Softwr

ERP · head to head

IFS vs Unanet

IFS logo

IFS

ERP

ERP for project-centric and asset-centric businesses

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unanet logo

Unanet

ERP

Project ERP and CRM built for government contractors and architecture and engineering firms

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: IFS no price, per user rate, minimum commitment or contract term is published on the site; the only route to a figure is a demo booking; Unanet no pricing is published for any Unanet product; every line is quoted per user per month with separate implementation fees, so a small contractor cannot budget the first year without a full sales cycle.
  • They diverge on capability: IFS covers Project management, Unanet covers DCAA-oriented timekeeping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IFS and Unanet actually diverge.

Attributes where IFS and Unanet differ
AttributeIFSUnanet
Starting price$1000/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, HybridWeb, Cloud, iOS, Android
Founded1983Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (ERP).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in IFS

  • Project management
  • Field service
  • Asset management
  • Supply chain
  • Manufacturing
  • IoT sensors
  • Mobile workforce
  • Analytics

Only in Unanet

  • DCAA-oriented timekeeping
  • Indirect rate management
  • Contract type support
  • Project accounting
  • Resource planning
  • Unanet CRM
  • Compliant invoicing
  • Unanet ERP AE

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

IFS

  • Enterprise resource planning for asset intensive industries such as aerospace, energy and manufacturingnot Unanet
  • Enterprise asset management and predictive maintenancenot Unanet
  • Field service management and workforce schedulingnot Unanet

Unanet

  • A federal contractor moving from QuickBooks and spreadsheets because it has won its first cost-reimbursable contract and needs an accounting system that survives a DCAA adequacy reviewnot IFS
  • A services firm that must calculate and true up provisional indirect rates each year and cannot do it credibly in Excel any longernot IFS
  • An architecture and engineering practice tracking utilisation and project profitability across dozens of concurrent jobsnot IFS
  • A government contractor consolidating a separate CRM, timekeeping tool and accounting package into one system so pipeline and backlog reconcilenot IFS

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

IFS

  • No price, per user rate, minimum commitment or contract term is published on the site; the only route to a figure is a demo booking
  • IFS Cloud is sold as an industry specific composable suite rather than as a priced product with published editions

Unanet

  • No pricing is published for any Unanet product; every line is quoted per user per month with separate implementation fees, so a small contractor cannot budget the first year without a full sales cycle.
  • Implementation is a project rather than a signup, involving chart of accounts design, indirect pool structure and data migration, and third parties report implementation fees reaching five figures for mid-sized deployments, an amount easily missed when comparing per-user rates.
  • The interface is dated compared with modern SaaS finance products, which raises training time for staff who only touch it to enter a timesheet and increases the support burden on the finance team.
  • ERP and CRM are separate products with separate contracts, so a firm that wants pipeline, backlog and actuals in one place pays twice and still deals with an integration boundary between them.
  • Its value is concentrated in United States federal and state contracting compliance, so a firm that does no public-sector work is paying for indirect rate machinery and DCAA audit behaviour it will never use, and a non-US firm gets almost nothing from the product’s main differentiator.

Pricing, plan by plan

IFS

$1000/month
  • Standard$1000/month
    • Core ERP
    • Project management
    • Field service
  • Premium$3000/month
    • Advanced features
    • Extensive integrations
    • AI capabilities

Unanet

On request
  • Unanet ERP GovCon$undefined/year
    • Project accounting with indirect rate pools
    • DCAA-oriented daily timekeeping and audit trail
    • Cost-plus, T&M and fixed price contract billing
  • Unanet ERP AE$undefined/year
    • Project accounting configured for architecture and engineering firms
    • Resource planning and utilisation reporting
    • Priced per user per month, quoted
  • Unanet CRM$undefined/year
    • Pursuit and opportunity tracking
    • Proposal content library and reuse
    • Sold separately from ERP; quoted

Which should you pick?

Choose IFS if

  • You need project management.
  • You work on Cloud, Hybrid.
  • You also want field service.
IFS review

Choose Unanet if

  • You need dcaa-oriented timekeeping.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
  • You also want indirect rate management.
Unanet review

Questions people ask

Is IFS or Unanet better?
Neither clearly leads. IFS starts at $1000/month and Unanet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IFS or Unanet?
IFS starts at $1000/month and Unanet at On request.
Does IFS or Unanet run on more platforms?
IFS runs on Cloud, Hybrid. Unanet runs on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
What is IFS best used for?
IFS is most often used for enterprise resource planning for asset intensive industries such as aerospace, energy and manufacturing, enterprise asset management and predictive maintenance, field service management and workforce scheduling. Of those, enterprise resource planning for asset intensive industries such as aerospace, energy and manufacturing and enterprise asset management and predictive maintenance are not what Unanet is typically brought in for.
What can IFS do that Unanet cannot?
IFS covers Project management, Field service, Asset management, Supply chain. Unanet covers DCAA-oriented timekeeping, Indirect rate management, Contract type support, Project accounting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IFS: Why is IFS P2 Energy Solutions pricing not published?

IFS provides custom pricing based on organization size and specific needs. The website directs interested buyers to book a demo or contact the sales team rather than publishing standard rates.

Source
Unanet: What does Unanet cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is per user per month and quoted, with implementation fees charged separately on top of the subscription.

IFS: What is the process to get pricing information from IFS?

The website includes calls-to-action for 'Book a demo' and 'Contact us' as the primary pathways to discuss pricing and contract terms with the sales team.

Source
Unanet: Does Unanet make you DCAA compliant?

No software does. Unanet provides the timekeeping controls, audit trail and indirect rate accounting that an adequacy review looks for; the policies and their enforcement are still yours.

Unanet: Is Unanet CRM included with the ERP?

No. Unanet CRM, built on the acquired Cosential platform, is a separate product with its own contract.

Unanet: How does it compare with Deltek?

Unanet typically targets smaller contractors than Deltek Costpoint and is quicker to implement, but has less depth for very large multi-segment organisations.

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