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ERP · head to head

QAD vs Unanet

QAD logo

QAD

ERP

Cloud and on-premise ERP for manufacturers

From
$2000/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: QAD no price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link; 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: QAD covers Financial 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 QAD and Unanet actually diverge.

Attributes where QAD and Unanet differ
AttributeQADUnanet
Starting price$2000/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, WebWeb, Cloud, iOS, Android
Founded1979Unknown

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 QAD

  • Financial management
  • Manufacturing
  • Supply chain
  • Inventory management
  • Quality management
  • REST APIs
  • EDI
  • IoT integration

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.

QAD

  • ERP for manufacturers covering production execution and schedulingnot Unanet
  • Supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory controlnot Unanet
  • Quality management, traceability and supplier management for regulated manufacturingnot Unanet
  • Field service and enterprise asset managementnot 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 QAD
  • A services firm that must calculate and true up provisional indirect rates each year and cannot do it credibly in Excel any longernot QAD
  • An architecture and engineering practice tracking utilisation and project profitability across dozens of concurrent jobsnot QAD
  • A government contractor consolidating a separate CRM, timekeeping tool and accounting package into one system so pipeline and backlog reconcilenot QAD

Where each one falls short

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

QAD

  • No price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link
  • Field service management, enterprise asset management and quality management are presented as separate functional areas rather than a single priced bundle

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

QAD

$2000/month
  • Standard$2000/month
    • Financial management
    • Manufacturing
    • Supply chain
  • Premium$4000/month
    • Advanced modules
    • Analytics
    • Priority support

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 QAD if

  • You need financial management.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Web.
  • You also want manufacturing.
QAD 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 QAD or Unanet better?
Neither clearly leads. QAD starts at $2000/month and Unanet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QAD or Unanet?
QAD starts at $2000/month and Unanet at On request.
Does QAD or Unanet run on more platforms?
QAD runs on Cloud, On-premise, Web. Unanet runs on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
What is QAD best used for?
QAD is most often used for erp for manufacturers covering production execution and scheduling, supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory control, quality management, traceability and supplier management for regulated manufacturing, field service and enterprise asset management. Of those, erp for manufacturers covering production execution and scheduling and supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory control are not what Unanet is typically brought in for.
What can QAD do that Unanet cannot?
QAD covers Financial management, Manufacturing, Supply chain, Inventory management. Unanet covers DCAA-oriented timekeeping, Indirect rate management, Contract type support, Project accounting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

QAD: How can I get pricing information for QAD manufacturing software?

QAD does not publish standard pricing on their homepage. Pricing discussions occur during personalized consultations. Interested parties can request a demo, contact the sales team, or download brochures to discuss pricing based on specific organizational needs.

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.

QAD: What deployment options does QAD offer?

QAD provides adaptive ERP solutions for various industries including Automotive, Food & Beverage, and Life Sciences. Their offerings include connected workforce solutions and supply chain management, with implementation and advisory services available.

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.

QAD: Is there a trial available for QAD software without contacting sales?

The QAD homepage does not mention a free trial or self-serve trial option. The primary engagement path is through "Request a Demo" or "Contact Sales" buttons, suggesting trial access requires sales team interaction.

Source
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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