13 Best Retail Inventory Management Software In 2024

If you run a retail shop, you must know how different managing inventory is. You need to record the item number, prices, location of each inventory item, and much more while ensuring there is enough stock to fulfill customer orders.

Managing all of this is not an easy job. There are a lot of things that could go wrong. That’s where an inventory management solution comes in handy.

An inventory management tool makes the inventory tracking process simple by automating tasks and eliminating human errors in recording inventory data. Not only it captures every possible sale while avoiding overstock, but it also helps you increase profits margins, keep track of theft, and reduce shrinkage.

Although hundreds of such tools are available in the market, selecting the best one that fits your business needs is crucial. Below, we have listed the 13 best retail inventory management software that will certainly help you reduce manual errors, staff stress, and customer complaints.

However, if you are concerned about whether investing in inventory software is right for you, you could start by using free tools. We have included some reliable, open-source software in the list.

9. InFlow

Price: Starts at $71 per month | 14-day free trial available | No credit card required

InFlow focuses on inventory tracking and offers plenty of options to accommodate your workflow. Whether you make jewelry, dropship packages, or manufacture electronic instruments, InFlow has options to accommodate the way you work.

The software is neatly designed — the long lists of products and transactions do not look like a spreadsheet.

Anyone can use it without spending a lot of time reading documentation. It has everything you need to stay ahead of orders:

• Barcode scanner to manage inventory more quickly and accurately
• Ecommerce integrations to centralize sales for easy tracking and reporting
• B2B portals to send customized catalogs and prices to certain customers
• Reorder points to submit purchase orders before you run out of stock

Furthermore, you get the email, chat, and callback support with every subscription. If you are working for non-profit organizations, you will get up to 50% on all plans.

Pros 

• Great for small companies who need sales and purchasing
• Easy-to-use cloud-based system
• Generates new barcodes for products automatically
• Multiple units of measurement

Cons

• Mobile apps have some glitches and bugs
• No API access and limited integrations

8. Odoo

Price: Starts at $20 per month | Free instant access | No credit card required

Odoo is designed to meet the needs of businesses, regardless of their budget or size. It’s an all-in-one, open-source business management software packed with hundreds of well-developed applications.

It includes billing, accounting, Customer Relationship Management, inventory management, warehouse, and project management applications. All are perfectly integrated with each other, enabling you to fully automate your business tasks and reap the saving and benefits.

Using Odoo’s unique double-entry inventory system, you can track every stock move, from purchase to warehouse bin to sales order. Define alerts on items that should appear for a salesperson when they make quotations.

The platform supports many different types of products, including physical items, consumables, digital products, and services. You can even add custom fields on items as per your requirements.

There is a smart scheduler that will trigger all necessary tasks automatically based on item availabilities and forecasts of orders.

Odoo provides real-time dynamic reports, which you can download and share with anyone. You can also customize the reporting dashboard to keep key information at your fingertips.

Pros 

• Thousands of modules or plugins out of the box
• Supports multiple measurement units
• Build your own dashboard with the advanced reporting engine.
• Gives forecasts of product availabilities based on several parameters

Cons

• Customization is not easy
• Customer support isn’t good

7. Ordoro

Price: Starts at $59 per month | Demo is available

Ordoro is designed to optimize your fulfillment workflows with bulk shipping label creation, inventory management, smart dropshipping, advanced reporting, and more — all in a single platform.

It is a one-stop tool for managing the shipping operations of all your channels, from marketplaces like eBay and Amazon to carts like BigCommerce and Shopify.

The tool allows you to set rules and automate the entire shipping process. The shipping presets significantly decrease the time and effort it takes to adjust multiple parameters when printing shipping labels.

You can fill out key parameters such as shipping method, date, and product dimensions, and save them as a preset. Then you can apply these settings in bulk orders to generate triple-digit batches of labels within a couple of clicks.

Ordoro’s advanced analytics lets you dip into data on a range of metrics, including top customers, products, regions, shipping efficiency, revenue, and more. You can even measure the effectiveness of your partners by examining the cost of carriers, dropshipper efficiency, etc. Furthermore, you can split the data by channel if it helps.

Pros 

• Works with all major online sales channels and accounting software
• Allows you to multiple shipping options for one order
• Great technical support and customer care
• Offers low-cost unlimited shipping plan

Cons

• Sometimes, the sync process takes a little longer than preferred
• User interface needs some improvements

6. Square for Retail

Smart stock forecasts

Price: Starts at $60 per month per location | Free version available

Square for Retail is a cloud-based Point of Sale (POS) and retail solution for businesses of all sizes. Its key features include inventory management, employee management, and customer relationship management. More specifically, it is packed with:

• A new retail POS app lets you upload thousands of items to your register and ring up sales in seconds with a keyboard search or bar code scanner.
• A smart customer directory tracks orders made by customers and automatically generates customer profiles and puts them into groups based on sales habits.
• Advanced, real-time inventory management tracks your cost of goods sold to understand your profit margins.
• An integrated payment system accepts all forms of payment and deposits money directly to your bank account as fast as the next business day. 
• With a Built-in employee management tool, you can set up all your employees with individual permission and accounts so they can access the registers and take payments.

Overall, the platform is designed with the retail workflow in mind, so you can focus on strategies to grow your business.

Pros 

• Comes with a free online store and smart website builder
• Bulk inventory intake
• Barcode scanning and advanced item search
• Smart stock forecasts
• Integrated payments

Cons

• Initial setup takes a bit of time
• Free version has many limitations

5. Lightspeed Retail

Price: Starts at $69 per month  | 14-day free trial available

With Lightspeed Retail, you can optimize stock, make sales, and learn from analytics to grow your business. It provides a fully integrated eCommerce platform that enables you to manage online and in-store inventory, view details of customers, and analyze multi-channel sales data.

Whether your business involves selling bundled, serialized, or unique products that require a number of variations, Lightspeed Retail has all the tools you need to keep your stock moving.

You can process and follow work orders directly in the system, create product variations (such as color, size, and material), identify items with a unique serial number, and sell multiple items as a package.

You can also import items from more than 3,000 preloaded vendor catalogs and upload up to 10,000 products using the self-serve import tool. You will also find multiple options to create coupons,  promotions, and automate discounts for customer segments.

The in-depth reporting dashboard lets you track each unit cost, set reorder point notifications, and discover when inventory levels go into the negatives.

Pros 

• Manages daily sales and tracks employee hours
• eCommerce and retail synchronization
• Communicate with your customer base more effectively
• Extremely good customer service

Cons

• Special orders are poorly organized
• They force you to use their eCommerce platform

4. Cin7

Price: Starts at $299 per month  | Demo is available

Cin7 combines the functions of inventory management, third-party logistics, Point Of Sale (POS), and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) into a single solution.

You can sell your products online, retail, and wholesale. Cin7 integrates with more than 550 accounting, marketplace, e-commerce, 3PL warehouse, and shipping agencies, so you can quickly spin up new online marketplaces and grow your business without skipping a beat.

Cin7’s in-depth reporting helps you manage purchases efficiently; The order automation function allows you to collect and route your orders directly to your warehouse (or locate stock closer to your customers); Automated workflows eliminate some tedious tasks so you can focus on increasing sales and revenue.

The platform is easy to understand. However, if you face some difficulties, you can always ask implementation specialists to help you migrate your data and enable workflows and integration to run smoothly. Their technical support is very knowledgeable. They are available 24×7 to help you with complex tasks.

Pros 

• More built-in features than most inventory systems
• Automation workflows and bots
• Native POS or POS integrations
• Powerful reporting capabilities
• Stays up to date with modern practices

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Relatively expensive

3. UpKeep

Price: Starts at $45 per month per user | Free version and 7-day trial of paid versions available

UpKeep is a modern maintenance and asset management software that makes it simpler to manage work on the go, while empowering you with the insights to make informed decisions faster.

It is designed for small to midsize businesses across various industry verticals. It provides all necessary maintenance features, such as facility management, inventory and order management, and preventive maintenance to generate service schedules.

The inventory management tool, for instance, allows you to assign a minimum quantity value to every item and get notified when the value is reached, or when running low. You can easily reorder items in advance to avoid downtime costs.

With UpKeep Analytics, you can access detailed data visualizations to get better insights into item consumption, price trends, and more. It helps you detect patterns and take necessary actions to reduce costs for your business. You can monitor your entire portfolio on a macro and micro level.

Pros 

• Easy to create and update files for locations, assets, parts, and issues
• Barcode tagging for quick reporting and repairs
• Stores all information needed for the accounting department
• Preventative maintenance checklists and tasks
• The mobile app works super well

Cons

• Search function needs improvements
• Sometimes it logs you out randomly

2. Sellbrite

Price: Free for up to 30 orders per month | Pro version starts at $19 per month | Free unlimited access for 30 days

Sellbrite allows you to list and sell products effortlessly on various online sales platforms and gain centralized control over inventory and orders. You can create and manage listings, control inventory, and fulfill orders — all from a single, intuitive dashboard.

It integrates with almost all popular marketplaces and shopping carts, including Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Shopify, and Etsy. No matter how many products you have, you can list them quickly and customize the interface the way you want.

There are plenty of templates that optimize your listings and save time. Sellbrite remembers your settings as you go, so you can create as many categories as you want without tweaking every small parameter.

It automatically adjusts the inventory when items are ordered and updates the channels, keeping everything in sync. This eliminates overselling of products that you don’t have in stock.

Sellbrite also provides an efficient way to ship products ordered from multiple channels. You can print discounted shipping labels and ship all your orders from a single dashboard, or automatically route orders to FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon).

Pros 

• Ease of use
• Unlimited cross-platform account linking at no extra cost
• Automatically sync inventory to avoid overselling
• Excellent support

Cons

• They sometimes have issues when rolling out new features

1. Zoho Inventory

Price: Starts at $59 per month | Free version is available

Zoho offers a cloud-based inventory management solution for small and mid-size businesses. It includes all necessary inventory management modules such as order management, warehouse management, barcode scanning, inventory tracking, and detailed reporting.

The platform makes it easy to monitor packages and shipments to keep deliveries on time. You can track product movements, transfer products with warehouses, and create warehouse-specific reports.

The inventory tracking module, which comes with the serial and batch tracking feature, allows you to keep track of spare parts, saleable components, and even expiry dates.

There are options to generate a range of reports showing sales details, vendor payments, inventory valuation, and inventory aging. If you want to keep a check on your sales and track stock even when you are on the move, Zoho has smartphone apps for both iOS and Android devices.

Zoho works with all giant eCommerce sites, including Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. If you’ve just started your business, you can use Zoho inventory for free for up to 50 orders per month.

Pros 

• Great UI and easy to use
• Several filters allow you to view data in different ways
• Integrates well with 3rd party applications
• Low entry price and scalability
• All inventory data gets synced between the apps automatically

Cons

• Sometimes the software gets slower
• Slow customer service

Other Great Retail Inventory Management Tools

10. QuickBooks

Price: Starts at $25 per month | Free trial for 30 days

QuickBooks, a cost-efficient Inventory management tool, organizes your items with images, prices, and categories. It automatically calculates the cost of each item sold using the first in first out (FIFO) methodology. The platform supports various inventory-specific reports that let you accurately track sales, purchases, total taxes, asset valuations, and more.

11. Xero

Price: Starts at $11 per month (send quotes and 20 invoices) | 30-day free trial available

Xero is a cloud-based accounting platform that connects small businesses with trusted advisors and gives precise reports on businesses’ financial positions. It tracks products in stock, keeps a count of products and their value, and shows how well products are selling. It also allows you to create reusable text (such as item prices and descriptions) to use in quotes, purchase orders, and invoices.

12. Stitch Labs

Price: Starts at $449 per month (supports up to 2,000 orders)

Stitch Labs is an inventory and order management tool designed for fast-growing brands in retail. It gives you inventory and visibility across all your retail and wholesale channels. More specifically, it helps you keep track of both fulfilled and waiting orders. Stitch generates a customer database that you can utilize to handle returns quickly and make your service top-notch.

13. Sortly

Price: Starts at $39 per month (supports 2,000 entries and unlimited QR codes) | Free trial for 14 days

Sortly is a simple inventory and asset tracking system that allows businesses to track all products and their locations from anywhere on any device. You can browse inventory using photos instant of words in a spreadsheet, create custom QR labels that are automatically linked to items, and set up email and in-app notifications to keep track of stock levels, returns, and more.

Read: 9 Helpdesk Software For Small Business

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you need Inventory Management Software?

Managing inventory can be very challenging, especially if your business is growing fast.

According to a study conducted by IHL Group (research and advisory firm for the retail and hospitality industries), ineffective inventory management costs retailers a massive $1.75 trillion in lost revenue every year. These global losses fall into three categories: $643 billion in preventable return a year, $634 billion in out-of-stock items a year, and $472 billion overstocks a year.

Utilizing robust inventory management software can significantly reduce these losses and help business owners make smarter, data-informed decisions.

Dedicated inventory management platforms are designed to track products through the entire supply chain or the part of a business it operates in. This could include everything from production and ordering to warehousing, shipping, and fulfillment. From a strategic point of view, these automated tools help you minimize risk and streamline your costs. It allows you to

• Track all products in a single dashboard
• Minimize storage costs and losses
• Improve demand forecasting by analyzing data trends
• Enhance multi-Channel and omnichannel performance and order fulfillment
• Promote brand loyalty

How to select the best Inventory management system?

Selecting the right inventory management software depends on a number of factors and often involves analyzing the nature of the business you are running.

Read: 13 Best Configuration Management Tools

Before subscribing to a tool, you should ask yourself four basic questions:

• What are your business challenges?
• What features do you need to run your business?
• What are your inventory management policies?
• Do you need cloud-based or server-based software?

A good inventory management system enables you to sell more items, increase product availability, balance multiple channels, manage multiple locations, and easily integrate with third-party accounting software and purchasing systems.