up before the job ships.
$20 a full user. Every module.
Field contributors are $5. Mac, phone, and offline included.
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JobBOSS 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.