Manufacturing software for small firms. (In Brief).

Affordable price, no annual maintenance fees, customizability, and plentiful support service are all said to make a new enterprise-software package unusually attractive to small and mid-sized manufacturing firms. It can help them control inventories and production schedules and supervise process routing, payroll, general-ledger accounting, sales and purchase orders, work orders, accounts receivable, and costing/quoting with one integrated package.

The new Windows-based CF Series software comes from TSG Software & Service, Inc. in Costa Mesa, Calif. One distinctive feature, according to vp. Jeb Buddecke, is the price-$10,000 to $30,000, depending on the number of modules (from seven to 15) and the service package requested. The cost is independent of the number of users. "We don't believe any other product can match our functionality at our price," says Buddecke. He also says that, unlike most competing packages, the CF Series carries no annual maintenance fee, which is typically 10% to 15% of the purchase price.

This package is also said to be unusual in that it can be easily customized by the user or by TSG Software. The company offers installation, set-up, and support services, including data transfer from a customer's previous software to the new system. Tel: [phone]TSG, www.tsgsoftware.net