Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Apr. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Basis of Presentation In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements fairly present the financial information contained therein. These statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10 -Q and Article 10 of Regulation S- X. The financial statements and footnotes are unaudited. In management’s opinion, all necessary adjustments, consisting of normal, recurring and non-recurring adjustments, have been included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements to present fairly the financial position and operating results of QAD Inc. (“QAD” or the “Company”). The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements do not include all disclosures required by GAAP accounting principles for annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10 -K for the year ended January 31, 2019. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the results of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Because of seasonal and other factors, results of operations for the three months ended April 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending January 31, 2020. The Company’s accounting policies are set forth in detail in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10 -K for the year ended January 31, 2019 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such Annual Report also contains a discussion of the Company’s critical accounting policies and estimates. The Company believes that these accounting policies and estimates affect its more significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for consistency with the current year presentation. Adjustments were made to the operating activities section of the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. These reclassifications had no effect on the reported results of operations and no effect on previously reported cash flows from operating activities.
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Recent Accounting Pronouncements Except as discussed below, there have been no recent changes in accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or adopted by the Company during the three months ended April 30, 2019, that are of significance, or potential significance, to the Company. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2016 - 02, Leases (Topic 842 ). This pronouncement requires lessees to recognize a liability for lease obligations, which represents the discounted obligation to make future lease payments, and a corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset on the balance sheet. The Company adopted ASU 2016 - 02, along with related clarifications and improvements, as of February 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach, which allows the Company to apply Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 840, Leases, in the comparative periods presented in the year of adoption. Accordingly, the comparative periods and disclosures have not been restated. The cumulative effect of adoption was recorded as an adjustment to the opening balance sheet in the period of adoption. The Company elected the package of practical expedients not to reassess prior conclusions related to contracts containing leases, lease classification and initial direct costs and the lessee practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components for certain assets. Additionally, the Company adopted the policy election to not recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases for all asset classes. Adoption of the new standard resulted in the recording of a non-cash transitional adjustment to ROU lease assets and lease liabilities of approximately $13.1 million and $13.9 million, respectively, as of February 1, 2019. The difference between the ROU lease assets and lease liabilities represented existing deferred rent expense and prepaid rent that were derecognized and recorded to retained earnings in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The adoption of ASU 2016 - 02 did not materially impact results of operations or cash flows. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017 - 04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350 ): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill to eliminate Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. In addition, it eliminates the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if that fails that qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. Therefore, the same impairment assessment applies to all reporting units. The amendments will be effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning February 1, 2020. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance is required to be applied on a prospective basis. The Company does not believe adoption of ASU 2017 - 04 will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.