Katana Reviews

“Katana is a must-have for all startups that handle inventory and their own production.

Pros

If you're using Shopify, integrating and syncing with Katana is a breeze. As a great bonus, it has given me a much clearer understanding of my overall production activities and their associated costs. Katana also provides helpful reminders for purchasing items to ensure timely deliveries.

Cons

As someone who hasn't been in control of production and inventory before, I would have appreciated a 4-week free trial instead of just 2 weeks. However, we requested some extra time and managed to get an extended testing period.

“The best for small manufacturing

Pros

Katana MRP has been a game-changer for me in terms of knowing what and when to order, as well as planning my manufacturing process. It even allows me to assign time to production tasks, ensuring that my employees are working efficiently and helping my company remain profitable. I highly recommend it, and I only wish I had discovered it sooner.

Cons

There are instances when the app logs me out, and I'm required to input the information twice.

“Easy to use manufacturing software

Pros

Once you grasp the software's structure and the solutions it offers, it provides a simple yet valuable overview of your production process. It's also easy to use as a team.

Cons

Since the software caters to a wide range of product manufacturing, we initially found some options lacking for our specific prefab timber house production process. However, over time, the software has undergone numerous updates and added additional options to meet our needs.

“Great Materials Management Tool

Pros

While there are many inventory apps out there, none of them match Katanas strength in materials management. It has added value from day one, helping with materials management, out-of-stocks, and creating flexible bills of materials. I can now see my costs with real-time averages and actually benefit from cost efficiencies month over month.

Cons

Integration with Shopify is not as efficient as we require, and the team tends to oversell the features. Each month, we encounter functional gaps that we need to work around.

“Machine Shop Inventory COntrol

Pros

As the owner of a small, specialized machine shop, we previously lacked any inventory control or planning systems. Whenever a customer requested a part, we would check our inventory and if it was insufficient, we would rush to order materials and manufacture the item to meet the order. Katana has provided us with visibility into our inventory supply and invaluable insights into planning and work scheduling. Additionally, it has helped identify areas for workflow improvement. Katana is an excellent app for inventory and process management.

Cons

It would be great if we could set stock quantities so that the software can advise us on how many to make or purchase when the minimum stock level is reached.

“Katana Make Production Visible

Pros

I am absolutely in love with this software due to its user-friendly interface and workflow methodology. The ability to drill down into stock and manufactured items is fantastic. We have gained a wealth of information on staff productivity by exporting complete manufacturing order data and generating reports. I also appreciate the fact that their support team is real and that I've gotten to know some of them personally. They respond quickly and efficiently to any queries

Cons

All the current issues I'm experiencing are in development. For example: 1. Adding landing costs to purchase order items, 2. Multi-Currency support, 3. Back Order information.

“Break through

Pros

Compared to other providers, this software is much easier to use. It's straightforward, and the booking system offers an immediate snapshot of our current production status. The customer service is also excellent!

Cons

The company behind Katana is relatively new, so there is still room for more feature additions, but I know they have been actively working on them! It would be great to have access control options as a feature.

“Great alternative MRP to its expensive competitors

Pros

I adore the graphical representation and the ease of use of Katana. It took less than a week to get my company up and running. Katana has been an exceptional MRP system that has grown with us. They have introduced important updates that have made our daily operations even smoother. All things considered, choosing Katana was a fantastic decision for my company!

Cons

Sometimes, the operation slows down, which can be mildly annoying. This issue could potentially be resolved by adding more servers in our geographic region.

“Lifechanging

Pros

Katana delivers tremendous value. It fully meets my MRP needs while remaining affordable for a growing business like mine

Cons

I would appreciate an option to dropship the products I make for clients, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.

“Perfect for what we needed

Pros

Katana excels in inventory tracking and managing manufacturing orders versus sales orders

Cons

One suggestion for improvement would be to add wholesale and retail pricing options for the same product item.

“Simple, Straightforward Manufacturing Integration

Pros

For me Katana is a fast, powerful, and easyto learn tool that seamlessly connects with QuickBooks Online. The user interface is great, and the support materials are robust.

Cons

It can be a bit pricey, starting at around $100 for the first user, but it has been worth it. I would love to see native, integrated barcoding support.

“Great Inventory Software

Pros

The straightforward progression from buying items to making and stocking them for sale makes it effortless for me to maintain inventory tracking best practices. The flexibility in adjusting stock made the transition from my previous software much easier, and integrating with Shopify and Quicken was a seamless process.

Cons

Having a more comprehensive inclusion of customer information from Shopify would be highly useful.

“Cannot recommend this app enough

Pros

This software has truly transformed the way I run my business. It holds me accountable for the numerous supplies I use daily and keeps me organized in a way that no other app or list ever has.

Cons

I can honestly say that there is nothing I dislike about this app. It works seamlessly and wonderfully. Perhaps the load speeds can be a bit laggy, but that's mainly because I have a large number of materials inputted. Overall, it's not a drawback or issue with the app at all.

“Ease of use

Pros

Katana is an easy to use platform that meets most of my planning and scheduling needs.

Cons

It would be beneficial to allow partial deliveries for Sales Orders.

“Katana

Pros

I haven't come across any other product that helps me manage my entire process, from purchasing raw materials to selling the final products, like Katana does.

Cons

At times, it can get complicated, but fortunately, the support team is excellent.

“Incredible MRP System!

Pros

I'm absolutely in love with Katana and its integrations. It allows data to flow seamlessly and enables my production team to close and ship orders directly.

Cons

I haven't come across many cons with Katana. It seems like they may be missing a few small features, but I have spoken to them, and they assured me that those features are in the works!

“Perfect for where we're at right now

Pros

It's fantastic to be able to log in from any computer without needing to install software, and Katana has done an incredible job of keeping our inventory organized and up to date. The Purchase Order generator has also given us a professional edge with our suppliers. The integration with Shopify is a huge plus, as it eliminates the need for manual transfers of Shopify orders and automatically updates our inventory by removing the required parts from the bill of materials. I highly recommend it!

Cons

There haven't been many, if any, tasks that we've encountered that Katana doesn't support.

“Met our needs at beginning, as needs grew Katana team listened and added features

Pros

The ability to assign specific individuals to each task using Resources and see their allocated time for each step of the manufacturing process has been invaluable. This year, we transitioned from contract labor to hourly-wage employees, and Katana made it a much smoother process. The ability to compare the "cost per piece" from assembly with the "cost per minute" for employees has provided us with valuable insights into our payment procedures.

Cons

When we started using Katana in January 2019, there were several tasks we couldn't do. However, I'm thrilled to say that most of them have been developed since then. The developers are attentive to my requests, bug reports, and ideas, and they continue to improve the software. One feature I'd love to see is the ability to attach a product photo to each item, which would print out an image with the Manufacturing Order (MO). Additionally, we have some items on hold, and we use Resources to specify their status (e.g., ONHOLD-BIN221). It would be better to have a couple more "status" options instead of using different locations. For now, we mark everything on hold as BLOCKED status and utilize the Resource field to indicate its on-hold bin.

“Amazing Product, Solid Support Team

Pros

Katana has been a crucial integration for streamlining our business processes, from purchase orders to manufacturing and inventory management. The support team is responsive and works diligently to accommodate our requests.

Cons

Katana is constantly integrating new requests each day. We are eagerly awaiting the ability to update our accounting software with inventory information, from raw materials to finished goods.

“A nessecary tool

Pros

When used correctly Katana helps me keep track of work stock and is regularly updated. We encountered an issue with decimal places for inputting formulas, but we raised the concern and it was fixed within a month. It allows me to quickly access a customer's purchase history and determine the percentage profit made per product.

Cons

My only concern is that the software is slightly expensive for a small company like ours.