E2 Shop System data: what job shops can export and license

What can a job shop export from E2?#

A job shop can usually export the full quote-to-ship history from E2 Shop System: quotes, customer orders, jobs with routings, time tickets, purchase orders, receiving, shipping and, where used, quality records. The most valuable part is estimated versus actual hours by operation, joined by job number.

Owners search for the system under several names, including Shoptech E2 and ECI E2, newer ECI releases may carry a different product name, and module names and features differ between versions and editions. Confirm what your installation includes, and which modules your shop actually used, before planning an export.

The reason for exporting varies: a move to a newer ERP, a sale of the business, a retiring owner who wants the shop's history preserved, or a question about whether the records could be licensed. The export plan is much the same in each case.

E2 modules and what each record shows#

E2 records follow a job from quote to invoice, and each area shows a different set of decisions. The rights note in the last column flags what needs handling before any outside use.

How to export E2 data without breaking the links#

Exporting E2 data without breaking the links means keeping the original quote, order, job and part numbers in every file, so records can be joined again outside the system. Summary reports tend to lose those keys; table-level exports keep them.

Hosted and cloud editions work differently. The route depends on the vendor's export tools and your agreement, so ask in writing what is included, in what format and how long you keep access after notice.

Timing matters most in a sale or an ERP change. Export while the old system still runs and the people who know it are still on staff, because a backup nobody can open or interpret later is a weak substitute for a verified export.

• 1List the record families you need and the earliest year each one still holds.
• 2Choose the route: built-in reports and exports for smaller pulls, or a database backup for on-premises installations, read by someone who understands the schema.
• 3Export each family as its own file with its native IDs: quotes, orders, jobs, routings, time tickets, purchase orders, shipments and quality records.
• 4Export the attachment index separately, listing file paths by job, without copying the files themselves.
• 5Write a short data dictionary while someone who knows the shop's conventions is still available.
• 6Reconcile counts: jobs per year in the export should match what the system reports.

The rights note: customer drawings attached to jobs#

Customer drawings attached to E2 jobs are usually the customer's intellectual property, so they stay out of any license even though they sit inside your system. A part made to a customer's print is the customer's design; the shop's records describe how it was quoted, planned, made and shipped.

The practical problem is that attachments live alongside job records. Prints, 3D models, customer specifications and purchase order terms are linked to the job, sometimes stored in a shared folder the ERP points to. The export plan keeps only the attachment index for internal use, and customer NDAs are read to see whether they also cover information about the jobs themselves.

Export-controlled work needs its own pass. Under the ITAR, technical data includes the drawings, photographs, plans and documentation required to make, test or repair defense articles, so a shop with defense customers removes those jobs entirely, including routings and notes that describe the part.

Which E2 records carry the most value?#

The E2 records with the most value pair a plan with an outcome: estimated versus actual hours by operation, quotes with won or lost results, and nonconformances with their resolution. Single tables, such as a customer list or a parts master, say little on their own.

Free-text fields often carry the judgment. Setup notes, operator comments on time tickets, quote notes explaining a price and corrective action descriptions show why decisions were made. They also hold the most personal and customer detail, so they are reviewed line by line before any outside use.

Data cleanliness matters too. Jobs closed without time tickets, routings copied forward unchanged and placeholder quotes reduce what a reviewer can trust, and documenting them is better than hiding them.

Illustrative: a job shop exports E2 history before an ERP change#

Illustrative: Sawtooth Precision is a fictional CNC job shop machining aluminum and stainless parts for industrial equipment and instrument customers. It ran E2 on premises for many years, with data collection terminals on the floor and customer prints attached to each job.

Before moving to a new ERP, the owner had the shop's IT provider back up the database and export quotes, jobs, routings, time tickets and nonconformances keyed by job number. The attachment index showed customer prints on nearly every job, so the files stayed behind and only the index was kept internally.

The new ERP took open orders and the parts master. The exported history became the reference for the new system's standard times, and the owner asked for a metadata-only fit check on the quote-to-ship records, with customer drawings and a small group of defense jobs excluded from the start.

How SourceX approaches E2 history#

SourceX approaches E2 history through the SourceX five-step transaction: Supply, Rights, Preparation, Approval and Delivery. The fit check needs only metadata such as version, years of history, record families and known restrictions, and no files leave the shop at that stage.

Rights review separates the shop's own records from customer drawings, NDA terms and controlled work. Preparation replaces customer and employee names with codes, and the SourceX Evidence Packet documents provenance, licensing rights, permitted use, the privacy record and the release authorization. The shop approves each step, licenses the records rather than selling them and keeps ownership.