When a small shop outgrows spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are fine until the shop's knowledge stops fitting in one person's head. Signals I've seen on real floors:

1. You can't answer "when will it ship?" without walking the floor.
2. Quotes are guesses because nobody compares estimated vs. actual hours.
3. Material shortages surprise you at the machine, not at the PO.
4. Two versions of the truth – the schedule on the whiteboard and the one in the file disagree.
5. A customer audit asks for traceability you rebuild by hand.

Fix the process first

Lean lesson: software automates whatever process you have. Map your quote-to-cash flow on one page, standardize part numbering and routings, then shop for software. Clean item masters are most of an implementation.

Start cheap, if it fits

If you're make-to-stock or light assembly, published-price tools like MRPeasy or Katana let you trial before committing. If every job is quoted and routed, look at job-shop systems.