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Unleashed vs Katana: which fits your manufacturing business?
Straight up: we implement Unleashed, and we don't implement Katana — so there's no sales agenda on the Katana side of this page. If Katana fits you better, we'll say so.
Unleashed or Katana — the short answer
Choose Katana if you're a manufacturing-first business and want visual production planning front and centre — it's a cloud manufacturing ERP/MRP built specifically for small-to-mid manufacturers. Choose Unleashed if you make products and wholesale or distribute them — you get assemblies and bills of materials plus batch and expiry tracking, purchasing and B2B within one inventory platform. Both connect to Xero and QuickBooks, so your accounting stays put either way.
How do Unleashed and Katana compare at a glance?
| Unleashed | Katana | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | NZ-founded cloud inventory and production software — stock, purchasing, sales orders, assemblies and bills of materials | Cloud manufacturing ERP/MRP software with visual production planning at its core |
| Strongest fit | Manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors — especially production and wholesale together | Small-to-mid manufacturers who want the make-side of the business front and centre |
| Manufacturing | Assemblies and bills of materials; batch and expiry tracking | Visual production planning and scheduling — manufacturing is the product's whole centre of gravity |
| Sales channels | eCommerce and B2B integrations (e.g. Shopify, WooCommerce) | Integrates with Shopify and WooCommerce — suits direct-to-consumer makers |
| Accounting | Connects to Xero (a genuine strength) or QuickBooks | Connects to Xero or QuickBooks |
| Typical size | Small-to-medium product businesses | Small-to-mid manufacturers |
| Pricing model | Subscription with tiered plans — cost scales with plan level and users | Subscription with tiered plans (check the vendor for current figures) |
When should you choose Unleashed?
You make and wholesale
If production is only half the story — you also wholesale, distribute or run B2B ordering — Unleashed covers the whole flow: purchasing, stock, assembly and sales in one platform.
Batch and expiry matter
Food, beverage and health producers need batch and expiry tracking for recalls and compliance — a genuine Unleashed strength.
You're NZ/AU on Xero
Unleashed is NZ-founded, and its Xero integration is one of the strongest around — a natural fit for the local accounting stack.
More on how we implement it: Unleashed implementation.
When should you choose Katana?
Manufacturing is the whole game
If planning and scheduling production is your hardest problem — not channels, not wholesale — a tool built entirely around the make-side has real appeal.
You plan visually
Katana's visual production planning is its signature: see what's in progress, what's blocked on materials and what ships when, at a glance.
You sell direct via Shopify
A maker selling direct-to-consumer through Shopify or WooCommerce, with Xero or QuickBooks behind it, sits squarely in Katana's home territory.
We don't implement Katana, so if you land there, you'd engage Katana or one of its partners — and that's a perfectly good outcome if it's the right fit.
Can you switch between Unleashed and Katana?
Yes — it's a standard migration
Products, bills of materials, customers, suppliers and opening stock move across in either direction; transaction history usually stays behind for reference. Migrating into Unleashed — test environment first, stock reconciled at cut-over — is standard work for us.
When switching makes sense
Businesses typically move Katana → Unleashed when a wholesale or distribution arm grows and they need purchasing, price tiers and B2B depth. The reverse happens when production planning becomes the bottleneck and a manufacturing-first tool earns its place.
Whichever you choose: implementation quality decides more of the outcome than the platform choice — a well-set-up system beats a better-on-paper one every time. If you land on Unleashed, that's exactly what we do; if you land on Katana, we'll genuinely wish you well. Talk it through with us first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Rightweb implement Katana?
No — we implement Unleashed (along with Cin7, NetSuite and Odoo), but not Katana. This page exists because manufacturers weighing Unleashed ask about Katana all the time. Since we don't sell Katana implementations, we've no reason to talk it down — and if it's genuinely the better fit for you, we'll say so.
Is Katana better than Unleashed for manufacturing?
For a manufacturing-first operation, Katana makes a strong case: it's built specifically for small-to-mid manufacturers, with visual production planning at the centre of the product. Unleashed covers production — assemblies, bills of materials, batch and expiry tracking — within a broader inventory platform. If you make and also wholesale or distribute, Unleashed's breadth usually wins; if planning the make-side is your whole problem, Katana deserves a serious look.
Do Unleashed and Katana both work with Xero?
Yes — both integrate with Xero and QuickBooks, so neither replaces your accounting system. Katana also integrates with Shopify and WooCommerce, which suits direct-to-consumer makers. Unleashed connects to eCommerce platforms and B2B ordering too, and its Xero integration is particularly well regarded among New Zealand and Australian businesses.
Can you migrate us from Katana to Unleashed?
Yes — products, bills of materials, customers, suppliers, price lists and opening stock all migrate as a standard part of our Unleashed implementation. We clean and validate the data in a test environment first, then reconcile stock counts at cut-over so you start with numbers you can trust. Transaction history usually stays in the old system for reference.
Weighing Unleashed against Katana?
Tell us how your operation works — we'll tell you straight which way we'd go, even if the answer is the one we don't implement.