A Fulcrum alternative for small job shops
Fulcrum is a cloud ERP for small and mid-size manufacturers with algorithmic scheduling, inventory that creates purchase orders for you, and finance reporting. It doesn't charge per user; its price depends on your gross revenue and the integrations you need, so you get a number after a sales call. Tehdo is $500 a month for the whole shop with setup included, built around orders, the floor, the schedule and buyers who check a link instead of calling.
Side by side
| Fulcrum | Tehdo | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | "manufacturers, especially small- and medium-sized shops" | Small US job shops and machine shops, build to print |
| Price | Not published; based on gross revenue and integrations; not per user | $500 a month for the whole shop, setup included, no contract |
| Setup | With Fulcrum's own launch team (no resellers); no time published | Usually a day; we import your open orders and set up your steps with you |
| Scheduling | "algorithm scheduling rearranges your jobs into the best order possible" | Every job on every machine on one board, setup times, one-click schedule, late parts marked |
| Inventory and purchasing | Auto-orders inventory; "auto-creates the purchase order"; material certs and traceability | Material and heat numbers on the job; suppliers confirm their dates by link; no automatic reordering |
| Finance | Finance reporting, invoicing, cash flow | Invoices and revenue view; keep QuickBooks for the books |
| Integrations | Open API and named integrations | Excel import and export; Netvisor in Finland |
| POs in | Orders and quotes in the system | Forward the PO email or PDF; Tehdo reads the lines; you confirm |
| Buyer updates | Not described on the pages we checked | Each buyer gets a link to their orders, no login; status emails you approve |
Fulcrum facts from fulcrumpro.com/lp/manufacturing-software and fulcrumpro.com/fulcrum-integrations, checked October 2026.
When Fulcrum is the better pick
- You stock material or components and want the system to reorder and write the purchase orders.
- You want finance and cash-flow reporting inside the ERP.
- You plan to connect other software through an API.
When Tehdo is the better pick
- You want a price you know before the call: $500 a month, everyone included.
- Most of your POs arrive as PDFs in email.
- Your buyers want to see where their order is without calling you.
- You want to try it with your own order first: start with your own orders and we set it up with you on a 20-minute call.
Questions
How does Fulcrum price?
Fulcrum says it doesn't charge per user, and that pricing is based on factors like your shop's gross revenue, how many other systems you want to integrate and how complex those integrations are. There's no public price.
Does Tehdo do inventory and purchasing like Fulcrum?
Not to the same depth. Tehdo tracks material and outside processing on each job and suppliers can confirm their dates by link, but it doesn't reorder stock or create purchase orders from demand. If that's central for you, Fulcrum is stronger there.