There's no single "best" job system for every cabinet maker. In the threads you see the same few names coming up again and again—Jobman, Tradify, Invera/INVEX, generic tools like Monday, and now Cabneo.

They're not trying to solve the same problem.

This is a quick, opinionated comparison to help you narrow the field based on what you actually do, rather than a giant 200‑row feature matrix.

Jobman – cabinet manufacturing ERP

Jobman describes itself as end‑to‑end ERP software for cabinet makers and manufacturers, covering quoting, scheduling, production, inventory, and installation in one platform. It integrates with Xero/MYOB for accounting, and with CAD/CAM tools like Cabinet Vision, CabMaster, Microvellum, Mozaik, etc.

In other words: it assumes you're running a full manufacturing operation, not just "a few jobs on the side".

Tradify – service tradie job app

Tradify is pitched as an all‑in‑one job management app for tradies—electricians, plumbers, HVAC, property maintenance and similar service trades. It brings together enquiries, quotes, scheduling, timesheets, invoicing and payments, and syncs tightly with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks.

For Tradify, a "job" looks more like a ticket or service call than a multi‑room cabinet project.

Invera / INVEX – metal industry ERP

Invera's INVEX product is ERP for metal service centres and steel distribution, with metal‑specific inventory, processing and e‑commerce features. Their own site is clear: they "only do metal".

That makes INVEX powerful if you run a steel service centre—but not a fit for a cabinet shop.

Cabneo – cabinet‑shop operational layer

Cabneo sits between a generic job app and a full ERP:

• Built specifically around cabinet shops: leads → quotes → jobs → workshop tasks → install.
• Strong focus on quoting and margins, job health, workshop task views, and job‑level Actual vs Budget rather than inventory for multiple industries.

It aims to be the "operational truth" for a cabinet business, not a replacement for your accounting system.

Jobman

• Deep quoting integrated with job files, production and accounting.
• Designed to work with CAD/CAM outputs (Cabinet Vision, CabMaster etc.), feeding directly into capacity planning and production.
• Strong fit if your quotes are tightly tied to automated production and detailed inventory.

Tradify

• Quick quote and invoice templates, line‑item based, with price lists and markups.
• Great for fast, repeatable work in the field (e.g., service calls, small repairs).
• Less cabinet‑specific support for multi‑room layouts, sectioned quotes, or product catalogues for built‑ins.

Invera / INVEX

• Quoting and order entry are built around steel and metal products (stock picks, processed orders, contracts, etc.), with metal‑specific attributes instead of generic part numbers.
• Great if you sell or process coil, plate, tube, etc. Not relevant for kitchen & joinery work.

Cabneo

• Quoting is built around sections/rooms (Kitchen, Laundry, Vanity) and products/configurable items, with internal cost + margin visibility and quote health metrics.
• Supports ballparks, detailed quotes, and a quote health model that highlights stalled or risky opportunities.

If most of your quoting pain is "I'm doing kitchen layouts and want to see margin and risk while I price", Cabneo and Jobman are more relevant than Tradify or INVEX—but Cabneo stays closer to the quoting/workshop layer than a full ERP.

Jobman

• Target‑style calendars and scheduling tools designed for factories, with drag‑and‑drop scheduling, capacity planning, and production management.
• Suited to a shop that wants Gantt‑ish views, capacity charts, and staff/job scheduling all in one place.

Tradify

• Scheduling is more like a field service calendar—great for dispatching techs, managing appointments, and syncing to Google Calendar.
• Strong on "who is going where when", weaker on "which cabinet job is at which production stage".

Invera / INVEX

• Scheduling and processing flows are oriented around metal service centre operations, multi‑step processing and toll work.
• Not designed for cabinetry production.

Cabneo

• Workshop views that centre around tasks, not just dates:
  • Today/Week lists.
  • Worker timelines.
  • Calendar view for scheduling tasks/install.
• Designed to make sense on the floor (daily task list) as well as in the office.

If your main scheduling pain is "factory and install need a clear daily list", Tradify's calendar is often too field‑service centric, while Jobman's full ERP scheduling may be more than you need. Cabneo is deliberately closer to "today's work" for cabinet tasks.

Jobman

• End‑to‑end ERP, modular but deep.
• Pricing (as of 2025) starts around $250 AUD/month for a "Small" package (2 office + 5 kiosk users), with larger tiers at $650 and $1,250 AUD/month for more users and kiosks.
• Setup and rollout are a real project; pays off most when you're ready to run your whole manufacturing business through it.

Tradify

• Much lighter to adopt:
  • Per‑user pricing (Lite/Pro/Plus tiers around $48–$62 AUD/user/month on the AU site at time of writing).
  • Simple onboarding aimed at small trade teams.
• Great for 1–10 person service businesses; may feel limiting if you want deep production details and manufacturing‑level control.

Invera / INVEX

• Heavyweight ERP for metal service centres with global rollouts; not designed for small cabinet workshops.

Cabneo

• Intentionally scoped for small to mid‑size cabinet shops:
  • Less setup than a full ERP.
  • More cabinet‑specific than generic job apps.
• Focused on the parts a 3–20 person shop will actually use: quoting, job health, workshop tasks, and job‑level profitability.

If you're under ~10 people and the idea of a 6‑month ERP roll‑out makes you sweat, starting with Cabneo or a lighter tool makes more sense than jumping straight into Jobman or INVEX.

Jobman

• Integrates with accounting tools like Xero and MYOB:
  • Time & attendance, payroll, invoices can flow into your accounts.
• Strong if you want a tightly coupled ERP/accounting setup; also adds complexity (pay codes, timesheets, etc.), which many users mention in forums.

Tradify

• Built to play nicely with accounting from day one:
  • Syncs invoices and data to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks.
• Often used alongside Xero by small trade businesses that want fast quoting/invoicing rather than deep cost accounting.

Invera / INVEX

• Integrations are focused on metal‑industry workflows; accounting specifics are less visible from the marketing pages, but it's clearly part of a full enterprise stack.

Cabneo

• Cabneo's stance is:
  • Treat Xero as the accounting source of truth.
  • Focus Cabneo on job/operational truth—quoting, tasks, job health, job P&L—rather than replacing your GL.
  • Any Xero integration is planned as opt‑in and narrow (e.g., sending accepted quotes as draft invoices), not a prerequisite for using Cabneo.

If you already have an accountant and Xero working well, you probably don't want your job system to try to be your general ledger too.

Instead of asking "Which is best?", ask:

1. Where is the pain right now?

• Free design and quoting overload?
• No idea if jobs actually made money?
• Factory/installation constantly out of sync?
• Or just invoicing chaos?

2. How big and complex is your shop?

• 3–10 people, mostly kitchens and a few laundries?
• Or 30+ people with CNC, complex inventory and multiple sites?

3. Do you want job software to be your ERP or your helper?

• If you want one system to run everything—including inventory, payroll, and detailed capacity planning—Jobman (and similar ERPs) make sense.
• If you want something cabinet‑aware that improves quoting, job health, and workshop coordination without swallowing your whole stack, Cabneo's middle ground is closer to what you're looking for.
• If you mostly need an invoicing/scheduling tool for service‑style work, Tradify is often enough.

Cabneo exists because many small to mid‑size cabinet shops are stuck between generic tradie apps (too shallow) and heavy ERPs (too much). Understanding where you sit on that spectrum is the first decision—software comes after.