Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2017	Nov. 30, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	QAD INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001036188
Trading Symbol	qada
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		3,217,111
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		16,028,335