Inventory Software Buying Guide for 2020

Running a business is time-consuming and stressful, even more so if you're having trouble tracking what you have in stock and when you need more of it. You don't want to oversell a product or end up having to backorder an item unexpectedly. Inventory software is perfect for making sure your stock is full, and you can order products whenever they are needed. 

The best inventory software warns you when certain items are low, allows you to reorder those items automatically, syncs your inventory in real time with recent sales, updates your product stock when you receive new orders, tracks inventory movement to decrease costs, and organizes your vendor and customer information.

There is inventory software for nearly every type of business, but it's important to know the needs of your business to determine the one that best suits you. Fishbowl focuses on the accuracy of managing inventory, keeping track of purchases and organizing product lists and serial numbers. This software is perfect for any business that has warehouse locations. 

If your business is looking for software to fit your budget, consider Inventoria, which is a one-time purchase instead of a subscription-based software. You might also consider TradeGecko, the most efficient software to use. It works best for companies that are based online, allowing you to update products manually or even use barcode scanning and serial numbers. 

While some features with certain inventory-management applications are geared toward certain businesses (e.g., manufacturing) than others (e.g., retail), in general, there are three features you want to ensure your inventory software program has. 

Mobile apps

Running a business can mean running around, tracking orders and making sure products are where they need to be and ensure inventory is fully stocked. Mobile apps can help you do these things while on the go. They allow you to scan barcodes, track orders, view product photos and details, and even customer information. 

Cloud-based backup

Inventory software, like TradeGecko, offers a cloud-based backup for all your inventory and order details. Within the cloud, your information is stored, synced and is secure. You can access it anytime from the cloud. 

Reports

If you want to know the most popular products in your inventory, the history or location of certain products, or track sales over a period of time, you want software that provides inventory reports. These reports will give you data that can help boost the future sales of your business by looking at the history and trends of your sales and products.

Most inventory software companies offer a limited free trial or demos where you can explore the software and speak with experts about any questions or concerns you may have. 

Once you feel comfortable about which software you want to purchase, there are a few options. Such companies as Stitch and TradeGecko offer monthly or annual subscription plans that range from $79 to $799 depending on the plan and the number of users. There are plans specifically for small businesses, large businesses and even entrepreneurs. 

Companies like Odoo offer the option to select only the features, or apps, you want or need. Odoo's price is dependent on the number of users and the apps you choose. The price per user is $24 per month, and each app can range anywhere from $12 to $72 per month. 

The most budget-friendly software is Inventoria; you can purchase a corporate or business edition of the software. The corporate edition consists of a one-time payment of $159 with fully functioning features and a single installation license. The business edition costs $139, has fully functioning features, but does not have multiple user support or access to the web. You have the option of adding on bundle packages of income management software, invoice management, point of sale software and more. These bundles can cost anywhere from $13 to $500 each.