QuotedPartComparisons · Updated 2026-10-30
JobBOSS vs JobBOSS²: should a classic JobBOSS shop upgrade?
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Upgrade when you need what the cloud gives you: mobile and remote access, no server to maintain, and an API that other tools can connect to. Don't upgrade just because ECI is pushing it. ECI's classic JobBOSS page is now a "customer resource center" that invites you to "modernize" with JobBOSS², and JobBOSS² is ECI's go-forward product. But classic JobBOSS still runs your shop, and the move is a 3–6 month implementation by ECI's own estimate. If the current system works and nothing you want depends on the cloud, the upgrade can wait until you're ready to do it properly.
See how QuotedPart connects to your workflow with its API, MCP server, autonomous quoting and shop-specific learning.
What actually changes
Facts come from ECI's JobBOSS and JobBOSS² pages, read on October 30, 2026. The last row matters if you connect a quoting tool or another add-on.
| Classic JobBOSS | JobBOSS² | |
|---|---|---|
| Status at ECI | ECI's JobBOSS page is a customer resource center that invites JobBOSS users to modernize with JobBOSS² | ECI's go-forward job-shop ERP since May 2021 |
| Where it runs | Usually the shop's own SQL Server; ECI also lists a hosted option | Three deployment options in the US: multi-tenant SaaS cloud, private hosted cloud, or on-premise |
| Accounting | Classic JobBOSS integrates with QuickBooks Desktop | Integrates with QuickBooks Desktop and Online for invoices, payroll and AP/AR |
| Quoting | Quotes, estimates and routings in the same database | Rate-based estimating: pre-set burden and labor rates, quantity breaks, setup and run time, outside services and commission; quotes created from estimates in one click and converted to orders |
| New features | Customer resource center, support and add-ons | AI BOM Builder drafts BOMs from PDFs, Excel files, images and CSVs; ECI MES, Payments, Commerce Suite |
| Implementation | Already done | Implementation takes around 3–6 months |
| Connecting a quoting tool | Through the database, by whoever administers your SQL Server | Through ECI's JobBOSS² API, switched on by ECI |
Stay on JobBOSS if
Your server is reliable and backed up, your people know the system, and your reports and customizations live in it. Stay if you don't need access from outside the building, or if you need to keep data on your own hardware for customer or export-control reasons. JobBOSS² can also run on-premise, so ask ECI what that option includes. Users in a 2019 Practical Machinist thread were mixed but practical about classic JobBOSS. One rated it "the software a B, tech support an A, and sales/customer service a D", and another noted its scheduling works backward from the promise date by default. Those habits are what you'd be retraining.
Upgrade to JobBOSS² if
You want to stop running a server, need mobile shop-floor time tracking, or want ECI's newer add-ons such as the AI BOM Builder, MES and Payments. Upgrade too if other software has to connect to the ERP. Quoting tools, portals and payment systems increasingly connect through an API rather than straight to your database. QuotedPart is an example of both paths. For JobBOSS², Send to JobBOSS² creates the estimates, routing and quote through ECI's API. For classic JobBOSS, Export for JobBOSS downloads a SQL file the shop runs once on its own database.
Before you sign the upgrade
The upgrade is a migration. Plan it like one.
- Get the price, contract term and what the migration includes (data, reports, training days) in writing.
- List every report, custom field and integration you use today, and confirm each one exists in JobBOSS².
- Back up the classic JobBOSS database and keep read access after go-live for history.
- Ask ECI whether the JobBOSS² API is available for your deployment if you plan to connect other tools.
- Pick a cutover date away from month-end and big shipments.
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- JobBOSS (classic): ECI's JobBOSS page is a customer resource center that invites JobBOSS users to modernize with JobBOSS² (their words: “Welcome to Your JobBOSS Customer Resource Center”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS (classic): ECI pitches JobBOSS² to JobBOSS users as cloud-native with mobile access and AI insights (their words: “Ready to Modernize Your Shop with JobBOSS²?”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS (classic): Classic JobBOSS integrates with QuickBooks Desktop (their words: “Manage your finances effortlessly with seamless QuickBooks Desktop integration”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS (classic): ECI's JobBOSS page also lists a cloud-based hosting option for classic JobBOSS (their words: “Alleviate hardware stress and improve data security with cloud-based ERP solutions”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: Launched in May 2021 as ECI's go-forward cloud ERP for job shops, combining JobBOSS and E2 SHOP (acquired with Shoptech in Q4 2020) (their words: “combining the strengths of existing ERP products, JobBOSS and E2 SHOP”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: Three deployment options in the US: multi-tenant SaaS cloud, private hosted cloud, or on-premise (their words: “a multi-tenant SaaS cloud, a private hosted cloud for enhanced security, and traditional on-premise installation”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: Integrates with QuickBooks Desktop and Online for invoices, payroll and AP/AR (their words: “JobBOSS² features a seamless integration with QuickBooks (both Desktop and Online versions).”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: Rate-based estimating: pre-set burden and labor rates, quantity breaks, setup and run time, outside services and commission; quotes created from estimates in one click and converted to orders (their words: “Burden Rate, Labor Rate, Quantity Breaks, Set-up Time, Run/Cycle Time, Outside Services, Sales Commission can all be pre-set.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: AI BOM Builder drafts BOMs from PDFs, Excel files, images and CSVs (their words: “Generate draft BOMs from PDFs, Excel files, images, and CSVs.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: ECI MES, ECI Payments and Commerce Suite, KnowledgeSync alerts and uniPoint quality integrate with JobBOSS² (their words: “ECI Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is seamlessly integrated with JobBOSS2”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: Implementation takes around 3–6 months (their words: “Our implementation takes around 3-6 months to complete.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Practical Machinist thread "ERP show down. Jobboss or E2. Current feelings on both?" (2019): owner comments on classic JobBOSS quoted as written. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- QuotedPart: Send to JobBOSS² through ECI's API, which ECI supports for hosted (cloud) customers; Export for JobBOSS writes a T-SQL file the shop runs on its own JobBOSS database. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- QuotedPart's integrations as listed in its public facts file. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
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