Doing inventory for your business can be a headache. It is time-consuming and requires a ton of detail-oriented work when going through your products to ensure that everything is up to par. Inventory keeps you busy and makes your long workdays even longer. There is a bunch of room for human errors, and worst of all, inventory is required on a regular basis.
Fortunately, there are some robust and integrated inventory software systems that can easily sync product information across different channels. This allows you to complete your inventory easier and faster and can reduce the number of human errors in the system.
With the best inventory management software, you will not need to spend time on inventory yourself. The software presented in this review all includes cutting-edge features, algorithms, and artificial intelligence that will allow you to better sort and track your products.
The purpose of inventory management software is to help businesses to track and manage their inventory better. Web-based inventory management systems track the inventory from the manufacturer to the warehouse and to POS. Some inventory tools can even help with other aspects of the business, such as invoicing, accounting, analytics and reports, fulfilment, returns, and more.
Usually, inventory management software also keeps track of possible price changes. To use an example, let us say you purchase an item for $100 and the price of the item goes up to $120 the next month. In this case, your inventory will be worth more. This is especially useful in cases when your inventory is stolen or lost. The inventory management tool will know exactly how much your inventory was worth, making it easy to produce reports for insurance companies, for instance.
Most inventory management tools track your stock in real-time and will allow you to save time and possibilities for errors. Web-based tools are easy to use on the go as well, as many of them have separate mobile apps.
Especially startups and small businesses might instantly be wondering about the cost of inventory management systems. The good news is that typically, the best inventory management software is completely free to use.
Most of them do offer paid plans that allow you to upgrade, but you can typically get started without even opening your wallet.
Inventory management software is useful for all businesses regardless of their size or volume. However, some tools work better for smaller businesses while others are better for big businesses. Thus, you should always compare the available inventory tools to ensure that you choose the one that suits the needs of your business in the best possible way.
Whether you have an online-based business or a physical store, your business can benefit from a free inventory management system.
Many businesses still struggle with inventory management. While new technology advances and you would think that inventory issues are the problems of the past, it could not be further from the truth. Most businesses still use manual human work to do inventory, which creates a ton of issues from human errors to long work hours to simple and plain inefficiency.
Improving inventory management processes can help to untie many knots in your day-to-day business. The best inventory management systems or tools can help you get a better grip on your supply chain, track inventory, and ship your products faster. This, in turn, reduces work hours and errors, leaving more time to do actual work that brings in the cash flow.
By utilizing some of the best inventory management software, your business can elevate to the next level. After all, since the phenomenal technology has been designed to make it easier to run your business, why not take full advantage of it and start using the best inventory management systems in 2022?
There are many inventory management software in the market. However, each system has their own unique features and possibilities. By comparing some of the best and most effective inventory tools, you will be able to find a system that works for your business and allows you to take full advantage of the opportunities it offers.
Next, we will present some of the most effective inventory management tools that can help you to improve inventory processes and to maximize your work hours.
At the top of the list is Netsuite ERP, which has been designed to put you in control of your inventory. Netsuite ERP allows you to keep track of your inventory efficiently and with little effort, regardless of the volume or location.
It has some top-notch built-in features and tools that allow you to track your inventory in multiple locations, while monitoring cycle points and re-order counts.
Netsuite ERP has especially been intended for rapidly growing mid-sized and large businesses, and this inventory management software ensures that you will always have inventory volume to fulfil any order at any time.
Netsuite ERP has some excellent core capabilities that help you to control your inventory and to keep track of it in real-time.
The best key features include, for instance, the following.
Netsuite ERP allows you to categorize inventory according to volume or value, which can help improve inventory tracking. It also ensures precise item count and better control of your business’ assets.
Netsuite ERP also offers warehouse management capabilities and multi-location inventory tracking. You can easily create physical locations by hierarchy, arrange sub-locations and even break them down further. You can even define exact locations and bins.
In short, Netsuite ERP offers comprehensive tools and efficient automation features that help you to support end-to-end processes. By using Netsuite ERP, you will always have detailed records of your inventory and every item is accounted for.
Netsuite ERP allows you to get started for free, but you can also upgrade your plan later on if you feel that this inventory tool is best suited for you and your business.
Monday.com homepage
Monday.com has become well-known as collaboration software, but it also includes effective features that allow it to be used for tracking inventory. You can categorize and list items, add descriptions and even due dates for each item separately. This allows you to control your inventory and make overseeing it simpler.
As Monday.com is a collaboration tool, it also has @-mention tools that make it easy to track and manage inventory across your company. The only minus really is that it does not monitor your inventory automatically. So, you might need to do some manual data entry, thus human-errors may not be completely eliminated.
Monday.com offers some effective and useful features that can help you to track your inventory. Monday.com is especially suitable for smaller businesses and for those who also use collaboration tools in their business: all-in-one tools are always easier to manage than multiple different ones.
Monday.com’s key features include, for instance, the following:
More than anything, Monday.com is a collaboration and project management tool, so if you are looking for simple and plain inventory tools, Monday.com may not be the choice for you. However, it works very well with some smaller business models.
Monday.com allows you to get started with a free plan, but you can always upgrade your plan to suit your needs.
ShipBob is an excellent, advanced inventory management software that allows comprehensive tracking of your inventory and all items. It also works well as an e-commerce fulfilment platform and is in fact, a popular choice among many wholesalers and retailers. It has been designed to enhance shipping costs and delivery times and to improve the overall shopping experience.
To achieve all this, ShipBob uses connected technology, effective fulfilment services, and well-located warehouses.
You can easily integrate ShipBob inventory software with many e-commerce platforms, such as eBay, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Amazon. It also has strong partnerships with international shipping companies, such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx.
ShipBob is especially suitable for businesses that are in need of shipping services in addition to inventory management.
Some of ShipBob’s key features include, for instance, the following:
ShipBob can serve both small and big businesses, which makes it an excellent choice for anyone who is looking for the features that ShipBob has to offer.
ShipBob is completely free for all the customers, but it also offers customized turnkey options that allow you to ensure that the plan and features suit your needs.
Gep Nexxe is an inventory management tool that is full of innovative next-generation features and possibilities. It offers inventory and warehouse capabilities that have been designed to streamline supply chain operations. Gep Nexxe also allows you to improve planning, visibility, and execution of supply chain operations. You will have real-time access to all your inventory levels and you will be able to track your items across all your warehouses.
Gep Nexxe allows you to effectively manage and track your inventory. It is an excellent choice, especially for mid-sized and big businesses.
Gep Nexxe’s key features include, for instance, the following:
In short, Gep Nexxe is especially suitable for those looking for strict inventory management and tracking tool without the extras.
Gep Nexxe allows you to get started for free, but you can also upgrade to a monthly subscription.
ShipHero has been designed to help ecommerce businesses to reach their goals and maximize their use of time. It is a comprehensive and cloud-based platform that focuses on order fulfilment and inventory management. It also allows you to handle shipping and returns, making it an excellent choice for businesses that need to keep track of inventory, shipping, and returns.
ShipHero allows you to use apps and spreadsheets to track your products, and it is suitable for any business.
ShipHero has some top-notch key features that make it one of the best inventory management software out there.
ShipHero’s key features include, for instance, the following:
ShipHero is especially an excellent choice for businesses that handle a large volume of orders.
ShipHero is completely free, while it does allow paid upgrades for those who want extra features.
Zoho homepage.
Zoho Inventory offers you many different features that allow your business to grow and advance to the next level. It will provide you with low stock alerts, give you kitting and bundling options, handle multiple integrations with ecommerce platforms and CRM apps, and handle payments.
In addition, it gives you shipping tools that allow you to print shipping labels and packing slips. Also, it features an excellent mobile app that makes it easy to manage inventory on the go as well.
Zoho Inventory can be an effective choice for many businesses regardless of their size.
Zoho Inventory’s key features include, for instance, the following:
Zoho Inventory is a comprehensive choice that allows you to handle everything from orders to shipping and invoicing.
Zoho Inventory is completely free to use inventory management software that also has paid upgrades.
Square is the best option for businesses that want to handle their inventory by integrating it with their POS system. It works especially well for small businesses, and it includes a full set of inventory tracking tools. It offers tracking of unlimited products and users, it has an ecommerce platform, and it makes tracking and controlling inventory seamless in-store and online.
As Square also offers invoicing, a mobile app, and some managing tools and analytics, it becomes an effective and handy tool in running your day-to-day business.
Square has become very well-known in the past few years because it is easy to use and it serves small and mid-sized businesses well in store as well as online.
Square’s key features include, for instance, the following:
Square has many useful features that can make it a vital tool for businesses looking for effective inventory management software.
You can get started with Square for free, but it also has affordable upgrades that make it the perfect choice for smaller businesses, too.
BoxStorm homepage.
BoxStorm was created by Fishbowl Inventory, and it delivers a perfectly featured, easy-to-use interface that allows integration with ecommerce tools. For instance, it can be integrated with QuickBooks, which makes orders and inventory tracking much easier.
As BoxStorm has limits on item numbers and transactions, it is ideal for small businesses. However, if you want to upgrade beyond the free version, you can access an affordable paid plan.
BoxStorm also features a mobile app, which makes it ideal for business owners wanting to be able to manage their inventory and other features on the go.
BoxStorm has many key features that make it stand out from the crowd.
BoxStorm’s key features include, for instance, the following:
BoxStorm has many useful features that can be beneficial for running a small business: for instance, processing of returns can become a headache for a startup or a small company. With BoxStorm, you can handle returns and all orders seamlessly.
BoxStorm offers a free plan which is quite comprehensive. However, you will have an option to upgrade to a paid plan.
SalesBinder is a widely used inventory management software that is available in 130 countries. It features an intuitive interface that allows a ton of room for customization. It offers a free plan which is an excellent choice to start with, but the free plan does have some limits that may cause problems for bigger businesses.
Also, it is noteworthy that SalesBinder does not allow any integrations, although its inventory tracking features and strong CRM features are superb.
While SalesBinder is an easy-to-use inventory management system, it does not compare to some of the other tools at the top of this list.
SalesBinder has some excellent features that can make it worth your while.
SalesBinder’s ket features include, for instance, the following:
Although SalesBinder lacks some useful features, it does offer a bunch of good ones that help you to elevate your business.
SalesBinder has a free plan, but it is somewhat limited. So, if you wish to upgrade, you will need to pull out your wallet.
Sortly homepage.
Cloud-based Sortly is an inventory management system that has a lot to offer. It allows, for instance, barcoding, activity tracking, location tracking, and audit trails. Also, another feature that makes it stand out is a built-in barcode scanner mobile app. With this app, you can scan barcodes and QR codes even when you are offline. This is an important feature, especially for those who do not have a signal in a warehouse when scanning incoming and outgoing orders.
Sortly is an excellent option for both small and big businesses, and its features can help you to better control and manage your inventory.
Sortly offers a variety of different features that have proven to be very useful for small and big businesses.
Sortly’s key features include, for instance, the following:
Sortly focuses especially on making shipping and inventory management as easy as possible. So, if you are looking for inventory management software that strictly focuses on controlling and tracking inventory, this may be the option for you.
Sortly has a free plan that allows you to get started and to see how it fits with your business. However, there is an option to upgrade if needed.
Just from the list above, you can easily see that there are plenty of excellent inventory management software that helps you to keep track of your items and manage shipping and other related tasks. So, when choosing the best one, there are many things to take into account.
The best inventory management system is always the one that suits your business the best. While one may be best for a big business, another may suit a small business better. When choosing the best inventory tool, you have to take a few key aspects into account.
Of course, there are multiple different inventory management software out there. In order to choose the one that works well with your business and your goals, there are certain aspects to keep in mind.
Below, we have outlined some of the most important things to consider when choosing the inventory tool that works for you.
Simply put: you will not be able to maximize the power of inventory management software if you do not know how to use them or understand them. So, you should choose a tool that is easy to use and navigate. It should be seamless and have all the features you need to run your business. It is essential that using the software is hassle-free and easy, no matter the size of your business.
Most inventory management tools have resources that help you to navigate the tool and to take full advantage of it. However, before getting started with a new inventory management tool, ensure that you understand how to use it.
Another noteworthy mention is that automations within the tool can make it more straightforward and easier to use.
If your business has multiple warehouses or you are planning to expand in the near future, it is essential to pay attention to the locations the tool allows. Some tools only allow one location or a warehouse, whereas others support multiple locations and even allow you to break the locations down to sub-categories.
The features that support multiple locations are especially essential for big businesses that are planning to have multiple warehouses. However, a small business that has only one warehouse or storage may not find this feature essential.
Any business owner knows that to grow the business, you need access to reports and analytics. This is also true when it comes to managing and controlling inventory. Having in-depth analytics and reports about your stock and products is essential when it comes to warehouse and inventory management.
There is no need to be old-school and enter everything into manual spreadsheets: many inventory management systems offer tools to collect data and analytics that you can use to your advantage when controlling inventory.
If you choose free inventory management software that tracks the inventory and provides you with accurate and on-time reports, you will reduce the time you use on filling out spreadsheets and double-checking your entries.
Most business owners use more than just one app or software in their day-to-day business, online or offline. Having an inventory management tool that integrates with third-party apps and other software is important so you will not need to manage multiple apps and programs.
Sometimes, software that integrates with other third-party apps can even make your life easier: for instance, when management apps, invoicing services, and accounting tools integrate with inventory tools, you might just manage to make your business run smoother.
The inventory system you choose should integrate with other apps and programs that are important for your business.
Some of the apps and programs your software should integrate with can include, for instance, the following:
Though you will always hope that there will never be a need to contact customer support, it is still vital to know that you will be able to get in touch with them quickly if needed. In fact, it may be a good idea to test the customer service in advance before joining the software for free or otherwise.
Checking to see how long it takes for the customer service representatives to get back to you and resolve your question may be just what you need to decide which software is the best inventory management tool for you. In fact, good customer service can be the difference between a bad experience and a great one.
You should pick inventory management software that has strong security features. This ensures that all data will be kept safe. You should check that the software’s features include encryption, password management, and other aspects related to security.
In addition, it is recommended to check that the software you choose offers cloud-based storage and services. This way, should you ever be hacked or something else, you will still have all of your data stored in the cloud.
Cloud-based services can also help to reduce downtime and to make inventory management easier and more accessible.
An easy-to-use interface goes together with our first point about usability. You should leverage a solution that is user-friendly and easy to use, and that can easily be integrated with the existing inventory management process you already have in place.
User-friendly interfaces are actually one of the key features you should pay attention to. Check to see if, for instance, importing data from other tools is easy. For instance, can you import data from Excel sheets?
Checking the usability and ease of the interface is something that you should not skip. If you are not sure how to see if the interface is user-friendly or not, you can always read reviews from other users.
When we talk about field service management, we mean the technicians who ate working outside of the office. In other words, the mobile workers. Having a good FSM, or field service management, integrated into the inventory software, you will be able to see where your workers are at all times.
A good tool also allows you to see other things, such as what kind of work needs to be done and how to optimize routes for increased efficiency.
Of course, this is an aspect that does not necessarily apply to all businesses. For instance, small businesses with only an employee or two may not need to take this element into account.
There are many inventory management software out there that are completely free. You can sign up for free, get started, and even start using the software without paying a penny. You should note that sometimes certain features may be locked with free plans.
So, check also the available paid plans and see what each of them includes. The price of paid plans can vary a lot and they can be billed monthly or annually. The main thing to keep in mind is that the price should suit your pockets.
The best inventory management software is the kind that serves your business the best. Each business has its own unique needs and goals, and the tool should be chosen according to your business model.
For instance, the needs of a small business are completely different from a large ecommerce store. On the other hand, an online-based business may not need as many features as a physical store, and so on.
The good news is, though, that you can typically get started with a free software plan, so you will not need to make a big investment from the jump. You can see how software serves you and your business before upgrading if it even becomes necessary.
There are multiple excellent options from which to choose, and by comparing them and taking notes you will be able to find one that suits you the best. Also, remember that if one option does not work for you, you can always choose another one. After all, sometimes it is about trial and error and seeing what works and what does not.
