Best Inventory Management Software for Small Business in 2024
Best Inventory Management Software for Small Businesses: A Brief Overview
Choosing the best inventory management software for small businesses can be a game-changer in streamlining daily operations and providing valuable insights. These systems achieve these goals while avoiding unnecessary expenses by focusing on features that align with business needs.
Here, we highlight five top inventory management programs designed for small businesses and their unique selling points.
Why Are Great Inventory Management Programs Important for Small Businesses?
For businesses managing physical inventory, the importance of well-optimized inventory procedures cannot be overstated. This section outlines some reasons why excellent inventory management programs are essential:
Efficiency and Time Savings
For small business operations, every moment counts. Managing inventory levels, tracking inventory movements, and setting reorder points can be daunting and time-consuming. Additionally, human errors are common. An inventory management program can automate these processes and reduce the risk of mistakes.
A 2017 Retail Vision study noted that to increase efficiency, 72% of retailers plan to revolutionize supply chain operations with real-time visibility through automation, sensors, and analytics.
The software ensures that inventory levels are constantly updated through real-time updates and automated notifications. This eliminates the need for manual checks and prevents stockouts or overstocking issues.
Moreover, the program provides businesses with quick insights into availability and demand trends, helping organizations make informed decisions rapidly. In today’s unpredictable market, quick adaptation to customer preferences is crucial for small business success. High agility can make or break their expectations.
Reducing Errors and Ensuring Accurate Data
Manual inventory management is inherently prone to errors, leading to inconsistencies between recorded and real-time inventory quantities.
According to a Peoplevox survey, around 34% of businesses have encountered scenarios where they accidentally sold products not in their inventory, resulting in delays in fulfilling orders. These discrepancies can translate into lost sales opportunities, dissatisfied customers, and financial setbacks. This is where exceptional inventory management programs come in as a reliable defense against these challenges.
By embracing automation, the likelihood of data entry and calculation errors is significantly reduced, ensuring accurate inventory records for businesses. Additionally, integrating barcode scanning and RFID technologies further enhances accuracy by minimizing human input errors.
As a result, small businesses can elevate their order fulfillment processes, ensure timely product delivery, and maintain customer trust by providing consistent and reliable service.
Optimal Reordering and Demand Forecasting
Facing a shortage of a popular product when demand surges can be frustrating for both customers and business owners. Data from Zippia.com indicates that about 43% of small businesses do not actively monitor their inventory, while around 21% confirm they lack inventory. To address this issue, inventory management software applies pre-set inventory thresholds for automatic reordering.
This proactive strategy ensures that businesses restock their inventory promptly, reducing the likelihood of stockouts and increasing sales opportunities. Furthermore, many advanced inventory management systems offer demand forecasting capabilities. These tools provide invaluable insights into upcoming demand patterns by analyzing historical data and market trends.
With this information, small businesses can adjust their inventory levels and purchasing decisions, optimizing their stock to meet anticipated customer needs.
Improved Profitability
The primary goal of any business is to make money, and an effective inventory management program plays a pivotal role in achieving this goal for many.
It helps prevent excessive capital accumulation in unsold products by mitigating the risks of overstocking. Additionally, reducing stockouts translates into fewer lost sales opportunities and revenue setbacks.
Moreover, the inventory management program assists in identifying slow-moving or outdated items. With this information, businesses can implement targeted marketing strategies or offer discounts to sell stagnant stock, making room on shelves for more in-demand items and ultimately enhancing overall profitability.
A great inventory management program offers a range of benefits from operational efficiency and error reduction to demand forecasting and profitability improvement. Small businesses adopting these digital tools position themselves for growth, scalability, and improved customer satisfaction.
How to Choose the Best Inventory Management Software for Your Small Business
As businesses grow, having a robust inventory management system becomes increasingly important. The right software has the potential to optimize processes, reduce expenses, and provide a competitive edge.
However, given the multitude of options available, selecting the optimal inventory management software for a small business can be challenging.
To navigate this decision-making process, it’s crucial to consider the following factors, as each significantly impacts the user’s business path:
Scalability: Adapting to Growth
A critical factor to consider when choosing inventory management software is its scalability. As a business thrives, the program must be able to expand seamlessly with it.
Scalability ensures that the system can manage larger inventory quantities, new product lines, and a growing customer base. This adaptability prevents costly disruptions and reduces the need for frequent program adjustments.
Choosing a software solution capable of accommodating anticipated business growth allows users to focus on strategic decisions without technological constraints.
For business owners seeking inventory management software with good scalability, InFlow is a strong option.
This is due to its seamless integration with various existing systems, adept management of sudden demand increases, and effective handling of a growing array of product information.
Integration Capabilities: Enhancing Operational Efficiency
Success is closely linked to interconnected processes in today’s dynamic business environment.
It’s essential that the chosen inventory management software integrates smoothly with existing infrastructure, including POS systems, e-commerce platforms, and accounting applications.
This integration reduces the need for manual data entry, minimizing errors and improving document accuracy.
Real-time synchronization across systems enhances order fulfillment, real-time inventory updates, and accurate financial reporting. This harmonious interaction boosts productivity and provides a comprehensive view of the user’s business health.
Cin7 is particularly attractive for those focused on easy integration due to its impressive integration of over 700 pre-built integrations and functionalities covering various areas, including e-commerce, accounting, and more.
Ease of Use: Boosting Productivity
Overly complex programs that require extensive training can hinder productivity, preventing employees from adopting them.
Instead, business owners should explore inventory management programs that prioritize ease of use and require minimal training.
Interfaces designed for easy navigation and smooth user experiences streamline setup processes and reduce error likelihood. By choosing a user-friendly system, business owners encourage teamwork and ensure that their employees can fully utilize the software.
This ultimately leads to improved inventory management practices. Sortly stands out in this area due to its intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
Cost: Balancing Budget and Features
Effective cost management is crucial for small businesses. While financial constraints are a reality, balancing cost with the features provided by inventory management software is critical.
Although some options may boast lower initial costs, they might lack essential functionalities required for sustainable growth, potentially hindering future profits.
Alternatively, allocating resources toward a more comprehensive solution can yield significant gains by enhancing efficiency and reducing operational costs. Therefore, users should weigh long-term benefits against the initial investment to make an informed decision.
Customization: Tailoring to Preferred Needs
Each business is unique in its operations and requirements, distinguishing it from others. Therefore, business owners should look for inventory management programs that offer customization options to match their individual preferences.
The ability to tailor the program to fit company procedures ensures functional performance and sufficient optimization. This customization process can include areas such as configuration, user role definitions, or setting up automated workflows.
This flexibility enables users to address specific challenges and capitalize on opportunities without being hindered by inflexible software constraints. However, more flexible and customizable programs can be difficult to set up and use, which may cause issues if employees are not sufficiently trained.
List of Top Inventory Management Software for Small Businesses
By evaluating the specific requirements of their business and matching them with the capabilities of the software, entrepreneurs can empower their small businesses to thrive in a competitive environment. This section reviews five of the best inventory management programs for small businesses to consider.
Best for Real-Time Tracking: Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is a cloud-based inventory management software. It helps businesses create and oversee sales and purchase orders while effectively monitoring their inventory.
With its user-friendly interface, the platform allows seamless inventory tracking, sales report generation, and even predictive demand analysis. Its time-saving features include automatic purchase order creation, simplified shipping management, and effective inventory control.
Real-time and enables businesses to have unparalleled control over their inventory operations.
Over their inventory operations.
By seamlessly integrating with different sales channels and warehouses, the software provides a live overview of m
By seamlessly integrating with different sales channels and warehouses, the software provides a live overview of inventory levels, order status, and replenishment needs, ensuring that businesses can make informed decisions quickly.
Zoho also offers 24/7 customer support through phone, chat, email, and an extensive online knowledge base.
Adding to its appeal, the platform offers a solid free option for those embarking on their inventory management journey. Furthermore, a 14-day trial is available for paid plans, which start at $59 per month with annual billing.
However, it is worth noting that while Zoho’s inventory management software is cost-effective, it does have some limitations when it comes to integration with e-commerce platforms and marketplaces.
Best for Scalability InFlow:
InFlow offers a comprehensive inventory management suite for B2B and wholesale businesses with specialized features.
The platform caters to inventory control, purchasing, and fulfillment needs, and excels particularly in the B2B space. It enables users to create virtual showrooms for customers, and control information such as prices and delivery times.
Expand Significantly. The system easily integrates with various existing systems, responds adeptly to increases in demand, and efficiently manages diverse product data.
This enables businesses to confidently pursue growth paths without being hampered by the complexities of inventory management.
Moreover, the platform extends beyond the core functionality. InFlow facilitates quoting and invoicing, optimizes order routing, streamlines manufacturing, enables customized production, and enhances the picking and packing process through location mapping.
InFlow starts at $89 per month. The software does not offer a free plan, but customers can try the product using a 14-day trial mode. InFlow customers also benefit from phone, live chat, and email support.
This support may be necessary because InFlow’s integration capabilities are limited and any unsupported integrations require developer assistance.
Cin7 is a versatile inventory management solution that is ideally suited for businesses managing complex supply chains.
What really sets Cin7 apart is its extensive suite of over 700 pre-built integrations and features, including e-commerce, accounting, and more. This unique feature simplifies the process of scaling one’s business as it expands.
Online, marketplaces, and shipping software. This integration facilitates comprehensive management of orders, inventory, and shipping processes, ensuring that your business runs smoothly.
Cin7 also excels at accurate inventory tracking and efficient warehouse management. This allows users to seamlessly sync inventory quantities across multiple warehouses, monitor batch and batch product components, and automate purchase orders based on sales velocity.
B2B customers also benefit from automatic order rerouting to warehouses and shipping suppliers for seamless fulfillment.
In addition, Cin7 offers the convenience of monitoring in-store and online sales with an integrated point-of-sale (POS) feature across all its plans.
The platform offers 24/7 customer support for all plans, comprehensive online tutorials, and a wealth of knowledge base resources.
Unfortunately, Cin7 does not offer a free trial option. Furthermore, its Standard plan starts at $325 per month. This positions the platform as one of the higher-priced options in this segment.
Best for User Experience Sortly:
Say goodbye to old interfaces and hello to a user-friendly experience with Sortly. This web application is an easy-to-use inventory management software for small, non-retail businesses.
Sortly offers an ideal choice for organizations looking for a quick and uncomplicated solution to their inventory and asset management requirements.
As such, users won’t need much of a learning curve to use the platform effectively.
With automatic cloud syncing, Sortly seamlessly adapts to mobile, desktop, or tablet devices, ensuring a consistent experience across different platforms.
Whether accessed through the website or mobile app, individuals can create custom fields and define corresponding metadata for those fields. Additionally, they can quickly include, move, delete, or edit items on the go through their mobile app.
Sortly includes a comprehensive suite of essential inventory management software features, including warehouse management, inventory control, barcode scanning capabilities, and basic inventory reporting.
One of the platform’s standout features is the seamless syncing of inventory data across multiple devices and teams. Users can easily use the app to scan QR codes, receive inventory alerts for effective stock levels, and categorize items effortlessly.
While Sortly offers a free version, users also have the option to explore the more advanced or premium versions through a 14-day free trial. These upgraded versions, priced at $29 and $59 per month, offer additional features and enhanced capabilities.
User support is readily available through email assistance, help centers, and tutorials, ensuring a seamless experience. However, it is worth noting that Sortly lacks integration with e-commerce and accounting software solutions.
Best for affordability monday.com :
monday.com is a versatile cloud-based management system designed to manage workforces, projects, and operations, with a clear focus on inventory control.
The platform offers customized solutions for departments such as marketing, sales, IT, HR, and operations. It also features over 200 functional templates, including a readily available inventory template that is accessible in the free plan.
Noteworthy features include dashboards, integrations, forms, automation, timeline, Kanban views, file sharing, and workspaces.
Monday.com offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, or phone. Users can also access a comprehensive learning resource center and a comprehensive FAQ section.
The software offers four pricing plans that cater to diverse user requirements. The Individual plan offers a free-for-life option with basic functionality. Meanwhile, paid plans start at $8 for the Basic tier and $19 for the Pro tier, offering enhanced features.
The pricing is unique compared to other software mentioned because the Free plan provides users with access to its basic features and its lifetime model is suitable for some small businesses.
However, for those who want to take advantage of the enhanced features, the $8 Basic price plan and even the $19 Pro price are the lowest among its competitors.
Although suitable for small business inventory management, monday.com lacks the advanced capabilities of specialized systems.
Advanced features such as item barcodes, automated purchase orders, sales-based forecasting, and multi-warehouse automation require customization or add-ons to UI elements, which can incur additional costs.
Is it worth getting the best inventory management software for my small business?
By implementing top-notch inventory management software, small businesses can effectively address the challenges that arise from manual inventory management.
Software automation is pivotal in reducing errors and preventing stockouts, ensuring accurate inventory tracking and precise inventory level monitoring. This translates to fewer errors and avoiding stockouts, which can lead to lost sales opportunities and customer dissatisfaction.
A significant benefit of this software is its ability to automate inventory tracking and inventory level monitoring, saving time and reducing the likelihood of errors.
This feature promises seamless monitoring of inventory movements, real-time alerts for low stock, forecasting demand trends, facilitating proactive restocking, and optimizing inventory levels.
Moreover, the software has the potential to significantly enhance customer satisfaction. By providing accurate inventory visibility, businesses can reliably fulfill orders, thereby boosting customer loyalty, earning positive reviews, and building a reputation for reliability.
Inventory management systems, such as Zoho Inventory, are also suitable for fulfilling orders efficiently. This software streamlines the entire process, from order placement to shipping, ensuring efficient picking, packing, and delivery. In turn, an organized workflow leads to faster order processing and increased customer satisfaction.
Considering the cost, which varies from free options to paid ones, the benefits of high-end software often far outweigh the expense.
The indisputable value of investing in top-notch inventory management software becomes clear to any small business. This investment leads to increased revenue, improved efficiency, enhanced customer loyalty, and reduced stock-outs.
