Free offline MRP software for small manufacturers

Timeline Factory Manager is a free desktop app by Timeline Digital that does the basic material side of MRP: bills of materials, reserving, a shortage check and reorder levels. It runs offline on one Windows PC or Mac.

Download for WindowsWindows 10 and 11 · 111 MBDownload for MacApple silicon (M1 or later) · 123 MB

Version 1.0.0 · Free · Works offline

Raw materials: on hand, reserved, available and on order.

Raw materials: on hand, reserved, available and on order

Timeline Factory Manager: raw materials list showing on hand, reserved, available and on order quantities with low stock marked

The same app also keeps sales orders, daily production, finished goods and delivery notes. The Timeline Factory Manager product page covers all of it, and the features page lists all 15 screens.

Who this is for

  • You want to know, before a job starts, whether the materials for it are in stock.
  • You want one list of what is running low, and one purchase order to cover it.
  • Your products are made in one step from bought materials, with no sub-assemblies.
  • One person in the office keeps orders, stock and purchasing up to date.

Not a fit if

  • You need the software to work out when to order and when to start each job.
  • Your products have sub-assemblies with their own bills of materials.
  • You plan by machine, shift or capacity.
  • You need purchasing driven by a demand forecast.

Key facts

App
Timeline Factory Manager, version 1.0.0, published by Timeline Digital
Price
Free. No account and no sign-up.
Runs on
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), or macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon (M1 or later)
Internet
Not needed to use the app. You need it once to download the installer.
Users
One computer, one user
MRP scope
The basic material side only: bills of materials, reserving, a shortage check, stock figures and reorder levels
Not in scope
Time-phased planning, scheduling, capacity planning, multi-level bills of materials and forecasting

What is MRP, in plain words?

MRP stands for material requirements planning. It answers three questions for a factory: which materials do we need, how much of each, and when. The answer comes from three lists: what customers have ordered, what goes into each product (the bill of materials), and what is in stock or already on order.

Timeline Factory Manager answers the first two questions, "which" and "how much", at the moment you start a work order and whenever you look at the low stock list. It does not answer "when". It does not plan dates, schedule work or calculate time-phased requirements, so the timing of buying and making stays with you.

A product: bill of materials, material cost and stock history.

A product: bill of materials, material cost and stock history

Timeline Factory Manager: product page showing its bill of materials, material cost per unit, stock and stock history
Scope

Which part of MRP does the free app do?

It does the basic material side: bills of materials, reserving materials when a work order starts, a shortage check, on hand, reserved, available and on order figures, reorder levels, Order low stock and goods received. It does not do time-phased planning, scheduling, capacity planning, multi-level bills of materials or forecasting.

  • Bill of materials

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Holds a bill of materials for each product: the raw materials and quantities needed to make one unit. Shows the material cost per unit.
    What it does not do
    No multi-level bills of materials (sub-assemblies), routings or operations.

  • Material for a job

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Reserves the materials from the bill of materials when you start a work order.
    What it does not do
    Does not calculate time-phased requirements across future weeks or months.

  • Shortage check

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Refuses to start a work order when available stock is not enough, and names each short material and the missing quantity.
    What it does not do
    Does not work out a date when the material will be there, and does not move the job for you.

  • Stock figures

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Shows on hand, reserved, available and on order for every raw material, with a stock history and running balance.
    What it does not do
    No stock locations, no several warehouses, no batch or lot numbers.

  • Reorder

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Keeps a reorder level for each material and lists every material whose available stock is at or below it. The sidebar shows how many are low.
    What it does not do
    No demand forecasting. You set each reorder level yourself.

  • Purchasing

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Order low stock makes one purchase order for all low materials, enough to bring each back to twice its reorder level, counting what is already on order. You choose the supplier and can edit the order before sending it.
    What it does not do
    No automatic purchase orders. Nothing is ordered until you click, and the app does not pick the supplier or send the order by email.

  • Receiving

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    Receive goods records a full or part delivery, creates a goods received note and adds the materials to stock.
    What it does not do
    No quality checks on receipt.

  • Dates and capacity

    What Timeline Factory Manager does
    A work order holds a planned start and a due date that you enter. The dashboard lists what is due in the next 7 days or late.
    What it does not do
    No scheduling, no machine or shift planning and no capacity planning.

How does the app check materials before a job starts?

When you click Start on a work order, the app takes the bill of materials and reserves what the work order needs. If available stock is not enough, starting is refused and each short material is named with the missing quantity, so you know what to buy before anyone starts work.

Starting reserves, completing uses

Click Start and the materials are reserved for that work order, so another work order cannot use them. Nothing leaves stock yet. Completing the work order takes the materials used, for everything made and rejected, out of stock and adds the good units to finished goods.

Starting a work order reserves its materials.

Starting a work order reserves its materials

Timeline Factory Manager: confirmation before starting a work order, listing the materials that will be reserved

When a material is short

Starting is refused. The work order lists each material with the quantity required, the quantity available and how much is short. Raise a purchase order or use Order low stock, receive the goods when they arrive, then click Start again.

Not enough material: the app names what is short.

Not enough material: the app names what is short

Timeline Factory Manager: work order that cannot start because a material is short, naming the material and the missing quantity

Four stock figures for every material

Raw materials shows on hand, reserved, available and on order. Reserved is held by running work orders. On order is on open purchase orders. On hand and available stock can never go below zero: an action that would do this is refused with a message saying what to do.

Each change is a line in the material's stock history, with a link to the document behind it. The free manufacturing inventory software page covers stock in full.

Stock history with a running balance.

Stock history with a running balance

Timeline Factory Manager: raw material page with stock history, running balance and links to each document

How do reorder levels and Order low stock work?

You set a reorder level on each raw material. A material is low when its available stock is at or below that level, and the sidebar shows how many are low. Order low stock then makes one purchase order, to a supplier you choose, for all low materials.

The order brings each material back to twice its reorder level, counting what is already on order. You can edit the order before sending it, then print it or save it as a PDF to email to the supplier (see a sample purchase order (PDF)). Nothing is ordered until you click: the app makes no automatic purchase orders.

A purchase order to a supplier.

A purchase order to a supplier

Timeline Factory Manager: purchase order page with material lines and the Receive goods button

Receiving the delivery

When the delivery arrives, open the purchase order and click Receive goods. Enter what arrived, in full or in part. The app creates a goods received note and adds the materials to stock (see a sample goods received note (PDF)). A purchase order is open, part received, received or cancelled.

Receive goods, in full or in part.

Receive goods, in full or in part

Timeline Factory Manager: receive goods dialog with the quantity arrived for each material
Printed goods received note.

Printed goods received note

Timeline Factory Manager: printed goods received note in the print preview window

What does this look like for one product?

Take a steel gate that needs 6 m of steel tube and 0.2 litre of paint per unit. A work order for 50 gates needs 300 m of tube and 10 litres of paint. The app reserves both when you click Start, or tells you exactly which one is short and by how much.

  1. Enter the bill of materials once

    On the product "gate", add two lines: 6 m of steel tube and 0.2 litre of paint per unit.

  2. Make a work order for 50 gates

    50 gates need 50 x 6 = 300 m of steel tube and 50 x 0.2 = 10 litres of paint.

  3. Click Start

    If 300 m of tube and 10 litres of paint are available, the app reserves them. They now count as reserved, so another work order cannot use them.

  4. If stock is short

    Say only 240 m of tube is available and there is plenty of paint. Starting is refused, and the app names steel tube as short by 60 m.

  5. Buy what is missing

    Raise a purchase order for the tube, or click Order low stock on Raw materials if it is at or below its reorder level. When the delivery arrives, click Receive goods. Then start the work order.

  6. Complete the work order

    Say 48 good gates were made and 2 were rejected. Materials for all 50 units, 300 m of tube and 10 litres of paint, are taken out of stock, and 48 gates go into finished goods.

A product and its bill of materials. The gate in the screenshot uses steel tube and welding wire.

A product and its bill of materials

Timeline Factory Manager: new product form with a bill of materials listing each material and quantity per unit

Step 1 is done once, on the product. The screen works out the material cost per unit from the unit cost of each material.

The stock quantities in this example are made up to show the arithmetic. The bill of materials is the example from the app's user guide. To see how a work order is run day by day, read the free production management software page.

What do the MRP terms mean?

Six terms come up on this page and in the app. Each is defined here in one or two sentences, the way the app uses it.

MRP (material requirements planning)
A method for working out which materials a factory needs, how much of each and when, from its orders, its bills of materials and its stock. Full MRP software also plans the dates for buying and making.
Bill of materials
The list of raw materials, with quantities, needed to make one unit of a product. Example: 6 m of steel tube and 0.2 litre of paint per gate.
Reorder level
The stock quantity you set for a material as the point to buy more. In the app, a material is low when its available stock is at or below its reorder level.
Reserved and available stock
Reserved stock is held by running work orders. Available stock is what is not held, so it is what a new work order can use. On hand is the total in stock, reserved or not.
On order
The quantity of a material on open purchase orders that has not arrived yet. Order low stock counts it, so the same material is not ordered twice.
Goods received note
The record of one delivery from a supplier. In the app, saving it adds the materials to stock.

How do I check and order materials? Watch it.

Three of the 27 free video lessons cover the material side: starting a work order and seeing what is short, finding low stock and ordering more, and receiving goods. Click a lesson to play it here.

All 27 lessons with written steps · Watch the playlist on YouTube

Limits

What does the free edition not do?

As MRP software it stops at the material check. It has no time-phased planning, scheduling, capacity planning, multi-level bills of materials or forecasting, and it is for one computer and one user. The full list of what the free edition leaves out is below.

Not included in Timeline Factory Manager

  • Several users, logins or permissions
  • Use on more than one computer, or shared data over a network or the internet
  • Online or browser access, a mobile app, or cloud backup
  • Machine and shift planning, scheduling or capacity planning
  • Job costing, labour costing or profit margins (material cost from the bill of materials is shown)
  • Quality checks, batch or lot numbers, serial numbers or traceability
  • Barcode or QR code scanning, label printing
  • Several sites or warehouses, or stock locations
  • Links to accounting software, invoicing, quotations, statements or payments
  • Sending email from inside the app
  • Multi-level bills of materials (sub-assemblies), routings and operations
  • Languages other than English

Other limits: one unit cost per material, with no average or FIFO costing, no demand forecasting, and no automatic purchase orders.

What stays on your computer

Your factory data is kept in one data file on your own computer. The app works fully offline, has no account or sign-up, sends nothing over the internet and collects no usage data. It only opens your browser or email program when you click a Timeline Digital link.

Everything on that list, including planning by date, multi-level bills of materials and scheduling, is available as custom work from Timeline Digital, starting with a free pilot. Scope and terms are agreed after the pilot. Tell us how you plan materials today, or read about manufacturing ERP software and custom ERP software.

Custom version

Need Timeline Factory Manager across several sites, or built around how you work?

The free edition is an offline desktop app for a single site. When you need it across several sites, in the cloud, connected to your other systems or shaped around your own workflow, we build a custom version for you. The pilot is always free. We start with your most important modules, so you can judge the work before you commit.

Discuss a custom version How we workOr message us on WhatsApp

How do you download and install it?

Download the Windows installer or the Mac disk image below and install it like any desktop app. First start is a short setup of three steps. Choose Explore with sample data to try the shortage check and Order low stock on a made-up furniture workshop before you enter your own materials.

Setup step 3: start empty or explore with sample data.

Setup step 3: start empty or explore with sample data

Timeline Factory Manager: first-start setup, step 3, choosing an empty factory or sample data

Windows

Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). The file is Timeline-Factory-Manager-1.0.0-windows-setup.exe, about 111 MB. Open it and follow the steps. No administrator password is needed. The installer is not code-signed, so Windows shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.

Mac

macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon (M1 or later). The file is Timeline-Factory-Manager-1.0.0-mac-arm64.dmg, about 123 MB. Open it and drag the app into Applications. The app is not signed or notarized, so macOS warns the first time you open it. No Intel Mac download is published at present.

Download for WindowsWindows 10 and 11 · 111 MBDownload for MacApple silicon (M1 or later) · 123 MB

Version 1.0.0 · Free · Works offline

Full install steps and checksums are on the free manufacturing software for Windows page and the free manufacturing software for Mac page. The how to use page has every lesson with written steps.

Free MRP software questions

Is there free MRP software for small manufacturers?

Timeline Factory Manager is a free offline desktop app for Windows and Mac that does the basic material side of MRP: bills of materials, reserving materials when a work order starts, a shortage check, stock figures and reorder levels. It does not plan dates, schedule or calculate time-phased requirements. The product page covers the whole app.

Is Timeline Factory Manager a full MRP system?

No. Timeline Factory Manager covers the material side only. It tells you whether a work order has the materials it needs, what is short and what is running low, and it helps you order it. It has no time-phased planning, scheduling, capacity planning, multi-level bills of materials or forecasting.

What happens if there is not enough material for a work order?

Timeline Factory Manager refuses to start the work order and names each short material, with the quantity that is missing, so you know what to buy. Raise a purchase order or use Order low stock, receive the goods when they arrive, then start the work order. Lesson 16 shows this.

How does Order low stock decide how much to order?

In Timeline Factory Manager, Order low stock makes one purchase order, to a supplier you choose, for every material whose available stock is at or below its reorder level. It orders enough to bring each one back to twice its reorder level, counting what is already on order. You can edit the order before sending it.

Does it create purchase orders automatically?

No. Timeline Factory Manager never orders by itself. The low stock list and the count in the sidebar show what needs buying. A purchase order is made only when you click Order low stock or write one yourself, and you pick the supplier. You print it or save it as a PDF to send.

Does it handle sub-assemblies or multi-level bills of materials?

No. In Timeline Factory Manager a product has a bill of materials made of raw materials. There are no sub-assemblies, routings or operations in the free edition. The free bill of materials software page explains what a bill of materials holds in the app.

Can it plan production dates or machine capacity?

No. Timeline Factory Manager has no scheduling, no machine or shift planning and no capacity planning. A work order has a planned start and a due date that you type in, and the dashboard shows what is due in the next 7 days or late. The planning itself stays with you.

Does MRP software have to run in a browser?

No. Timeline Factory Manager is offline desktop software for Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon (M1 or later). It works without the internet, has no account and keeps your data in one file on your own computer. It is for one computer and one user, so the stock figures and the low stock list are always on that one machine.

Download the free MRP software

Install the app, enter your materials with a reorder level, add a product with its bill of materials, and start a work order to see the shortage check. If you need planning by date, sub-assemblies or scheduling, that is custom work: tell us how you plan materials today and we will say what we would pilot.

Download for WindowsWindows 10 and 11 · 111 MBDownload for MacApple silicon (M1 or later) · 123 MB

Version 1.0.0 · Free · Works offline

About this page

Published by Timeline Digital, the maker of Timeline Factory Manager. Every feature described here was checked against the user guide for version 1.0.0 of the app on . The screenshots show made-up sample companies. They are not real customers, and the names and amounts in them are invented.

Author

Usama Asif

CEO and CTO, Timeline Digital.

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Timeline Factory Manager

The product page: all 15 screens, screenshots and system requirements.

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The Windows installer, the checksum and the install steps.

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Download for Mac

The Apple silicon disk image and how to open it the first time.

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Video Lessons

27 short lessons, about 34 minutes in total.

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All Features

Every screen, from sales orders to backups.

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Free Bill of Materials Software

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