Running an ecommerce business presents many challenges, not the least of which revolve around inventory management. While using manual methods like pen and paper or digital spreadsheets like Excel to track inventory may suffice for a while, there comes a point in every brand’s life where they need to upgrade to a more dedicated software solution. After all, you’re not just keeping track of quantities of SKUs (and sometimes serial numbers and expiration dates) but also order fulfillment data, too.
Simply put, if you’re not using inventory management software, then you’re missing out on the opportunity to make your business more efficient.
Free inventory software solutions are all over the market. While most free options are limited to some extent, they do provide you with a starting point for getting your inventory management in place and offer some helpful features like low stock alerts. Choosing free is unsurprisingly the most cost-effective way to start using inventory management software.
But, if you’re looking for more capable software with additional features like support for setup and maintenance or inventory reports, then you most likely will need to invest in a paid inventory management platform. In this article, we will highlight the best free inventory management software solutions and explain why you should reach out to Extensiv for our order and warehouse management solutions for ecommerce brands and merchants if you opt to pay for an inventory management system.
What is free inventory software?
Free inventory software is a type of software that allows businesses to track, manage, and control their inventory without incurring any upfront or subscription costs. It provides basic inventory management features without needing to pay for expensive software or mobile apps.
Top 5 Free Inventory Management Software Systems
Here are our picks for some of the best free inventory management software and inventory apps:
1. inFlow Inventory
inFlow Inventory is great for all different-sized businesses. You’re able to manage up to 100 products or customers in this free version. Services include barcode scanning, cost management, sales orders, purchase orders, and other functionalities.
The best selling point for this software to manage inventory is the payment tracking functionality. When you’re ready to upgrade, there are two different plans that you can choose from: Regular or Premium.
2. Odoo
Known as an open-source enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for businesses of all sizes, you might not think it fits on this list. But, despite being a tool completely separate from inventory management, Odoo offers inventory management functionality. Users can download the tool to use alongside their CRM for online inventory tracking.
While the entire program isn’t free, it is free if you are only using the inventory management system module.
3. Sortly
Sortly, the cloud-based inventory management system, is a great inventory tracking and inventory management software. One cool thing about this software is that it allows users to catalog products with up to eight photos for each item.
Unfortunately, branding and QR code tracking isn’t available in the free version. Additionally, if you’re using the free version, you can only manage 100 entries or SKUs per month.
4. ZhenHub
ZhenHub is a cloud-based logistics and inventory management solution for mid-sized and small businesses.
This tool is all-inclusive and offers inventory tracking of stock levels, shipment tracking, and warehouse management. The shipping feature will even integrate with different shipping carriers, allowing you to schedule shipments and add tracking information easily.
5. ZoHo Inventory
Zoho Inventory is one of the stricter systems that we’ll be highlighting. They allow management of only 20 online orders, 20 offline orders, 12 shipments, and 1 warehouse each month. Despite its restrictions, you’ll find that this software is very functional; it even works to intuitively alert you as stock levels begin to get low to streamline inventory reordering. Say goodbye to stockouts!
The biggest downside to this product is that it’s more of a demo than a true free version of a comprehensive inventory management solution because of its strict limits.
Are free inventory management software solutions worth it?
Yes, free inventory management systems can be worth it for certain businesses, especially smaller enterprises or startups with limited budgets. It's important to consider that free inventory management software may have less robust functionality compared to paid solutions. These limitations can include fewer advanced features, lower customization options, and potentially limited customer support.
Ecommerce businesses with complex inventory needs or high transaction volumes may find that investing in a paid inventory management system is more suitable for their operations. Additionally, brands with more nuanced order fulfillment requirements, like dropshipping or product bundling, may need to look into paying for a more customizable software platform. It's important to carefully evaluate pricing and the specific project management requirements of your business before deciding whether a free inventory management solution is the right fit.
The Best Paid Inventory Management Software
Extensiv’s order and warehouse management solutions for brands form an industry-leading, subscription-based platform for inventory management. Sure, there are competitors that offer similar services, but there aren’t competitors that treat their customers as honestly as we do. We’ll guide you through the purchase process to make sure that you don’t pay for more than you need.
Furthermore, we offer numerous ecommerce integrations with Extensiv Integration Manager to ensure that our platform works well with any other software you already have in place. You’ll be able to use your inventory management software in conjunction with Salesforce, Quickbooks, Shopify, and tools from other top companies, such as third-party shipping solutions to generate shipping labels. No more headaches trying to build out custom APIs to get your ecommerce technology stack in sync, and better yet, we’ll help you get it all set up!
We offer a number of inventory management features that support order fulfillment workflows regardless of which channel the order originates from—your own digital storefront or top marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and more—that can be used alongside the software to help you get your job done more easily. Just check out this guide for warehouse managers, there’s so much that high-quality software can offer.
Reach out to us today to get started with a quote or free demo! We’d be happy to work with you to create the best solution for your situation.
