Pricing
subscription
Best For
Small job shops with 5-50 employees needing job-centric management
Rating
7.4/10
Last Updated
Mar 2026
TL;DR
JobBOSS2 is the go-to system for small job shops that live and die by their quotes. It tracks jobs from estimate through invoice, gives real-time visibility into shop floor progress, and calculates actual vs. estimated costs per job. It won't scale to 200+ employees, but for shops under 50 people, it fits like a glove.
What is JobBOSS²?
The Job Shop Standard
Walk into any machine shop with 10-50 employees and there's a decent chance they're running JobBOSS. The original version launched in 1986. ECi acquired it, rebuilt it from the ground up, and released JobBOSS2 as a modern web-based replacement. Roughly 5,000 shops still use some version of this product.
Why Job Shops Love It
Everything revolves around the job. Create an estimate, win the work, release it to the shop floor, track hours and materials against it, and invoice the customer — all within one system. That simple workflow is exactly what small shops need.
The estimating module pulls from historical job data. Quoted a similar part six months ago? JobBOSS2 finds it, lets you adjust material costs and quantities, and generates a new estimate in minutes. For shops running 100+ estimates per month, this pays for itself quickly.
Data collection on the shop floor happens through touchscreen terminals or barcode scanning. Operators clock in, select their job, and start logging time. Managers see real-time progress on a dashboard that shows which jobs are on schedule, which are behind, and which machines are idle.
The Financials Story
Job costing is where JobBOSS2 earns its keep. Every hour of labor, every pound of material, every outside service — it all gets tracked against the job. At the end of the month, you know exactly which jobs made money and which ones lost it. That visibility changes how shops price future work.
Does it replace QuickBooks? Some shops use both. JobBOSS2 includes basic accounting (AR/AP, GL), but many users sync financial data to QuickBooks or another accounting package for tax preparation and financial reporting.
Honest Limitations
JobBOSS2 is designed for small shops. Period. Once you hit 50+ employees with multiple departments and complex planning needs, you'll outgrow it. The MRP capabilities are basic — fine for simple single-level BOMs but inadequate for multi-level manufacturing.
The transition from original JobBOSS to JobBOSS2 has frustrated some long-time users. Certain legacy features haven't been recreated yet, and the learning curve for the new interface is real.
What It Costs
Pricing starts around $100/user/month for the cloud version. On-premise options are still available. Implementation typically costs $5,000-$15,000. A 5-user deployment runs about $12,000-$20,000 in the first year.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Estimating module pulls from historical job data to speed up quoting
- Real-time shop floor data collection via touchscreens and barcode scanning
- Job costing tracks every dollar of labor, material, and outside services
- Installed base of ~5,000 shops means a mature, well-tested product
- Lower entry price than full ERP systems — starts at $100/user/month
Cons
- Outgrown quickly by shops exceeding 50 employees with complex planning needs
- MRP is basic — only handles single-level BOMs effectively
- Transition from legacy JobBOSS left some features missing in the new version
- ECi support quality has been inconsistent, with longer wait times reported
Ready to try JobBOSS²?
See plans and pricing on the official site
JobBOSS² Pricing
Pricing last verified: March 11, 2026
Who is JobBOSS² Best For?
- Small job shops with 5-50 employees needing job-centric management
- Machine shops and metal fabricators tracking actual vs. estimated job costs
- Shops generating 50+ estimates per month that need quoting efficiency
- Manufacturing businesses wanting shop floor data collection without full ERP complexity
Technical Details
The Bottom Line
JobBOSS² scores 7.4/10. It stands out for estimating module pulls from historical job data to speed up quoting. Best suited for small job shops with 5-50 employees needing job-centric management. Keep in mind that outgrown quickly by shops exceeding 50 employees with complex planning needs.
Popular Comparisons
Ready to try JobBOSS²?
See plans and pricing on the official site
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on editorial analysis
