Infor VISUAL ERP alternative for order driven job shops that need the schedule fixed first
ProductionPlanning.ai is an Infor VISUAL ERP alternative for job shops and make to order plants whose real problem is late orders, not the general ledger. Infor VISUAL is a full manufacturing ERP with finite and Drum Buffer Rope scheduling, priced by named or concurrent user through a quote; ITQlick estimates 18,000 to 36,000 USD a year for ten users before an implementation of 10,000 USD or more. We load every machine against its real shifts and setups and name the orders that will ship late, from 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users. Below is an honest comparison, including the shops where VISUAL is the better buy.
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Machine shop, This week's schedule, finite capacity per work center
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What Infor VISUAL is, and who it is built for
Infor VISUAL is the ERP that grew out of VISUAL Manufacturing, and Infor still describes it as software for order driven manufacturing: quoting a job, building it to a customer order and knowing whether that job made money. Infor lists industrial manufacturing, aerospace and defense, machinery and equipment, medical devices, high tech, and automotive and specialty vehicles as its industries, and calls VISUAL "the leading manufacturing solution for small enterprises" (their claim). It covers estimating, work order costing, shop floor data collection on mobile devices, quality, multi site and multi currency, plus the patented Engineering Master and the Manufacturing Window scheduler. That is a lot of system. If you are pricing it because orders keep shipping late, it is worth asking whether you need the whole ERP to fix that.
Why job shops look for an Infor VISUAL alternative
VISUAL has a loyal user base and a real scheduling engine. Shops that go looking for something else usually run into one of these first.
- There is no price on the page. Infor's product page ends in a contact form, and top10erp says Infor VISUAL does not publish pricing. ITQlick estimates about 200 USD per user a month, and SoftwareConnect lists a perpetual license from 12,000 USD
- Every person is a license. VISUAL is priced by named or concurrent user, so the shift lead, the second planner and sales reading delivery dates all sit in the quote
- It is an ERP project. ITQlick puts implementation, training and migration at 10,000 USD for a small business and 100,000 USD or more for larger ones, on top of the licenses
- The scheduler needs clean ERP data. Manufacturing Window schedules from VISUAL's own work orders, routings and resources, so it only works once the whole ERP is set up and kept current
- Many installs are old. Plenty of shops run a VISUAL version that is years behind, and an upgrade quote is often the moment the team asks what else is out there
If most of that fits, the real choice is between replacing your whole business system and fixing the schedule in the system you already have.
Infor VISUAL modules and what each one covers
These capabilities come from Infor's own VISUAL product page, with deployment from the SoftwareConnect listing. Infor publishes no price for any module.
| Area | What Infor says it does |
|---|---|
| Scheduling | Finite or Drum Buffer Rope scheduling, the Manufacturing Window, what if delivery calculation, unlimited schedule simulations |
| Engineering | Patented Engineering Master for bills and routings |
| Costing | Estimate, actual and projected costs, work order costing rolled up through every level |
| Shop floor | Paperless shop floor on mobile devices, labor, attendance, material and WIP reporting |
| Quality | Quality management with supplier and employee audits |
| Scale | Multi entity, multi site and multi currency, planning and scheduling by site |
| Integration | API toolkit |
| Deployment | Cloud or on premise per SoftwareConnect, Windows client |
It is a serious ERP. The question for a 20 person shop is whether it needs all of it, and the project that comes with it, to stop shipping late.
Infor VISUAL ERP vs ProductionPlanning.ai, side by side
| What matters | ProductionPlanning.ai | Infor VISUAL |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Finite capacity production scheduling software in the browser | Full manufacturing ERP for order driven plants |
| Published price | Yes, on the pricing page | No, quote through Infor or a partner |
| Entry price | 149 USD per plant a month | ITQlick estimates about 200 USD per user a month, SoftwareConnect a perpetual license from 12,000 USD |
| Users | Unlimited on every plan | Named or concurrent user licenses |
| Implementation | None, import a spreadsheet and run | 10,000 USD to 100,000 USD or more per ITQlick |
| Finite capacity on every machine and shift | Yes | Yes, finite or Drum Buffer Rope |
| Late order warnings | Projected finish date for every order | Yes, what if delivery dates |
| Quoting, costing, purchasing, accounting | No, keep the system you have | Yes, built in |
| Works next to QuickBooks or a small ERP | Yes | No, it replaces them |
| Best for | 5 to 60 person shops that ship late and want the schedule fixed now | Order driven manufacturers replacing their whole business system |
Every VISUAL figure in this table is attributed to the listing that published it. Our plans and limits are on the pricing page.
What Infor VISUAL costs next to a flat per plant price
Take a 15 person job shop where ten people need the system: the owner, a planner, an estimator, purchasing, the office and five shift leads and lead hands. The operators only need to read the schedule.
| Cost line | Infor VISUAL, third party estimates | ProductionPlanning.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Licenses or subscription, year one | 18,000 to 36,000 USD for ten users per ITQlick | 894 USD on Line, 2,574 USD on Plant, paid yearly |
| Implementation, training, migration | From 10,000 USD per ITQlick | None |
| Year one total | About 28,000 to 46,000 USD | 894 to 2,574 USD |
| Operators who only read the plan | More licenses, or printouts | Included |
| Time to first published schedule | The ERP has to be live first | An afternoon |
None of the VISUAL figures is an Infor quote, and a partner may beat them. Our Infor VISUAL pricing article works the same estimates through three years for ten users, with the questions to ask on the pricing call. What the table shows is the shape: licenses that grow with every person, plus a project, against one flat subscription per plant. If you are weighing VISUAL against other mid market systems, our Epicor Kinetic pricing article works through the same arithmetic for Infor's closest rival, and our SYSPRO ERP alternative page covers the ERP that moves to named user subscriptions only in 2027.
Where Infor VISUAL is the better choice
We would rather you buy the right system. Choose VISUAL if any of these applies.
- You need one system for quoting, engineering, purchasing, costing, quality and accounting, and you are ready to replace what you run today
- Job costing against the estimate is the number your business lives on, rolled up through every level of the bill
- You run several sites or currencies and want planning and scheduling by site inside one ERP
- You build to aerospace, defense or medical requirements and want quality and traceability in the same database as the work orders
- You already run VISUAL, your data is clean and your planner uses the Manufacturing Window every day. Then keep it
For a mid sized order driven manufacturer with those needs, VISUAL has decades of job shop work behind it and Infor's partner network around it.
Where a dedicated scheduler for small shops wins
- A published price, 149 USD per plant a month on Line and 429 USD on Plant, with monthly plans you can cancel
- Unlimited users, so the planner, shift leads, operators and sales see the same plan without adding a license
- Finite capacity on every machine and shift, holidays and maintenance windows included, on every plan
- Projected finish dates for every open order, and the week's bottleneck named with the jobs it will make late
- Setup times per product family and automatic grouping of similar jobs on Plant
- Runs in the browser next to QuickBooks, a small ERP or a spreadsheet, with no server and no rollout
The clearest fit is a job shop that has outgrown the whiteboard but does not want a new ERP to get there. See how we handle mixed routings on job shop scheduling software, the queue per machine on machine scheduling software, and how we compare with another job shop ERP on our Global Shop Solutions alternative and JobBOSS replacement pages.
How to fix the schedule without replacing your ERP
1. Export open orders and routings
Export open work orders with part, quantity and due date, and the operations with setup and run times, from VISUAL, your current ERP or the spreadsheet you schedule in today. Plant imports a spreadsheet directly.
2. Enter work centers and shifts
Add a work center per machine, cell or department with its shifts, holidays and maintenance windows. For a 20 machine shop this usually takes about an hour.
3. Run the schedule next to the old one
Run both for a week. Compare the late order list and the bottleneck with what your current system or whiteboard shows. If they agree, you know a scheduler is enough for your shop.
4. Decide before you sign
Keep your current ERP for quoting, costing and invoicing, and put the schedule on every screen on the floor. If you later need a full ERP, you will know exactly what the scheduling part of the quote has to do.
Questions people ask before choosing Infor VISUAL
What is the best alternative to Infor VISUAL?
It depends on what you are replacing. Buyers who need a whole ERP usually compare VISUAL with Epicor Kinetic, Global Shop Solutions, JobBOSS2 and ProShop. If the real problem is late orders, a dedicated finite capacity scheduler fits better and costs far less: ProductionPlanning.ai starts at 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users. Our best production scheduling software roundup compares eleven tools with real prices.
How much does Infor VISUAL cost?
Infor does not publish pricing. ITQlick estimates about 200 USD per user a month, 18,000 to 36,000 USD a year for ten users, and implementation from 10,000 USD for a small business to 100,000 USD or more. SoftwareConnect lists a perpetual license from 12,000 USD. Ask Infor or a partner for a written quote.
Is Infor VISUAL an ERP system?
Yes. Infor VISUAL is a full manufacturing ERP for order driven plants, covering estimating, engineering, purchasing, work order costing, shop floor data collection, quality and scheduling in one system. That is why buying it means an ERP rollout, not just a new schedule. If you only need the schedule, a scheduler can sit next to the system you already run.
Does Infor VISUAL have finite capacity scheduling?
Yes. Infor lists finite and Drum Buffer Rope scheduling, the Manufacturing Window and what if delivery calculations as core VISUAL features. The scheduler works from VISUAL's own work orders, routings and resources, so it needs the ERP set up and kept current. ProductionPlanning.ai schedules from a spreadsheet import with no ERP behind it.
Is Infor VISUAL cloud based?
It can be. SoftwareConnect lists cloud or on premise deployment with a Windows client, and Infor names deployment options on its product page without detail. Many existing shops still run VISUAL on their own server. ProductionPlanning.ai runs only in the browser, so there is nothing to host or upgrade.
How long does an Infor VISUAL implementation take?
It depends on scope, and Infor publishes no standard timeline. ITQlick sizes the cost from 10,000 USD for a small business to 100,000 USD or more, which in practice means weeks to months of data migration, setup and training. A per plant scheduler that imports a spreadsheet can publish its first schedule the same afternoon.
Get a finite capacity schedule this week, for a flat price per plant
Start on the Line plan at 149 USD a month with the whole shop included, or run the demo on a sample week of orders first. You will see your own bottleneck the same afternoon.
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