Last Updated: April 2025
Inventory systems for small businesses are vital for efficient operations. In this digital age, finding the right inventory system can make all the difference. According to a study, human error is the leading problem in 46% of businesses.
This underscores the importance of choosing the perfect inventory system that aligns with your needs and budget. To help you streamline your operations and keep a close eye on your stock, we’ve compiled a list of the 11 Best Inventory Systems for Small Businesses.
Let’s dive in!
How to Select Inventory Management Software
To find a solution that adds value to your specific business needs, it’s important to look for essential features, which typically include:
- Digital Labeling and Barcode Scanning: Allows you to label items with barcodes and employ barcode scanners to track your inventory effectively.
- Inventory Management: Opt for software that enables you to oversee inventory across multiple business locations from a centralized platform.
- Inventory Tracking: Ensure your chosen software provides real-time monitoring of product and material statuses in your supply chain.
- Low-Stock Alerts: Receive automated notifications when your inventory levels dip below a specified threshold.
- Automated Reordering: Customize the software to auto-generate purchase orders on reaching inventory thresholds.
- Reporting: Access detailed reports to guide strategic decisions.
10 Best Inventory Systems for Small Business
1) Lightspeed Retail
Rating: 4.1/5
Pricing: Begins at $69/month.
Lightspeed Retail is a top-tier inventory management software designed for small businesses seeking efficient inventory control. This user-friendly system streamlines retail operations, offering a comprehensive solution for managing stock, sales, and customer relationships.
Key Features
- Multi-Channel Retail Management: Effortlessly manage inventory across various sales channels, including in-store, online, and mobile.
- Reporting and Analytics: Access customizable reporting and analytics tools to monitor sales trends, customer behavior, and inventory performance.
- Inventory Tracking and Management: Supports digital labeling and barcode scanning. Additionally, you can set low-stock alerts and automate reorder processes.
- Integrated Point of Sale (POS): The software seamlessly integrates with a POS. system.
2) Zoho Inventory
Rating: 4.3/5
Pricing: Offers a free plan while paid plans begin at $79/month
Zoho Inventory stands out as the ideal inventory system for small businesses to efficiently manage and maintain control over products with limited shelf life.
Key features
- Expiry Date Tracking: Designate and oversee the expiration dates of your perishable products.
- Batch Tracking: Trace the history and quality of each batch of perishable products.
- Inventory Forecasting: Zoho Inventory uses data and analytics to provide accurate inventory forecasting.
- Real-time Alerts: Receive real-time notifications and alerts when perishable items are approaching their expiry dates.
3) EZRentOut
Rating: 4.6/5
Pricing: Starts from $79/month.
EZRentOut presents an exceptional array of inventory management features meticulously crafted to cater to the distinct requirements of rental companies.
Key features
- Equipment Rental Management: It helps you keep track of item availability, rental histories, and maintenance schedules.
- Online Booking and Reservations: EZRentOut provides an online portal for your customers to book and reserve rental items easily.
- Maintenance Scheduling: Schedule and track maintenance activities to reduce downtime.
- Inventory Reporting and Analytics: EZRentOut’s reporting tools help you optimize your rental strategies.
4) Square
Rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Free; plans begin at $29/month
Square offers a cost-effective inventory management solution tailored for businesses with limited inventory needs.
Key features
- Simple Inventory Tracking: Easy-to-use tools for tracking products, quantities, and variations.
- Sales and Inventory Insights: Gain real-time insights into sales and inventory performance, and track trends.
- Multi-Location Management: Manage inventory across multiple locations seamlessly.
- Affordable Pricing: Square offers budget-friendly pricing plans suitable for small businesses.
5) Katana
Rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Starts from $99/month
What sets Katana apart from the competition is its specialized focus on manufacturers. Beyond the bundling and kitting capabilities found in most other solutions, Katana offers comprehensive product and supply tracking across every stage of the manufacturing process.
Key features
- Production Scheduling: Plan and schedule production tasks, ensuring timely delivery of orders.
- Real-time Inventory Control: Monitor stock levels, and track raw materials, and finished goods.
- Integrations: Katana integrates with popular e-commerce platforms and accounting software.
- Automatic Purchase Orders: Simplify procurement with Katana’s automated purchase orders that trigger when inventory levels are low.
6) Agiliron
Rating: 4.2/5
Pricing: 30-day free trial; plans begin at $89/month
Agiliron boasts an array of robust inventory features, including the ability to create custom orders, kitting, product assemblies, matrixed products, and product substitutions.
With pricing competitiveness comparable to Lightspeed and the added advantage of its integrated POS, we selected Agiliron primarily for its exceptional B2B capabilities.
Key features
- Multi-Channel Inventory Management: Manage your inventory across various channels, including B2B retail and Amazon fulfillment.
- Order Processing and Fulfillment: Automates tasks, such as order tracking, invoicing, and shipping.
- Real-time Inventory Tracking: Agiliron can monitor product quantities, track stock movement, and receive alerts when inventory reaches predefined thresholds.
- Integrations: Agiliron offers seamless integration with Amazon, allowing you to streamline your Amazon fulfillment operations.
7) Odoo
Rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Start for free; plans start from $38.90/month
Odoo, an open-source software, might require a learning curve but is generally user-friendly. It offers detailed inventory management, automated purchase order creation based on specified stock thresholds, inventory forecasting, and even warranty tracking.
Key features
- Multi-Location Inventory Management: Odoo enables you to manage inventory across multiple locations efficiently.
- Real-time Inventory Tracking: With Odoo, you can access real-time insights into your inventory.
- User-Friendly Interface: Odoo offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
- Customizable Reporting: The software provides comprehensive reporting and analytics tools to generate custom reports.
8) Cin7 Orderhive
Rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Offers a demo; pricing is custom.
Cin7 Orderhive emerged as our top choice for effectively managing inventory in the realm of pure e-commerce and dropshipping.
This software, employed by over 5,500 e-commerce businesses, excels not only in inventory management but also in automating various e-commerce operations.
Key features
- Multi-Channel Integration: Cin7 Orderhive provides seamless integration with multiple sales channels.
- Order Processing and Fulfillment: Streamline order processing and fulfillment processes with Cin7 Order hive’s automated tools.
- Real-time Inventory Tracking: Keep an eye on product quantities, monitor stock movements, and get alerted when inventory reaches set limits.
- Reporting and Analytics: Cin7 Orderhive offers detailed insights into your sales, inventory, and order fulfillment.
9) Marketman
Rating: 4.6/5
Pricing: You can request a demo; plans begin at $179/month.
Catering specifically to restaurants, this cloud-based app delivers comprehensive inventory and vendor management solutions. It excels at tracking supplies, managing expiration dates, and implementing recipe-based inventory control.
Notably, it streamlines invoice processing and offers seamless integration with various POS systems.
Key features
- Recipe Costing: MarketMan allows restaurants to calculate and track the cost of each recipe and menu item with precision.
- Vendor Management: Streamlines vendor communication and ordering processes.
- Waste Tracking: It helps you identify and address areas where food is being discarded, ultimately saving costs.
- Menu Engineering: Analyze sales data, item popularity, and cost margins to make data-driven decisions for menu optimization.
10) Ordoro
Rating: 4.8/5
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $59/month.
With its array of features, Ordoro streamlines inventory control and order fulfillment, ensuring smooth operations if you have an ecommerce business.
Key features
- Multi-Channel Order Management: Ordoro centralizes order management from various sales channels, streamlining workflows for high-volume sellers.
- Inventory Replenishment: Keep your stock levels optimized with Ordoro’s inventory replenishment tools.
- Shipping Automation: Ordoro integrates with various shipping carriers, automating label generation and order tracking.
- Dropshipping Support: This software is well-equipped to handle dropshipping operations.
11) Orderry
Rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Try free for 7 days; plans begin at $69/month.
Designed to streamline operations, Orderry offers a range of features tailored to meet the unique needs of these businesses.
Key features
- Service Scheduling: Orderry simplifies the scheduling of service appointments, ensuring efficient time management and enhancing customer service.
- Inventory Tracking: Orderry provides comprehensive inventory tracking, allowing businesses to monitor stock levels, manage spare parts, and ensure timely restocking.
- Comprehensive Inventory Tracking: Effortlessly track various items including tools, consumables, and client-specific products, while also handling bundles, bin locations, and multi-warehouse management.
- Low Stock Alerts: Receive automatic notifications when inventory levels dip below set thresholds.
Final Thoughts
Our deep dive into the 11 Best Inventory Systems for Small Businesses highlights a range of innovative tools, each tailored to address diverse operational needs. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where accuracy and efficiency drive success, selecting the right inventory management system can significantly enhance your business operations. Take the time to evaluate each option and choose the one that best aligns with your specific requirements.
For businesses looking beyond inventory management, platforms like Saufter offer robust customer engagement solutions with advanced automation and order-tracking capabilities. Designed for e-commerce and SaaS businesses, Saufter provides the tools necessary to streamline operations and improve customer satisfaction.
