Best job management software for manufacturing.
Five tools compared honestly. Most “job management software” is built for field-service trades — plumbers, electricians, builders. Only one is purpose-built for manufacturers who work on a shop floor.
Empower
Manufacturing shop floors
Joinery, engineering, and composite workshops (5–50 staff) that need live time tracking, job costing, production scheduling, and reporting.
simPRO
Field-service trades (medium–large)
Service businesses with 20+ field technicians that need dispatching, asset management, and field quoting across multiple sites.
Tradify
Small NZ/AU trades businesses
Trades teams under 15 people that need simple, fast quoting, scheduling, and invoicing from a phone. Great for starting out.
Jobber
Home-service businesses
Landscapers, cleaners, HVAC businesses that need client booking portals, route optimisation, and online payment collection.
Fergus
NZ trades businesses
Trades teams that need job management with strong H&S compliance, site diaries, and quoting. Well-suited to building, plumbing, and electrical businesses in NZ.
Common questions about manufacturing job management.
What's the best job management software for manufacturing?
What's the difference between field-service and manufacturing job management?
Do I need an ERP or job management software?
Real workshops, real numbers
25% Faster Average Job Times
A 10-person sheet metal shop grew to 200 staff and $15M+ revenue without losing grip on margin — live time tracking on the floor cut average job times by 25%.
Read the story46% Productivity Increase in 10 Weeks
Ten weeks in, factory productivity was up 46%. Three years on it had doubled — gains that compounded into roughly $200k a year in extra profit.
Read the story
30% Reduction in Job Costs
After comparing options nationwide and overseas, EDS chose Empower. Real-time visibility on times and jobs cut labour cost per job by an average of 30%.
Read the story
38% Productivity Increase
Same weekly output, fewer hands: the floor shrank from 25 to 18 staff and productivity climbed 38% — plus a meaningful annual wage saving.
Read the story30% Reduction in Labour Times
Manta Marine swapped manual tracking for live visibility of every task — labour hours per job dropped 30% immediately, and they say costs would jump straight back if they turned the system off.
Read the story
$67,500 Return on Investment
Landquip recovered $67,500 a year by replacing manual timesheets across 15 staff. Touchscreens on the floor cut manufacturing times 20% and downtime 50%.
Read the story6x Total Production Growth
Workshop displays paired with Empower let Makaira reshape their production line and cut non-value-added labour — driving a six-fold lift in total production.
Read the story
20% Faster Kitchen Manufacturing
Live, accurate time data on workshop screens makes every kitchen maker accountable — Montage estimate they'd go back to taking 20% longer to manufacture their kitchens without Empower.
Read the story25% Factory Productivity Increase
More production out the door each day — same staff, same hours. Halswell Timber's production manager credits Empower with a 25% lift, which translates directly to 25% more daily revenue.
Read the story
40% Increase in Productivity
13 years on Empower, $96,000 a year saved in wages, and a 40% lift in staff and factory productivity — Versalite use daily Empower reports to keep their single biggest production cost (labour) under control.
Read the story
20% Factory Productivity Increase
Continental Stairs saw an immediate 20% productivity lift in their first year — by handing their floor staff the reporting tools to manage their own times and bring jobs in on budget.
Read the story25% Increase in Factory Productivity
By moving to a job-and-staff management system with the reporting depth to back it up, Strata achieved a 25% productivity lift in their first two years on Empower.
Read the story25% Reduction in Labour Times
Allflex integrated their SAP system directly with Empower — every new order instantly available for scheduling — and replaced manual spreadsheets with budgeted-time task plans. The result: a 25% reduction in labour times.
Read the story
$120k Saved in Employee Wages
Comseat lifted weekly output while shrinking the floor by two full-time roles — turning the workshop into a high-margin revenue engine where every hour of labour is accounted for and profitable.
Read the story
30% Increase in Productivity
Compass replaced manual systems with live floor visibility — letting management identify bottlenecks and keep staff on the highest-priority task. Output rose 30% with no extra overhead.
Read the story
38% Increase in Productivity
A world-class superyacht builder replaced paper-based tracking with Empower — instant feedback on job status and performance, and weeks of manual data entry shrunk to minutes.
Read the story20% Reduction in Labour Costs
Tricon use Empower for real-time transparency on job status, time on jobs, and labour cost — improving scheduling, sharpening future quotes, and stopping cost blowouts before they happen.
Read the story
20% Reduction in Job Times
Digital job tracking gave McNaughton's a live, minute-by-minute view of which staff are on which jobs — eliminating manual status checks and keeping every job on its budgeted timeline.
Read the story25% Faster Average Job Times
A 10-person sheet metal shop grew to 200 staff and $15M+ revenue without losing grip on margin — live time tracking on the floor cut average job times by 25%.
Read the story46% Productivity Increase in 10 Weeks
Ten weeks in, factory productivity was up 46%. Three years on it had doubled — gains that compounded into roughly $200k a year in extra profit.
Read the story30% Reduction in Job Costs
After comparing options nationwide and overseas, EDS chose Empower. Real-time visibility on times and jobs cut labour cost per job by an average of 30%.
Read the story38% Productivity Increase
Same weekly output, fewer hands: the floor shrank from 25 to 18 staff and productivity climbed 38% — plus a meaningful annual wage saving.
Read the story30% Reduction in Labour Times
Manta Marine swapped manual tracking for live visibility of every task — labour hours per job dropped 30% immediately, and they say costs would jump straight back if they turned the system off.
Read the story$67,500 Return on Investment
Landquip recovered $67,500 a year by replacing manual timesheets across 15 staff. Touchscreens on the floor cut manufacturing times 20% and downtime 50%.
Read the story6x Total Production Growth
Workshop displays paired with Empower let Makaira reshape their production line and cut non-value-added labour — driving a six-fold lift in total production.
Read the story20% Faster Kitchen Manufacturing
Live, accurate time data on workshop screens makes every kitchen maker accountable — Montage estimate they'd go back to taking 20% longer to manufacture their kitchens without Empower.
Read the story25% Factory Productivity Increase
More production out the door each day — same staff, same hours. Halswell Timber's production manager credits Empower with a 25% lift, which translates directly to 25% more daily revenue.
Read the story40% Increase in Productivity
13 years on Empower, $96,000 a year saved in wages, and a 40% lift in staff and factory productivity — Versalite use daily Empower reports to keep their single biggest production cost (labour) under control.
Read the story20% Factory Productivity Increase
Continental Stairs saw an immediate 20% productivity lift in their first year — by handing their floor staff the reporting tools to manage their own times and bring jobs in on budget.
Read the story25% Increase in Factory Productivity
By moving to a job-and-staff management system with the reporting depth to back it up, Strata achieved a 25% productivity lift in their first two years on Empower.
Read the story25% Reduction in Labour Times
Allflex integrated their SAP system directly with Empower — every new order instantly available for scheduling — and replaced manual spreadsheets with budgeted-time task plans. The result: a 25% reduction in labour times.
Read the story$120k Saved in Employee Wages
Comseat lifted weekly output while shrinking the floor by two full-time roles — turning the workshop into a high-margin revenue engine where every hour of labour is accounted for and profitable.
Read the story30% Increase in Productivity
Compass replaced manual systems with live floor visibility — letting management identify bottlenecks and keep staff on the highest-priority task. Output rose 30% with no extra overhead.
Read the story38% Increase in Productivity
A world-class superyacht builder replaced paper-based tracking with Empower — instant feedback on job status and performance, and weeks of manual data entry shrunk to minutes.
Read the story20% Reduction in Labour Costs
Tricon use Empower for real-time transparency on job status, time on jobs, and labour cost — improving scheduling, sharpening future quotes, and stopping cost blowouts before they happen.
Read the story20% Reduction in Job Times
Digital job tracking gave McNaughton's a live, minute-by-minute view of which staff are on which jobs — eliminating manual status checks and keeping every job on its budgeted timeline.
Read the story25% Faster Average Job Times
A 10-person sheet metal shop grew to 200 staff and $15M+ revenue without losing grip on margin — live time tracking on the floor cut average job times by 25%.
Read the story46% Productivity Increase in 10 Weeks
Ten weeks in, factory productivity was up 46%. Three years on it had doubled — gains that compounded into roughly $200k a year in extra profit.
Read the story30% Reduction in Job Costs
After comparing options nationwide and overseas, EDS chose Empower. Real-time visibility on times and jobs cut labour cost per job by an average of 30%.
Read the story38% Productivity Increase
Same weekly output, fewer hands: the floor shrank from 25 to 18 staff and productivity climbed 38% — plus a meaningful annual wage saving.
Read the story30% Reduction in Labour Times
Manta Marine swapped manual tracking for live visibility of every task — labour hours per job dropped 30% immediately, and they say costs would jump straight back if they turned the system off.
Read the story$67,500 Return on Investment
Landquip recovered $67,500 a year by replacing manual timesheets across 15 staff. Touchscreens on the floor cut manufacturing times 20% and downtime 50%.
Read the story6x Total Production Growth
Workshop displays paired with Empower let Makaira reshape their production line and cut non-value-added labour — driving a six-fold lift in total production.
Read the story20% Faster Kitchen Manufacturing
Live, accurate time data on workshop screens makes every kitchen maker accountable — Montage estimate they'd go back to taking 20% longer to manufacture their kitchens without Empower.
Read the story25% Factory Productivity Increase
More production out the door each day — same staff, same hours. Halswell Timber's production manager credits Empower with a 25% lift, which translates directly to 25% more daily revenue.
Read the story40% Increase in Productivity
13 years on Empower, $96,000 a year saved in wages, and a 40% lift in staff and factory productivity — Versalite use daily Empower reports to keep their single biggest production cost (labour) under control.
Read the story20% Factory Productivity Increase
Continental Stairs saw an immediate 20% productivity lift in their first year — by handing their floor staff the reporting tools to manage their own times and bring jobs in on budget.
Read the story25% Increase in Factory Productivity
By moving to a job-and-staff management system with the reporting depth to back it up, Strata achieved a 25% productivity lift in their first two years on Empower.
Read the story25% Reduction in Labour Times
Allflex integrated their SAP system directly with Empower — every new order instantly available for scheduling — and replaced manual spreadsheets with budgeted-time task plans. The result: a 25% reduction in labour times.
Read the story$120k Saved in Employee Wages
Comseat lifted weekly output while shrinking the floor by two full-time roles — turning the workshop into a high-margin revenue engine where every hour of labour is accounted for and profitable.
Read the story30% Increase in Productivity
Compass replaced manual systems with live floor visibility — letting management identify bottlenecks and keep staff on the highest-priority task. Output rose 30% with no extra overhead.
Read the story38% Increase in Productivity
A world-class superyacht builder replaced paper-based tracking with Empower — instant feedback on job status and performance, and weeks of manual data entry shrunk to minutes.
Read the story20% Reduction in Labour Costs
Tricon use Empower for real-time transparency on job status, time on jobs, and labour cost — improving scheduling, sharpening future quotes, and stopping cost blowouts before they happen.
Read the story20% Reduction in Job Times
Digital job tracking gave McNaughton's a live, minute-by-minute view of which staff are on which jobs — eliminating manual status checks and keeping every job on its budgeted timeline.
Read the storyReady to see Empower on your floor?
Plug your workshop's numbers in and see what's possible.